The Student Room Group
Studying in halls, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
Cambridge

Queens' College (Cambridge) Students and Applicants

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Reply 60
crashbangwallop3000
Nice one Frenzy, did you have to take STEP for that? Thats a paper they make us do in the UK, dunno about Malaysia though :P


As far as I know, you only need to take STEP if you're pursuing Mathematics. The entry requirements on Cambridge's site only mentioned having to take a Thinking Skills Assessment if you're doing CompSci.
Studying in halls, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
Cambridge
Reply 61
Frenzy
I'm a Muslim, so do they offer any halal food over there? And if not, how's the vegetarian option? Plus, is it possible for me to be exempted from the kitchen overhead fee?


You can get halal food, but you have to request it in advance from the catering office. I'm sure it'd be possible to set up some kind of timetable of when there'd be a halal option for you. I don't think it's all that hard, but the problem would be that you can't spontaneously choose to eat in or out of hall, and that you wouldn't get much choice at all. There's always one vegetarian option out of the three meals offered by hall, and it's normally quite good. On top of three meal options, there's a (really quite good) salad bar and jacket potatoes.
All in all, it should be fine. Order a halal meal for the times you're certain to be eating in hall, and eat vegetarian the rest of the time.

You can't be exempted from the KFC for as long as you live in college. The reason for this is that it's been absorbed into room rents. The college reasoned that other facilities such as the gym and squash courts etc are subsidised by room rents regardless of whether the occupant uses them, so the same should be true of the kitchens. Questionable logic, in my eyes, particularly when a person /cannot/ eat in halls because of extensive allergies (as is the case for a friend of mine) rather than simply /chooses/ not to eat in halls for personal reasons. Regardless, the KFC ends up being about a tenner a week, and the food offered by hall is cheap and good. :smile:
Reply 62
^Ah, all right. Food shouldn't pose too much of a problem then. Thanks.:smile:
Just on the subject of food, does the menu in halls change very often?

Also they say the accomodation has only basic cooking facilities, so what exactly is it possible to cook yourself? have you got enough room for a few saucepans and stuff?

And can you get good discounts in restaurants out of halls?

Cheers :smile:
Reply 64
The menu changes daily. It's actually posted up on the website somewhere, so if it were term time you'd be able to spy on what they were serving. I remember being very impressed with the quality when I first arrived, but the appeal declines in time. Not sure whether that's because they try harder at the beginning of the year or if you just get a bit tired of it.

Since you'll be either in Cripps or Dokett I'll talk about their kitchen facilities. In Cripps you share a kitchen between 6-8 people, and it has four electric hobs and two fridges. You might be lucky and find a microwave that a previous occupant has left, or else you could each put a fiver in and buy one for your kitchen. There's plenty of storage space in the kitchen, I think in Cripps you get a lockable cupboard per person. Anything you can't fit in there you can keep in your room.
Dokett you get a kitchen between four normally, unless you're on a Peculiar floor and have to share the kitchen below (it's the joy of Dokett that there -are- peculiar floors, much better than the modern buildings which are so uniform). There are two hobs and a fridge in that, and normally a couple of big old wooden cupboards which aren't lockable. So possibly a little less cupboard space, though with only four of you there it's easier to just leave stuff around.

If you know what day to visit which restaurant then you can get plenty of student discounts. Tuesday night = 2 for 1 pizza at The Cow, Wednesday (I think) = half price at Bella Italia, apparently the tapas bar near John's has all you can eat for £10 for a few days a week. I don't remember there being a standard discount anywhere, so it can end up pretty expensive eating out.

Having said that, Dojo's should be discovered asap.
Awesome thanks coldfish.

What do people tend to do then later in the year/ in 2nd, 3rd year etc if they get tired of the food in the halls?
Reply 66
I think the chief back-up plan that most people have is pasta. Pasta with a ready-made sauce = cheap, easy and quick. People do cook for themselves, but I find it pretty expensive (buying everything in to cook a meal for one person always is). Some people manage to persuade friends to have some form of rota or shared cost, particularly in 2nd year where groups of friends tend to live with each other.
I've spent so much on eating out this year. My bank statement hurts my soul. :frown:
:wink: alright sweet thanks again
Reply 68
Yay, results just confirmed my place this October. Woo!
I'm in!! :biggrin::biggrin: Wooohoo! I'll see you in October! *runs and skips*

This still hasn't quite sunk in yet. :p: :rolleyes:
Reply 70
Congrats to you two!:smile:
Reply 71
Just found out i've been pooled into queens after not making my jesus college offer, can't complain though! :biggrin:
Reply 72
It's a clear promotion. :smile:
Reply 73
I have a quick question for the current students around - once we find out what our accomodation is, do we get a list of things that the room has in it (eg kettles, duvets) so that we know what we need to bring?

Also, would it be possible to visit our future room before we come up? Obviously I don't want to bring lots of stuff I really don't need/have room for...
Reply 74
Ummm... I'm not sure if you get a list, I think you'll probably get something from the JCR telling you what you normally need. Alternatively you can tell me what building you're in and I'll be able to tell you what's there.

You could go and visit your room, I expect, but it'd be a fuss because the porters wouldn't be able to give you the keys I don't think. It's not really necessary though, why not just wait until you get there and then see what you need? There's plenty of shops in Cambridge for such things. :smile:

All college rooms are getting duvets from next year onwards (they had blankets before), and you don't need to worry about them being old and used by many people because they'll all be brand new. :biggrin:
Reply 75
Oh, and if college hasn't changed in the last couple of years the first thing you'll get off them is a demand for money to cover credit whilst you're here and as a deposit against damage, which you get back when you graduate. I apologise in advance for this appalling PR. :P
coldfish
Oh, and if college hasn't changed in the last couple of years the first thing you'll get off them is a demand for money to cover credit whilst you're here and as a deposit against damage, which you get back when you graduate. I apologise in advance for this appalling PR. :P
^ Yup, got that yesterday. Two hundred and ten quid and 25p worth of photocopied certificates. :p:

Edit: free duvets! Aha, that's worth knowing. :smile: (Though it would have been nice if we'd have been given a bit more official info on this kind of thing by now.)
Reply 77
Stick Man
^ Yup, got that yesterday. Two hundred and ten quid and 25p worth of photocopied certificates. :p:

Edit: free duvets! Aha, that's worth knowing. :smile: (Though it would have been nice if we'd have been given a bit more official info on this kind of thing by now.)


Haha, yeah so true. Sorry about the obsessive questioning, I'm just excited :smile: Is there an official stance on mini-fridges?
Reply 78
Give them a chance! You only got your grades two days ago. I know what it's like to be impatient for any sign of life from the college, because it just feels like such an anti-climax. You work and worry for months to get those grades, you do, and then it's just silence. Don't worry though, because the important Stuff (and the less important Stuff) will start coming soon. :smile:
Reply 79
Hrmm, I don't think there's an official stance, no. I'll look it up in the massive "Rules and Regulations" thing later, but I know that people definitely do have them occasionally. Personally I think they're more bother than they're worth, though. Adding to your electricity bill, taking up a socket, that humming noise, when you could just walk a few metres into your kitchen.
I guess it'd be nice for keeping milk for tea and coffee, but if you get that purfilter stuff it lasts for about a week unrefrigerated anyway. That's the kind of tip that only a student can give. :P

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