Clare College (Cambridge) Students and Applicants

So I know this hasn't been active in a veeery long time but I was wondering if any potential Clare applicants/current students could tell me a little bit about their experiences? I only ask because I can't seem to find anyone else applying! Thank you

Me! I'm applying for English here and I can't find anyone else xx

That's awesome! I absolutely adore English and was going to apply for it but went down the route of language and Linguistics instead! How did your ELAT go? What subjects do you do, and why did you choose English at Clare?

My ELAT went alright, I was quite pleased although I realised retrospectively I had used the word "polysyndetic" slightly incorrectly... I do Music, English literature and Art, so quite a creative bunch I suppose? What do you do? Clare seemed right for me, I loved its slightly less traditionalist approach, whilst being such a historically rich college. one of the English follows specialises in 20th century poetry, and as an imagist, confessional and beat fanatic this seemed right up my street! Also, John Berryman went there which is ideal for a Confessional Poetry enthusiast. I have some mental health stuff and special requirements and their welfare team is one of the best at Cambridge and for me I wanted somewhere I could continue getting the kind of support I'm getting. Oh and it's pretty. Super pretty. How about you? Why Clare? Why linguistics? I'd love some fellow applicant friends xx

Hi!

I'm applying for Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion.
GCSEs = 8A*s 3As
AS Level = AAB and an A* in EPQ
Predicted = A* A* A*


What attracted me to Clare.. Both of my sisters have been there so I have sort of always visited it and it is so beautiful . Also, I love the position in relation to the city centre, and the friendly feel as well as a sense of relative normality from the people who I've met from there. Also the accommodation is good and they don't have any really silly rules

Aha ye from what I've heard the people there are all very normal and friendly... it just seems to have a very calm and down to earth vibe, which seems really great!

I actually have quite a funny story of how I chose Clare - I was at Cambridge for an open day struggling to choose between Trinity and Trinity Hall, but there was lots putting me off both. I was standing in Trinity Hall looking over the river and saw the Clare gardens and instantly fell in love. Mistakenly thinking they were Trinity Hall's gardens, I decided I would definitely apply there. But then I tried to reach them and I couldn't work out where to go - I got lost for about an hour lol. When I got home I realised that they belonged to Clare, and after a bit of research of the college I realised it was perfect!

Aw at least you'll have something good to reminisce about if you end up there! The gardens are beautiful. And that's not even mentioning Clare Bridge

aha that's a big if...

Yeah, same. Its weird to think that in three weeks at most we'll know if our dream is completely over or if we can continue to hope..

What have you applied for?

lol tbh I prefer not to think about. In terms of my application...

Course - Philosophy
GCSE grades - 10A* 1A
AS Levels - AAAA
Predicted grades - A*A*A*

That's probably a good plan tbh
Wow, that's amazing! My B at AS is the bane of my life... luckily it was in French not RS, but still so frustrating (especially as the entire class dropped a grade so something must have gone wrong for us all)

I wouldn't worry too much about it! Given your predicted grades are perfect, I'm sure Clare will clock that there was something weird with the exam.

Did u do mostly linear or reformed subjects?

I did AS in 3/4 subjects. My school chose not to do the standalone AS type thing for linear ones so I just had mocks for history but I got As in those. You? I really hope so- I was quite close to an A as well (about 3 marks I think) so hopefully they'll see that. Do you think we're the only two applicants for Clare?

ah fair enough. All of mine were modular apart from English (which I ended up dropping), but I still had to take the AS exam anyway which is quite annoying.

lol I'm sure if we just keep the thread going eventually people will turn up. I know one person from my school applying there for Classics, but thankfully haven't found anyone yet applying for the same course