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The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

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Original post by Chief Wiggum
probably just comes down to personal preference really... Have a read at their websites etc.


That was how i shortlisted them in the first place.. It was already hard bringing the list down to three :wink: but thanks anyway!
Original post by Audrey...
Hey, I'd like to apply for NatSci, and I've managed to shorten my list to three colleges: Clare, Trinity Hall and Queen's.

Any advice on which to choose? Thanks :smile:


Notably Tit hall is very small, and has a lot of out-of college accomodation it and Clare is hidden away round the back of Kibgs quite a bit which generally means fewer tourists. Queens has a large 60s component, and it's buildings go right up to the river but the others have gardens down to the banks instead.

Best thing to do is go down and have a walk around, ideally without a tour guide, and see which you seem to like. Or ask one of the students whose not one of the tour guides and doesn't look to busy to show you around. (you can probably learn more that way, the tour guides have rather perfected their tours) That or go on an open day, and try to get tours from a few different guides at each (you'd be amazed the different that having an attractive member of your preferred sex giving the tour can make!!) and ask questions, plenty of them.


You don't need to come up with any particular criteria (if you have some great, if you don't then don't bother trying to make some up), go by gut feeling instead.
Original post by The Mr Z
Notably Tit hall is very small, and has a lot of out-of college accomodation it and Clare is hidden away round the back of Kibgs quite a bit which generally means fewer tourists. Queens has a large 60s component, and it's buildings go right up to the river but the others have gardens down to the banks instead.

Best thing to do is go down and have a walk around, ideally without a tour guide, and see which you seem to like. Or ask one of the students whose not one of the tour guides and doesn't look to busy to show you around. (you can probably learn more that way, the tour guides have rather perfected their tours) That or go on an open day, and try to get tours from a few different guides at each (you'd be amazed the different that having an attractive member of your preferred sex giving the tour can make!!) and ask questions, plenty of them.


You don't need to come up with any particular criteria (if you have some great, if you don't then don't bother trying to make some up), go by gut feeling instead.


Haha I'm sure it does you're right!

Might be a bit difficult since I live in France, but I'd love to go to the open day. It's probably to late to book a ticket though isn't it? (Especially if i need to stay overnight). It's definitely the best way to get a real feel of each one though...

Edit: open day fully booked.. Do you think I'd still be able to visit the colleges by myself?
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Audrey...
Hey, I'd like to apply for NatSci, and I've managed to shorten my list to three colleges: Clare, Trinity Hall and Queen's.

Any advice on which to choose? Thanks :smile:


I will hopefully be going to Trinity Hall in October - it's a truly lovely college, and very central, which was important for me! It's a small college, in terms of students, so if you're looking for a very close-knit community, Trinity Hall might be right up your street. The pastoral system seems to be a great strength as well. It is very near King's College, so you might see a lot of tourists, but to be honest, that shouldn't be a deciding factor.

I don't know much about the other two, other than Stephen Fry went to Queen's! Haha. All the best :smile:
Original post by Catherine.
I will hopefully be going to Trinity Hall in October - it's a truly lovely college, and very central, which was important for me! It's a small college, in terms of students, so if you're looking for a very close-knit community, Trinity Hall might be right up your street. The pastoral system seems to be a great strength as well. It is very near King's College, so you might see a lot of tourists, but to be honest, that shouldn't be a deciding factor.

I don't know much about the other two, other than Stephen Fry went to Queen's! Haha. All the best :smile:


Trinity hall's starting to creep up the list towards first position I have to say :wink: It's just so beautiful, and the library looks amazing, right out onto the river. Well done on getting a place there!
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Audrey...
Haha I'm sure it does you're right!

Might be a bit difficult since I live in France, but I'd love to go to the open day. It's probably to late to book a ticket though isn't it? (Especially if i need to stay overnight). It's definitely the best way to get a real feel of each one though...

Edit: open day fully booked.. Do you think I'd still be able to visit the colleges by myself?


Book a ticket? Nah :cool:

Been to several, there have never been any actual tickets or name checks or anything, it just for some sort of admin. Just go along. Train from Paris to St Pancreas, change and get a direct to Cambridge.
Original post by The Mr Z
Book a ticket? Nah :cool:

Been to several, there have never been any actual tickets or name checks or anything, it just for some sort of admin. Just go along. Train from Paris to St Pancreas, change and get a direct to Cambridge.


So badass :tongue:

Thanks for your advice, it's just a matter of convincing my parents now! :wink:
Original post by Audrey...
Haha I'm sure it does you're right!

