Imagine the types of people you'd find on a politics or philosophy course. All polemic and radical. I don't think I could bear it. Pub debates between the Corbynists and the neo-Thatcherites. Some nerd droning on about Karl Popper and the open society.
Sports science or geography is probably what you're after.
Anything that isn't STEM. You should have to pay full international fees to do any of them as subsidising intellectually weak gimplords is why we have a shitty low-tech economy.
We had one kid in my school who got into Oxford doing French. Thing is, he was French, came over here age 11 or so, completely fluent. He kept on correcting the French teacher in O-level class, which was amusing.
That was his easiest way to get a first from Oxford.
Politics 2.1 here. It was the easiest three years of my life. First year didn't count. Second and third years were 3 or 4 1500-3000 word essays and 3 or 4 90 minute exams. Attendance wasn't compulsory. No compulsory essays throughout the year, everything happened in May. 8 contact hours a week but no one turned up to that many. I even picked my final year modules to get a 4 day weekend every week.
Sociology, like georgraphy, presumably exists purely for the purpose of churning out more sociology lecturers. LOL at the idea of it involving "heavy" maths
Chambo I am sure he had an advantage in the first year or so, but surely French at degree level is basically a literature degree like English and fluency by time of finals is expected? Seems to me ludicrous that anybody can pass a degree in French literature without being fluent in French.
Structural Engineering jellymonster. Not easy. Then a MBA, also not easy. Both at good universities where they have a little chat with people in the bottom 5% at the end of the first year and ask them whether they are really suited to it.
Yes, forgot the athletes. Worse in America. Some five star football player gets an offer from, say, Alabama, has no interest (or ability) in academics, just sees it as a pathway to NFL millions. The university doesn't care much either. The saying is that some are just semi-pro teams with a university attached. With budgets in the hundreds of millions.
I'm saying law. Solely on the basis I got a 2:1 in law from a decent university, while having zero interest in the subject, doing very little work and as being thick as Kim Kardashian's arse.
Classical Civilisation should be ok. Read a few Penguin translations of the classics, a couple of long 1500 word essays, electives on Roman Cookery and Toga Fashion. Employers will probably assume you've done mods and greats at Oxon.
classics is another easy one to get into oxbridge on the basis that only private and grammar school kids study Latin and Greek. your pool of competition is essentially reduced by 85+ percent.
you have to be quite lazy not to scrape a 2:1 these days
either way, if you do us at Oxford, you get to spend the rest of your life going on about how you studied “Literae humaniores”
Is Classics at Oxford easy? It's made out to be a kind of Promethean ordeal reading all of Homer in a fortnight or something yet they all seem to fly through with Firsts. Brainy lot.
Is Classics at Oxford easy? It's made out to be a kind of Promethean ordeal reading all of Homer in a fortnight or something yet they all seem to fly through with Firsts. Brainy lot.
What Jamie said about PPE, yet still employers froth at the mouth with excitement when sifting grad applications. Those being honest will tell you the economics piece isn't even A Level standard.
Afew friends did it, and they all said it is easy as fook. My old man did at Pembroke College, Oxford and he described it as a degree which is a lot of fun . My former Doctoral supervisor mocked it ruthlessly , great degree if you want to be a politician, but useless for anything else.
Anyone got any idea why employers get a boner over that degree in particular?
@ alan , no wriggle room in maths though. An aquaintence of mine attended a ropey ish state school, without a 6th form. Excelled at Maths, got an A in pure and applied maths. Off he went to bristol, worked his arse off and got a 2;2. He said it was a whole different level. He realised he was good at maths down below because he worked at it, not because he was naturally gifted.
No amount of hardwork will get you a good 2;1 or a first in maths unless you have the aptitude for it.
Getting in to read classics isn't easy exactly - only the smarter boys did Greek A Level at school - but Jamie's right, the pool is tiny. Once you're in, though, it's a 4-year slog.
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Has it been possible to not get at least a 2:1 since the turn of the century?
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Depends what your strengths are.
Some find politics really difficult, and find math/science/engineering really easy.
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Business studies and similar.
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Imagine the types of people you'd find on a politics or philosophy course. All polemic and radical. I don't think I could bear it. Pub debates between the Corbynists and the neo-Thatcherites. Some nerd droning on about Karl Popper and the open society.
Sports science or geography is probably what you're after.
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Oi! My first degree is in politics...
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History.
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Law. As long as you can write a coherent essay, and remember the broad gist of the relevant Nutshells.
Probably need to memorise the Nutcases too, for the higher marks. But just need to scrape 60% right?
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heh at "heavy maths" in an undergrad politics degree. And what buzz said.
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History and English. Also the easiest to get firsts in those also.
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It's probably quite easy to get a 2:1 in transgender studies once you work out the examiners have been captured by Stonewall.
Essay questions:
- To what extent have transgender studies departments bene captured by Stonewall?
- Define 'Woman' using diagrams.
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Sociology
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has anyone done theology? They're all thick as, so assume there's a real risk that you don't write your name correctly so don't get the 2.1?
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easiest oxford degree - theology (no philosophy)
all private school kids and grammar school kids who are coached that this is an easy way in - 50% acceptance rate apparently
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Anything that isn't STEM. You should have to pay full international fees to do any of them as subsidising intellectually weak gimplords is why we have a shitty low-tech economy.
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Anything that you're good at. Or human geography.
