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I've applied to Clare, Cambridge for Linguistics ahh! I'm nervous for the interview, I literally have no clue what types of questions will be asked :s
Original post by hannahmoore92
I've applied to Clare, Cambridge for Linguistics ahh! I'm nervous for the interview, I literally have no clue what types of questions will be asked :s


I'm nervous about the interview too, especially as there is a written test.
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by Marisa_Grace
I'm nervous about the interview too, especially as there is a written test.


There isn's a written test. Clare only requires written work and an interview for admission... last time I checked. :/
Original post by hannahmoore92
There isn's a written test. Clare only requires written work and an interview for admission... last time I checked. :/


Must be just for the college I've applied for then.
Phew, you had me freaked out! Which college are you applying to?
Original post by hannahmoore92
Phew, you had me freaked out! Which college are you applying to?


Jesus. When is your interview?
Original post by Marisa_Grace
Jesus. When is your interview?


Claaaare. Next Tuesday afternoon :smile: Yours?
Reply 227
Hello! I've recently decided on doing a Linguistics degree (applying next year, hopefully to Cambridge if my AS results are good enough!), and am feeling a bit lost. I was wondering where a good place to start would be? I've read David Crystal's "A Little Book of Language" which first got me interested in Linguistics, and have just bought "The Language Instinct". Is there anything I can be doing in these early stages before I apply, any books I can read etc? Also, I've gathered from this thread that each college only takes one Linguistics student per year - how intimidating! Does anybody know in which faculty building most Linguistics lectures take place? It's confusing, the subject being in between English and sciences! Any help at all would be much appreciated :smile:
Original post by melita-r
Hello! I've recently decided on doing a Linguistics degree (applying next year, hopefully to Cambridge if my AS results are good enough!), and am feeling a bit lost. I was wondering where a good place to start would be? I've read David Crystal's "A Little Book of Language" which first got me interested in Linguistics, and have just bought "The Language Instinct". Is there anything I can be doing in these early stages before I apply, any books I can read etc? Also, I've gathered from this thread that each college only takes one Linguistics student per year - how intimidating! Does anybody know in which faculty building most Linguistics lectures take place? It's confusing, the subject being in between English and sciences! Any help at all would be much appreciated :smile:


Just read anything that takes your interest. Pinker is referred to a fair bit in some of our lectures, but I'm not keen on him. Crystal is a good start, but it'd be good to get some grounding in phonetics and syntax too.

About the colleges - not true. Some colleges this year have no Linguistics students, some have two (I believe one has four), it just depends on the applicant ratios and abilities.

Lectures take place on the Sidgwick site (where other Arts subjects take place such as AMES, English, History, Law, Theology etc).

Any other Qs? What college are you looking at?
Reply 229
Original post by Sapientia
Just read anything that takes your interest. Pinker is referred to a fair bit in some of our lectures, but I'm not keen on him. Crystal is a good start, but it'd be good to get some grounding in phonetics and syntax too.

About the colleges - not true. Some colleges this year have no Linguistics students, some have two (I believe one has four), it just depends on the applicant ratios and abilities.

Lectures take place on the Sidgwick site (where other Arts subjects take place such as AMES, English, History, Law, Theology etc).

Any other Qs? What college are you looking at?


I think after "The Language Instinct" I'll pick up a couple more Crystal books and then find some more specific to phonetics and syntax, thanks for the tip. I had a hunch lectures would be on the Sidgwick site, but wasn't too sure! It's good to know that the number of Linguistics students per college isn't set in stone, too.

College-wise, I've got some time before I have to decide, but at the moment I like Queens', Emmanuel and Pembroke. Are any of those notoriously impossible to get into, or just anything else in general I should know? :smile:

Thanks so much for your help!
Original post by melita-r
I think after "The Language Instinct" I'll pick up a couple more Crystal books and then find some more specific to phonetics and syntax, thanks for the tip. I had a hunch lectures would be on the Sidgwick site, but wasn't too sure! It's good to know that the number of Linguistics students per college isn't set in stone, too.

College-wise, I've got some time before I have to decide, but at the moment I like Queens', Emmanuel and Pembroke. Are any of those notoriously impossible to get into, or just anything else in general I should know? :smile:

Thanks so much for your help!


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 :colondollar:). 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!
Reply 231
Original post by Anatheme
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 :colondollar:). 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!


That's a great idea about iTunes U, I'd never heard of it before, I just had a look and it seems fantastic - can't believe I've never used it before! Yeah, I'm sure listening to a lecture would be more interesting than just staring at a page, especially when I'm so new to all of this.

I fleetingly visited Cambridge this summer, and it certainly did change my views on which colleges I preferred. I agree, it really helps to see the place and get a feeling for it. Good tip about Homerton! I'd prefer to be closer to Sidgwick - it's lucky that Emmanuel's so close, as that's beginning to be my favourite :smile:

Thanks for the help!
Original post by melita-r
That's a great idea about iTunes U, I'd never heard of it before, I just had a look and it seems fantastic - can't believe I've never used it before! Yeah, I'm sure listening to a lecture would be more interesting than just staring at a page, especially when I'm so new to all of this.

