To an incoming graduate

This is portions of an e-mail I just wrote to a guy from my undergraduate Uni who is coming up to Oxford for graduate studies this year. Having put all the effort into writing it, I thought I'd toss my ill-begotten advice up here for the masses, lest there be others who it might help....

...St. Hugh's, though certainly a bit of a walk, is really quite pleasant - because it's out of the centre of town, there's lots of space - good picnic and croquet lawns and I think there are on-site tennis courts and such. And the cycle ride into town isn't so bad; I think all of the roads are small or have cycle lanes - and it's all down hill into town if you're in a hurry. If you're living in their graduate annexe on South Parade, you're really right in the midst of Summertown, which is quite nice - lots of nifty little restaurants and cafés and such - and there are two good grocery stores nearby.

And speaking of bicycles and such - www.boso.co.uk is sort of like Oxford's eBay; there's all sorts of junk on it - except you meet up with people in person to exchange stuff, which is rather nicer than risking eBay. I've found that you can also offer people less than they're asking for stuff. But failing that, or if you're looking for something nicer, there are tons of bike shops around. Legend has it Oxford has the highest per-capita bicycle usage in Europe and the Western Hemisphere...

And I suppose my best advice for Oxford would be to be patient and ask lots of questions. We had it so so so good at [lovely undergrad uni]. With the possible exception of ResLife, [lovely undergrad uni] really is a fantastically run, well organised, coherent organisation. At Oxford, you're lucky if the left hand knows that the right hand exists, let alone what it is doing as it's all massively decentralised. Almost all information for students seems to be passed along by word of mouth. Whereas at [lovely undergrad uni] they'd give you a nice stack of paper outlining all you need to know, you won't at Oxford. So make friends with everyone and meet for coffee or drinks with people on your course as much as possible to hear what they've heard - love your departmental secretary and department's graduate secretary and make sure they love you. The Bodleian will also make you have the fondest of reminiscences of [library at lovely undergrad uni]. Be patient with it...

Go and try to sort out a bank account first thing - like the day you arrive if you can - certainly before the undergraduates arrive. You'll have to schedule an appointment in person but the waits can stretch into November if you don't get in quick...