Sidney Sussex College Cambridge 2024 offer-holders

I was also going to ask that - I have heard nothing about the offer holder day date being confirmed. Has anyone emailed? 🙂 x

Not an offer-holder but a current student - happy to answer any questions you may have.

(I'm in my third year doing Maths, applied directly and I like the college's people and location the most).

Hi! I was pooled to sidney so don't know much about it although it does look like an amazing college. What made you decide to apply to sidney sussex? And what is the accommodation like, especially for first years? Thank you!

I applied because it has a reputation for being very friendly, which it's certainly stuck to, and because of its location.

Most first years are in one of two places: Cromwell Court or Sussex House. Cromwell Court is off-site, though only by about 200-300 metres - if you step out of it, you can see Sidney's main site just along the road. It's pretty much all first years there and they have their own JCR, in which we had a lot of parties for first years that really helped us to get to know each other and there's a really good atmosphere. Sussex House was where I was and we had the advantage of having kitchens and we were connected to the main site via a corridor over a bridge. There are some first years elsewhere, namely the top floor of Garden Court. I don't actually know much about there other than that it's on-site and the same building as the library. You don't really get any choice for your first-year room but, in retrospect, I think that really helped with egalitarianism and making friends. You are also unlikely to get an en-suite in first year unless you have a medical reason.

After first year, you can ballot with up to three friends and then you choose your room in a random order alongside those you've balloted with. In third year, this order reverses. The third years choose first and then the second years so if you were bottom of the second year ballot, you'd choose last of both years but when it came to your third year, you'd choose first of everyone. Similarly, if you were top of the second years, you'd choose immediately after the third years but then in your third year, you'd be last of the third years (i.e. in the middle both years). We don't do an academic ballot, it's entirely random, with certain reserved rooms for accessibility and the JCR President. Some rooms have en-suites (like mine), some have kitchens (like my second year room) and some have more space or have their own little living room.

*most areas in the college at least have small kitchenettes called gyps; if I say that a building has kitchens, then I mean it has a fully-stocked kitchen with areas to sit and eat as well.

Thank you very much! This is very helpful! Also what is the food like? And how do payments for such work? Sorry for so many questions haha

No problem at all! These are questions I probably should have asked as an offer-holder.

I think we have a new chef so the food has actually gotten much better since my first year. I eat in hall pretty much every day, often multiple times per day. It's usually quite nice I'd say, as good as a home-cooked meal in most cases but not restaurant quality, though maybe with slightly smaller portions. The prices are mid-range among the other colleges but they're not crazily expensive if you're not eating loads (i.e. multiple mains, all sides, a drink, a dessert, etc. may cost you a fair bit).

We have meat-free Monday, which basically just means there'll be fish or something vegetarian; fish and chip Friday; themed dinners on Saturdays (e.g. Chinese, Scottish, Pizza, etc.) and a roast on Sunday. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served Monday to Friday; brunch and dinner are on Saturday; and only dinner on Sundays. Generally, each meal served has vegan and a meat options and sometimes a separate vegetarian option. These may or may not be related, e.g. you may have gnocchi as the vegan option, halloumi burgers as the vegetarian option and chili con carne as the meat option. I'm pretty sure all the meat is halal where possible. The breakfasts are basically the same every weekday, offering sausages, hash browns, bacon, beans, egg, toast, vegetarian sausage, mushroom, and maybe a few pastries or yoghurts available too. Four items (e.g. two sausages, a few rashers of bacon, a ladel-full (ish) of beans and two hash browns) currently costs £2.70 though this may go up.

Formals are bookable three days a week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. These are three course meals (plus bread at the start and coffee at the end) with table service, optional wine (which you pay extra for and buy beforehand at the buttery). In Michaelmas and Lent, you are allowed three guests per paying Sidney student which rises to I think five in Easter (the exam term when fewer people are booking formals). I don't know exactly how much they cost but I think it's about £11, slightly more for guests. Some are themed and others aren't. You book them up to two weeks in advance on Sidnet (Sidney's web thingy) and booking closes a few days before after which you can't make any changes to your bookings. You may be able to email catering to see if they can make changes after this date but that's up to their discretion. There are also often other formals happening throughout the week for certain groups which you may or may not be able to book onto, e.g. Graduate-only formals or society formals; and occasional special event formals like halfway hall, which is in the middle of your second year to celebrate being halfway through your degree. It's up to you how many formals you go to, I went to loads in my first year, so far very few in my third. Normal hall service still runs when formals are being held. They are also very good with dietary requirements, they have all of the standard ones as tick-boxes when

