The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

Hi guys, I'm sort of runnin out of time to choose a good college now... any advice'd be really really appreciated. I'm applying for maths and I'm looking for a college which is;

-Central, old and pretty
-Medium sized I guess... I think I prefer the cosy little quads like the old Queen's ones, but not so tiny that there's a limited community
-Nice people (kinda obvious I suppose), not too much of an upper class reputation if you get my meaning
-Good music facilities (I really enjoy my piano and I've started guitar too, and I'd like to be able to play with others in freetime; informally tho).
-Not so elite that it's impossible to get into (Trinity...)

I was hoping with so many Cambridge peeps around it'll be quite straightforward for you to name a college which maximises those preferences..? Thanks for any advice! :smile:

Reply 181

psyche87

8

NoPurposeTortoise

Hi there. I'm applying to Cambridge this year to do PhysNatSci, and I am deliberating between two colleges, Corpus and Pembroke. I stayed at Corpus for a summer school and loved it, and I visited Pembroke and really liked the grounds and the feel of the place.

I know a fair bit about the colleges, so I'll save you guys the effort and tell you I don't expect (or need!) a massive run down of what Corpus/Pembroke have or don't have :smile:

Basically, what is your gut feeling about them? Any inside information :wink:

?

Thanks xx

I'd go with Corpus... but then again I'm obviously biased. :P Both Corpus and Pembroke are really lovely colleges, though - so perhaps it might come down to whether you'd prefer to be in a very small college (Corpus have the smallest number of undergrads), or in a medium-sized college?

Reply 182

Mithra

2

psyche87

I'd go with Corpus... but then again I'm obviously biased. :P Both Corpus and Pembroke are really lovely colleges, though - so perhaps it might come down to whether you'd prefer to be in a very small college (Corpus have the smallest number of undergrads), or in a medium-sized college?

Peterhouse has the smallest number of undergrads I'm fairly sure? ... :shifty:

Reply 183

Rudrax

12

Xei

Hi guys, I'm sort of runnin out of time to choose a good college now... any advice'd be really really appreciated. I'm applying for maths and I'm looking for a college which is;

-Central, old and pretty
-Medium sized I guess... I think I prefer the cosy little quads like the old Queen's ones, but not so tiny that there's a limited community
-Nice people (kinda obvious I suppose), not too much of an upper class reputation if you get my meaning
-Good music facilities (I really enjoy my piano and I've started guitar too, and I'd like to be able to play with others in freetime; informally tho).
-Not so elite that it's impossible to get into (Trinity...)

I was hoping with so many Cambridge peeps around it'll be quite straightforward for you to name a college which maximises those preferences..? Thanks for any advice! :smile:

In all seriousness, sounds like Queens' is a pretty good fit to those criteria.

Reply 184

Excalibur

15

Xei

Hi guys, I'm sort of runnin out of time to choose a good college now... any advice'd be really really appreciated. I'm applying for maths and I'm looking for a college which is;

-Central, old and pretty
-Medium sized I guess... I think I prefer the cosy little quads like the old Queen's ones, but not so tiny that there's a limited community
-Nice people (kinda obvious I suppose), not too much of an upper class reputation if you get my meaning
-Good music facilities (I really enjoy my piano and I've started guitar too, and I'd like to be able to play with others in freetime; informally tho).
-Not so elite that it's impossible to get into (Trinity...)

I was hoping with so many Cambridge peeps around it'll be quite straightforward for you to name a college which maximises those preferences..? Thanks for any advice! :smile:

Any of Clare, Emmanuel, Pembroke, Queens' (note the apostrophe :p:

), St Catharine's, Christ's or Sidney Sussex would appear to fit the bill. Have you visited any?

Reply 185

psyche87

8

Mithra

Peterhouse has the smallest number of undergrads I'm fairly sure? ... :shifty:

If I'm not mistaken, Corpus has fewer undergrads than Peterhouse, but more postgrads than Peterhouse - so Corpus is the smallest undergrad college, but Peterhouse is the smallest college overall?

Reply 186

Mithra

2

psyche87

If I'm not mistaken, Corpus has fewer undergrads than Peterhouse, but more postgrads than Peterhouse - so Corpus is the smallest undergrad college, but Peterhouse is the smallest college overall?

haha, you are correct :biggrin:

(just). The latest prospectus says 250 at Corpus and 251 at Peterhouse :p:

Reply 187

Dragonkiller

1

What college would be good for Economics?

Not any of the ones that prefer Further Maths, as I don't do it.

Other than that, which is recommended? Completely in terms of being 'easier' to get into.