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We had one kid in my school who got into Oxford doing French. Thing is, he was French, came over here age 11 or so, completely fluent. He kept on correcting the French teacher in O-level class, which was amusing.
That was his easiest way to get a first from Oxford.
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what degree did you do, Chambers? University of Life?
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Politics 2.1 here. It was the easiest three years of my life. First year didn't count. Second and third years were 3 or 4 1500-3000 word essays and 3 or 4 90 minute exams. Attendance wasn't compulsory. No compulsory essays throughout the year, everything happened in May. 8 contact hours a week but no one turned up to that many. I even picked my final year modules to get a 4 day weekend every week.
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Chambo I am sure he had an advantage in the first year or so, but surely French at degree level is basically a literature degree like English and fluency by time of finals is expected? Seems to me ludicrous that anybody can pass a degree in French literature without being fluent in French.
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Structural Engineering jellymonster. Not easy. Then a MBA, also not easy. Both at good universities where they have a little chat with people in the bottom 5% at the end of the first year and ask them whether they are really suited to it.
Anyway, I enjoyed them both.
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yes languages one also a massive cheat code for bilingual kids
it means acing 2 modules (so maybe 15%) of first year exams and a similar amount off finals
also reading the foreign literature was much faster for them
saw this with french/ german/ russian kids who went to UK private or boarding schools studying french/ german / russian at Oxford
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Jamie nails it with theology. And languages for those who already speak the language.
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Cambridge easiest degree - land economy, preserve of the international rowers and rugby players.
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History of art? For poshos who cant hack history.
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Yes, forgot the athletes. Worse in America. Some five star football player gets an offer from, say, Alabama, has no interest (or ability) in academics, just sees it as a pathway to NFL millions. The university doesn't care much either. The saying is that some are just semi-pro teams with a university attached. With budgets in the hundreds of millions.
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I'd love to do a masters in history of art tbh.
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I'm saying law. Solely on the basis I got a 2:1 in law from a decent university, while having zero interest in the subject, doing very little work and as being thick as Kim Kardashian's arse.
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heh Mrs Donny did theology...
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Classical Civilisation should be ok. Read a few Penguin translations of the classics, a couple of long 1500 word essays, electives on Roman Cookery and Toga Fashion. Employers will probably assume you've done mods and greats at Oxon.
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Land Economy always seemed like a gentleman's degree.
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"I'd love to do a masters in history of art tbh."
I also fancy this and looked into it. I discovered I would get just as much out of history of art books without having to write essays about it...
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classics is another easy one to get into oxbridge on the basis that only private and grammar school kids study Latin and Greek. your pool of competition is essentially reduced by 85+ percent.
you have to be quite lazy not to scrape a 2:1 these days
either way, if you do us at Oxford, you get to spend the rest of your life going on about how you studied “Literae humaniores”
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Or "greats". True bellends say "greats".
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People used to take the piss out of arch & anth studes. Purportedly cos it's easy but i suspect it was beacuse it was interesting.
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heh at wang. Spot on.
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also PPE at Oxford massively overrated
not many people know that after first year exams you dropone of the three so it is a joint honours not a triple degree
oh, and most people drop the economics, which does go someway towards explaining the economic illiteracy of many famous PPE graduates…
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Is Classics at Oxford easy? It's made out to be a kind of Promethean ordeal reading all of Homer in a fortnight or something yet they all seem to fly through with Firsts. Brainy lot.
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Open university
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Is Classics at Oxford easy? It's made out to be a kind of Promethean ordeal reading all of Homer in a fortnight or something yet they all seem to fly through with Firsts. Brainy lot.
mix of clever bods and grifters
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I'm no grifter:
I could have got myself a 2e offer if only I'd applied myself a bit harder chatting up that frowsty old battle-ax at St Anne's.
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What Jamie said about PPE, yet still employers froth at the mouth with excitement when sifting grad applications. Those being honest will tell you the economics piece isn't even A Level standard.
Afew friends did it, and they all said it is easy as fook. My old man did at Pembroke College, Oxford and he described it as a degree which is a lot of fun . My former Doctoral supervisor mocked it ruthlessly , great degree if you want to be a politician, but useless for anything else.
Anyone got any idea why employers get a boner over that degree in particular?
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At my university it was maths.
This was due to two factors:
1. It was widely recognised as being the best for a certain type of maths and do attracted lots of boffins; and
2. It was possible to load up modules so if you were a hard working semi boffin you could achieve a first by doing a lot of mediocre work.
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@ alan , no wriggle room in maths though. An aquaintence of mine attended a ropey ish state school, without a 6th form. Excelled at Maths, got an A in pure and applied maths. Off he went to bristol, worked his arse off and got a 2;2. He said it was a whole different level. He realised he was good at maths down below because he worked at it, not because he was naturally gifted.
No amount of hardwork will get you a good 2;1 or a first in maths unless you have the aptitude for it.
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Isn’t PPE a common degree for Rhodes scholars? When I applied I put down Theology. Didn’t make it past the first round. I am still bitter.
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Getting in to read classics isn't easy exactly - only the smarter boys did Greek A Level at school - but Jamie's right, the pool is tiny. Once you're in, though, it's a 4-year slog.
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tbh honest you don't go on about how you read literare humaniores. that just goes on the CV. you go on about how you read Greats.
anyway, back in the day you only needed EE to get in.
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TBF at some public schools all of the boys do Greek
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just ask my girlfriends
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Ho hair to ton torn to two tears too toe to toe.
Get off me you pig.
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