In this article let’s take a look at all the advantages and disadvantages of oxford university to understand if it is worth it, good for MBA, computer science, and engineering or not.
This is the most comprehensive article since I have spoken with many oxford alumni before writing this article so I would recommend you to bookmark and share the article.
So without any delay let’s dive right in
Is oxford good for CS, engineering, MBA, & is it worth it?
Yes, Oxford is definitely a good University for computer science engineering MBA and other educational programs as a matter of fact Oxford ranks in 11 position in best computer science engineering universities according to US news, Oxford also has 350 types of graduate courses, and Oxford University is best university in Europe and UK, keep in mind it has a great alumni, excellent facilities for research and development, high salaries, etc.
To better understand about Oxford University, Let’s take a look at all the advantages and disadvantages of joining Oxford University in detail.
Pros and cons of Oxford University
Pros of Oxford University
Location
Location of the University plays an important role because students spend a lot of time in the university getting their degree so with Oxford University it is located near the Thames river Bank.
Apart from the river you also find Oxford botanic garden, churches, museums and other tourist spots nearby the University location so the factor of location is very good with Oxford University because as a student whenever You are stressed out due to workload of your academics then you can visit this places and chill out.
Variety of courses
Another advantage of Oxford University is there are various types of courses present, as a matter of fact there are more than 350 courses in Oxford University where you can study both full-time and part-time basis,
from the level of diploma to doctorate you can find courses in various disciplines of education, like arts science philosophy medical and many more, click here to check out all the courses list.
What’s even more amazing is that You also get research courses in Oxford University, there are more than 120 such courses, so if you want to get into the field of research and become a scientist or work alongside various other students then
Oxford is a great university to consider, What’s important to mention is that Oxford University ranks in the top position in the best university in terms of research and development in United Kingdom and also receive a lot of funding.
And because there are many types of courses and Oxford University also provides the flexibility to study full-time or part-time basis it gives more opportunities and options for the students Which is really great.
Placements & companies
Another advantage of Oxford University is that it has a good placement ratio, as a matter of fact 90% of the students get placement and job opportunities after graduating from Oxford.
The average salary of a engineering student graduated from Oxford University is around £46000, 124000 dollars is average salary for MBA graduates from Oxford University so you can clearly see that Oxford University is one of the best for both engineering and management courses because of the salary packages of the alumni.
If you graduated from Oxford University then you can get placement in top companies like Oracle tech Mahindra Google Facebook Wipro and many more, another interesting thing is that there is something called as Oxford science park where you can get employment right in the University location,
there are more than 60 science and technology based companies located in the Oxford science park, harwell science and innovation campus which has more than 200 science and tech companies so you can also get employment right in the Oxford University instead of moving to some other place for employment, check out this article on more opportunities of employment In Oxford University.
What’s more amazing is that you can find first new jobs and internships as a Oxford student and research staff on a platform provided by Oxford University called as career connect which is only available for Oxford University graduates exclusively Which is really great thing for the students of Oxford University to get a job.
Global reputation
Another advantage is global reputation of the University, What’s amazing is there are many evidences of teaching in the University at the time period of 1096, Which makes it one of the most oldest universities in English speaking countries, and
this is what makes this university a unique one, and if you want to talk about the ranking of the University at present time then the University does not fall behind much compared to other universities.
Oxford University ranks number two in the top universities in world, according to US news, Oxford University is the best university in Europe and in United Kingdom and for specific education programs Oxford University ranks in top 10 of the best universities in the world
such as in arts and humanities Oxford ranks 1, 11 rank in computer science engineering, 11 in economies and business, 9 in mathematics, like this you can find Oxford University to be ranking in top 15 best universities on the global stage.
And not just that, Oxford also has many alliances with various foreign universities like yale university, University of Copenhagen, Tokyo University, Peking University, University of California University of Cambridge National University of Singapore and
other universities in something called international alliance of research in universities which is a group of 11 universities who co-operate and collaborate together on issues like campus sustainability and research facilities.
Oxford University also has alliances with other universities like Princeton, League of European research universities and many more which show that Oxford is not just best university in UK but also one of the best in the global stage.
So whenever you are applying for any job then just mentioning that you graduated from Oxford University in your CV can help you stand out and get noticed by your employer and also get job immediately because of the reputation of the University.
Alumni & network of the university
Another advantage of this university is alumni and network.
Oxford University is considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in the world not just because of its age but also because of the alumni of University, some popular people who graduated from the University are
- Tony Abbott, former Prime Minister of Australia
- HM King Abdullah II of Jordan
- Sir Grantley Adams, former Premier of Barbados and Prime Minister of the West Indies
- J M G (Tom) Adams, former Prime Minister of Barbados
- Diran Adebayo, author
- Samira Ahmed, journalist and presenter
- Riz Ahmed, actor
- Monica Ali, author
- Tariq Ali, writer
- Elizabeth Anscombe, philosopher
- W H Auden, poet
The list is huge, you can check it out here.
To summarise, 28 British Prime Ministers, at least 30 international leaders, 55 Nobel Prize winners, and 120 Olympic medal winners have actually graduated from Oxford University.
And the fact is that more than 45% of the students who study in Oxford University are foreign students so students from more than 160 different countries, ideologies and cultures visit Oxford University to study so it is a great place to grow your network and
Even admission in Oxford is very difficult, students who get admission have qualities like leadership curiosity hard working motivation and other important soft skills so only best of the best students can get admission into Oxford.
So, Oxford also has great diversity of people and alumni.
Faculty & professors
Another advantage is Oxford University has best faculty and professors in the University.