Might be a bit difficult since I live in France, but I'd love to go to the open day. It's probably to late to book a ticket though isn't it? (Especially if i need to stay overnight). It's definitely the best way to get a real feel of each one though...

Edit: open day fully booked.. Do you think I'd still be able to visit the colleges by myself?


Generally, if you go to a college and tell the Porters' you're a prospective student, they'll let you have a wander. If you can catch a passing student, you can ask some questions :smile:
Trinity Hall. :smile:
Original post by gethsemane342
Generally, if you go to a college and tell the Porters' you're a prospective student, they'll let you have a wander. If you can catch a passing student, you can ask some questions :smile:


Thanks! (guess that's also a way of telling whether the college is friendly :wink: )


Original post by Tizzitrix
Trinity Hall. :smile:


Yes I think that's going to be my final choice!!
Basically, I am applying to do Philosophy at Cambridge for 2013 entry, and need help from anyone who knows anything about Cambridge, if you go there, even better, about which college is best for me.

So my criteria are:
-Good for philosophy (near the Sidgwick site, and relatively easy to get in to, particularly for Philosophy students)
-Location not too far from town centre as well as from Sidgwick site
-MODERN! I.e. not too many old traditions like wearing gowns regularly, so a college with down to earth normal people
-High proportion of state school students
-Lots of food choices for meals in the canteen
Also good facilities like good cheap bars, tennis and squash courts would be nice but not completely necessary!

Cheers
Original post by Birdsnest
Basically, I am applying to do Philosophy at Cambridge for 2013 entry, and need help from anyone who knows anything about Cambridge, if you go there, even better, about which college is best for me.

So my criteria are:
-Good for philosophy (near the Sidgwick site, and relatively easy to get in to, particularly for Philosophy students)
-Location not too far from town centre as well as from Sidgwick site
-MODERN! I.e. not too many old traditions like wearing gowns regularly, so a college with down to earth normal people
-High proportion of state school students
-Lots of food choices for meals in the canteen
Also good facilities like good cheap bars, tennis and squash courts would be nice but not completely necessary!

Cheers


I'm at Pembroke, which probably fulfils all of your criteria (although our bar's not particularly cheap compared to some of the others :p:). For what it's worth, it's the third oldest college and we still wear gowns to formal, but we're all pretty down to earth! Here's a link to the menus - we're known for having good food (anything that says "Buttery Menu" is what we eat daily, as opposed to being for formal). Pembroke's pretty close to the centre; it's a 5-10 minute walk to the big Sainsbury's, and 10 minutes to the Sidgwick Site.

Alternatively, there's Robinson if you want something a lot more modern and you can look past the architecture. :p: One of my best friends goes there and she seems to love it - she chose it because it's got a cheap bar and because she thought it had a high state school intake (I'm not sure whether this is the case relative to other colleges). It's one of the newer colleges, so it's a little less traditional, but it's the only one that's close to the centre (Churchill was established in 1958, but it's too far to walk from so you'd need a bike).

If you're not averse to wearing a gown occasionally, I'd also recommend looking at Emma(nuel) - it's known as being friendly and for having a cheap bar (I don't spend all my time drinking, honest!).

Hope this helps. :smile:
That's really useful, thanks!

Only trouble I have with Pembroke and Robinson is that according to the Cambridge application statistics on their website, they have under 60% of their students being from state schools, which is quite low for Cambridge, lower than most other colleges - is this not much of a noticable problem then! (Not that I have any prejudice towards the privately educated of course!)

Also, what do you think of Kings and Clare college for the criteria that I put down, these were 2 that I was seriously considering, particularly Kings...
Original post by Birdsnest
That's really useful, thanks!

Only trouble I have with Pembroke and Robinson is that according to the Cambridge application statistics on their website, they have under 60% of their students being from state schools, which is quite low for Cambridge, lower than most other colleges - is this not much of a noticable problem then! (Not that I have any prejudice towards the privately educated of course!)

Also, what do you think of Kings and Clare college for the criteria that I put down, these were 2 that I was seriously considering, particularly Kings...


I think King's and Clare would fulfil most of the stuff you said. King's definitely has a reputation for a lack of gown-wearing and being quite left-wing. But some of the stuff you said is kind of strange, eg "MODERN! I.e. not too many old traditions like wearing gowns regularly, so a college with down to earth normal people" - I don't really see how how traditional a college is has anything to do with how normal its students are.

