Oxford
Oxford is home of the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the country and in the English-speaking world. The university is spread out among 38 colleges located around the entire town. It is different from a campus university like Essex where everything is found in the same place.
It is highly possibly that when you visit this town you will be slightly confused and think you’ve finally received your Hogwarts acceptance letter to attend school with Harry and all his magical friends. The architecture is incredible and I would not believe a place like this existed without seeing it for myself.
I don’t believe the photos I took in Oxford show the true magnificence of the town. The weather was incredible, another sunny day for England! I was definitely thanking the skies for not opening up and dropping hail all over me like on my previous trip.
My favourite highlight from my visit in Oxford was Balliol College. Balliol is 750 years old, is one of Oxford’s oldest colleges and has a worldwide reputation for its long history of academic excellence.
Beyond the gate are exquisite grounds surrounded by incredible buildings where students reside and attend classes. Entry onto the site for students is only ₤1 when you show your student ID.
The dining room is only open for viewing from 2PM to 5PM and even though we were only in Oxford for the morning, we managed to convince the lovely gatekeeper to let us have a sneaky peak. I am so glad we got to see inside, because I would never have believed anyone if they described it to me.
Without a doubt in my mind, I had just stepped into the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Can you not see the similarity?!
The greatest part was that because we were not suppose to be visiting at that time, there were students in the far corner, dressed to perfection and eating their meal together with proper table manners and everything! It may seem like a silly thing to be excited about, but seeing that there actually are students living such a different and enviable student life is amazing. I love my home university, and I love my exchange partner institution, but can you imagine being able to study at Oxford?
Well just to settle my curiosity, I looked up the requirements for my law degree if I wanted to study here.
The annual tuition fee for Jurisprudence Law (BA), which is a three year course, is only £13,860. That’s £41,580 for the whole course. Plus there is only a £6,465 College fee and approximately £9,975 per year living expense. Really that makes studying a 3 year law degree at Oxford cost only £90,900, which is approximately $168,000 AUD. That’s only a $128,000 difference for what I will have to pay off at the end of my 4 year law degree back home..
Let’s not forget the actual academic requirements for admission as well. The requirement for Queensland students is a Senior Certificate with an OP1, which is quite reasonable for the academic rigor you would have to keep up with.
Tip 5: If you want to get into Oxford, remember to study hard and get yourself a scholarship! Just remember that in the end, it will most definitely pay off!
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