Education Oxford interview

[ch424]

There's so much ignorance and prejudice in this thread that it's quite amazing.

Originally Posted by Daniel114

I received enough qualifications at A-level to be accepted into Oxford, yet chose to do my studies at a crappy wannabe university to avoid the holier than thou Oxford Uni w*****s.

If you spent any sensible amount of time talking to people there when you had your interview, you'd know that the holier-than-thou w*****s make up 1-2% of the people there, if that. Any decent uni will have people like that and there's most likely more of them at Bristol, Durham, Imperial, Exeter, Edinburgh etc.

Originally Posted by Ramble

Just because you've gotten into a place which has high entry requirements does not mean you are smart.

It really does. Everyone at Oxford is smart, even if they don't seem it. The real point is that it doesn't matter that you're smart if you're also a prat.

Originally Posted by specofdust

At a guess and the risk of sounding slightly neddish, I would suggest that that might be a result of the sort of people who tend to go to oxford (<cough>rich kids who live off daddy's credit card</cough>) being loud and obnoxious, and speaking loud enough for the 4 other people who know how to STFU.

QFT, except for it's more like 1 to 50, not 1 to 4. Oxford's my home town too, and I don't object to people coming here - it's their home town while they're at uni here. Fair enough to be annoyed at people acting though they 'own the place' but I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that..

[Daniel114]

forget it

[Lynx]

Speaking for Cambridge 1-2% is the correct value. Concidering about 50% of people don't even go out of their room most of the time only a small number of people are assholes.

People at Cambridge are very very clever. They do not ,however, have much common sense and so can act like they are idiots when dealing with common sense things.

[ch424]

Daniel114, I have a feeling you're suggesting an interesting point with "Does this mean that according to specofdust I am better than everyone, including the Oxford lot as I saw them as being an irritation?" but not actually articulating it fully, so sorry if I misunderstood..

[woof82]

Originally Posted by Lynx

Speaking for Cambridge 1-2% is the correct value. Concidering about 50% of people don't even go out of their room most of the time only a small number of people are assholes.

People at Cambridge are very very clever. They do not ,however, have much common sense and so can act like they are idiots when dealing with common sense things.

Heh, sounds about right

Originally Posted by ch424

It really does. Everyone at Oxford is smart, even if they don't seem it. The real point is that it doesn't matter that you're smart if you're also a prat.

You see I'm different, I would say I'm pretty smart, always had the highest IQ etc in my College, but I would never go Uni at the moment, maybe when I'm 25.

[Bogomip]

Originally Posted by specofdust

But...they are. By virtue of being at Oxford (at least, if they're doing a decent degree) - they are better than people who are at some crappy wannabe university.

edit: I do actually agree though, being holier-than-thou-I-pwn-j00-suck is annoying as hell. Gotta be modest about your superiority!

Theres a differance between being clever and being a good person. Not everybody at oxbridge are good people and no doubt a vast majority (who likely do politics ) are only out for themselves.

Steven Hawking is a ******* so I hear from my sources at cambridge, and he's a nobel prize winner!

Everyone I know at cambridge say the majority (you see out their rooms!) are ******s. Of course the people I know at cambridge aren't ******s (for the most part ) so there must be some good ones...

Anyway im not prejudice, theres good and bad at every uni (thoough durham tips the asshole scale so i hear ) and I wouldnt base any choice to be freinds with someone on what uni they goto.

[julianmartin]

at the end of the day. if you are really that damn smart, it doesn't matter what university you goto, you will make it on your own.

[specofdust]

Originally Posted by Bogomip

Theres a differance between being clever and being a good person. Not everybody at oxbridge are good people and no doubt a vast majority (who likely do politics ) are only out for themselves.

Steven Hawking is a ******* so I hear from my sources at cambridge, and he's a nobel prize winner!

Everyone I know at cambridge say the majority (you see out their rooms!) are ******s. Of course the people I know at cambridge aren't ******s (for the most part ) so there must be some good ones...

Anyway im not prejudice, theres good and bad at every uni (thoough durham tips the asshole scale so i hear ) and I wouldnt base any choice to be freinds with someone on what uni they goto.

I didn't say they are nicer people, I said they are better people (as in, more capable, more able to do well in the world, superior - not morally different).

[Daniel114]

Originally Posted by specofdust

more able to do well in the world

During holiday time I used to work in a chicken factory, it was a mundane boring (but stupidly easy) job. Due to it being a small(ish) town it also meant that even those 'superior' Oxford people worked there, (probably for some sort of experiment). I can honestly say, that (I think there were 6 of them) were absolutely clueless. No common sense at all, constantly having to be helped, have things explained again.... I don't think any of them lasted longer than a week.

Did you mean to write 'more capable in a world made up of pondering life's questions whilst sat in a weathered leather seat?' I realise they probably won't choose a career in a chicken factory, but there were non English speaking asylum seekers there who were able to look at a job and figure it out.

Some guy/girl who had never had this job before, never went to uni and couldn't communicate through conversation with me, was far more valuable than all 6 of them. I think what you mean to say is that in a certain environment, an Oxford graduate might be more 'capable' than someone else.

Incidentally I'd remove the word 'superior'

[Kipman725]

Originally Posted by Bogomip

Theres a differance between being clever and being a good person. Not everybody at oxbridge are good people and no doubt a vast majority (who likely do politics ) are only out for themselves.

Steven Hawking is a ******* so I hear from my sources at cambridge, and he's a nobel prize winner!

Everyone I know at cambridge say the majority (you see out their rooms!) are ******s. Of course the people I know at cambridge aren't ******s (for the most part ) so there must be some good ones...

Anyway im not prejudice, theres good and bad at every uni (thoough durham tips the asshole scale so i hear ) and I wouldnt base any choice to be freinds with someone on what uni they goto.

heh all the people I have talked to who have met hawking thing hes a ****** too, after reading a few of his books I also got that impresion. I also fail to see what hes done that gets him so much praise as there are others still alive who have advanced physics far more than him.

[dragontail]

Two guys from Robinson pennied his dessert at formal... and got lifetime bans plus a whooping fine.