A Fabulous Day at Oxford University

Today was quite a whirlwind experience. Waking up at 6:30 and heading to the Tube station to catch the bus to Oxford seems like such a blur at this point. The reasoning behind this is because of all the wonderful things I did today. Before heading to Oxford I had this idea of a prestigious university in a college town and nothing other than that. Little did I know, my ideas about Oxford couldn't have been further from the truth. One of the main things I learned today is that Oxford University is not actually one university. The university is made up of 38 separate colleges that are spread throughout the town of Oxford. Incoming students are allowed to apply to one college and are faced with very strict entry requirements. One requirement that stood out to me was a minimum of a 32 out of a 36 on the ACT. When Oxford U. receives applications it weeds out several and invites the rest of the applicants to come to the campus for an interview. Only 1 out of every 5 that are interviewed are accepted into the university. Learning these things made it a great honor to be walking along the streets with such prestigious students. After a morning of shopping at famous London shops such as Topshop, Whittard of Chelsea, and the local Oxford apparel stores, I went on a walking tour of part of the Oxford campus. All of the students that I saw on campus seemed to really be enjoying themselves. The buildings that make up the campus and town are so historical and add a lot of character. There are several beautiful chapels strung throughout the campus among all the beautiful buildings. I had the honor of attending a service this evening in the Christ College Cathedral, which was very beautiful. After the service I was able to go to Trinity College, (a college within Oxford U) to have dinner with the local students. The dining hall resembled Harry Potter and was quite formal. The students are required to wear special gowns while in the dining hall as well. After being served a formal dinner of calamari salad, grilled lamb, steamed potatoes and veggies and cream puffs it was time to leave the campus. As we were leaving the campus I found myself wanting to stay. I think the combination of beautiful buildings, the prestigious atmosphere and preppy guys are what was drawing me to the campus. I am so glad that I was able to take a trip to Oxford today and learn so much about it. I think the university is such an interesting place and like nothing I have ever seen before. I hope to go back soon. :)

AM