The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

Ah right ok.

It's a hard choice. I suppose part of my decision would be based on the interview and that process - the test/preparatory study etc.

Reply 361

Jacobite

Perhaps one measure of a college's desirability is the number of history fellows and history undergraduates (relative to the size of the college). A large number of fellows has practical advantages such as a greater likelihood of being supervised in college, while a large number of undergraduates might suggest a prominent tradition in the subject.

Peterhouse (which apparently has a particular reputation for history - see the TSR wiki for example) accepted the largest number (14) of history freshers of all the colleges in 2007, despite being the smallest college in overall terms, and thus has an extremely high proportion of history undergraduates. It also has a disproportionate number of history fellows (8 out of 30-40). The college is one of a minority that sets a written history test at interview (though this did not seem too traumatic when I was confronted with it last December, and simply offers an extra opportunity for you to display your potential). I should declare an interest since I am going up to Peterhouse this October, but from what I have experienced so far I would thoroughly recommend it :smile:

Reply 362

acrosstheuniverse

Stonehenge1108

Thanks for the quick reply guys. And I don't think I'm going to apply for St. John's because they're the only college to do a TSA as well as a test on interview.

How are you finding life at Caius? It was an amazing college architecturally and it had a great library, but I've heard that the food isn't as good as the other colleges?

Really? St John's is the only one to make you do both TSA and a test at interview? :eek:

I was trying to avoid tests and managed to apply to the college with the most :rolleyes:

how stupid am I. :o:

Anyway, the TSA is just multiple choice so not too big a deal. Just apply to wherever feels or sounds right to you, and if you apply to a larger college then it should probably increase chances of a greater number of fellow history students. Apparently Jesus is the most sporty college, and as I think someone has said, Peterhouse has a reputation for history. It is the oldest college after all! But you will be taught by the Faculty as a whole, so I wouldn't bother researching the various fellows at the colleges.

Reply 363

--

3

acrosstheuniverse

But you will be taught by the Faculty as a whole, so I wouldn't bother researching the various fellows at the colleges.

This isn't completely true. In your first two years you'll study five separate papers, so that's five periods of expertise. If you have five fellows in your college which teach those subjects - probably a realistic proposition in Peterhouse - then you'll almost certainly be supervised by them. If not, then your DoS will source a supervisor, the faculty actually has little impact on your teaching apart from lectures (which aren't compulsory and attendance of which is pretty low) and in arranging Themes and Sources (as well as organising exams, obviously). The focus of my teaching was firmly college-based from where I was standing.

Also, it's your college DoS who arranges your teaching - they arrange who your supervisions are with, and often have a preferred supervisor for certain papers, so the experience will vary for students at different colleges. However, it's worth pointing out that supervisors aren't all the same, they have different styles and those different styles suit different students, so you may apply to a college because you're itching to meet that famous historian because you've read all his books, but you might not actually like their supervisions.

So, the usual tag line of, 'the college doesn't matter, History teaching is faculty based' isn't necessarily true in practice. It does make a difference, but it makes a difference that you can't actually judge accurately before you get there, so I suppose it may as well not matter.

Peterhouse :yes:

In that case... Sidney.

Reply 366

Craghyrax

17

Nah - we have more Historian fellows, and we take in more Historians :p:

But seriously - my general policy is: apply to whichever college you like the look of!

Reply 367

Isometrix

11

hey can anyone please help me on this prob. which college would you personally reccomend that takes in a fair amount of medics (12+) each year, has good facilities and societies, and would also match my academic criteria (see sig). please assume that i CANNOT apply to the following: gonville and caius, christs, downing and jesus. i've shortlisted a few including st johns, trinity and emmanuel.

Reply 368

Neutral_Tones

Stonehenge1108

Thanks for the quick reply guys. And I don't think I'm going to apply for St. John's because they're the only college to do a TSA as well as a test on interview.

How are you finding life at Caius? It was an amazing college architecturally and it had a great library, but I've heard that the food isn't as good as the other colleges?

