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I was accepted to Yale but i also got an offer from oxford.
(for those of u who dont know what UK offers are it basically means i have to get a specific grade in my IB exams to get in- im doing full IB diploma).
I think I have many chances to meet the offer, but i dont know where i really want to go and I have to accept one of the places...
WHICH ONE?
please help!!!!!!!!!

By Londoner (Londoner) on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 02:39 am: Edit

Go to Oxford! The best Undergraduate school in the world! The chance for Oxford comes but once in a lifetime...you can always go to Yale as a Graduate.

What course and which college?? (this makes a diff)

By Sybil_Vain (Sybil_Vain) on Friday, April 11, 2003 - 06:01 pm: Edit

St. Hughs college

Economics and Management

By Unicorn (Unicorn) on Saturday, April 12, 2003 - 12:25 am: Edit

hey i was accepted to New College Econs + Mgmt!
did u get the 42 points offer? damn that's not easy, but i think i can make it...

anywayz, go to OXFORD. It's 1/3rd the price (over four years), oozing prestige, and with econs + mgmt ull be a magnet for all thet top companies.

Londener's right; it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and u can always go to the US.

(and Oxford is a lot nicer than New Haven, trust me)

if ur not sure, accept both the offers. if u dun make the points, go to yale, and if u do, make a final decision. the most u can lose is the $200 deposit...

By Sybil_Vain (Sybil_Vain) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 06:44 am: Edit

I got a 40 points offer! and the tutors kind of hinted to my school's couselor that they may take me with less (i.e 39- 38) because they really liked my interview and test!so this is basically why I think i can make it, though of course i'm not sure, especially since I'm taking all the hard courses (Math/ history/economics higher).
And basically i've decided to accept both offers so that i can be on the safe side and have enough time to decide, but I get a lot of pressure from the school to make up my mind, especially concerning Yale. see my school cares a lot about its reputation, especially for american universities (it's a greek -american school)and they think it's really bad to accept offers of admission and then decline when the IB results come out.
on top of that, i really don't know which place is best for me...

By Arealtexan (Arealtexan) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 04:48 am: Edit

Sybil Vain,

Don't listen to your school. They obviously don't care about you the individual if they are going to try to force you to attend one university because of their reputation.

Londoner is on the money about Oxford vs Yale from where I'm standing.

By Hildegard (Hildegard) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 05:12 am: Edit

To Londoner:

You wrote:

"Go to Oxford! The best Undergraduate school in the world! The chance for Oxford comes but once in a lifetime...you can always go to Yale as a Graduate"

I don't want to sound rude, but I am really tired of reading comments with "advice", where people cannot back themselves up with evidence. Yeah, it sounds great to say: "Go to Oxford", "the best undergrad in the world", SAYS WHO?? you??? Where are you coming from with that assumption?

How about "NO-brainer: Go to Yale, the best undergrad in the world"??

I am sure that what the OP is looking for is reasons to choose one school over the other, not opinionated comments stating that X is the best in the world without stating why.

Just a question: Is it not possible to get a masters from Oxford? Or why the "Oxford comes once in a lifetime" and "You can always go to grad at Yale?" I thought Oxford had graduate programs as well.. Can't you also go to grad at Oxford? It seems like the argument is meaningless. I can't understand AT ALL what this whole OXFORD-craze is all about. Most of the arguments in its favor sound to me like plain bs.

If Oxford is way better than Yale.. How about you prove to us how is it so better, and how is it the "best in the world"?

By Marwanzeibak (Marwanzeibak) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 10:15 am: Edit

to Sybil...definitely accept both offers, so that you can wait and see what you score on your ib exams. You dont want to reject Yale's offer and have to rely on Oxfords, which means that you would have to risk missing a 40 on your exams. Accept both, and then at the end weigh your options. In terms of which you should choose, I would go with Yale over Oxford. They are both excellent and prestigious schools academically, but I personally appreciate the American style of education over the British. Yale will give you a wider and more well rounded education, while Oxford will give you a much more specific and narrow education relating only to your major.
Good luck!

