The Student Room Group

Which college should I apply for at Cambridge?

Hi I was wondering whether someone could help me decide which college to apply for at Cambridge.
I am hoping to study Spanish post A-level and ab intio Italian.
I looked round a few colleges on the open day but still haven't got the gut feeling yet.
I want to go to an older college, with the medieval bedrooms as I love the architecture. Also I want to go to one which is more traditional so has formals.
I am not deeply religious so I think a more relaxed laid back college would be more suited to me.
The size would have to be medium so I can get to know a lot of people but not trapped into one group.
I would consider myself quite a social person - I know all of the colleges will be very hard working, but I was wondering if one was particularly keen on holding events to balance with study time.
I am not particularly sporty however I do like to go to the gym and my other love is drama - I love to perform so a college that offers this opportunity would be very welcome.
Lastly, although location shouldn't matter to me desperately, it would be nice to be quite near the centre of town to be around the other colleges, and not have such a long journey to lectures.
Original post by lizziemay1
Hi I was wondering whether someone could help me decide which college to apply for at Cambridge.
I am hoping to study Spanish post A-level and ab intio Italian.
I looked round a few colleges on the open day but still haven't got the gut feeling yet.
I want to go to an older college, with the medieval bedrooms as I love the architecture. Also I want to go to one which is more traditional so has formals.
I am not deeply religious so I think a more relaxed laid back college would be more suited to me.
The size would have to be medium so I can get to know a lot of people but not trapped into one group.
I would consider myself quite a social person - I know all of the colleges will be very hard working, but I was wondering if one was particularly keen on holding events to balance with study time.
I am not particularly sporty however I do like to go to the gym and my other love is drama - I love to perform so a college that offers this opportunity would be very welcome.
Lastly, although location shouldn't matter to me desperately, it would be nice to be quite near the centre of town to be around the other colleges, and not have such a long journey to lectures.


Have you considered Peterhouse?

We're not medium sized, but we have everything else you're looking for! We have a theatre and a gym on site and formals every night if you want them. there is a chapel but absolutely no expectation that you will set foot in it if you don't want. The students organise plenty of events to relax and I don't think you'll be trapped in one group - with small Colleges the whole community is closer so you will easily get to know people in all the years, including the postgrads - you're certainly not limited to socialising within your year group! Peterhouse goes so far as to reward its students for participation in non-academic activities like sport, college or university societies, drama and comedy, music, student newspapers and politics and volunteering and helping with our outreach work.

A huge part of the social life in Cambridge happens between the Colleges as well - you can go to events at other Colleges and make friends across the university through your course or through your hobbies.

PM me if you would like to arrange a guided tour - same goes for anyone else who is thinking about College choice.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 2
Have a look at Pembroke, Sidney Sussex and Clare Colleges.
If you want closeness to lectures, Newnham is where it's at (and I am totally totally not biased at all, nope, not at all).

I would say Newnham offers most of what you're looking for minus being in the town centre and medieval rooms, but I really like not being in the centre and college is gorgeous. Definitely have a look at it - I never intended on applying there, but fell in love once I looked around. If you want to, drop an email to the admissions office and they'll be able to arrange for someone to take you around!

Also, our alternative prospectus is here - http://newnhamjcr.co.uk/applying-to-newnham/alternative-prospectus/ :biggrin:

But yeah, looking around colleges is the best way to decide imo, you don't really get a feel for it til you do.
Original post by Paralove
If you want closeness to lectures, Newnham is where it's at (and I am totally totally not biased at all, nope, not at all).

I would say Newnham offers most of what you're looking for minus being in the town centre and medieval rooms, but I really like not being in the centre and college is gorgeous. Definitely have a look at it - I never intended on applying there, but fell in love once I looked around. If you want to, drop an email to the admissions office and they'll be able to arrange for someone to take you around!

Also, our alternative prospectus is here - http://newnhamjcr.co.uk/applying-to-newnham/alternative-prospectus/ :biggrin:

But yeah, looking around colleges is the best way to decide imo, you don't really get a feel for it til you do.


