Oxbridge Study Abroad experiences

[Anonymous]

DC at a highly selective university is considering study abroad at Oxbridge in their junior year. Inviting feedback only from parents whose children went through study abroad at Oxbridge. Specifically:
- did they choose a semester or year? What were their experiences like.
- what were the cons of being away from campus in the junior year? Did they lose momentum by starting afresh in a new environment?
- for those who have since applied for jobs or grad school, did the Oxbridge name make any difference to them in their job hunt or grad admissions?

Whenproviding feedback, would appreciate if you can also mention which college/university your child was at, which Oxbridge college did they go to, for what studies and whether a semester or year.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

[Anonymous]

- did they choose a semester or year? What were their experiences like. Year - and it was an amazing experience.
- what were the cons of being away from campus in the junior year? Did they lose momentum by starting afresh in a new environment? - I don’t think it mattered too much - many students travel abroad Jr. year and DC had an amazing senior year despite being away.
- for those who have since applied for jobs or grad school, did the Oxbridge name make any difference to them in their job hunt or grad admissions? Yes, absolutely. . DC went on to attend a top 3 law school and many parts of their Oxford experience (they studied Philosophy and Politics/Political science) came up during firm and clerkship interviews during law school. They ended up at the top NYC firm of their choice in the practice area of their choice. Still loving it a few years in.
When providing feedback, would appreciate if you can also mention which college/university your child was at, which Oxbridge college did they go to, for what studies and whether a semester or year. - DC was a visiting student at Jesus college, one of the smaller but older original colleges right in the center of Oxford. There are a few large American programs at other Oxford colleges and he met many students outside of his college through sports and activities. DC made a large group of friends from all over the world, dined in the dining hall which an experience in itself, Joined clubs and attended balls … a tux is a must. It is helpful to be an extrovert - nobody will check in on you and say do this or that - you must lean into the experience and put yourself out there to make the most of it. It is very intense and if you slack off the tutorial evaluations can be brutal - a number of the law schools asked to see his grades and evaluations - which are surprisingly detailed and long - often hand written. DC worked hard and did well but others that did not take the program seriously were very upset with some of their comments and grades.

I hope that helps. Highly recommend this program for a motivated and serious student.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

[Anonymous]

Your kid’s own college should have resources on this. Beware of some shady outfits that claim to be Oxbridge but really aren’t. Specter summer programs .. they lease space and sell it as Oxbridge but it isn’t. It’s better to work this through your own college.

The point above about leaning in is spot on. Your student will have several tutorials a week in their subject area. There may or may not be another student in the tutorial. You must do the reading and prepare a paper for each which you must present. You can’t hide in the back row and not participate as you can in US schools.

The college affiliation doesn’t matter. Your classes will be all over. My kid is at St. Hugh’s but tutorials are at Christ Church and All Souls’.

My kid’s first exposure was a UVA summer program at University College which ran about ten weeks.

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine who did one semester there found it very un-rigorous, as he didn't take any of the same exams that the full-time students do. He was direct enrolled.

[Anonymous]

If your kid is in a highly selective university, as you say, the university already has a preexisting relationship with overseas universities. Go through your university first. It’s much easier than direct admit and there is no confusion later about value of transferring credits back. They also take care of all of the visa work and usually have staff support at the college.They probably already have a relationship with a particular Oxbridge college as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine who did one semester there found it very un-rigorous, as he didn't take any of the same exams that the full-time students do. He was direct enrolled.

Well, yeah, Oxford and Cambridge have their major exams at the year end. So what do you expect if you're only there half the year? I did a year abroad at Oxford (Trinity) many years ago, but took the same exams that full-time students did and they were challenging as were the tutorials with full professors. Programs differ widely.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone for your feedback.

Yes, DC is going through their university, which already has an established partnership with Oxbridge, so I’m not worried about any questionable third-party programs. That said, the program descriptions show a wide range of experiences—from full immersion (doing everything local students do, including exams) to more limited participation.

The main takeaway I’m getting is that if you’re going to do it, it’s better to go for a full year rather than just one semester.

My ongoing concern is the trade-off of spending a year away and how that might affect deeper involvement in their STEM major—things like projects, clubs, or research with professors—which are often more relevant for recruiters or grad school admissions than just name recognition. For Law, it seems to make more sense, but for STEM, the real advantage often comes from hands-on projects that demonstrate real-world problem solving. I’m wondering how much of that can be achieved during a short stay at Oxbridge.

[Anonymous]

Have a niece who earned a master's degree at Cambridge then earned a second master's degree at Columbia in NYC. In her experience, the course of study at Cambridge was much easier than earning her master's degree at Columbia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid’s own college should have resources on this. Beware of some shady outfits that claim to be Oxbridge but really aren’t. Specter summer programs .. they lease space and sell it as Oxbridge but it isn’t. It’s better to work this through your own college.

The point above about leaning in is spot on. Your student will have several tutorials a week in their subject area. There may or may not be another student in the tutorial. You must do the reading and prepare a paper for each which you must present. You can’t hide in the back row and not participate as you can in US schools.

The college affiliation doesn’t matter. Your classes will be all over. My kid is at St. Hugh’s but tutorials are at Christ Church and All Souls’.

My kid’s first exposure was a UVA summer program at University College which ran about ten weeks.

This is not the experience across the US. America dominates in small faculty to student ratios and we have various liberal arts colleges and predominately undergraduate institutions which European countries lack.