<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I’ve looked through pretty much all the Oxford colleges but I haven’t been able to determine which one has the best accommodation (which is really important for me). Some colleges put photos of the accommodation but not all, so I can’t tell which accommodation is better than the other. I want to stay in a college with a single room, bathroom, etc. The “fanciest” you can get. I’m not worried about price (that makes me sound so obnoxious) but I was hoping someone (possibly someone who’s been to Oxford U) knows which college has the best accommodation?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>I think the colleges of Oxford are academic divisions… I think most students at European schools live off campus.</p>
<p>I think that if the accommodation is that important to you, you probably won’t be happy at Oxford! Aigiqinf, at Oxford & Cambridge pretty much everybody live in during 1st year, and a strong majority live in college housing all 3/4 years. Although many colleges allocate housing by price bands, even in the highest band, there is no college in which you can be sure of having an en-suite bathroom every year- and in lots of the accommodations you can’t even be sure of having a bathroom on the same floor! the standards of comfort are very English, not American. </p>
<p>Also, as many as 30% of applicants find themselves with offers from a different college than the one they applied to.</p>
<p>However- all accommodation at Oxford is essentially singles-“doubles” are 2 bedrooms with a shared sitting room, and there is a lot of competition for them, so only 2nd & 3rd years get them. </p>
<p>So- you can get the single anyway. After that it is luck, price band, and /or class rank (at least one college does room draw by how you do in your exams!</p>
<p>What subject are you planning to apply for?</p>
<p>…but if you are determined, Christ Church and St.Johns are the “richest” schools, and the odds are as good there as anywhere. Also, if status & looks are your priority, Christ Church has all the Harry Potter bits, and their porters are quite protective of the place, keeping outsiders out…</p>
<p>Every college has som amazing student accommodation (say, you have 4 rooms - especially the ancient colleges have quite a few flat sized student “rooms”), and some rather horrible. Most obviously, if you get into a new college, then you’re not going to live in some fancy medieval building, whereas all the ancient colleges have modern accommodation. Some colleges are cheaper, some are not, nonetheless basing college choices on prospective accommodation is quite sily, especially because its a bit random where you’re going to end up for your first year, in terms of accommodation. Bear in mind, many Oxford colleges, in contrast with the Cambridge ones, don’t provide accommodation for 3-4 years.</p>
<p>The OUSU (Oxford University Student Union) usually produces an annual Alternative Prospectus where all colleges are described in a more casual and more interesting way than what the College Admissions Offices write in the official paperwork. Try to find it on [Oxford</a> University Student Union > Home](<a href=“http://www.ousu.org%5DOxford”>http://www.ousu.org) or google it (sometimes they skip a year, so you might have to take one which is 1-2 years out of date - but colleges which are for the most part centuries old don’t tend to change that quickly). They usually give you quite a lot of details about accommodation and rent levels as well.
You’ll need to decide whether you want to go to a College where your room type is based on what you’re willing to pay (e.g. St John’s has such a tiered system) or a college where rooms are allocated by ballot and you pay the same amount for whatever room you get (e.g. Merton). I personally think the latter is fairer and avoids the kind of “My parents are richer than yours, look at my fancy room and my fancy view” hierarchy you might get - but your opinion may vary :-)</p>