I’ve been reflecting on my Oxford experience now that I’m entering my third year. Surprisingly though, I realised that I over-indexed on studying – coming from a country where academic achievement is viewed with great emphasis, it took me a lot to cut through the programming of my earlier years.
I had entered University dreaming of the rigorous education it would impart to me. There was the pressure of Oxford, as an esteemed academic institution that compelled me to continually pursue knowledge. However, there are a number of areas that you should spend some time working on beyond academics, in order to fully explore this wonderful university and get clarity on what you want out of your life at this pivotal time. I have no doubt that I would take my degree topic seriously, but I could reduce the studying for exams.
Streamlining my academics
I spent a lot of time delving into research papers. It’s important to read deep into your subject matter, so you can’t really run from this. However, I should have spent less time trying to memorise the names and dates of papers. This is impractical in real life, but vital for examination. It’s hence a key example of the silly things Oxford imposes for academics. A friend of mine doesn’t get a periodic table for her Chemistry examinations, so she has to memorise the entire periodic table and write it out.
When time in university is limited, I would recommend being very clear on your goals. Are you there to learn, or to do well in the examinations. While these should be correlated, there are certain things I would have invested less time in regarding the latter. There are far too many things to do outside of memorising names and dates: Find a job, play a sport, socialise, build something, or just explore the unknown.
Find a job
University is the time to apply for graduate programs and internships. Most careers have a graduate scheme that are open to only current students; simply because they want fresh graduates who are easier to mould to their unique culture
You have a much longer runway, which allows you to pick and choose from multiple offers that you hold. Waiting for graduation could strain your personal finances and compel you into a sub-optimal job. Job hunting is a long process, often with long intervals between interviews. You might as well let the intervals play out while you are sitting through a lecture, rather than wait till you have little to do in a state of unemployment
Doing internships will help you solidify your career plans. Getting that insight early allows you to tailor your university experience to the career you want. You can then find societies and academic modules that support your future plans
Play a sport
Sports are an incredible way of getting to meet people across degrees. It can also be very tempting to neglect your health while in school so a sport (especially team ones) helps to keep everyone accountable.
It’s a huge flex to get a Blue – the requirements will vary by sport – but it represents excellence in a sport in an environment where people are famed for being absolutely intense. Even without the extrinsic rewards, the camaraderie in competition or in crew dates can really bring people together. Surely the trauma-bonding from drinking out of a smelly boot is a pretty strong social adhesive!
Socialise
I already know that I’ll miss my university friends so much after graduation. Second year were the days that you could spend an entire day on an impromptu trip to Bath or Blenheim Palace, and then wrap the night up by drinking yourself silly.
It is so critical to put yourself out there during Fresher’s Week and the rest of first year to make friends before friends groups become solidified and immutable. Despite being a Fresher in the dark years of COVID, I managed to get my social interaction in by going on long walks around the picturesque parks of Oxford with my friends. That, alongside a propensity for breaking safe-distancing rules that would make Boris Johnson blush, formed the basis of my deepest friendships.
Invest time in your friends; they are one of the dearest things you will probably feel immense nostalgia for when you graduate.
Build something
Start a non-profit for a cause you care about, or better, a social enterprise that is self-sustaining. Even if it fails – which it probably will, given the sheer difficulty in launching something completely novel and solves real-world problems with limited resources – the amount of stuff you will realise you didn’t know you didn’t know will be instrumental to your future success. Plus, it is great fun to build something from the ground up.
Entrepreneurship is complete suited for the student because it is rare to have such flexibility to work on something like that. The proximity to experts in your professors as well as the raw intellectual horsepower of Oxford students are abundant resources to tap to problem-solve and pivot your idea.
There are tonnes of incubator programs that provide equity-free funding at Oxford. Non-profits benefit from a large student population eager to make a difference outside of their academic studies.
Explore the unknown
You may have a plan of what you want to do, but don’t let that restrict you. Go drop in on lectures outside of your degree with friends.
Always remember that in University, you are the customer. When you start working, people pay you to do stuff. You are now at a stage of life where you can do anything with little consequences, so don’t waste it doing something you inherently dislike.
There’s a saying I learnt recently that one should leave Oxford with a Blue, a Spouse, or a First. It’s a significantly expanded worldview that I once held around just getting a First, but it still vastly understates all the various things you can accomplish here in the hallowed Oxford halls.
To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, I’ve had a few regrets, but too few to mention. I hope that those of you who are still undergraduates will look outside the box of tutorials and lectures, and take full advantage of all the opportunities that Oxford offers. Meanwhile, I can only strive to make the fullest of the rest of my time here, before I hunker down for the last stretch of Finals.