Thank you to everyone who took part in International Welcome: Pre-Departure last week! We shared some of our impressions about Oxford, and answered some of the questions we were asked - we didn't have time to get through them all so here are the answers. Feel free to get in touch at any point to chat or if you have more questions, and stay tuned for International Welcome from the 27th of September!
Travelling / getting to Oxford
How do I get from Heathrow to Oxford?
The airline bus (https://airline.oxfordbus.co.uk/heathrow/) is the easiest route. It takes around 1.5hrs and costs £23 one way or £35 for a flexible return ticket.
If you have a lot of luggage or know someone else travelling from Heathrow to Oxford at the same time then consider taking a taxi. It’ll be more expensive but at least you can split the cost!
Whom do I approach when I reach Ox?
Head straight to your college - no matter what time it is there’s always porters on duty and they can give you your key and direct you to your room.
When can I arrive in Oxford? From what date can I buy a flight ticket?
You should check with your college for this! Generally they’re quite accommodating with international students arriving early for quarantine or to get settled in before freshers week, so from -1st week (27th sept onwards) should be fine.
Do I need to carry cash for travel? I'll be there without a bank account for the initial period
Yes, it’s definitely useful! You can use bank cards from your home country but this will probably cost you more with extra fees for using it overseas.
Social events
Are all social events in Oxford optional?
Yes! There’s a huge range of social events both within your college and the wider university that you can choose from.
How do we budget social events (and which should we prioritize) considering the already expensive fees we pay?
Generally this depends on what your interests are; for example, most colleges will hold a ball every 2-3 years, so you may want to prioritise that if you only have one chance to go (and tickets are often cheaper if you go to the college).
Packing
What should we pack and what should we buy once we reach?
Pack just the essentials (clothes, anything you can’t easily get in the UK), but avoid taking anything bulky or heavy (bedding, cooking equipment) because it’s difficult to travel with and much easier to get once you’re there.
Food
What are good places to eat?
Great question! There’s so many places to eat in Oxford, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best here on our website to help you get started.
Church
How can I find a nice church in Oxford?
The best way to find a church that suits you is to try it out - you can find information about churches in Oxford here: https://www.loveoxfordstudents.co.uk/find-a-church and let us know if you’d like to come along to church with one of us!
Academic
Is it more difficult to get summer internships/jobs in the UK as an international student?
It shouldn’t make a difference in getting summer internships, although you will have to consider accommodation for the times that you want to stay in the UK. For jobs, you’ll have to check your visa to see how many hours you’re permitted to work, but other than that it’s no problem at all!
Was the academic transition from IB to university difficult considering that the first term is often more tailored for A-level students, particularly for STEM subjects like Engineering? For example, A level Further Maths covers more content than IB HL Maths.
In general there’s not a massive difference in transition from IB or A levels, because in the very first part of STEM courses you will normally relearn everything.
What's the workload like?
This varies very much by course and even by college! Feel free to get in touch with one of us (https://oiccuinternational.wixsite.com/oxinternationalhub/i-team-bios) if you want more details specific to your course, or you can always ask 2nd or 3rd years at your college.
General
Do international students usually stay over the vacation in non-covid times?
While this depends on cost and distance, in general most people will return home for the summer, as it’s the longest break (nearly 4 months). Sometimes people will go home during Christmas (6 weeks) since it’s their first chance to get back, and it’s a long time to spend alone in Oxford, but at Easter (also 6 weeks) lots of people will stay in Oxford to prepare for exams.
If you’re away for the vac, you will normally have to vacate your room but most colleges provide storage space for international students.
And rent only covers term-time accommodation, so you’ll have to pay extra to stay during the vac.