Sidney has two dining halls: the big, fancy Rococo one that comes up if you google Sidney Sussex dining hall; and the newer, modern one. Generally, you are allowed to use both for most meals, unless one (usually the older, nicer one) is being used for a special occasion or there is maintenance etc. The advantage is that if there is a formal later that evening in the old one, then you don't have to rush people to finish their meals if they start eating late to clear the tables. I actually generally choose to sit in the modern one as the WiFi, acoustics and lighting are better. The other one is obviously much more beautiful though, especially the ceiling.

In terms of paying for your meals, it works like any cafeteria in that you pick out what you want and then pay at the till. However, rather than paying with cash or a credit card, you will scan your Cam Card and then it will go on your college bill. This is the bill that comes at the end of each term and covers your rent, your printing, library fines, any wine bought in the buttery, any food bought in hall and any formals booked. Rent will probably be by far your biggest expense unless you eat like Tarrare. If you forget / lose your Cam Card, you can get a temporary one and then another full one. In the meantime, you just give your name. You can still buy food.

Guests are welcome and you can either pay for them with your Cam Card or they can purchase the food themselves with a debit card. There are three pricing structures, Sidney students (i.e. you), other Cambridge students and others, each increasing in price. This probably isn't something you have to worry about. Formals are booked online and the costs put straight onto your college bill so your guests will have to pay you back another way.

Breakfast is served from 08:00 to 09:00, lunch from 12:30 to 13:30 and dinner from 17:45 to 18:45. Formals officially start at 19:30 but this is the last entry time and you are advised to get there for before 19:15. The buttery (place to buy wine) also closes around this time. Formals usually last about two hours. Also note that, with the exception of certain special occasions, there are no reserved seats in formal so if you're going with a large group of friends and you want to sit together, getting there early is advisable.

One final thing to note is the minimum meal charge. This is the minimum amount that you have to pay for hall food and formals, whether or not you use them. It's currently £56.10 per term but may change. This means that if you buy £10 worth of food each term, you pay £56.10 for each term; if you buy £50 worth of food per term, you pay £56.10 for each term; if you buy £70 worth of food per term, you pay £70 for each term. This is quite common among colleges, maybe even featuring in all or the majority. I think it does carry over (e.g. you could spend £168.30 in your final term and none elsewhere and you'd be fine). I'm not quite sure as, as previously mentioned, I eat in hall a lot so I've never really had to think about it. I don't know anyone for whom it has actually been an issue. There may be caveats and exceptions to this but I don't know.

I hope this gives a summary of food and paying for it at Sidney. I should point out that this is from my best knowledge of the current situation. Things, especially exact prices, are likely to change. As a legacy from COVID, we didn't have breakfast until this academic year; and the food quality has also improved a lot since my first year. Only last week did they announce some new rules for formal, one of which was that we're now allowed to bring in our own wine that we didn't buy at the buttery.

Thank you so much! This really is a huge help. And thank you for taking the time to answer in such detail!

No problem at all! These are questions I probably should have asked as an offer-holder.

I think we have a new chef so the food has actually gotten much better since my first year. I eat in hall pretty much every day, often multiple times per day. It's usually quite nice I'd say, as good as a home-cooked meal in most cases but not restaurant quality, though maybe with slightly smaller portions. The prices are mid-range among the other colleges but they're not crazily expensive if you're not eating loads (i.e. multiple mains, all sides, a drink, a dessert, etc. may cost you a fair bit).

We have meat-free Monday, which basically just means there'll be fish or something vegetarian; fish and chip Friday; themed dinners on Saturdays (e.g. Chinese, Scottish, Pizza, etc.) and a roast on Sunday. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served Monday to Friday; brunch and dinner are on Saturday; and only dinner on Sundays. Generally, each meal served has vegan and a meat options and sometimes a separate vegetarian option. These may or may not be related, e.g. you may have gnocchi as the vegan option, halloumi burgers as the vegetarian option and chili con carne as the meat option. I'm pretty sure all the meat is halal where possible. The breakfasts are basically the same every weekday, offering sausages, hash browns, bacon, beans, egg, toast, vegetarian sausage, mushroom, and maybe a few pastries or yoghurts available too. Four items (e.g. two sausages, a few rashers of bacon, a ladel-full (ish) of beans and two hash browns) currently costs £2.70 though this may go up.

