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Is CHURCHILL COLLEGE good?

Hey everyone,
I'm an overseas student and i have an offer from churchill to read for chemical engineering via natsci. I had my interview in my country, so i really don't know anything abt churchill; whether it is difficult to get into, if it is prestigious and stuff like that.

Kindly help.

Reply 1

fishpaste

It seemed quite far away from the centre and didn't have the most stunning architecture ever, but I think academically it's supposed to be very good for sciences, and people there seemed really nice and friendly and fun so I'm sure you'll have an amazing time :smile:

Congrats on your offer!

Reply 2

Sazzle

1

Churchill is a newer college set up to promote sciences at Cambridge, it's not a pretty college, but being modern it's quite comfortable. It's not very close to the city centre - but probably only 10/15 min walk. As it's quite young I wouldn't say it is prestigous but it is well respected for science. I think for NatSci you will get some excellent teaching.

Reply 3

Tek

7

It's very good for science and usually comes in around 9th on the League Tables.

Reply 4

theone

From what I've heard, it tends to be more biased towards state school pupils as well.

Reply 5

Tek

7

theone

From what I've heard, it tends to be more biased towards state school pupils as well.

Gah! The temerity :wink:

Reply 6

dreamer

Churchill has got lovely tutors. You will have a nice time. Don't worry about prestige!

Reply 7

Radagasty

dreamer

Churchill has got lovely tutors. You will have a nice time. Don't worry about prestige!

Are there different levels of prestige attached to each college? I thought it was merely a question of academics (Tompkin's Table) and popularity.

Reply 8

Helenia

20

Radagasty

Are there different levels of prestige attached to each college? I thought it was merely a question of academics (Tompkin's Table) and popularity.

Well, it's a combination of those (although the Tompkin's table isn't the academic be-all and end-all) that give a college its general rep.

Churchill is not a bad one - fairly male dominated though, which can be a good or a bad thing depending which way you look at it!

Reply 9

babyboo

1

but at the end of day its at oxbridge so its not as if its gonna be a bad thing!

Reply 10

blissy

15

Churchill seems to be a really nice and friendly college with a lively bar (hub of all social activites!). It's very male but there is Fitz and New Hall on the same road (Storey's Way) and the hill colleges tend to all mix up together so there should be no problem there!

One thing freaked me out about the building - that enormous metal grill that swings round when it gets late at night. Scary, but good security to say the least!!

Reply 11

happypad

Hey I go to Churchill! It rocks!

It really is lacking in pretentiousness (is that a word?) which is superb. I get a bit annoyed with the private schoolgirls and their annoying laughs and accents.

It only has a low no. of females because of the all-girls colleges nearby.

It's very nice. The only negatives I would say are:

- Food quality isn't superb (though Sunday roast is delicious)
- Rents are comparatively expensive
- Architecture (big disappointment though New Hall and Fitz are worse!)

But good points:

- Very close to University Library
- Access to backpaths into town (no riding along the busy main road - Churchill is the only out-of-town college which offers that)
- Massive playing fields
- We have our own theatre which has films every Wednesday night
- Live on site with everyone else for 3 years (few colleges offer that and that's a big plus)
- Very fast and free internet connection
- It only takes about 7-10 minutes to cycle into the town centre

If you're a pretentious private school pupil you will feel out of place. You dont really notice the male/female ratio.

I also detest the pav (basically a makeshift disco). Not my scene - bores me rigid. But most people love it.

Oh and one other minor thing is we're politically apathetic. Which is not very good for an SPS student like me :frown:

Paddy

Reply 12

Tifa

Hello Paddy, that was a really informative post. Seeing that you're studying there now I was wondering if you could tell me, do you notice the 70% science 30% arts ratio? And does it affect an Art student like yourself?

Also, do you think that because its so far from the city centre it means it can be insular? Or maybe just not get as involved with Colleges situated in the centre?

Thanks in advance - I'm glad to hear so many people say positive things about the place ^_^

Reply 13

happypad

You do really notice the 70% science and 30% arts ratio. I'm lucky as there are 5 SPS students at Churchill which is A LOT in relative terms. I don't think its necessarily bad - though it would be nice to be mixing with more English students. I think the ratio is to blame for our political apathy.

