Murray Edwards College (Cambridge) Students and Applicants

is anyone else going to the offer holders day not yet 18? will that be a problem? silly late birthday...

Hey,
I got an offer for a phd course at cambridge and although i didn't choose murray edwards I have just been given an offer! Have to say I am really upset about it and worried about it being all girls. Worried it won't have the same college environment as the mixed colleges and after going to an all girls school when I was younger I'm not sure how I would cope! Does anyone have any advice on this college or all girls colleges in general? Would be much appreciated!

x

Is it just an empty rumor that it's easier to get into Cambridge if you apply to Murray Edwards because of their relatively low number of applicants, or is there some truth to it?
(Heard it from Cam graduates )

Hi, I'm a current offerholder for Murray Edwards and was just planning an IKEA trip with the family - what stuff do I need to buy? Do you have kettles + basic kitchen equipment provided? What kind of cooking facilities are available in the kitchens (I think I'm in Pearl House)? Is bedding provided? Is there Wifi in the rooms/ is it a cable internet thing? If it's cable, are we allowed to plug in our own routers to convert it to Wifi? What are we allowed to hang on the walls - are we allowed to hang up pictures or is there a pin board? Are we provided with a bookcase, and if so how big is it?
Sorry, that's a lot of questions!

Hi,

I am in a really similar position, I just got accepted into Murray Edwards after having applied for a different college and I am quite disheartened to find out I will be placed in an all women's college. My only concerns really are that the college is so small, (only a handful of post graduates,) and having lived in an all female dorm in my undergrad, (again not by choice at all!) I'm worried about going through it again. I have done a little research and some of my fears have been eased a bit...I've read that a lot of posts similar to ours with concerns about it being all female so I think lots of girls will be in the same boat as us. I don't think it'll be a closed gate nun community, at least hopefully. Apparently everyone makes an effort to join up with Fitzwilliam and Churchill so you get a dose of mixing with boys! I'm sure between the inter college socials, bar crawls and societies we'll be able to mingle a bit! I think that if you're anything like me it will encourage me to go out and find new people to go out and have fun with, plus I'm going to be working at the IoA half the time so I'll get my dose of boys there! There's also formal dinners which people from Fitzwilliam and Churchill attend I think?

Also if you're worried I did find a student written prospectus you might find a little helpful? I think the accommodation looks quite nice and everyone tries to be really friendly, or so it says in the prospectus!

http://www.murrayedwards.cam.ac.uk/files/49e8a137d58c5.pdf

I'm trying to think of it as I'll have my girls around me at my college and fun with the boys at work. Then we can all go out for a drink

Hopefully we're both worrying over nothing! We can do this!!

Hey, just seen this! I'm a postgrad at Murray Edwards so my info may be a little out of date as I don't live in College any more, but Pearl House does have kitchens. There is not a lot of cooking space, and not a lot of fridge space (was sharing a tall fridge between more than 8 girls). You should have hobs to cook on, and a microwave and a kettle in the kitchen, and a cupboard to keep stuff in.
You can bring a kettle if you are the kind of person who likes to have tea/coffee without going out to the corridor, but if space is limited don't feel like you have to bring one.
Bedding is not usually provided so bring your own sheets, duvet etc. Can't remember if there are pillows, I had two of my own when I was staying there. Beds are singles, in case you are wondering...

There is generally no WiFi coverage in rooms. You are highly unlikely to be allowed to plug in your own router to convert it to WiFi. This is partly because the internet that you get from the college wall socket is actually through an academic-use network, which has different terms and conditions from the internet you get through a home network, which basically boils down to the fact that they need to know exactly who is connected to the network at all times. Moreover, if you plug in your own router to the college socket, there is actually a chance that your router will break the internet for everyone, including yourself... because your router will be attempting to manage the network when the socket is expecting to manage the computer, leading to lots of confusing messages sent around the college network. Use a cable for your laptop/desktop computer -- it will be much simpler, faster and more reliable. If you are planning to arrive without a computer, there is a room full of shared computers through the library. WiFi is available at (some) communal areas around college, like the library, the bar, the plodge etc, but first you will need a bunch of passwords that you will have to collect on arrival.

Walls have pin boards. Use pins Blutacking the walls is not recommended, but doors are probably OK. There is an art rental scheme (which I have sadly never made use of) if you are interested in having real art rather than posters on walls.

