What’s a College?

Hopefully you know what a college is, but let’s look into what it really means at Oxford. Oxford is a collegiate university, meaning that as well as belonging to the university itself you will also belong to one of our 45 colleges and permanent private halls (PPHs). Colleges vary in size, age, student demographics, and courses offered.

Think of your college like a big family; this is where you will probably make most of your friends, at least in your first term. Usually, for undergraduates, your first year of tutorial teaching will also take place in your college, and your college tutors will play a pastoral role as well as an academic one for the duration of your degree. You’ll also live either in or nearby your college in your first year, allowing you to be close to your new friends and the college’s facilities. Don’t be disheartened if you were moved to a different college to the one that you applied for. It happens to lots of people, but you will almost certainly come to love wherever you end up. Everyone has a sense of pride in their college. As well as this, there will be plenty of opportunities to mix with people from outside of your college, too.

Your FIrst Port(er) oF Call ...

When you arrive at the front door of your college, the first thing you’ll see is the porter’s lodge (sometimes shortened to the unpleasant sounding ‘plodge’). These are staffed by college porters. (Most) porters are very nice, and are generally up for a chat any time-if you lock yourself out of your room as many times as I did in first year, they will even know your full name and room number by heart... But their actual job is to help direct both residents and visitors to the college, and to be the first port of call for any queries you might have, from maintenance to directions to lunch recommendations. If you run 10 into any small problems on college grounds, asking a porter is a good bet.