The city of Oxford itself provides a plethora of cultural and historical attractions and activities for the aspiring student. The rich environment of the university population has nurtured the arts in many forms, from plays to museums to music to art and more. All of these cultural treasures are set against the backdrop of Oxford's inspiring architecture and redolent in the history that can be seen and experienced throughout the town.
However, at the same time students should not plan to float along on the wonders of intellectual fervor for the entirety of their time in Oxford. It is also a busy, sophisticated town with much to offer in the way of shopping, restaurants, and trendy hot spots. Oxford can also boast an impressive array of science, technology, and business centers. Once again a legacy of the university, Oxford tends to draw and keep some of the best and brightest and the business culture there expresses that as much as the arts.
With all it has to offer, it is hardly surprising that Oxford has drawn the crème de la crème of world leaders, thinkers, writers, etc. for generations. Their legacy is indelible. Many famous people found their inspiration at Oxford and some of the well-known graduates include: Desiderius Erasmus, John Donne, William Penn, Oscar Wilde, J. R. R. Tolkein, Senator J. W. Fulbright, Theodeor Seuss Geisel, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and Tim Berners Lee (inventor of the World Wide Web). And that is just a sampling of some of the fine scholars and influential people that have spent time soaking up the Oxford atmosphere. More recently, multitudes of people have been inspired by the 'magic' of Oxford as it appeared as part of the setting in the extremely popular Harry Potter films.
With all these benefits, the greatest strength of Oxford truly exists in the gathering of people who are earnest about their studies. Learning and development rarely work well in a box. The lasting benefit that Oxford endows upon its students is the chance to discuss, to grow and to learn in a place that praises all of those things. Oxford readies people to take that spirit of intellectual curiosity and that love of learning out into the larger education community and from there to the myriad of fields in both academia and business that can greatly benefit from innovative yet historically sensitive learning.
