The Student Room Group

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Reply 1
H&E
Does anyone know how it came about that Pembroke College has so little money? Or how long it's been the case?


When it was in the news, I think it was mentioned that it wasn't founded with a benefaction.
Reply 2
It's not as poor as people make out. A couple of years ago it was in real trouble but I think it's OK now. The JCR and boat club, however, are the richest in Oxford due to a curious twist of fate. Someone apparently left a painting to Pembroke JCR in their will about 30 years ago and it was just sitting in a cupboard collecting dust. Then someone found it and decided to have it valued and it turned out to be worth 20 million squid!!! It was left to the JCR though, not the college, and being the tight bastards that they are they decided not to give any of the proceeds to the financially desperate college and have been living off the profit every since.
Reply 3
hildabeast
It's not as poor as people make out. A couple of years ago it was in real trouble but I think it's OK now. The JCR and boat club, however, are the richest in Oxford due to a curious twist of fate. Someone apparently left a painting to Pembroke JCR in their will about 30 years ago and it was just sitting in a cupboard collecting dust. Then someone found it and decided to have it valued and it turned out to be worth 20 million squid!!! It was left to the JCR though, not the college, and being the tight bastards that they are they decided not to give any of the proceeds to the financially desperate college and have been living off the profit every since.


I suspected it was partly to do with stupidity/selfishness

As regards not that poor - then why are the accomodation charges so high?
Reply 4
H&E
As regards not that poor - then why are the accomodation charges so high?


I don't mean they're not poor, I just mean that they're not completely on the verge of going bankrupt like they used to be. There are quite a few comparatively poor colleges in Oxford (my own being one of them). I know the rent at Pembroke is high, but it's not all that much different to Teddy Hall or here.
Reply 5
hildabeast
It's not as poor as people make out. A couple of years ago it was in real trouble but I think it's OK now. The JCR and boat club, however, are the richest in Oxford due to a curious twist of fate. Someone apparently left a painting to Pembroke JCR in their will about 30 years ago and it was just sitting in a cupboard collecting dust. Then someone found it and decided to have it valued and it turned out to be worth 20 million squid!!! It was left to the JCR though, not the college, and being the tight bastards that they are they decided not to give any of the proceeds to the financially desperate college and have been living off the profit every since.

I've also heard about that story, but with a slightly different reason behind it. Apparently when the Pembroke JCR visited their sister college in Cambridge(I don't know which one) they offered the Pembroke JCR a gift of anything from the common room. One person liked the picture and asked for it. They took it and subsequently sold it. I don't know which one is right though.
Reply 6
The cheapest rooms in 2003-4 were 87 quid a week. Rooms with an ensuite were 147 quid a week. I will only be getting 3 grand in loan, plus have to pay my tuition fees..am so buggered.
Reply 7
aliel
The cheapest rooms in 2003-4 were 87 quid a week. Rooms with an ensuite were 147 quid a week. I will only be getting 3 grand in loan, plus have to pay my tuition fees..am so buggered.


Yes, I'm in a similar situation, but I managed by working the summer. My rent here is about £76 p/w (I don't have the choice of ensuite; in fact Hilda's first years don't get a choice at all unless they're disabled). You'll be fine I'm sure.
Reply 8
aliel
The cheapest rooms in 2003-4 were 87 quid a week. Rooms with an ensuite were 147 quid a week. I will only be getting 3 grand in loan, plus have to pay my tuition fees..am so buggered.


Do you know if the richer colleges (ChCh, St. John's) give money to Pembroke? Coz once you're in the situation where you can't pay your bills even with your loan, things become really difficult. You'd've thought the University appriciates this sufficiently to try and do something about it.
Reply 9
H&E
Do you know if the richer colleges (ChCh, St. John's) give money to Pembroke? Coz once you're in the situation where you can't pay your bills even with your loan, things become really difficult. You'd've thought the University appriciates this sufficiently to try and do something about it.



