Student profile

Name: Eeshaan
Subject: Law
Hometown and region: Croydon, South London
Qualifications before university (A Levels, IB or equivalent): A* in Economics, Maths and Further Maths, A in History

When I’m not working, I enjoy…

Playing for one of the college sports teams. College sports is a more relaxed way to enjoy sports at Oxford, as it is still very competitive but doesn’t require the same amount of time and commitment as university level sport does. I play football for the college second team and captain the cricket team, and both have provided me with many enjoyable breaks from my academic work and some amazing memories. My main hobby is singing, and you can often find me performing around Oxford as part of the Oxford Commas, a student-run acapella group (follow us on Instagram!). I’ve loved every moment and made lots of close friends through it, but more importantly, having regular commitments through the group provided some much-needed structure to my weekly routine, which was especially important during my early weeks at Oxford.

What’s the best part of studying at Brasenose?

Although the view of the Radcliffe Camera from Brasenose Library is a close second, I love how close the students reading the same subject at Brasenose are with each other. The advantage of a medium sized college like Brasenose is that there will always be a couple of people doing your degree, but at the same time, you will get to know them all very well. This is obviously great in itself but also helps when there’s certain things within your subject that you find more challenging, as there will likely be someone else within your cohort who’s more comfortable with the topics and will be very willing to help you out.

Favourite spot in college?

A really rogue one but mine has to be Staircase 16. I lived there in my first year, and to be honest it wasn’t the most glamorous building in college so at first, I wasn’t too sure about living there. However, I quickly grew to love it as some of my closest friends were made there and some of my favourite memories took place in one of the other rooms in the staircase, apart from the incredibly friendly overall atmosphere. Whether it was movie nights in the room across from mine, hot chocolates in the room below, or playing cards in my room, I enjoyed every moment living there.

What’s your favourite aspect of your course?

I enjoy studying Law because of the variety of different modules you study. One week, you might be looking at the modern requirements for theft in English law as part of your Criminal Law module, while simultaneously reading about 2000-year-old law dealing with theft as part of your Roman Law module. Of course, this variety means that there will be certain modules that you enjoy more than others. However, many of the modules also focus on the relationship between that area of law and others you previously studied or those you will later study, and you often begin to spot similarities between different areas of law. The varied yet cohesive nature of the law makes it a far more interesting and enjoyable course.

What would you tell someone thinking about applying?

Apply!! The opportunity to live and study in such an amazing place is definitely not one to pass up. Often, it is deciding whether to apply that can be more stressful than the application process itself; this is especially true for a subject like Law where the entrance test is standardised for most universities. Don’t be put off by the interview either; think of it as a conversation with some of the world’s leading experts in your chosen subject. The tutors aren’t looking to catch you out by testing how much you know. They genuinely just want to see why you are interested in the subject that they also love and see how you think when faced with new information.

A quality you think is important for someone looking to study at Oxford?

Adaptability. This is an important trait for two reasons. First, the method of teaching at Oxford, with far fewer contact hours and more independence, is very different to the way you’ll have studied at school, especially if you do a humanities degree. Of course, you’re not expected to be comfortable with this immediately but the faster you can adapt to this, the easier the work will get. Furthermore, as study a module further, you often learn new things that may run contrary to what you previously knew. This can often occur in your tutorials, where your tutor will suddenly introduce a new bit of information or has a completely different opinion to your own. A willingness to occasionally adapt the way you think and attempt to engage with contrasting opinions will really help you develop a more complete understanding of what you study.