Our terms are 8 weeks long - which means 24 weeks of lectures, exams and tuition.
That is an awful lot shorter than most universities - by several weeks.
Yet we still have to do a lot more work (I don't mean that disparagingly - Oxford had a much more structured system, you get set several pieces of work a week, at other universities you have to do the work yourself)
This means there is an immense amount of pressure. Certain people thrive under the pressure (I absolutely love it - I get bored too easily!) but other people absolutely hate it - and that's ok. It's not a reflection on your ability if you hate the pressure - some people just don't like that working environment.
Sadly this pressure does lead to an abnormally high occurrence of mental illnesses and so on - which is a definite negative. If you already suffered from such, you will definitely find it harder than other universities (but don't let that discourage you - if you are determined, it works out fine!)
Finally - there are the posh wankers.
I'd love to say it's a myth - that everyone in Oxford is a perfectly normal human being.
99% of them are - and they are lovely. My friends in Oxford are from all backgrounds - some own mansions and some come from council houses, but they're all absolutely lovely, and you couldn't tell which was which unless you've known them for 2 years!
However, there are the outliers. The Bullingdon club-type tossers - who speak down to everyone who hasn't been hunting with Daddy's money or whatever.
I do my best to stay away from them! I've only ever met 3 people like this - in two years at Oxford. So the stereotype has its roots, but they're very rare. Most people are lovely - I promise!
MSL/RSL
