Freshers' Guide - Admin

College Communications

Mertonians know how to put a brave face on paperwork – do it in the garden, preferably combined with a game of croquet!

Unfortunately, there will be a rather bewildering bombardment of bureaucracy before you even get here. Accommodating and educating 300 undergraduates is no mean feat, and a number of forms need to be filled in, to prove to college that you're not going to run out of money or die of some exotic disease the moment you arrive. Fortunately, these days, a lot of this can be dealt with electronically, which makes things a bit easier to handle (not least because it cuts down the blizzard of paper). About halfway through August you should receive a mammoth letter from Vicky Lill, the college Academic Administrator. This should be your first port of call in terms of sorting out administration tasks, and contains a lot of useful information and instructions relating to matters such as accommodation, medical registration and finances. This email will contain two very important links, which are also reproduced here:

"WebLearn", a central database for information. WebLearn is large and complicated, and often arduous to navigate. It does, however, mean all the information you could possibly need is located in one place. Particularly recommended reading is the "To Do Checklist", which should hopefully make wading through all the information and administration less of a "to-do" (heh heh).

www.mertonjcr.org is, as the name suggests, the JCR website. Welcome! Here you will be able to access a hopefully more reader-friendly array of information about the college, generated by us generous souls in the JCR.

Getting through all the admin is complicated and time-consuming, but the college and JCR do make an effort each year to simplify things as much as possible. It goes without saying that every piece of bureaucracy is deemed necessary for the college to provide its incredibly high standard of care for students. With this in mind, you may just possibly be able to look on the form-filling as a labour of love. Just possibly, just a tiny bit. No? Oh, well, it was a good try. If you do have any serious concerns, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, whether via the JCR website’s Forum, Facebook or email.

And now, the bit you’ve all been waiting for... coming to Merton!

Actually Arriving – quite important, this bit

You need to arrive in Oxford by (at the latest) Monday 5th October. Directions are here.

The academic year is divided into three terms – Michaelmas (October – December), Hilary (January – March) and Trinity (April – June). Each term consists of 8 weeks, which are usually referred to as 1st – 8th Week. There is also a 0th Week at the beginning of each term during which you can return to Oxford early (and do the work you were meant to do over the vacation), and many exams at the end of the first year run into 9th Week. If you are ever unsure about term dates, the JCR website has a handy date converter, and the official dates of term are on the main University website.