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The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

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Original post by Faisalobeidat
Hello everyone,

I'm applying to Cambridge this fall and I have narrowed it down to two colleges : King's and Trinity.

I have decided to chose between these two simply because I like their respective locations in the city as well as the architecture and the general scenery of both colleges.

I am applying for the law course as an International student from Jordan, taking the French Baccalaureate and maintaining an average of 16.6/20. King's requires 14/20 and Trinity requires at least 16/20. However, King's only admits 4 or 5 students a year and Trinity admit 10 to 12 undergraduates.

Where do you guys think I have the better shot?


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Tbh, if you have met the grades for both, then it's essentially whether they like you at the interview so you may as well go with whichever one you like better. Numbers game isn't amazing as students tend to apply in proportion so in general, you'll fight off the same amount of people for the place.
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Avatar for DJkG.1
DJkG.1
17
Seriously that stuff about Trinity's student body being more conservative is really untrue - a lot are happy at this fact, a great many are also gravely disappointed!

I would say Trinity all the way, and for the number that Trinity admits, it's probably in your interest too. But choice of college isn't a scientific decision - there really is not that much in it.

Best of luck! :smile:
Original post by DJkG.1
Seriously that stuff about Trinity's student body being more conservative is really untrue - a lot are happy at this fact, a great many are also gravely disappointed!


Well, they're not ranting raving old-school Tories, they're still well educated and sensible people, but Trinity has a much larger right-leaning population than most colleges, and alongside Johns also are much more politically open with their conservatism.

Although obviously as with most colleges the majority of students these days have political views that scarcely stretch beyond total apathy, those who are political at Trinity and Johns are in the vast majority right-of-centre (as in absolute centre, not UK political centre which is itself several orders to the right of real centrist politics). As with all academic institutions they're socially liberal however, which is what really distinguishes them from the Conservatives.

Trinity and Johns do between them dominate CUCA.

Contrast with King's which has a fair number of genuine Marxists and where almost all of those who are actively political are very much left-of-centre.
I would choose Kings over Trinity any day based on vibe and the people I've met from those colleges but that's obviously highly subjective. Both of those are miles ahead of St Johns based on the same criteria though, Trinity is still a really nice college.
Original post by gethsemane342
Tbh, if you have met the grades for both, then it's essentially whether they like you at the interview so you may as well go with whichever one you like better. Numbers game isn't amazing as students tend to apply in proportion so in general, you'll fight off the same amount of people for the place.


But if I'd be fighting off more or less the same number of applicants, wouldn't King's be the wiser choice given the requirements?


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Original post by The Mr Z
Well, they're not ranting raving old-school Tories, they're still well educated and sensible people, but Trinity has a much larger right-leaning population than most colleges, and alongside Johns also are much more politically open with their conservatism.

Although obviously as with most colleges the majority of students these days have political views that scarcely stretch beyond total apathy, those who are political at Trinity and Johns are in the vast majority right-of-centre (as in absolute centre, not UK political centre which is itself several orders to the right of real centrist politics). As with all academic institutions they're socially liberal however, which is what really distinguishes them from the Conservatives.

Trinity and Johns do between them dominate CUCA.

Contrast with King's which has a fair number of genuine Marxists and where almost all of those who are actively political are very much left-of-centre.


I just wanted to ask whether the political views of a college, or rather its majority really affect your life socially at said college. What would be the consequences or repercussions, if any, should I (as a liberal) find myself in a conservative environment such as Trinity's? Do school policies vary in respect with their political tendencies?


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Original post by Faisalobeidat
But if I'd be fighting off more or less the same number of applicants, wouldn't King's be the wiser choice given the requirements?

Chances are you'll be fighting off more or less the same number of applicants for a particular place. So if King's admits 5 there might be 30 applicants whereas if Trinity admits 10 there might be 60 applicants (numbers arbitrarily chosen, you can check recent figures relating to this on the Cambridge University website).
Original post by Faisalobeidat
I just wanted to ask whether the political views of a college, or rather its majority really affect your life socially at said college. What would be the consequences or repercussions, if any, should I (as a liberal) find myself in a conservative environment such as Trinity's? Do school policies vary in respect with their political tendencies?