You are the most persistent, serial plugger for your college I've seen in several years in this forum......:tongue:
Original post by vincrows
You are the most persistent, serial plugger for your college I've seen in several years in this forum......:tongue:


What can I say, I have a lot of Newnham love :tongue: I also think a lot of people do dismiss it though, friends from other colleges seem to be surprised at how lovely it is... Though ofc the all-female thing isn't for everyone.
Original post by Paralove
What can I say, I have a lot of Newnham love :tongue: I also think a lot of people do dismiss it though, friends from other colleges seem to be surprised at how lovely it is... Though ofc the all-female thing isn't for everyone.

I think all of us here have noticed that. :wink:
nice
Reply 8
Original post by Stacy93
Have a look at Pembroke, Sidney Sussex and Clare Colleges.


Don't forget to include St Catharine's!
Hello! I consider applying to an LLM at Cambridge University as an international student and I am sincerely confused regarding the choice of colleges. The main aspect which interest me are potential financial aids to be provided: maintenance aid, full scholarships, partial scholarships or anything in this respect.

So, which college do you believe is more prone to offer funding for a graduate international student enrolling in an LLM? Thanks for your time!
Original post by onwhitecanvas
Hello! I consider applying to an LLM at Cambridge University as an international student and I am sincerely confused regarding the choice of colleges. The main aspect which interest me are potential financial aids to be provided: maintenance aid, full scholarships, partial scholarships or anything in this respect.

So, which college do you believe is more prone to offer funding for a graduate international student enrolling in an LLM? Thanks for your time!

I really can't give you any definitive or objective answers, however if you're looking for anecdotal evidence then I've heard it said that if financial aid is what you're after then St Johns is the place to look.
I'm sure the other colleges would disagree with that, but St Johns is the richest college and has a reputation for attracting richer students so the theory goes that there is more left over for the rest. Probably just gossip!
Original post by onwhitecanvas
Hello! I consider applying to an LLM at Cambridge University as an international student and I am sincerely confused regarding the choice of colleges. The main aspect which interest me are potential financial aids to be provided: maintenance aid, full scholarships, partial scholarships or anything in this respect.

So, which college do you believe is more prone to offer funding for a graduate international student enrolling in an LLM? Thanks for your time!


The Colleges which tend to give the most to postgrads tend to be the most oversubscribed as a result.
Reply 12
Hi! I'm an international student from Russia currently studying Maths at the University of Exeter. I'm in the process of finishing my application for ISMM, so I was wondering if anyone could help me with college choices?

I don't know if colleges provide accommodation for all postgraduates, but I prefer spacious en-suites and I'm ready to pay more if needed. I also need a swimming pool nearby, possibly a gym, and some sort of music practice rooms or similar - my main hobby is the creation of electronic music and I don't want to disturb my neighbours. Don't really care about medieval architecture and that stuff, also I don't think I'll be comfortable with wearing gowns for dinner. Don't currently own a bike (or will I have to?), so 10-15 mins walking distance is a desirable limit. Also don't care about the size of the college, 50 or 300 are fine by me.

Any thoughts? Sorry if it's a wrong thread, haven't been on this forum for too long :smile:
Hi guys,
I'm looking for a Cambridge college too, and would really like some help to decide which college I should apply for.
I'd like to apply for the Undergrad Mathematics course for a 2017 application.
I would prefer to be in a college with old, medieval architecture, and with a good background in music as I have been playing the piano for 11 years.
I'm a international student too, so a college with financial aids for those types of students would be great.
It would be best if the college was in town center.
Thx a lot :smile:
Original post by juliebunny
Hi guys,
I'm looking for a Cambridge college too, and would really like some help to decide which college I should apply for.
I'd like to apply for the Undergrad Mathematics course for a 2017 application.
I would prefer to be in a college with old, medieval architecture, and with a good background in music as I have been playing the piano for 11 years.
I'm a international student too, so a college with financial aids for those types of students would be great.
It would be best if the college was in town center.
Thx a lot :smile:


One thing I think you should know is Cambridge is quite expensive uni to go for international students for undergrad study because of college fees you need to pay on top of standard international tuition fees and other charges.
And financial aids for international students are quite limited. There're some scholarships available but they're very limited and extremely competitive to get them. There're some financial support programmes aimed at students from certain countries (mostly the commonwealth countries) but other than that, there aren't many scholarships available to international students in general. (Most other academic awards and some grants are available for both home and international students)
So if you really need financial supports to study at Cambridge, your better bet is to look for it in your country too see if your government or other organisations would give you some financial support to their students to study abroad.

