I applied to Oxford because the physics course is so good here and being an overseas student it was an opportunity to broaden my horizons and enjoy new opportunities. I initially chose Merton, and got accepted but needed to defer and so reapplied to Exeter. I’m so glad I’m now here as it’s such an inclusive and welcoming community – especially as a member of the LGBTQ community – and everyone knows everyone as it’s a small college.
As an international student I luckily found adapting to England quite easy. My biggest tip would be to just be friendly to everyone; they want to make friends with you and those friends you make will also be the ones that will introduce you to more elements of the culture.
Living in College is amazing as everything is provided for you and it’s in such a central location, as well as having all your friends just around the corner.
The community at Exeter is small and very friendly. These may seem like really simple things but it makes such a difference as everyone knows one another. At some of the bigger colleges you can just be a face in the crowd, but that’s definitely not the case here.