Im sure there are plenty of peeps in a similar situation to me, it's not that i am particularly worried- things always seem to work out for me. It's just altho' never being a mathematical genius..it's going to be tricky. You see i'm already in debt, spent a year at uni abroad, so trying to pay that off as well. Now if i get 3 grand a year, i will have to find around 2 grand a year on top of that. It's funny, cos when i was at Pem at interviews, the 2nd years were going on about how Pem burns boats yearly that could have fetched at least 5 grand each!
H&E
Do you know if the richer colleges (ChCh, St. John's) give money to Pembroke? Coz once you're in the situation where you can't pay your bills even with your loan, things become really difficult. You'd've thought the University appriciates this sufficiently to try and do something about it.


Yes they do which is why there are bursaries and hardship funds available at all colleges. There is a system of endowment redistribution from the richer to the poorer colleges, but there are still considerable wealth differences between some of them. The 'university' doesn't really exist in that sense; all hardship funds come from individual colleges as they have pastoral charge over their students. It's quite a difficult thing to get your head round really.
Reply 11
hildabeast
Yes they do which is why there are bursaries and hardship funds available at all colleges. There is a system of endowment redistribution from the richer to the poorer colleges, but there are still considerable wealth differences between some of them. The 'university' doesn't really exist in that sense; all hardship funds come from individual colleges as they have pastoral charge over their students. It's quite a difficult thing to get your head round really.


I got info thru' about bursaries (£1000), except im not eligible- dont qualify for LEA support!
aliel
I got info thru' about bursaries (£1000), except im not eligible- dont qualify for LEA support!


You don't qualify for LEA support??? Are you not a home student??? If you are you will still only have to pay a maximum of £1150; the LEA will pay the rest.
Reply 13
hildabeast
You don't qualify for LEA support??? Are you not a home student??? If you are you will still only have to pay a maximum of £1150; the LEA will pay the rest.


Sorry that's what i meant. The bursaries are only available to those who don't have to pay the full £1150- which i do have to- therefore wont be considered for a bursary.
Reply 14
hildabeast
Yes, I'm in a similar situation, but I managed by working the summer. My rent here is about £76 p/w (I don't have the choice of ensuite; in fact Hilda's first years don't get a choice at all unless they're disabled). You'll be fine I'm sure.


Scary. £76/week is more than what I pay and I have en-suite!
aliel
Sorry that's what i meant. The bursaries are only available to those who don't have to pay the full £1150- which i do have to- therefore wont be considered for a bursary.


Oh right, sorry. Yes that's true, but there are hardship funds available in every college. In fact here there are so many different grants that people can apply for at college level that it's just a case of finding out about them and filling in the form. For example you can claim up to £50 per year as an extra-curricular grant (for sports equipment etc), and there are £50 book grants for every student. There is also money set aside specifically for hardship, and I'm sure it's the same at Pembroke. No matter how poor they are they still have to offer basic support for their students. Some of the richer colleges might offer larger travel grants or something but Pembroke should still have core harship funds. What you should do when you get here is make your financial situation known to your moral tutor immediately and find out from the Bursar exactly what is available to you. There's a third year here who has a daughter but she didn't tell the college until this year when they informed her of all the special grants and childcare places that she could have claimed. It's important to claim everything you're entitled to.
Reply 16
Thanks for the information Hildabeast! Hopefully i will be able to keep my head above water, but if i don't, i know what to do. :smile:
aliel
Thanks for the information Hildabeast! Hopefully i will be able to keep my head above water, but if i don't, i know what to do. :smile:


Yes I'm sure you'll manage. It's also worth remembering that the vacations are so long you can do a fair amount of paid work during your time off, especially over the summer. Good luck :smile:.
Reply 18
Is Queens' poor?

I am beginning to worry about not applying to Christchurch now!
shiny
Is Queens' poor?

I am beginning to worry about not applying to Christchurch now!


Nope, I'm pretty sure Queen's has a large endowment. Generally the older colleges do.