Have you read these already?

http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international-students/fees

http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/finance/financial-support
(edited 8 years ago)
Hey guysss first of all I’d like to state that I’m an international student and would like to read medicine at Cambridge. The admission statistics of medicine for my country is extremely terrible so there isn’t really much I can learn from thru talking to other people. Some of my basic info:
1. I got an SAT score of 1480 and a total of 24 in five AP science and math subjects.
2. I’m sitting a public exam called HKDSE, which is not quite renowed but is similar to IB next April. My predicted grade is like 46/49.
3. My BMAT score is 7.3, 7.1, and 4.5B.

I am looking for a college where the atmosphere is laid back since I know in order to read medicine well I would first to adjust my mind and not have so much stress. I don’t do any music or sports. I love nature and stuff, so lots of trees or having a campus located by the river would be awesome. And what’s more I don’t want to have lots of medics in my college and would prefer it more diverse in terms of nationalities because I rather enjoy myself in a cosmopolitan milieu.
The first thing that pops off my mind is King’s, but like it’s like 10 people competing for one place, which makes it seemingly challenging for an international student who is not even doing IB nor AL. Do you guys think I stand a chance?
And I am struggling between Sidney, Catz and Peterhouse. These three are some small colleges where there’s a strong sense of community, but I don’t know if they really suit me. Sidney definitely appeals to me since it even got a studentrun bar, but they put freshmen above the library which is a bit weird. And catz, catz is also great too. But its a bit small for its population and people say its a bit disappointing to live there. So finally peterhouse. Peterhouse is the only college I saw here in student room that keeps doing propaganda. I know they are rich and would priveem more grants for students but is the atmosphere suitable for me? Also is it really mediocre?
I’m open to any new suggestions! Thanks for getting finished with my inquiry!
Reply 16
Original post by CottonSeany
Hey guysss first of all I’d like to state that I’m an international student and would like to read medicine at Cambridge. The admission statistics of medicine for my country is extremely terrible so there isn’t really much I can learn from thru talking to other people. Some of my basic info:
1. I got an SAT score of 1480 and a total of 24 in five AP science and math subjects.
2. I’m sitting a public exam called HKDSE, which is not quite renowed but is similar to IB next April. My predicted grade is like 46/49.
3. My BMAT score is 7.3, 7.1, and 4.5B.

I am looking for a college where the atmosphere is laid back since I know in order to read medicine well I would first to adjust my mind and not have so much stress. I don’t do any music or sports. I love nature and stuff, so lots of trees or having a campus located by the river would be awesome. And what’s more I don’t want to have lots of medics in my college and would prefer it more diverse in terms of nationalities because I rather enjoy myself in a cosmopolitan milieu.
The first thing that pops off my mind is King’s, but like it’s like 10 people competing for one place, which makes it seemingly challenging for an international student who is not even doing IB nor AL. Do you guys think I stand a chance?
And I am struggling between Sidney, Catz and Peterhouse. These three are some small colleges where there’s a strong sense of community, but I don’t know if they really suit me. Sidney definitely appeals to me since it even got a studentrun bar, but they put freshmen above the library which is a bit weird. And catz, catz is also great too. But its a bit small for its population and people say its a bit disappointing to live there. So finally peterhouse. Peterhouse is the only college I saw here in student room that keeps doing propaganda. I know they are rich and would priveem more grants for students but is the atmosphere suitable for me? Also is it really mediocre?
I’m open to any new suggestions! Thanks for getting finished with my inquiry!


This is an old thread, and I see you've asked the same question elsewhere so I'm locking this thread.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Latest