Oxbridge Education- the "worth every penny "system

Oxbridge interviews, the season is back. Well, for international students outside EU that is. It is the time of the year when you just have to be "kiasu"! Kiasu a word which traces its origins in an overpopulated island country south of Malaysia, is a must during interviews. Your friends are your opponents, if they are better off, then you are worse off. It has fulfilled the conditions of Pareto optimality, it is now the Darwinian's survival of the fittest. It is a chance of a life time, proving yourself worthy to be in such elite institutions. But,Why do people want an Oxbridge education? It is not even in London, the city of sinners. Oxford and Cambridge are both less vibrant cities compared to the British metropolitan(although Oxford is much better than the other side). Hello, and its wi-fi system is so back dated, that my hometown Ipoh has better facilities!Thus, it is better to attend one of the big four London unis (LSE,Kings, Imperial, UCL), as they are located in such great modern city.If you are considering brand names, these four institutions are renowned throughout the world, even cooler than Oxford or Cambridge. One might argue, that the reason to choose Oxbridge over the rest is because, the marketability of the degrees. At least that was what I thought. And surprisingly, it is true. It is not because of the brand name of these institutions but it is the value of the education. Undoubtedly, an Oxbridge degree costs a bomb, it could be up to 60 pc more than other UK uni's fees for non-UK/EU students, but it is worth every penny. As you might have already known, Oxbridge both are based on the collegiate system. Thus, each college has its own strength, character and field specialty. I am fortunate enough to be in a college where it is medium sized, closed knitted and has arguably the best economics department in Oxford. In a college like Pembroke and other Oxbridge colleges, you get value for money education. We have 8 learning weeks in a term, and there are three terms in a year. I was shocked to be told on the first day that all students are expected to put in 40 hours a day of work during the weekdays. I thought my master was joking and just being a prick on the first day of term. It turned out that, it goes without saying, and that the system works by default. The education system is well designed to make you work a solid eight hours on normal days. It is your introduction to working life. It is like sitting for a class of Career 101!The lectures are just above average ( I have crashed into a lecture at King's which i found to be more interesting), but the teaching done at college is excellent. It is simply the best. The class work makes the students think on their feet, are forever feel inferior of their abilities. Your tutor or college lecturer will grill you in an intense 90-120 minutes on what you have read for the class. They make sure that the students are consistently studying, or not risk being humiliated in front of your peers. It is like a constant peer-review being conducted. And it is on a daily basis. If that is not intensive enough, the speed of teaching is just like a bullet train from Fukuoka to Tokyo. The tutors expect the students to read at least three chapters from three different books per class, and the pace that they are teaching is incredibly fast. However, one is not expected to comprehend everything. That is impossible. Students are only assessed after a six week break- the time used to fully understand what was taught during term time. A term in Oxford, is like two terms in other UK universities. And that is why it is worth every penny. Furthermore, Oxbridge are endowed with all the reading materials in the world. These are the unis where one can undergo a three year course without buying a single book. It is fantastic, every book is in abundance! The life one has here, will definitely enable their graduates from any discipline to get jobs anywhere in the world!It is why, considering its reassuringly expensive cost, the Oxbridge education is worth every drop of juice! Therefore, applicants must go on battle, to secure a seat in such august learning institutions. It is one point in life where kiasuism is endorsed and generally accepted! Fight for it, everyone has equal chance of getting in! Give it a try. It is indeed a different experience altogether. Plus you get to wear fancy dresses all year long! Gowns!!!! Good luck to the applicants and even if you could not get a place, it is worth the try! At least you would not live for the rest of your life feeling guilty, looking back asking-why didn't I apply?