Although with the whole private school / state school thing, people really don't care in Cambridge.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Chief Wiggum
I think King's and Clare would fulfil most of the stuff you said. King's definitely has a reputation for a lack of gown-wearing and being quite left-wing. But some of the stuff you said is kind of strange, eg "MODERN! I.e. not too many old traditions like wearing gowns regularly, so a college with down to earth normal people" - I don't really see how how traditional a college is has anything to do with how normal its students are.

Although with the whole private school / state school thing, people really don't care in Cambridge.


What I was really getting at is a college with people that are 'normal' but just to me, maybe I didn't explain that well, my view of a normal person would be someone like the people where I'm from, and obviously that differs around the country so I get your confusion.

I mean people who aren't pompous, down to earth, and live a modern life, unlike the (to me) silly traditional life that some upper class people seem to live, like the likes who maybe go to Trinity for example.
Original post by Birdsnest
What I was really getting at is a college with people that are 'normal' but just to me, maybe I didn't explain that well, my view of a normal person would be someone like the people where I'm from, and obviously that differs around the country so I get your confusion.

I mean people who aren't pompous, down to earth, and live a modern life, unlike the (to me) silly traditional life that some upper class people seem to live, like the likes who maybe go to Trinity for example.


The obvious fact here is that you have been mislead into the media generated image of Cambridge. Obviously there are some posh people in every college but whether they went to a private school or not is not indicative of whether they share the same interests as you. 70% of Trinity could be privately educated but they could all be down to earth, whereas 40% of King's could be privately educated but you find that they are all on a different wavelength to you (arbitrary figures). Trust me, do not pick a college based on the % of privately educated acceptances, you will meet very few people with a 'holier than thou' attitude in Cambridge.
Hello, I am thinking of, well not thinking but definitely will be applying to Cambridge.
I wanted to go there for a very long time, and I would really like an advice from somebody who knows a lot about the institution, or somebody who has attended the University, about their colleges and which could suit my interests/orientations.
I have found several articles on these forums about the university, especially the one where the original poster states certain positive and negative features about each of the colleges. As helpful as it was, I would really like for someone to comment from their own perspective and experience on where I could apply.

I have always eyed King's college, for the many reasons that I wouldn't have time to mention. So I would briefly like to state a little bit about myself and my views, and if you know the right house for me, or even have an advice, I would greatly appreciate all your help. So here is a little bit about me:

- I am planning on studying "Modern and Medieval Languages" (Russian and Spanish).
- I love history, and I would want a college to be something, where I could feel that historical, cultural and almost if you could say "magical" identity around me. I would also prefer the place to be quiet, where I could escape reality (I guess one attribute which King's lacks, or so I've herd)
- My Political views are somewhat moderate. I would be left wing on economical issues, where as probably right wing on social. Putting it shortly, I believe in equal society, and less class division, whereas at the same time I believe in traditional values.
- I love History and Cultures. Especially Russian. Whether that's Russian literature, composers or the history of it in general.
- Religious views/stances are not very important to me, I would always consider myself a Christian, but I do not practise it.
- I would say I am sporty, and I love anything that's competitive(anything from quiz nights to chess to bowling) not that I am planning on doing any sports at Cambridge, but I love American sports such as American Football and Baseball. I also really like Ice hockey.
- I love Arts, whether that's theatre, operas, plays or paintings.
- Travelling and exploring is something that I really enjoy.


I know that the best and right advice for me would be is to walk around Cambridge and see what I would like myself, and of course I will do that, yet it would really help for someone to comment with an actual experience about Cambridge and from somebody who can give an honest advice, since 1 day of sightseeing isn't really an honest answer of what to expect for at least 4 years of your life.

Thanks for going through this, and if you have any more follow up questions, which could help you answer my question a little bit better, please do not hesitate to ask me.

Kind Regards




Also I would like to mention that I am 22, as I had to take some time off after school to travel, due to the sport I was in. And now I am studying for my A level exams which I am hoping to complete shortly. Even though I am still in early 20's technically I am a mature student, but I wouldn't want to attend a mature only/graduate college. I guess I've mentioned this part since some college administrations may be more friendly or not so friendly towards the applicant being of slightly older than the usual applicants. Or this may not be the case at all, anyway, thanks once again.
That would be so much help! But I really don't want to go to Oxford haha, unfortunately it's all Cambridge for me, even though Oxford is considered somewhat more artsy!
Original post by CupiditasMetam
right wing on social [issues]...I believe in traditional values.


King's isn't for you.
caius

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