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A few questions about Gonville & Caius (Undergrad)

Hello all,

I'm a possible re-applicant to Cambridge this year (i.e., Autumn 2022) and as a re-applicant, I'm now choosing a different college to apply to for Law. I've had the chance to research quite a bit on the different colleges and I've narrowed down my preferences to Caius, Jesus or Clare. At the moment, Caius seems most appealing but I do have a few concerns I wanted to dispel and thought TSR the best forum to ask for advice.

1. Caius has an atrocious reputation for food. Usually, this wouldn't bother me but with the MDR, I'm concerned as I don't want to waste my money on poor quality food. However, I've read from some Caians that this is an outdated stereotype and that Caius has a new chef with better dining now. What is the reality? I understand that each college has good/bad days, but on average is the food really that terrible?

2. Re: 2nd-year accommodation, I've read that there is a chance you end up on Rose Crescent or Green St which are 'noisy' and can get pretty crowded at night. Is the accommodation on these two sites genuinely this bad? If so, is there any way to avoid getting them or are you stuck with them due to the room ballot?

3. I've read that, like St. Johns, there's a bit of private-school lad culture in Caius and that it gets a lot of Etonian-types due to it being strong in rowing/sports. Is this true? I don't have a problem with this in general but it is a bit off-putting since it might mean a) there are already pre-made 'groups' and b) I do want to avoid applying to an Etonian 'target' college since I'm a disadvantaged student as it is, don't want to make it any more difficult on myself. [Nb. that's not to say I think that any college is 'easier' than another, but that public-school applicants definitely do have an advantage with better mentoring for Oxbridge and opportunities]

I'd greatly appreciate any insight into these issues :smile:

Thanks!

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

This is a bit of a late answer to your question but I'll answer it in the hopes it will be helpful to anyone else who stumbles across it!

1. The food at Caius is great- obviously there are a few meals that are a bit awful, but plenty of good meals too. I think it used to be awful in the past but Caius made some major improvements as you mentioned. It is definitely an outdated stereotype that they have bad food.

2. I havent lived in these two sites but I've heard it's not as bad as it's made out to be. Unfortunately if you are bottom of the ballot then you probably will end up in these places. Truthfully being at the bottom of the ballot at most colleges will give you some sh*t accomodation.

3. From what I've heard from others, Caius used to be full of posh w*nkers and very private school lad-culturey but since caius got new people in charge in admissions there has been a rise in state school students and in general a change in the kind of people admitted. My year group is very chill and down-to-earth on the whole.