To-Do in your First Few Weeks

• Pick up your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).

  • We will give you time to do this during WEPO orientation, but you must do it within 10 days of your arrival to the UK. You must have your BRP in order to collect your student ID card.

• Register at your GP's office if you haven't already.

  • You can register for the 19 Beaumont St. GP office here. When you register, please be sure you select 'Williams College' from the college list, as this will match you to the correct address in Oxford.

• Open a UK bank account. You will need the following:

  • Your passport and BRP

  • 'Enrolment certificate' provided by Oxford University once you've finished your registration. The Exeter admissions team will give you a copy when you pick up your student ID card, but you can print this document from the Student Self Service portal once you've completed your registration (ie. once you've picked up your student ID card).

• Get a UK SIM card or phone. (optional, but recommended)

  • Many students opt to get local SIM cards whilst in Oxford. This will be very helpful to you, as it will provide you with a local phone number- you’ll likely need this for your local banking, contacting local friends, calling taxis, emergencies, etc. You can order a SIM card in advance of your arrival if you’d like, so that you’ll have it right away once you get to EWH. Below are many of the local phone companies that you can choose from. They should all offer ‘pay as you go’ SIM cards, and many include enough data for you to use it whenever you’re not connected to Wi-Fi.

    • Giff Gaff

    • VOXI

    • Vodafone

    • EE

    • Three

    • Smarty- this is a refer-a-friend link that should get you a gift card to Amazon UK, Uber or John Lewis if you use it to register.

  • Note that your phone must be unlocked for you to put a SIM card in it from another carrier. If your phone is not unlocked, you can look into using international calling on your current plan, or getting a cheap phone to use with a UK SIM card for the year here. We do recommend finding a way to get a local number, as you’ll need it for some things like MFA with your banking app, contacting local friends, etc. 

  • If your phone only accepts an eSim, you can order these from some of the above providers including Giff Gaff, Vodafone, EE, and Three.

  • If you’re going to have any mail sent to EWH, including your SIM card, please be sure you use the following mailing address (no matter which building you’re living in). You shouldn’t have any mail sent to 2 or 4 Lathbury Road.

[Your Name]

145 Banbury Road

Oxford, OX2 7AN

United Kingdom

• Explore Oxford!

  • We'll post a weekly 'What's On' schedule here with our suggestions on things to see and do during term time.

  • Use websites like Independent Oxford or Discover Oxfordshire to learn about things to see and do throughout the year.

  • You'll find most Oxford University societies and clubs use Facebook to advertise events and organize groups. For this reason, we encourage you to search for and join the Facebook groups you're interested in to see a current list of events. This is the Exeter College JCR page from the last academic year, the 2024-25 should soon be available. Follow @exetercollegeoxfordfreshers24 on Instagram for updates about the upcoming Freshers Week activities.