| Page Views: 3,090 Last Visit to Oxford: - | OXFORD...IVY LEAGUE..EAT YOUR HEART OUT! by Michael_D - last update: Sep 3, 2008 |
Ive seen more than my share of fine universities. I went to Cornell, spent a summer at Harvard and took a class at Princeton while earning a graduate degree at Rutgers. I have also seen the likes of Stanford, Duke and many others.... its a hobby of mine to see great universities. At one time I would have told you that either Princeton or Cornell were the most beautifull universities in earth! That is,,,untill I saw OXFORD.
Situated on some 20,000 acres of the prime real estate straddling the Thames River but called the ISIS at this point of the rivers 200+ miles journey, OXFORD was founded by Alfred the Great but didnt actually confer degrees intill the 12th century. While academic comparisons would surely invite debate, its academic excellence has been unparalleled in history, even Oxfords most ardent opponents would have to at the very least agree that its reputation is known world-wide.
To me it is unparalleled in beauty
As for physical/aesthetic comparisons? Well, for example the IVY LEAGUE in the USA ,consists of 8 well known and beautifully appointed universities;
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Columbia
Dartmouth
Brown
Penn
Cornell
All of them are magnificent to look at and I have spent many hours wandering the grounds of all eight campuses.
Oxford University , on the other hand, contains within its confines almost four times that number....31!..THIRTY ONE colleges from Christ Church to Magdelin to Balliol to Brasenose to Keble et al. Each is a separate academic entity and maintains a separate identity with Oxford as well as a unique pride in its respective individual campuses. I for one was stultified at the sight of OXFORD and YES I know theres more to it than the University,,,just not to ME;-)
To me it seemed like Disneyland for intellectual and it overshadowed the city centre like David keeping out of the sun, while making plans for Goliath. To me the city basks in the warmth of the University's historically-fueled reputation....ok you got the point.
"To be sure, the UK has a class system
and having a PHD put me right where I wanted to be.
A better class of unemployed!(at first) untill I married and Oxford grad"(Oscar Wilde) |
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 Comments for Michael_D about Oxford | | | | |
Balam Thu Feb 28, 2008 14:29 UTC
Good page and nice photo's, Thanks for sharing them. | 36waterfalls Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:18 UTC
You put a smile on my face with the Warnings and Dangers Tip! ;-)) Good impression of Oxford, enjoyed the tour. | feline01 Mon Jul 8, 2002 21:40 UTC
Stultified-a truly Ivy League word! Loooveeely page. | matcrazy1 Mon Jun 10, 2002 14:33 UTC
FANTASTIC info! Thank you! |
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