Downing College (Cambridge) Students and Applicants

Wow. That's long. Thank you very much!

Are there ANY small patches of grass with trees that you can walk on at all?

No worries, I like food too. In fact, one of the main reasons why I like Downing is because I read somewhere that it had a Michelin-starred chef. Is this true?

How's the library like?

Is Downing in the middle of town? I'm a bit worried about the noise level cause I get rather grumpy when it's noisy. Which are the colleges in the middle of town anyway?

And is it possible to stay in college over holidays?

I'm unable to make the open days at Downing, but am going to the open days at Emmanuel/Christs so am only able to really look at the outside of downing, does anyone have any images of the rooms for first years at downing because whilst ive heard theyre good i would like to see them so I can compare them to other colleges!
Thanks

How far is Downing from labs and science lectures (for Phys Natsci)?

You can stay in college over the holidays! You might have to change the room you stay in from your usual one, and you have to get permission from your tutor or DOS or something (and I think you pay 10% extra per week than you usually would), but loads of people I know do so and never have any trouble. It's a little easier for 2nd/3rd year if you're staying on Lensfield or certain other rooms in college which aren't used for conferences during the holidays, because you can select a 39-week contract (which covers Christmas and Easter holidays) rather than the usual 30 week one. As long as you have sufficient reason for needing a room during the holidays, college seem to be pretty good about finding one for you.

How far is Downing from labs and science lectures (for Phys Natsci)?

Hey, I'm starting at Downing in October. Judging by this you have to clear out your room in the holidays and so is there any storage space available?

Yeah, I was mostly right. Message below is from my phys natsci friend.

"We are right next to lectures, they're all either on the New Museum site or on Lensfield road, depending on what options you take. Practicals are all close except Physics (and CompSci) which are out at the Cavendish, and for Physics you only have to go once a fortnight so it's really not that bad."

Great, thanks

Would it be possible for you to ask your friend what the maths test at interview is like for Downing?

There's quite a lot of variation so it's difficult to show you the full range. Here is a picture of my room in first year and the view out the window! You can view a couple more images of rooms on the Conferencing website here, but bear in mind they're showing the best rooms available at their best standard. Downing first year accommodation is seriously good though, so you won't be disappointed no matter where you are.

*cough*

When I did it, the maths test was based on only C1-C4 stuff. We were given half an hour to do it, but there were far too many questions (might've taken 2 hours to finish everything, I think), so it was an "answer what you know" type of thing.

I'd only done C1 and C2 at this point, so I skipped anything I didn't know, like differentiating and integrating trig functions, for example. The questions are just A level standard and I think the idea is to just check you can do basic maths so it doesn't have to be covered in the interviews.

Thanks a lot! Do you mind me asking what price band your room is in? Looks very high standard compared to other university's accommodation I've seen

Yup! Alongside the huge paddock, you can walk on Howard Court and Kenny Court, but they're both pretty small. People often work outside there when the weather's nice.

I think it is yeah! The guy's restaurant before he took up the job at Downing was awarded a Michelin Star.

The library building is really nice, although it can get a bit mental during exam term when everyone is trying to grab a space. I don't tend to work there myself.

Downing isn't in the centre of town. It's a little bit outside (10 minutes walk), which is perfect IMO. I can't imagine noise being an issue (the only exception would be for rooms in the Lensfield Houses which face the road, but first years don't get these). All the college rooms are offset enough from Regent Street that you'd never hear anything. It's actually really quiet in college. Looking at this map, I guess the more central colleges are Gonville and Caius, Sidney Sussex, Trinity, Kings etc, but Cambridge is really small, so you're never too far from anywhere.

You can stay in college over the holidays! You might have to change the room you stay in from your usual one, and you have to get permission from your tutor or DOS or something (and I think you pay 10% extra per week than you usually would), but loads of people I know do so and never have any trouble. It's a little easier for 2nd/3rd year if you're staying on Lensfield or certain other rooms in college which aren't used for conferences during the holidays, because you can select a 39-week contract (which covers Christmas and Easter holidays) rather than the usual 30 week one. As long as you have sufficient reason for needing a room during the holidays, college seem to be pretty good about finding one for you.


There's quite a lot of variation so it's difficult to show you the full range. Here is a picture of my room in first year and the view out the window! You can view a couple more images of rooms on the Conferencing website here, but bear in mind they're showing the best rooms available at their best standard. Downing first year accommodation is seriously good though, so you won't be disappointed no matter where you are.

*cough*

When I did it, the maths test was based on only C1-C4 stuff. We were given half an hour to do it, but there were far too many questions (might've taken 2 hours to finish everything, I think), so it was an "answer what you know" type of thing.

I'd only done C1 and C2 at this point, so I skipped anything I didn't know, like differentiating and integrating trig functions, for example. The questions are just A level standard and I think the idea is to just check you can do basic maths so it doesn't have to be covered in the interviews.

Thanks!

By the way, I've seen hotel rooms that looked way worse than yours. Is it usually THAT dark? And do ensuite rooms normally come with a bathtub or a shower, or both?

According to the map, there's a cinema next to Downing!

In your opinion, would it be rather hard for somebody to get accepted to Downing for medicine? Especially if that somebody (i.e. me) was an international student? Are there even any in your year?

Oh man, so have I haha. I got a nice (and pretty big) room, but some of the Fresher accommodation is, like, really nice. It does look quite dark in the picture, but it wasn't too bad. That room was positioned a little awkwardly with its windows and the buildings surrounding it, when tended to block a lot of light. Ensuite rooms will always come with a shower, although there are a lucky few who get baths as well.

Yeah, the Arts Picturehouse is right next to Downing.

Because of the university-wide limit on the number of international students offered a place for Medicine, it's always going to be tough. For information on the number of allocated offers for international students for the different colleges etc, click here.. Any other specific questions about that sort of thing are best directed towards the Admissions Office (details for them and others here).

Hello, i intend to apply for mathematics at downing. However, i am scared because someone fom downing told me that interview for mathematics at downing has so many applied question which i am not good at. I wonder whether their interview concentrate on applied mathematics more than on pure maths?

Thank you!
So are there 2 maths interviews? One for applied math and one for pure maths? Thank u for your answer

Anyone else applying to Downing for Engineering?

Does anyone know an Austrian at the college or university?