Formals are bookable three days a week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. These are three course meals (plus bread at the start and coffee at the end) with table service, optional wine (which you pay extra for and buy beforehand at the buttery). In Michaelmas and Lent, you are allowed three guests per paying Sidney student which rises to I think five in Easter (the exam term when fewer people are booking formals). I don't know exactly how much they cost but I think it's about £11, slightly more for guests. Some are themed and others aren't. You book them up to two weeks in advance on Sidnet (Sidney's web thingy) and booking closes a few days before after which you can't make any changes to your bookings. You may be able to email catering to see if they can make changes after this date but that's up to their discretion. There are also often other formals happening throughout the week for certain groups which you may or may not be able to book onto, e.g. Graduate-only formals or society formals; and occasional special event formals like halfway hall, which is in the middle of your second year to celebrate being halfway through your degree. It's up to you how many formals you go to, I went to loads in my first year, so far very few in my third. Normal hall service still runs when formals are being held. They are also very good with dietary requirements, they have all of the standard ones as tick-boxes when

Sidney has two dining halls: the big, fancy Rococo one that comes up if you google Sidney Sussex dining hall; and the newer, modern one. Generally, you are allowed to use both for most meals, unless one (usually the older, nicer one) is being used for a special occasion or there is maintenance etc. The advantage is that if there is a formal later that evening in the old one, then you don't have to rush people to finish their meals if they start eating late to clear the tables. I actually generally choose to sit in the modern one as the WiFi, acoustics and lighting are better. The other one is obviously much more beautiful though, especially the ceiling.

In terms of paying for your meals, it works like any cafeteria in that you pick out what you want and then pay at the till. However, rather than paying with cash or a credit card, you will scan your Cam Card and then it will go on your college bill. This is the bill that comes at the end of each term and covers your rent, your printing, library fines, any wine bought in the buttery, any food bought in hall and any formals booked. Rent will probably be by far your biggest expense unless you eat like Tarrare. If you forget / lose your Cam Card, you can get a temporary one and then another full one. In the meantime, you just give your name. You can still buy food.

Guests are welcome and you can either pay for them with your Cam Card or they can purchase the food themselves with a debit card. There are three pricing structures, Sidney students (i.e. you), other Cambridge students and others, each increasing in price. This probably isn't something you have to worry about. Formals are booked online and the costs put straight onto your college bill so your guests will have to pay you back another way.

Breakfast is served from 08:00 to 09:00, lunch from 12:30 to 13:30 and dinner from 17:45 to 18:45. Formals officially start at 19:30 but this is the last entry time and you are advised to get there for before 19:15. The buttery (place to buy wine) also closes around this time. Formals usually last about two hours. Also note that, with the exception of certain special occasions, there are no reserved seats in formal so if you're going with a large group of friends and you want to sit together, getting there early is advisable.

One final thing to note is the minimum meal charge. This is the minimum amount that you have to pay for hall food and formals, whether or not you use them. It's currently £56.10 per term but may change. This means that if you buy £10 worth of food each term, you pay £56.10 for each term; if you buy £50 worth of food per term, you pay £56.10 for each term; if you buy £70 worth of food per term, you pay £70 for each term. This is quite common among colleges, maybe even featuring in all or the majority. I think it does carry over (e.g. you could spend £168.30 in your final term and none elsewhere and you'd be fine). I'm not quite sure as, as previously mentioned, I eat in hall a lot so I've never really had to think about it. I don't know anyone for whom it has actually been an issue. There may be caveats and exceptions to this but I don't know.

I hope this gives a summary of food and paying for it at Sidney. I should point out that this is from my best knowledge of the current situation. Things, especially exact prices, are likely to change. As a legacy from COVID, we didn't have breakfast until this academic year; and the food quality has also improved a lot since my first year. Only last week did they announce some new rules for formal, one of which was that we're now allowed to bring in our own wine that we didn't buy at the buttery.

Thank you so much for such an informative response!

