I know Oxford and Cambridge have existed since at least the Middle Ages, as university students pop up in The Canterbury Tales and there seems to have existed a stereotype of students being licentious and generally immoral. But what was college life on a medieval campus like? What classes did students take? What did they do during the weekends? Was attending college in the Medieval period expensive?
Thanks!
Edit: Typo.
I can provide and answer to the latter item. The issue of cost was on the minds of medieval scholars; in fact part of the motivation in forming guilds was to keep students and faculty from being exploited by locals when it came to things like room and board. Instruction was free or cheap for destitute students, and in Paris, Bologna, Oxford, and other places the college system also provided free room and board so they could afford to be students.
Leslie B Domonkos, History of Higher Education, 1977
hi! there's lots of room for more contributions, but FYI there are some great threads on this subject in the FAQ* - check them out for previous responses
*see the link on the sidebar or the wiki tab