Is trinity college too elitist?

In October, I'll be applying to university with the intention of studying maths at Cambridge. A really important aspect for me is strong friendship groups, and I'm slightly worried that trinity has too much of an elitist vibe; how well you do in exams dictates how good your room is the next year, apparently. Also, I'm worried that it might attract people of a more well off background, and without meaning any disrespect, I don't want to be looked down on because I come from Essex and went to a state school. On the flip side to this, trinity is by far the most popular in terms of mathematicians, and it is the richest and thus can give the best funding should I need it, both of which are very appealing to me. Any advice would be much appreciated!!

Reply 1

hiq

Trinity is one of the largest colleges so you're less likely to get to know the other people in your college very well. I think if you really want a good community vibe it might be better to apply to a smaller college like Peterhouse or Selwyn which have a smaller student intake perhaps.

Reply 2

Doones

Original post by vectorpi

If you don't like the feel of Trinity apply to a different college. Perhaps a smaller college would suit you better. Trinity doesn't have exclusive rights over the "best" mathmos. 3 of the last 5 Senior Wranglers have come from other colleges...

However colleges are more similar than different. For example, many give priority to students with Firsts.

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(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

gsckmom

John's has a lot of mathmos and is generally very generous: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/grants-awards-prizes. They have a studentship scheme for disadvantaged students: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/studentship-scheme, Pythagoras prize for one UK first year mathmo: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/pythagoras-prize, and annual learning and research funds: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/learning-research-fund available to all students.

The college has a reputation for being "posh", but my son has found it to be very friendly. Next to Trinity, they have taken in the most mathmos for the last few years and are consistently in the top 5 for number of maths students accepted (http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics). So there is a robust community of mathmos there. They also have supplemental example classes for the mathmos as well as the Adams Society (http://adams.soc.srcf.net), a maths society that hosts several lectures and dinners every term.

As everyone says, ad nausieum, apply to the college you want. You will come to love any college and think it is "the best" soon enough. So certainly do not feel that you can only be happy at Trinity. :smile:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 4

alcibiade

It is very much what you make it, there are many different types of people in every college. Sure, there are pockets of posh twits, but think they are quite rare. In general, Cam is very down to earth, full of people doing their thing with great intensity.

My daughter was in Girton and perhaps only once met entitled snobs in her entire time at Cambridge. She always had friends, some of them in her field rather than her college, though everyone is so busy it is hard to concentrate on personal issues. It was her academic work, her singing, and acting that filled her time.

Reply 5

Parliament

Original post by gsckmom

Of course John's takes a lot of mathmos: it's one of the largest colleges...

It's more useful to look at the number of mathmos taken as a percentage of all students. OP is correct in that Trinity is unusually full of mathmos.

I'm good friends with a lot of Trinity students, and can safely say that though there are pockets of posh people (as there are at every college, to slightly varying degrees), Trinity in general isn't elitist. You shouldn't be dissuaded from applying for that reason :smile:

Reply 6

gsckmom

Original post by Parliament

It's more useful to look at the number of mathmos taken as a percentage of all students.

Yes and no... You do not become friends with or study with a percentage of your college, but rather actual people. With 20+ other maths students at Johns, there is a large group right where you are to bond with.

Original post by Parliament

OP is correct in that Trinity is unusually full of mathmos.

I am not disputing that at all. Trinity has twice its next closest competitor. I was simply trying to point out that if being with a large group of mathmos is an important factor to the OP, then there are others colleges that really do have a large cohort as well. Johns, Queens, Kings, Pembroke, Emma all have quite a few.

:smile:

Reply 7

Dotterel

Original post by vectorpi

trinity is by far the most popular in terms of mathematicians, and it is the richest and thus can give the best funding should I need it, both of which are very appealing to me.

Don't confuse the richest college with the one that provides the best funding. Whilst Trinity is the richest, I believe that last year they sent out their acceptance /rejection letters by second class post. There may be good reasons why they are still the richest. Also what gsckmom wrote in regards to funding at John's is correct. Check it out if funding is an issue. It could well make the difference between being able to concentrate on your studies or being worried about running up huge debts.

A couple of years ago, we were in the same situation as you in looking for a college for our son. He went to a state school with no history of sending pupils to Oxbridge and no clue as to the college based system. Neither, to be honest, did we. Due to our distance from Cambridge we had to do all of our selection on-line, with our first visit to Cambridge at the time of the interview. Like you we started looking at Trinity as we had actually heard about it and knew that it had a good reputation for maths. The large size of the maths group put us off a bit.

What was a bigger concern was the accommodation. To be fair to Trinity, it does at least make a reasonable attempt to put mathmos near where there lectures will be. But in first year that seems to be in the Wolfson building, which is entirely surrounded by the backs of other buildings with not a blade of grass or tree in sight. We felt that this prospect was too depressing to contemplate for a youngster brought up in a very rural environment.

You are fortunate in living so close to Cambridge. If you haven't already done so, use the internet to rule out the colleges which are definitely off your list (post-grad /mature / single sex) or that don't offer the facilities that you may require, whether in terms of location/ size/ sports or leisure opportunities.

Next, get along to a few open days, and see how you feel. Ask questions. We had to do all this selection on-line and having eliminated Trinity, for a while we liked the sound of Emma. It had a critical number of mathmos- not too few - check out the admin stats for Cambridge for this. It also offered free laundry and had a bonus of ducks - always a good thing.

Just 2 weeks before the decision went in, we had a last look on-line and changed to John's. The fact that you can keep your stuff in your rooms over Christmas and Easter makes life so much easier if you live, like us, a 7 hour train journey away.

My son started at John's this year. His room looks out over the back of the Master''s garden towards the Cam. He is a couple of minutes walk from a fantastic and very modern library that is open 24/7, the food is amazing and he has 2 hours of extra maths classes a week as part of the John's college mathmo group. He loves it.

Saying that, if he had applied elsewhere, or been pooled, he could have been just as happy and the lectures are the same. Before the interview, we stayed the night in Sidney Sussex, It was so nice and the staff were so helpful and friendly. It too could have been fine. There is no one right choice. What matters are your priorities.

Have fun looking and good luck.

Reply 8

Carolyn77

My son is a mathmo in his second year at Trinity and he's from a state school and he loves the place. He has some awesome friendship groups there, from all backgrounds and nationalities. Trinity is really proactive about encouraging, attracting and supporting students from state schools. We think Trinity is the best! Good luck!