What do you want to know about Cambridge?

How difficult is it to get into the Footlights?

Sell it to me too

Please I'm trying to keep my options open right now I'm heading for Kings instead

Emma is super relaxed about rules-a lot of colleges don't let you walk on grass! But the only patch we are kept off is in the front court which they want to keep looking perfect.

We have a pond, and we have ducks, and in summer it looks brilliant. We also get use the swimming pool in summer, and the college organises welfare events in exam term to help with exam stress-this tuesday, we will have a bouncy castly on the paddock, which is the area of grass by our pond!!

We have table tennis and squash courts, we are one of the closest colleges to a Sainsburys (I think there's another small college which is opposite the central one, but ours is a 2 minute walk from the front).

The accommodation is great and as large as any of the richer colleges (although we're still in the top few in terms of wealth). It's also cheap - about £80 pounds a week for the best fresher rooms you can get. In the last 10 years we've been ranked the top academic college on average by the Tompkin's table, but people here are still fun and chilled.

There's no culture of stereotypical "high-class" people applying here because it's not a huge name - you do get some arrogant people at the bigger colleges - and there's a huge mixture of overseas students, ethnicities - everyone is represented. Emma is hugely into access.

I will add some more or answer questions if you like, I need to go learn more biochemistry and anatomy! :P

Dear me, where do I start?

Well, I think the main thing I'd say about Pembroke is that it's traditional, but not stuffy. It's the third oldest college (founded in 1347) and has formal every night, but you can attend as many or as few dinners as you like.

It's also got a reputation for good the best food/brunch - as a case in point, here's our chef's food blog. Everything on there labelled "buttery menu" is what we eat in the canteen, and the formal menus are on there too. An average meal is around £4-£6 depending on the number of sides/desserts etc., but you certainly won't go hungry!

The college is officially "medium-sized" and has around 400 undergrads, but to be honest, it feels more cosy (but not small!) because it's got so many courts. All freshers live in college, and you can generally live in for at least another year, if not all three years. I think the ballot system for choosing accommodation is pretty fair: I was fourth last out of the 150 in our year to choose, and I still got a damn good room. As with Emma, I'd say Pembroke's known as having a friendly and laid-back atmosphere; I've never been asked what kind of school I attended (who cares? ) and I can honestly say that there isn't a single person I've met who I haven't been able to get on with.

Another significant advantage is that the college has a good location, without being on the tourist trail. The Sidgwick Site is only 10 minutes away, and both Sainsbury's supermarkets are within 10-15 minutes (depending on how quickly you walk ).

We also have the oldest bowling green in Europe ( ) and one lawn on which we're allowed to play croquet, but other than that we're not supposed to sit on the grass; I can't say it bothers me, though - and Parker's Piece and Christ's Pieces are pretty close if you need some open space. Our bar is fairly typical of most Cambridge colleges (NB: anecdotal) in terms of the price - a pint is generally between £2.30 and £2.70.

Anyway, I hope this helps - feel free to ask if you've got any other questions!

Emma is super relaxed about rules-a lot of colleges don't let you walk on grass! But the only patch we are kept off is in the front court which they want to keep looking perfect.

We have a pond, and we have ducks, and in summer it looks brilliant. We also get use the swimming pool in summer, and the college organises welfare events in exam term to help with exam stress-this tuesday, we will have a bouncy castly on the paddock, which is the area of grass by our pond!!

We have table tennis and squash courts, we are one of the closest colleges to a Sainsburys (I think there's another small college which is opposite the central one, but ours is a 2 minute walk from the front).

The accommodation is great and as large as any of the richer colleges (although we're still in the top few in terms of wealth). It's also cheap - about £80 pounds a week for the best fresher rooms you can get. In the last 10 years we've been ranked the top academic college on average by the Tompkin's table, but people here are still fun and chilled.

There's no culture of stereotypical "high-class" people applying here because it's not a huge name - you do get some arrogant people at the bigger colleges - and there's a huge mixture of overseas students, ethnicities - everyone is represented. Emma is hugely into access.

I will add some more or answer questions if you like, I need to go learn more biochemistry and anatomy! :P

Thanks! In your opinion, what sets Pembroke over Emma in terms of well, anything? And vice versa.

chicken, apply to king's! i'm going there... (hopefully...!) what more selling do you need?! also, this time next year you'll really appreciate having a lower IB offer and not having to stress out as much as you would have to if you had a ridiculous offer like 42 with 777!

This has made me even more excited/motivated for STEP It's all stuff I already knew really but it just all seems to positive!

Oh and I was hoping to ask you something - I haven't got a straight answer out of anybody for this - how does Basketball work at Cambridge? Does each College have its own team? If so, does Emmanuel have a team/courts?

Thank you!

Are you a medic then? Isn't it superlatively difficult to get into Emma for medicine?



Thanks! In your opinion, what sets Pembroke over Emma in terms of well, anything? And vice versa.

It's also got a reputation for good the best food/brunch - as a case in point, here's our chef's food blog. Everything on there labelled "buttery menu" is what we eat in the canteen, and the formal menus are on there too. An average meal is around £4-£6 depending on the number of sides/desserts etc., but you certainly won't go hungry!
Our bar is fairly typical of most Cambridge colleges (NB: anecdotal) in terms of the price - a pint is generally between £2.30 and £2.70.

That's what the boys call themselves when they swap* - the girls are the "Pem-birds".

*Not to be confused with the Idlers, which is the official drinking society. Apparently they're banned from EVERYWHERE in Cambridge, so at the last place they booked, they said they were from Girton!

It's standard procedure to tell the Mahal/Curry King etc you're not the college you really are. Girton are almost certainly more messy than the Idlers so pretending to be Girton from that point of view makes no sense. The Mahal know full well you're not who you say you are and don't care, it's more from a point of view of the college being able to deny responsibility.

Pembroke know full well about the Idlers. My mate who was president used to get emails from the college when stuff happened, cause it always gets blamed on them. I remember kinda destroying your JCR a few years ago in a sports team social which got blamed on the Idlers

Mine was 41 with 777

(and my Maths exams were not great, so I'm a bit distraught...)

I honestly feel so sorry for people that need a 7 in HL maths, it's like universities just don't realise how challenging it is! Well all of my friends that do HL maths say the papers were really difficult too, if it's a difficult year I'm sure the grade boundaries will be lowered? Don't give up hope, and good luck! Just 52 days left until results day...

I don't really know, to be honest - I always planned to apply to Pembroke because I'd had a good experience on the Law Conference (and our DoS is amazing!), although I had a last-minute wobble and considered Downing. I never really looked into Emma, but from what I know of it now (and what I saw in the prospectus) I think I'd still have been very happy if I'd been pooled there.

From what I've heard, the only two things Emma has going for it that Pembroke doesn't are ducks () and free dry cleaning!

(As an aside, do you pay KFC at Robinson? How much is it? I looked at your "Residence Charge" stuff here and couldn't work it out.)

Have no idea what you mean by KFC. Our residence charge is an all in one with no extras for canteen etc.

Kitchen Fixed Charge.

The way it works at Pembroke is you pay for your room (about £100 per week for mine), then £17 for all of your utilities. The KFC is about £180 per term and covers upkeep of the gyps - you can't opt out, but you get 35% off the "standard" food price in the canteen.

Yours still sounds cheaper.

I'm paying £1360 a term for my room. Certainly doesn't feel that cheap!

I'm paying £1360 a term for my room. Certainly doesn't feel that cheap!