The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

I'd go for King's- because that is where Bert Vaux is based- and he is an amazing guy
you would come across him anyway, because he is the head of linguistics, but if you were at king's you'd have closer contact with him (and that is always a good way to get more say on supervisions ect)
plus it would be a short walk to his weekly linguistic parties (which sounds horrendously geeky, but its actually the only 'geeky' thing I'm prepared to do in Cambridge- he often gets linguistics professors in from other unis around the world to give little talks..

otherwise- I don't think there would be much difference
I think you should make the decision about which college to go for based on the social life instead- that will make a lot more difference..

and yeah- Cambridge is good for linguistics- but don't worry, linguistics is a very nice thing to study anywhere- its small and for some reason always seems to attract warm, liberal-minded people

Reply 1781

Supergrunch

10

As others have said, it doesn't make much difference which college you go to, as all lectures and supervisions and so on are assigned centrally by the linguistics department. All college choice affects is who your director of studies is, which isn't all that important, so it's probably better to choose college based on other considerations. And Bert is the undergraduate coordinator rather than the head of department, but you'll definitely have contact with him, especially if you do anything to do with phonology, morphology, or historical linguistics and/or go to his parties (which are fun).

Reply 1782

londonlawguy

TypeNameHere

I've looked through the colleges and my favourites are King's, Churchill, Emma and Robinson. Which of those would you recommend for Computer Science which would be closest to the following criteria that I'm looking for:

-Can easily get an ensuite bathroom all three years (the most important criterion...I know people say ensuites are overrated but I have my personal reasons :P)
-Good food with a variety of options (I'm picky and don't eat pork)
-Small to medium sized
-Walking to classes as a reasonable option, as I'm not comfortable on a bike

I'll be an international student, if that changes anything.

Ok, now I'm curious.

Webbed feet? All-over body hair??

Reply 1783

kaosu_souzousha

15

Salutations TSR folks,
If there will be an empty spot in my ucas I will want to give Cambridge a shot. The problem is there are 29 colleges in cambridge and I have no bloody idea which one to pick? If anyone can suggest any for engineering I will really appreciate it.

Reply 1784

dd4483

11

I heard Christ's is good for Chemical Engineering, not sure about just engineering though.

I don't think it matters so much, since the majority of your teaching will be with the faculty, not the college.

I suppose you could always contact the faculty and ask them.

Reply 1785

+ polarity -

21

The one next to the river

Reply 1786

thefish_uk

14

It's one of the bigger courses so I'm pretty sure all colleges offer it (and this is what the department will likely say if you contact them). All teaching except for first and second year supervisions is organised by the department, so college choice won't make that much difference.

Though if you're feeling really keen you could look into the interests of the Fellows at different colleges. I say this because it makes your first and second year supervisions easier if your college has Fellows in a variety of engineering areas. My college was sorted for good Mechanical, Thermodynamics, Materials, Electronics and Information supervisors but didn't have a Fellow doing Structures so we ended up with a variety of random PhD students they could find who were no good (who, bizarrely, were nothing to do with the college and nothing to do with Civil or Structural). Though I know they've since appointed a Fellow who's into Geotechnics so hopefully this fixed it!

(Though worth noting that just because your college has a Fellow doesn't necessarily mean they do first/second year supervisions!)

Apart from this I'd just recommend looking through the general college choosing advice (e.g. the "Which College?" thread) already on TSR.

Oh, and as far as geography goes - the closest colleges are probably Peterhouse and Pembroke.

Reply 1787

Banburyhammer

1

Seriously, if you want to go for Cambridge, the college itself is irrelevant. Most of your teaching will be done by the faculty, and at degree level, I doubt who takes your tutorials makes much of a difference. Pick the college on the grounds of where youd most like to live. Or alternatively just submit an open application, and youll be allocated to a college at random.