Book case - I seem to vaguely remember it has two/three rows, big enough for A4 sized note binders. I found it OK, but I am a scientist. If you are in arts/humanities, then it may not be enough (depends on how much you buy/hoard books)

You may be able to talk to current undergrads who probably have more up to date info at this Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/232012016935649/?fref=ts

Hope this helps!!

Thank you for all the information!!! It's really useful
That's a shame about the WiFi/ internet situation - I was hoping to be able to use the internet on my iPod + kindle for basic things like checking emails rather than having to turn my whole laptop on (which takes absolutely ages...).
I might bring another bookcase then... (bit of a book hoarder...), or perhaps take the opportunity to sell then all to exchange for ebooks... I still prefer the actual paper copies though!
The art rental scheme sounds great I'll definitely investigate that...
Thank you IKEA here I come...

No probs -- I can totally understand the WiFi frustration, and many people find it hard to understand why something that basically is now in every home is not there in College. I used to sit on the college IT committee and this issue has come up again and again, so it may be that they finally decide to implement it when you are here. If not, keep making noises...

When you arrive you will get a thick folder full of information, some part of it relating to computing in college. Basically, (assuming they haven't changed the system completely), when you arrive at college they will give you a standard anti-virus software that you have to install before attaching your computer to the college network. If your computer is a bit slow expect to take a bit of time to uninstall your current antivirus and install the University's version. Towards the end of my stay in college I changed to Linux so that wasn't a thing I have to do any more, but I still get people asking me about it sometimes.

Oh and there is an art room in a little house/cottage at back of college, so you can make/draw/paint your own/get an artistic friend to make something if you feel like it!

Have fun at IKEA!

Was there any particular reason why they decided not to use WiFi?
That art room sounds great!
Thanks for all the info

WiFi - the main reason as far as I can tell is cost. Things that are expensive:
- the hardware: the wireless access points, switches
- the annual fee that is charged by University for each access point
- the manpower-hours to put in and maintain all the hardware
A College wireless network is much bigger than a home network (both number of devices and physical coverage) so it needs enterprise standard equipment, and are a lot more expensive (on the lines of http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopSearch.asp?CategoryID=325 each). Also, because of the way the access points work, the switches that connect to them will need to be a particular (again enterprise grade) type that is more expensive (like the bigger ones on this page http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Networking/cat/Switches/subcat/Switches---PoE ). Most Colleges (ME included) aren't really built with WiFi in mind so getting the wiring to put in the access points can add more difficulty to the situation.

I briefly mentioned about having to log in to use the internet because it is for academic use-- this is because the University's web access is provided by this thing called "janet" (https://www.ja.net/ possibly more usefully http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JANET ). Which comes with a specific requirement that only authenticated users that definitely belong to the University can use it. So the socket in your College room, once you have logged in/authenticated etc, the connection (and what you do on that connection) is associated with you, personally. Most of the time they don't go and look at what you do on the connection but they will notice and disconnect you if say, illegal downloads happened on your connection. Many domestic grade WiFi routers have less security built in, as most of the time the connection at your home won't need this kind of personal authentication. In other words, the connection at your home isn't associated personally with you, only associated with whoever set up the internet account. So, if someone breaks into a domestic grade WiFi router that plugged into the college network, on your connection, they could do illegal stuff and that would become associated with you personally, which is another problem with setting up your own WiFi access points.

I think there is also an attitude issue. The network is seen to be provided to enable students to do work. WiFi access on a phone/kindle/ipod is not seen as essential for someone to do work, and their argument is that so far no one has turned up at uni with only a tablet (or smaller) and expecting to do all their work on a tablet, so WiFi is definitely seen as something that is "nice to have", but at the moment not justifying the cost required to put it in. From talking to people at College, lots of people asking for WiFi is a relatively recent phenomenon for them (say 5 years)-- so in any case it will take a while for attitudes to change, budgeting to catch up, and perhaps WiFi would be available in a few more years' time...

If it is any consolation, I do believe that the chemistry department (I've noticed you are a phys natsci) should have WiFi in some of the common areas, in particular the lecture hall where you are likely to have maths, physics and chemistry lectures (assuming you're doing those subjects)!

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone knew if there is a noticeboard provided in the pearl house rooms?

Thanks,

Hi, does anyone know if we can change our first year accommodation? The letter I received the other day said we would all be allocated ridiculously expensive rooms in Pearl House, is it possible to ask them to switch me to cheaper accommodation? Or is that a really stupid idea because then I won't be around any of the other first years (not that I like socialising anyway... :'( )
There's no way I can afford the accommodation they are offering, which is almost twice the price a friend with an offer for another college will be paying.