I fleetingly visited Cambridge this summer, and it certainly did change my views on which colleges I preferred. I agree, it really helps to see the place and get a feeling for it. Good tip about Homerton! I'd prefer to be closer to Sidgwick - it's lucky that Emmanuel's so close, as that's beginning to be my favourite :smile:

Thanks for the help!


Yes, come to Emma! I'm a linguist of the MML variety there (well actually in Moscow at the moment, but still feel like Emma is home) and it is a fantastic place! Close to Sidg, but far enough away that you feel like you're definitely getting away (and that it's annoying to get back to college so you end up staying in the library to work). It is beautiful and has amazing people and the college staff all really care about you. If you need to ask any collegey questions whatsoever then feel free to PM or pop over to the Emmanuel thread. Can't really handle the subject specific ones as I'm more of an artsy la la literature kind of linguist and haven't actually done any linguistics at all, despite my best intentions when I arrived at Cambridge, but if you need anyone to convince you to apply to Emma then I'm definitely the right person to ask :smile:
Reply 233
Original post by melita-r
That's a great idea about iTunes U, I'd never heard of it before, I just had a look and it seems fantastic - can't believe I've never used it before! Yeah, I'm sure listening to a lecture would be more interesting than just staring at a page, especially when I'm so new to all of this.

I fleetingly visited Cambridge this summer, and it certainly did change my views on which colleges I preferred. I agree, it really helps to see the place and get a feeling for it. Good tip about Homerton! I'd prefer to be closer to Sidgwick - it's lucky that Emmanuel's so close, as that's beginning to be my favourite :smile:

Thanks for the help!


Yaaay! Go for Emma! Go for Emma! =D Yeah, I'm doing linguistics at Emma :smile: I fully recommend applying here, it really is that friendly! I've been here one term now and it already feels like home. It's lovely :smile:

On a side note, I can also answer any questions you may have about Emma or Linguistics :smile:
Original post by melita-r
I think after "The Language Instinct" I'll pick up a couple more Crystal books and then find some more specific to phonetics and syntax, thanks for the tip. I had a hunch lectures would be on the Sidgwick site, but wasn't too sure! It's good to know that the number of Linguistics students per college isn't set in stone, too.

College-wise, I've got some time before I have to decide, but at the moment I like Queens', Emmanuel and Pembroke. Are any of those notoriously impossible to get into, or just anything else in general I should know? :smile:

Thanks so much for your help!


It's a myth that there is difference - There is the pooling system and this serves to distribute good candidates, so if you're good enough to get in, you should get in no matter what college you apply to.

Those are all lovely colleges though, and all close enough to Sidgwick.
Reply 235
Original post by Zoedotdot
Yes, come to Emma! I'm a linguist of the MML variety there (well actually in Moscow at the moment, but still feel like Emma is home) and it is a fantastic place! Close to Sidg, but far enough away that you feel like you're definitely getting away (and that it's annoying to get back to college so you end up staying in the library to work). It is beautiful and has amazing people and the college staff all really care about you. If you need to ask any collegey questions whatsoever then feel free to PM or pop over to the Emmanuel thread. Can't really handle the subject specific ones as I'm more of an artsy la la literature kind of linguist and haven't actually done any linguistics at all, despite my best intentions when I arrived at Cambridge, but if you need anyone to convince you to apply to Emma then I'm definitely the right person to ask :smile:


Ah, the distance thing certainly makes sense! I wouldn't want to have to trek in from a college miles away :P It really is beautiful there, too. It sounds like such a lovely place! I briefly visited Cambridge last summer and thought Emma was stunning. Thanks for the help! If I have any questions about Emma, I'll definitely get in touch :smile:
Reply 236
Original post by CeiriosII
Yaaay! Go for Emma! Go for Emma! =D Yeah, I'm doing linguistics at Emma :smile: I fully recommend applying here, it really is that friendly! I've been here one term now and it already feels like home. It's lovely :smile:

On a side note, I can also answer any questions you may have about Emma or Linguistics :smile:


Wow, it's great to find somebody doing Linguistics at Emma on here! It seems like such a fantastic place, I'd love to go. If I think of any more questions about Emma or Linguistics, I'll ask you them, thanks :biggrin:
Reply 237
Original post by Sapientia
It's a myth that there is difference - There is the pooling system and this serves to distribute good candidates, so if you're good enough to get in, you should get in no matter what college you apply to.

Those are all lovely colleges though, and all close enough to Sidgwick.


Ahh, I see, the pooling system is very effective then!
Reply 238
Hi! I'm starting Linguistics in October at Trinity Hall as part of an Erasmus scholarship (international student here). The papers I've chosen are Language, Brain and Society; Phonology and Morphology; Historical Linguistics; and History of Ideas on Language. I had freedom to choose what I liked most in spite of the structure of the tripos, and I think it'll be awesome.

I have some questions, though. What are supervisions like? Do you have to take notes or are they mostly a conversational thing? If I'm the only one studying Linguistics at my college, does that mean that I will be the only student during supervisions? Isn't that a bit scary? <.<
I would always take notes during supervisions although I don't think everyone does. You almost certainly won't be on your own for them - Linguistics is quite a small subject so you're generally in with people from other colleges.

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