"Also, do you think that because its so far from the city centre it means it can be insular? Or maybe just not get as involved with Colleges situated in the centre? "

It isn't far from the city centre though. Its about 8 minutes cycling and if you were at Sidney Sussex it would take you 8 minutes to walk to the other side of town. It's mainly insular because everyone is based on site which is unusual but its possible to escape.

The only downside is that the college is relatively close to the Sidgwick site. Whilst this allows you an extra 2 minutes in bed, it means you rarely ever need to go into the town centre.

To be honest, the main way you socialise with others is through societies and talking to others on your course.

I do regret not being in a good-looking city centre college slightly but I go into town 5 days a week.

Check out the applicancy rates for each college. You'll normally have to email. That's partly what I based my decision on.

Paddy

Reply 14

Radagasty

happypad

The only downside is that the college is relatively close to the Sidgwick site. Whilst this allows you an extra 2 minutes in bed, it means you rarely ever need to go into the town centre.

I have an acquaintance who did his PhD at Churchill, and he recommended it to me because it was close to the Cavendish Laboratory (West Cambridge Site), where he worked. Do you think this is a cogent reason for going for Churchill?

Reply 15

ladyvice

Radagasty

Are there different levels of prestige attached to each college? I thought it was merely a question of academics (Tompkin's Table) and popularity.

well look at peterhouse...does pretty badly (bottom 4?) in the Tompkins, but still has a traditional and prestigious image, in part down to the age of the colleeg and it has spawned some pretty famous alumni.

Reply 16

Radagasty

ladyvice

well look at peterhouse...does pretty badly (bottom 4?) in the Tompkins, but still has a traditional and prestigious image, in part down to the age of the colleeg and it has spawned some pretty famous alumni.

Hmm... how would one go about determining the relative prestige of the colleges, then? Is there a commonly accepted measure?

Reply 17

ladyvice

Radagasty

Hmm... how would one go about determining the relative prestige of the colleges, then? Is there a commonly accepted measure?

In my experience it is pretty arbitrary. I mean, there are of course the colleges that have done well in the Tompkins table, and people do recognise that. Then of course different colleges have different specialisims, or subjects in which they often perform extremely well at. Then there are the colleges which survive on their age/reputation. I guess it's all about what matters to you; your own criteria. For example, a Socialist Workers Party member would probably LOVE to be at Kings, and for threm and in theoir social circles this would be about as prestigious as it could get! (In a weird reverse kind of way, given that they would probably rant about hating the establishment and tradition...hm, wasn't kings set up for eton boys?!) A Pitt Club memebr would probably want to be at Peterhouse, Magdalene, Trinity etc, regardless of the fact that the first isn't academically prestigious. It's generally accepted that Christs' is mental, but then that's because it has showers outside the library and it opens 24 hours, and students are not allowed televisions.....I guess bottom line is it's all about what kind of person you are.

Reply 18

winorloose

ladyvice

In my experience it is pretty arbitrary. I mean, there are of course the colleges that have done well in the Tompkins table, and people do recognise that. Then of course different colleges have different specialisims, or subjects in which they often perform extremely well at. Then there are the colleges which survive on their age/reputation. I guess it's all about what matters to you; your own criteria. For example, a Socialist Workers Party member would probably LOVE to be at Kings, and for threm and in theoir social circles this would be about as prestigious as it could get! (In a weird reverse kind of way, given that they would probably rant about hating the establishment and tradition...hm, wasn't kings set up for eton boys?!) A Pitt Club memebr would probably want to be at Peterhouse, Magdalene, Trinity etc, regardless of the fact that the first isn't academically prestigious. It's generally accepted that Christs' is mental, but then that's because it has showers outside the library and it opens 24 hours, and students are not allowed televisions.....I guess bottom line is it's all about what kind of person you are.

Any strange reputations/specialisims associated with Queens'?

Reply 19

happypad

Our library is open 24 hours too. Though we don't have showers! The accomodation at Christs is supposed to be poor.

Paddy

Is CHURCHILL COLLEGE good?

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