If you have a look at iTunes U, there are lots of lectures on Linguistics put by lecturers from universities such as Yale, Oxford, etc. There's a really good one about the Philosophy of Language and Mind by Marianne Talbot, and you'll find Oxford's lecturer Greg Kochanski on it as well. It's full of really good resources, and they're all free and easy to use. I like to listen to a lecture on my way to university or when I'm bored, and it's rather entertaining, as opposed to books that can sometimes be a bit boring.
Emmanuel is apparently the friendliest college in Cambridge, although I'm sure they all are equally nice once you're there! That said, they have ducks and a nice garden. Pembroke is quite popular from my understanding, although I really don't think you should base your choice of college on the number of applicants in the previous year. If you're good enough, they'll take you, if you're good enough but they don't have space for you, they'll pool you. If you're not good enough, applying to Trinity or Murray Edwards really won't matter!
Just go for the college you like the most. If you can, visit them, you may have a very different feeling once you're there. I applied to Trinity just because it looked cool on the Internet (got rejected), and when I visited it, I actually really, really didn't like it (and was quite glad I hadn't got in
). Don't forget to take into account how lazy you might get. You may want to avoid Homerton when your 9am classes are in Sidgwick, that you can't be arsed cycling and that it's freezing cold!