By Arealtexan (Arealtexan) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 05:41 am: Edit

Hildegard, here are some figures comparing Oxford with Yale.

Completion rate: (students who graduate from the undergraduate programs), Oxford - 99%, Yale - 88%
Corroboration of these figures can be found on these two websites:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2585101.stm
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/webex/higrad_brief.php

Class sizes: Oxford has an average class size of 1, with some tutorials being in groups of up to about 4. Yale says on their website that 29% of their classes had fewer than 10 students.

This is probably unimportant for lots of people here, but the cost of studying at Oxford for an overseas student is less than studying at Yale. Oxford asks for (in the arts) fees of £7,500 or around $12,000. Yale asks for $20,700.

I couldn't find anything on the Oxford website about North American students, however the Cambridge website does have these gems to offer on the subject. Here is one of them:

"Candidates should be aware of a possible mismatch between the broad liberal arts curriculum of the North American high school and the specialist emphasis of British degree courses. Very few students enter a Cambridge College directly from a US High School: last year only three offers (out of 3000) were made conditional on SAT and Advanced Placement scores."

They then go on to advise the following courses of action for the majority of Americans who want to study at Cambridge:

"To spend a year at a British further education college studying for Advanced GCEs while applying for a British university place for the following year. This route is most often taken by people educated in the American system, but with family here they can live with.

To apply for a Cambridge undergraduate course after a year spent in suitable preparation at an American university."

Students at Yale have a median SAT I Math score of 730, and verbal of 720. Students at Oxford have an average A-level points score across 3 subjects of of 29.5 (10 points for an A, 8 for a B, 6 for a C, etc. etc.)

The reputation of Oxford outweighs that of Yale as well. Do you see Oxford bleating about how many of their students managed to get into Yale? http://www.yale.edu/opa/v30.n14/story1.html

And would you rather attend the university of John Wycliffe, Adam Smith, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Benazir Bhutto, Manfred von Richthofen, Dr Seuss, Kris Kristofferson, Indira Gandhi, 26 of Britain's 53 Prime Ministers, and Bill Clinton? Or that of William Howard Taft, Jodie Foster, Gerald Ford, the two George Bushes and uh... Bill Clinton? That of 46 Nobel Laureates (Oxford) or 18 (Yale)?

This is just a collection of facts, interpret them in whatever way you want. I still wouldn't say that Oxford has the "best undergraduate education in the world", but it has a claim to being one of the world's top universities. And if you think that Oxford will give you a "narrow" education, you obviously have never seen an episode of University Challenge.

By Pds112 (Pds112) on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 12:29 pm: Edit

You have to realize that Oxford is headed downhill! The only places that now respect Oxbridge (especially Oxford) as much as HYP are England and the USA. France, Korea, China, Japan, etc. all think that there is nothing better than HYP. The truth is that Oxbridge doesn't offer as demanding an education as HYP because there isn't the funding for the great professors or the facilities. The old Oxford has lost some of its glory. I am very pro-Oxford, but you have to realize the truth of it. Why not be smart and go to an undergrad. in the US, where you feel comfortable, where you can build a solid foundation on all subjects, and then go to Oxford for grad. programs because you will be older and more able to handle the experience? I realize that the decision has been made, but this is a very interesting thread that I am reviving. I am interested to hear your decision.

By Arealtexan (Arealtexan) on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 01:06 pm: Edit

What the hell, Pds112?

In what way is the education at Oxford less demanding than that at HYP? British students are two years ahead of their American counterparts. The first years of undergraduate education in the US are the equivalent of A-levels here. And that stuff about France, Korea, China and Japan? Where is the evidence for your assertions? Is it from your fellow summer program students at Andover?

You appeared to have had a revelation about your ignorance, but now you've undone that.