Colleges often run History societies for their students. Many have travel grants and prizes. Oxford historians undoubtedly work hard, writing at least one essay a week throughout their course. You would be expected to attend about five lectures per week during the first year, in addition to the regular meetings with tutors to discuss work. But you are very much in charge of your own timetable which means that if you are well organised you can easily fit in all the other activities for which Oxford historians are renowned.
Tutorials are meetings of usually two or three students with a tutor to discuss historical problems.
You will usually have prepared a piece of work, and part of the tutorial will be spent discussing the work of the members of the group. Tutorials are an opportunity for students to raise problems they have encountered in researching and writing their essays, to comment on each other's ideas, as well as to discuss the broader issues raised by the topic under consideration. Finals are taken at the end of the third year and assess work done in the second and third years. All students in the main school write an extended essay on Comparative History and Historiography. In addition you may substitute a thesis for one of the examination components, or you may write an additional thesis, knocking out your worst mark.