Reply 1788

kaosu_souzousha

15

+ polarity -

The one next to the river

to dump toxic waste after some engineering failure :biggrin:

Reply 1789

Zoedotdot

18

TypeNameHere

I've looked through the colleges and my favourites are King's, Churchill, Emma and Robinson. Which of those would you recommend for Computer Science which would be closest to the following criteria that I'm looking for:

-Can easily get an ensuite bathroom all three years (the most important criterion...I know people say ensuites are overrated but I have my personal reasons :P)
-Good food with a variety of options (I'm picky and don't eat pork)
-Small to medium sized
-Walking to classes as a reasonable option, as I'm not comfortable on a bike

I'll be an international student, if that changes anything.

I would say you should cut Emma off that list. There are only a few ensuite rooms available and they usually go to third years. If you have a diagnosed medical reason for needing an en suite you may be able to get one, but you wouldn't be living with your year group. The other criteria are all met (or so I believe, I'm assuming the Compsci lectures are close by), but if the ensuite is a big deal I'd just strike it off.

Reply 1790

Elementric

10

thefish_uk

It's one of the bigger courses so I'm pretty sure all colleges offer it (and this is what the department will likely say if you contact them). All teaching except for first and second year supervisions is organised by the department, so college choice won't make that much difference.

Though if you're feeling really keen you could look into the interests of the Fellows at different colleges. I say this because it makes your first and second year supervisions easier if your college has Fellows in a variety of engineering areas. My college was sorted for good Mechanical, Thermodynamics, Materials, Electronics and Information supervisors but didn't have a Fellow doing Structures so we ended up with a variety of random PhD students they could find who were no good (who, bizarrely, were nothing to do with the college and nothing to do with Civil or Structural). Though I know they've since appointed a Fellow who's into Geotechnics so hopefully this fixed it!

(Though worth noting that just because your college has a Fellow doesn't necessarily mean they do first/second year supervisions!)

Apart from this I'd just recommend looking through the general college choosing advice (e.g. the "Which College?" thread) already on TSR.

Oh, and as far as geography goes - the closest colleges are probably Peterhouse and Pembroke.

Downing is closest (2 minute walk ftw).

Reply 1791

alix.alicis

7

have a look at this: http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/engineering/tests.html
every college has a different admission procedure, surely you don't want to take the TSA if you are not very good at tests? (this is just an example)

Reply 1792

kaosu_souzousha

15

alix.alicis

have a look at this: http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/engineering/tests.html
every college has a different admission procedure, surely you don't want to take the TSA if you are not very good at tests? (this is just an example)

Well TSA is fine, but STEP on the other hand could be a nightmare. Do you think they can ask me to do it for engineering? I am doing both Maths and Further Maths.

Reply 1793

alix.alicis

7

kaosu_souzousha

Well TSA is fine, but STEP on the other hand could be a nightmare. Do you think they can ask me to do it for engineering? I am doing both Maths and Further Maths.

I really have no idea, you should ask somebody who applied for engineering...but i actually think that STEP is only for mathmos. i don't know though, my subject is land economy, sorry! good luck anyway!

Reply 1794

n_251

12

kaosu_souzousha

Well TSA is fine, but STEP on the other hand could be a nightmare. Do you think they can ask me to do it for engineering? I am doing both Maths and Further Maths.

I think I have seen somewhere that STEP I and/or II can be asked for Engineering, whereas STEP III is usually only asked of mathmos.

Your best bet is to confirm with the college you wish to apply to.

Reply 1795

Mechie

15

I am going to apply to Cambridge to do Maths, and I play table tennis. Therefore I would like to know which colleges are in the vicinity of where that table tennis club play.

Any help is appreciated :smile:

Reply 1796

FadedJade

15

Downing is the closest as training is in Fenner's gym - but all of the central colleges are within walking distance.

Reply 1797

mfc20

11

I'm not sure which college is best suited to me, would be grateful if anyone could guide me a bit!

Basically I'm looking for a college which is central/fairly close to uni (i.e not Girton), is not too small, has a decent amount of sport going on, and one that is as lively/socially active as possible!

Cheers

Reply 1798

n_251

12

mfc20

I'm not sure which college is best suited to me, would be grateful if anyone could guide me a bit!

Basically I'm looking for a college which is central/fairly close to uni (i.e not Girton), is not too small, has a decent amount of sport going on, and one that is as lively/socially active as possible!

Cheers

Queens'

Reply 1799

mfc20

11

n_251

Queens'