You can see a common thing that most of the top universities in the world have best faculty and professors because teachers are the one who are going to teach subject to the students and without good teachers and faculty members, University cannot be great.
You can find similar thing in Oxford University, most of the faculty members who teach subject to the students have PhD degrees and teaching experience themselves so they are very eligible to
teach to the students, and Oxford University also provides a lot of benefits for the staff including financial benefits like pension schemes, travel benefits, health benefits,
work life balance, personal and professional development, University benefits and discounts, etc so not only Oxford University has one of the best faculty and professors teaching the subject to the students but also if you are interested it is one of the best universities to work as a professor because of the benefits they provide.
And since Oxford has such a good faculty, they have one of the best teaching systems which is called as personalised learning to the students Which is another good thing about Oxford and their faculty.
By the way you can read my article on is being a professor a good career or not here.
Clubs & fests
Clubs and festivals are very important in any university because they help students improve their network, build soft skills, etc.
And Oxford University understands the importance of clubs and festivals so there are more than 200 different clubs and societies where students with different interests can come together and meet, share their ideas and increase their network, learn communication networking and other important soft skills, participate in events and festivals in the University.
Whether you are interested in aerospace, politics, digital marketing, helping others, health, arts, music, history, LGBT, etc You can definitely find a club to join and meet similar kind of people Which is really great,
University also has 83 different sports clubs like athletics boxing badminton baseball swimming dance basketball caving cricket cycling floorball football gliding and many more.
You can select whichever the game you are most interested in, You can participate in competitions between the groups and also between the universities like Cambridge and Oxford University so
you are not just meeting new people by joining the clubs and societies but also work on your passion, reduce your stress during your academics, increase your network and grow your skills like leadership and teamwork which are very important for your career.
And many events and festivals are also connected in Oxford University which is also sign of a good university.
Infrastructure & facilities
Infrastructure and facilities are extremely important for students who want to join any university.
And guess what, Oxford also has top class infrastructure and facilities for the students, It is no surprise fact.
You can find similar facilities like most other popular universities like Harvard Stanford and MIT in Oxford, like library restaurant gym hospitals cafeteria ATM theatre meeting room hostels research facilities playgrounds sports complex computer teaching room and many more.
Scholarships & financial aid
Another thing is scholarships and financial aid which is also present in Oxford University.
You can get various types of scholarships and financial aid for example if you are a UK resident, you can get £5,000 per year Crankstart Scholarships for your first undergraduate degree in Oxford University if your family annual income is £27,500 or less and also funded internships to get some employability skills.
The best thing about scholarships in Oxford is that it is non repayable, and need based, you get scholarship amount based upon your family financial income annually.
And you can apply for Felix scholarships which are only for Indian students who want to study masters and doctorate degree in Oxford University, the scholarship covers all of your course fee, living cost and also get one free flight from India to UK, You can check more details about it here.
But a small disadvantage I found is that unlike Harvard or Stanford University, most of these scholarships in Oxford do not cover all of the course fees and living costs for example if your family income is less than $75000 per annum,
You will get 100% of scholarship and pay nothing to study in Harvard University but you will not find such scholarship in Oxford but get specific amount like 5000 pounds to cover some of the expenses if your family income is less than £27,500.
Entrepreneurship culture
And the last advantage is the entrepreneurship culture that is present in the University.
The University came up with a concept of enterprising Oxford, where they try to encourage support and promote the entrepreneurship culture and connect collaborate and discuss ideas and businesses with the students and alumni.
They work closely with all entrepreneurship supporters to provide a practical information source and provide resources training events and real life stories and also provide profiles of startups and SMEs from the Oxfordshire area,
They do this in order to maximise the opportunities and support for the students who are interested in startups and entrepreneurship, and you can also join many clubs and meet like-minded people and start your own startup with a bunch of friends.
Startup and entrepreneurship culture is very important in any university because if at least few students in the University decide to start their own business after getting good support from the University then the students can give employment to hundreds and
thousands of people in future so the universities should not just try to get employment for the students but also to transform students into entrepreneurs by training them in right environment and giving them the skills required which Oxford does very well.
These are all the advantages, Now let’s take a look at the disadvantages.
Cons of Oxford University
Fees
The first disadvantage is obviously the tuition fees and expenses of the University.
Basically if you are UK resident then for your first undergraduate degree in Oxford University, It can cost you £9,250, Which is not very expensive and you can also apply for the student loan from the UK government and
also apply for scholarships if your family income is less as I mentioned earlier, and if you are international student like you belong to some other country and want to study in Oxford then your cost will be obviously higher.
For overseas students the fees is Between £27,840 and £39,010, and the fees will depend upon few factors like, you usually live, your nationality, and in certain cases, the level of any previous study.
But honestly speaking the tuition fees in Oxford University is not very high and expensive as compared to its counterparts like Harvard Stanford MIT and other popular American universities.
Difficult to get into
Another disadvantage is it is very difficult to get admission into.
Oxford also follows the admission criteria that top universities like Harvard and MIT use that, Apart from clearing the entrance exam, it also checks some important characteristics in the students such as whether
the student is determined curious motivated enthusiastic positive hard working has good leadership and teamworking skills open-minded and many more qualities before giving him the admission in the college.
So this is both a advantage and disadvantage because only best of the best students can get admission into the University and the acceptance rate is around 17% which is neither too bad not too good in my opinion, but this is slightly better as compared to the other universities like Harvard or MIT because their acceptance rate is not higher than 6%.
But apart from this I have not found many other important disadvantages with Oxford University.
With That said let’s end the article.
Conclusion
These are all the things you need to know about oxford university.
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