Thanks a lot

Reply 188

Jacobite

psyche87

If I'm not mistaken, Corpus has fewer undergrads than Peterhouse, but more postgrads than Peterhouse - so Corpus is the smallest undergrad college, but Peterhouse is the smallest college overall?

Just to try to clear this up... according to this: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2007-08/special/09/studentnumbers0607.pdf

In the most recent year for which figures are available (06-07) Corpus had 270 undergraduates, Peterhouse 266. (And yes Peterhouse had far fewer postgrads).

Reply 189

Xei

6

Excalibur

Any of Clare, Emmanuel, Pembroke, Queens' (note the apostrophe :p:

), St Catharine's, Christ's or Sidney Sussex would appear to fit the bill. Have you visited any?

Ew, I found out just now that there were two Queens that founded it, sorry. :P

I'll look those up, thanks very much.

Any advice about the general reputations of those colleges and what they're like?

Reply 190

Excalibur

15

Xei

Ew, I found out just now that there were two Queens that founded it, sorry. :P

I'll look those up, thanks very much.

Any advice about the general reputations of those colleges and what they're like?

The best way is to visit them - colleges are more similar than they are different, and some you will instinctively like more than others. Reading the prospectus, alternative prospectus and the respective JCR websites will also help. Apart from Trinity, I'd say competition is mostly equal especially due to the pool.

Reply 191

Rudrax

12

Trinity and Johns are probably equally oversubscribed.

Reply 192

Snore

Isn't Emmanuel really hard to get into?

Reply 193

psyche87

8

Jacobite

Just to try to clear this up... according to this: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2007-08/special/09/studentnumbers0607.pdf

In the most recent year for which figures are available (06-07) Corpus had 270 undergraduates, Peterhouse 266. (And yes Peterhouse had far fewer postgrads).

Probably varies a bit from year to year though, as seen from the different stats (prospectus, reporter) available (there's also another statistic table just below the one listing undergrads that shows there were fewer undergrads entering Corpus that year than Peterhouse).

But at any rate, although it might be hard to tell whether Corpus or Peterhouse has a smaller undergraduate population, they definitely have the smallest undergraduate populations (excepting the mature colleges)!

Reply 194

boysenberry

what kind of a reputation does caius have? known for anything in particular (except for hawking :wink:

)?
it looks beautiful and the location's good... i'm leaning towards it, as well as clare.

Reply 195

Rudrax

12

boysenberry

what kind of a reputation does caius have? known for anything in particular (except for hawking :wink:

)?
it looks beautiful and the location's good... i'm leaning towards it, as well as clare.

Best place for the propaganda is here:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14277321#post14277321

Reply 196

shotgunkisses

2

For anyone asking about which places are easier/harder to get into, the official Cambridge stance is that you have an equal chance of getting in at any college - however, some colleges have more people applying, so would end up probably putting more in the pool, so applying to a less 'competitive' one would make it more likely you would be accepted at the college you applied to, but no more or less likely to get into Cambridge overall.

Or at least that's what the people at the open day told us. It might just be a claim that's not 100% true, but I'd prefer to believe it is.

Reply 197

shotgunkisses

2

For anyone asking about which places are easier/harder to get into, the official Cambridge stance is that you have an equal chance of getting in at any college - however, some colleges have more people applying, so would end up probably putting more in the pool, so applying to a less 'competitive' one would make it more likely you would be accepted at the college you applied to, but no more or less likely to get into Cambridge overall.

Or at least that's what the people at the open day told us. It might just be a claim that's not 100% true, but I'd prefer to believe it is.

Reply 198

GoodbyeTSR

13

shotgunkisses

For anyone asking about which places are easier/harder to get into, the official Cambridge stance is that you have an equal chance of getting in at any college - however, some colleges have more people applying, so would end up probably putting more in the pool, so applying to a less 'competitive' one would make it more likely you would be accepted at the college you applied to, but no more or less likely to get into Cambridge overall.

Or at least that's what the people at the open day told us. It might just be a claim that's not 100% true, but I'd prefer to believe it is.

Why the double post? And does that mean I'm not doing something stupid by applying to Trinity?

Reply 199

Jacobite

The only potential problem with shotgunkisses's argument (which is perfectly true) is that if you fail to win an offer at your first choice college and get pooled, you are likely to be referred to a college with a lower than average number of applicants. This may well be very inconvenient for you - for example if you are girl who is reluctant to go to an all-women's college (both Newnham and New Hall/Murray Edwards take large numbers from the pool). So if you are very hostile to the idea of being pooled to certain colleges, it may well be advisable to avoid applying to a very competitive one. Though if you are an excellent candidate you will probably get into your first choice college, wherever you apply.

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