Well a few things. The views of the students often to some extent mirror the views of the college - you'll find trinity to be a generally more authoritarian and stubborn institution, certainly more heavily set in traditional ways, than the likes of Kings. (kings doesn't do gowns at hall, trinity forces you to buy college wine or pay corkage However the difference isn't that dramatic and the less political colleges also vary in this respect.

As a Liberal you're in not too bad a position as most of Cambridge is socially liberal, being an academic institution you'll struggle to find people of a more authoritarian disposition (they exist, but very much only on the fringes)

However I suspect that given as you describe yourself as a Liberal you're probably also left-leaning on economic and related policy.

The effect is going to be mostly determined by
1) how much you associate yourselves with the more political as opposed to the more apathetic people at your college,
2) How much you're going to fight/debate them even when it's an uphill loosing battle
3) how much you're going to get out of college and spend time at places like the Union Society, Wilberforce Society and Cambridge Liberal/Labour groups.

I personally find that, despite being a liberal of the socialist variety myself, some of my best friends out of college are CUCA members. We jest about it, and every so often we have a bit of an argument over it, but at the end of the day that doesn't change the mutual respect and friendship we have.

However my friends in college are certainly all of a more liberal persuasion. I don't know if it'd be so great being the lone liberal. But don't forget that most people are simply apathetic in whichever college.

It may have an affect, but it needn't be the be all and end all of your decision, and its certainly an affect you can mitigate.
Original post by Faisalobeidat
But if I'd be fighting off more or less the same number of applicants, wouldn't King's be the wiser choice given the requirements?


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Given you meet the requirements for both colleges, why worry? I didn't meet the average student requirements for any college, picked one randomly and nothing bad happened.
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soempty
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I came to a thought that i will be either applying to st Johns or making an open application. Can someone tell me what St Johns is like?
Original post by soempty
I came to a thought that i will be either applying to st Johns or making an open application. Can someone tell me what St Johns is like?


Lots of people wearing red trousers.
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soempty
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Original post by BigFudamental
Lots of people wearing red trousers.


Seems to be a very weird comment. What this supposed to mean?
Original post by soempty
Seems to be a very weird comment. What this supposed to mean?


Not weird at all. John's sports teams wear red.
Original post by soempty
Seems to be a very weird comment. What this supposed to mean?


In order of probability (judged by the number of posts), you're a toff, hipster or lunatic. See here.
Original post by ukdragon37
Not weird at all. John's sports teams wear red.


Well that, and what Tortious said.
Out of Corpus Christi, Girton and Trinity Hall, what would you give(1-5) for the May Ball (1-5)? (Don't drink alcohol)
Which has an college out of the three again would you say has the most active society?

Thanks!
Original post by Lightingspeed
Out of Corpus Christi, Girton and Trinity Hall, what would you give(1-5) for the May Ball (1-5)? (Don't drink alcohol)
Which has an college out of the three again would you say has the most active society?

Thanks!


I wouldn't let the quality of the events sway you since they're open to all members of the University (although tickets tend to be released to that college's members a little earlier). I haven't attended any of the three you mention, but I've heard good things about the Tit Hall June Event. :yep:

I can't really comment on what the colleges are like because I haven't spent enough time at Corpus/Girton to know. :erm:
Hey, I'd like to apply for NatSci, and I've managed to shorten my list to three colleges: Clare, Trinity Hall and Queen's.

Any advice on which to choose? Thanks :smile:
Original post by Tortious

I can't really comment on what the colleges are like because I haven't spent enough time at Corpus/Girton to know. :erm:


thanks
Original post by Audrey...
Hey, I'd like to apply for NatSci, and I've managed to shorten my list to three colleges: Clare, Trinity Hall and Queen's.

Any advice on which to choose? Thanks :smile:


probably just comes down to personal preference really... Have a read at their websites etc.

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