Opportunity Oxford Residential - Video Transcript

[Text on screen: Opportunity Oxford supports talented students with the transition to the University, ensuring the best possible start to studying at Oxford. We spoke to some current students about their experience and most helpful aspects of the residential, and their advice for offer-holders about to attend the Oxford residential part of the programme.]

[Q1: What were the most helpful aspects of the residential?]

Olamide: I found the residential really cool... really, really cool. Meeting people that do come from similar schools and similar backgrounds... and the same areas and everything like that, was really... comforting I guess.

Kane: Socially it's absolutely brilliant, and also academia, it was really good to get a foundation for it. So the work there was... the first insight into a reading list and also we had classes on how to do reading lists, how to do essays, so it was good to get... "This is what your work's gonna be like and here's a taster of it.”

Marwa: The student ambassadors were really helpful in giving us a lot of tips for going through the reading lists, going through the work, exam technique and everything... really giving us insights to the whole of first year, not only just the first term.

Maddie: They were so lovely and they gave you really good advice, in an informal way, it was more of a discussion.  There's always something you can do to improve, so they said "Don't worry about it, just try your hardest, and if you're really struggling, get in contact with your tutors" and I feel like, for me, that was something really good to hear. 

[Q2: How did the residential help you with the transition from school/college to university?]

Omarr: The residential kind of made me realise that uni's not all about the marks, it's about the feedback and it's genuinely improving and understanding the work rather than just... trying to get the highest in the class,  so that was probably the biggest thing for me,  is that it made me realise that  it's not all about just the numbers,  it's about genuinely improving and  learning as you go on.

Maddie: At the end of our programme we had a tutorial, so there was three of us with a tutor, and obviously I come from a school where there’s lots of students, so there’s a class of thirty people and so I’m not really used to that one-on-one interaction and so I think it was really beneficial having that experience of a tutorial in the Opportunity Oxford scheme and getting that essay feedback and just going through what to expect when I get here.

Tahmid: Academically speaking I think I was pretty nervous about going into tutorials, I thought they’d be really intense, but because we had a little mock ‘tute’ with an essay we had to write as well, I felt a lot more confident going in.

Anna: Because my subject includes lab work it really gave me the opportunity to practise my skills there before starting at university because I’d never experienced anything as sophisticated as these labs so that was really helpful for me.

Tahmid: Something that surprised me is just how much I enjoy my subject, which sounds bad...! But, when you’re learning your A-levels you just learn the content so you can do the exam, whereas, when you’re at university you’re learning because you enjoy it and if you want to explore it further your tutors will facilitate that, and that’s really nice to have.

Olamide: When it came to essay writing and the reading list, because we already did that at Opportunity Oxford I just kind of got used to being able to read the reading lists in the time given.

Anna: The residential itself... I think because obviously we spent two weeks in Oxford, it was really nice to get to know the city before arriving in October, so it wasn’t as overwhelming and I knew my way around and obviously I’d met some friends on the residential, so I could just meet with them.

Alice: I actually think on reflection that this programme has shown me a lot about myself. Meeting new people was terrifying, but it’s also the best thing that’s happened. You’re having a support network around and learning to be a little bit more open, a little bit more vulnerable in myself has gone beyond academic work, it’s made me more confident as a person.


[Q3: What advice would you give to those just about to attend the residential?]

Tahmid: One piece of advice I would give is to use your ambassadors. One of mine was... she was doing the same subject as me and she was also a Muslim, same as me, so I think I just spent hours just talking to her and just getting through all my concerns, asking what the course was like, and it also really helped to know my way around the city. I knew where the big Tesco was, I knew where... the mosque is, and so it made things a lot easier.

Anna: Really just make the most of it. You have so many opportunities to speak with specialised professors, ask questions about what their research is, what your interest is. Just really take this time to be fearless with it and ask whatever you like.

Maddie: Follow the eight hour rule so eight hours of sleep, eight hours of socialising, and eight hours of work a day, and I think that’s really helped me, I feel like it puts into perspective that you do still have eight hours to socialize and time to yourself, and gives you eight hours work and it makes you look at things from a different perspective.

Anna: It felt like this was the beginning of university and it felt almost wrong to be going home and I think that was the whole purpose of the residential was to lead you into university and I think it was so successful that it made me believe that I had already started university.

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More information is available on our website: www.ox.ac.uk/opportunityoxford 

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