Can you also share what bedding (eg. duvet, pillows & sheets) do students at Sidney have to provide on their own? Do we remove our own bedding etc from the room outside term time?

Are all beds single sized?

Thanks for any info you can share!

If I remember rightly, when I first joined, the bed was fully stocked (may not have been made but all of the stuff was there). I don't know if that's still the same now. Either way, I'd recommend definitely bringing at least two sets of your own sheets, both as the sheets were just plain white and not that interesting, and also for when you're washing them as you don't want to be without a set. You do definitely get a bed, a mattress, a duvet and two pillows included. I would recommend getting a mattress topper as the mattresses can be fairly firm.

In terms of if you need to remove your own bedding outside of term time: generally, the answer is yes. Rooms are rented out during the holidays to various conferences and so other people will be staying in your room and it needs to be cleared. Some rooms will have lockable storage so you can put some stuff in there between terms rather than bring it all the way home and back, and international students (including, I believe, Northern Irish students) are given extra storage in the form of boxes that are kept in the locked squash courts over the holidays. Since you will almost certainly change rooms between academic years, you can't keep stuff in your room's lockable storage over the summer, but the international storage can be used over the summer. Not every room will have lockable storage but you will find out if yours does when your room is allocated.

However, if you want to do so, you can request a 39-week license instead of a 30-week license at the start of the year. The 39-week license means that you keep your room over the Christmas and Easter holidays: you don't need to empty it, you can stay as and when you like and you don't have to worry about others staying in your room. You do have to pay rent at the same rate for those extra 9 weeks though, and not every room has the option to have this (I think almost all, if not all, of the first year rooms do, and then you can choose to have one that does in later years if this is important to you). I've always had the 39-week license as I like to stay later and come back earlier.

If you have a 30-week license and you want to stay in the holidays, this is something you have to apply for. You are not guaranteed it (though it is very likely if you have a good academic reason) and you may get a different room for the holidays so you may have to clear out your belongings either way. You also would have to pay a holiday surcharge.

As far as I know, all beds available to undergrads are single beds. There may be exceptions for medical / accessibility reasons but I don't know of anyone this applies to.

Once again, thank you v much, you have been most helpful!!

Not an offer-holder but a current student - happy to answer any questions you may have.

(I'm in my third year doing Maths, applied directly and I like the college's people and location the most).

Hi! Thank you so much for all your responses!

I was wondering what students do about jobs - is it very competitive to get jobs with the uni like student ambassador roles, or do people mainly work during the holidays and save up for each term?

Thank you!

So, the official position is that you're not allowed a job, but I think this refers to like part-time jobs in a café. I used to, and a lot of my friends still do, tutor a few hours a week. Cambridge tutors are very much in demand and if you have a LinkedIn, you may get a fair few invitations (depending on your subject and profile). I am also an ambassador, both with the university as a whole. I don't think it's particularly competitive but I do Maths which is quite a popular subject with not many ambassadors so supply-and-demand helps me out. I feel like being an ambassador isn't especially competitive though, and it is freelance so you just pick out the jobs you like, some of which (e.g. summer schools) may be more competitive than giving a tour to a visiting school group.

Also, our full terms are only eight weeks long with maybe a week on either side to settle in and finish up. Most Sidney students don't even have a room in Cambridge for 22 weeks of the year so the holidays are definitely long enough to work in and save up. You would also get a maintenance loan and the university is generous with bursaries.

Not an offer-holder but a current student - happy to answer any questions you may have.
(I'm in my third year doing Maths, applied directly and I like the college's people and location the most).

Hi. Me again haha. I was just wondering if there's the opportunity to do any Duke of Edinburgh Awards either with the uni as a whole or just sidney sussex? If it's not already a thing would you say it is something that student could set up? Thank you!

has anyone received any further information about offer holder days/at all from Sidney? i am slightly paranoid that i'm missing the emails or something so thought i'd check

I would be surprised if there would be demand for it to be honest as D of E rapidly loses relevance after you turn 18. I suppose one could complete the volunteering, academic and sports sections fairly easily through societies or language courses but I don't know anyone who's tried. For the residential section in Gold, I'd recommend summer schools or something but the exhibition would probably have to be done privately through an organisation. There may be some societies that are better placed for this, such as the Expedition society but I don't know anyone who has put any effort into D of E once getting to uni.