Yep Cantab's right - I'll be there next Saturday (a week now :biggrin:

) Chewwy's probably the best person to ask about that, but I can tell you my experiences so far, as well as those of my friend (who applied to John's for History, but was unfortunately pooled and rejected.) Yeah so far there are no complaints about anything at all - actually before I've even go there I'm so pleased to have picked Caius! (That's obv helped by the fact that I'm in the SHB with ensuites for my first year :biggrin:

) The food is notorious, but I hear that they've improved it dramatically in the last few years. Of course I've only been for open days and interviews (and I think they put on a good show to make us apply at the former!) but it seemed quite nice then. Again, I'll tell you more when I'm actually there! The library is one of the best things about Caius - it's renowned for being amazing and possibly one of the best college libraries. Plus it's pretty :smile:

Funnily enough, I was choosing between John's and Caius, although obviously for English (but I did think about History!) In the end, there was so little to choose from between all colleges that I just went for the one I liked best - Caius is a fairly large college, but John's struck me as a small city and I didn't feel as comfortable with that. Again, I know it's easier said than done (and I'm being hypocritical here), but don't worry too much about the small differences - if you do get here, you'll love it wherever you are!

Reply 369

stef19

Any advice on choosing between Jesus and King's? I'm applying to do maths and i like them both very much. I hear that Jesus is the most sporty college but im not really very sporty myself, except that i've always wanted to give rowing a shot.

So any advice?

Reply 370

Flozza_X

I'd say king's personally. It's prettier and more central, although completely swarmed with tourists. If you're not at a state school, maybe jesus since king's gives places to like 70% state whereas jesus is more like 50% of each.

Reply 371

Neutral_Tones

stef19

Any advice on choosing between Jesus and King's? I'm applying to do maths and i like them both very much. I hear that Jesus is the most sporty college but im not really very sporty myself, except that i've always wanted to give rowing a shot.

So any advice?

Depends whether you love tourists or not :p:

Reply 372

stef19

Well actually I'm at a state school myself, so maybe king's would be a better choice. Plus it was the one i was initially drawn to at first.

Thanks for the info

Reply 373

LH123

17

I've whittled down my choices to Downing, Emmanuel, St Catharines and Fitzwilliam for Geography. Someone persuade me! ^^

Reply 374

Excalibur

15

LH123

I've whittled down my choices to Downing, Emmanuel, St Catharines and Fitzwilliam for Geography. Someone persuade me! ^^

Well, iirc the Geography department is in the Downing site - so Downing is extremely close to where your lectures will be held! Other than that, it's got really good first year accommodation, nice architecture, and very spacious grounds which I believe contains some grass you can walk on. :p:

Reply 375

praying

does anyone have any views on trinity hall? i haven't heard it mentioned at all, and yet it seems very pretty, perfect location, and not ridiculously oversubscribed! am i missing something?

Reply 376

acrosstheuniverse

Neutral_Tones

Yep Cantab's right - I'll be there next Saturday (a week now :biggrin:

) Chewwy's probably the best person to ask about that, but I can tell you my experiences so far, as well as those of my friend (who applied to John's for History, but was unfortunately pooled and rejected.) Yeah so far there are no complaints about anything at all - actually before I've even go there I'm so pleased to have picked Caius! (That's obv helped by the fact that I'm in the SHB with ensuites for my first year :biggrin:

) The food is notorious, but I hear that they've improved it dramatically in the last few years. Of course I've only been for open days and interviews (and I think they put on a good show to make us apply at the former!) but it seemed quite nice then. Again, I'll tell you more when I'm actually there! The library is one of the best things about Caius - it's renowned for being amazing and possibly one of the best college libraries. Plus it's pretty :smile:

Funnily enough, I was choosing between John's and Caius, although obviously for English (but I did think about History!) In the end, there was so little to choose from between all colleges that I just went for the one I liked best - Caius is a fairly large college, but John's struck me as a small city and I didn't feel as comfortable with that. Again, I know it's easier said than done (and I'm being hypocritical here), but don't worry too much about the small differences - if you do get here, you'll love it wherever you are!

Clearly you have good taste :yep:

even though you didn't pick St John's :p:

.

Reply 377

anix

Any thoughts/comments on St Johns?

Regarding anything really - facilities (sporty, arty, musical, is there a dark room? etc), gym, music (non-traditional side: gospel (choir); rnb; hiphop; rock; indie scenes/facilities/societies), accommodation (1st year and beyond), grounds, ents, stereotypes, parties, bar, social scene, library, law library, law tutors, advantages, disadvantages... the list goes on!

Reply 378

nirvathema

All I can narrow it down to is a list of colleges that exclude a Test at Interview, which still leaves me with...a lot. (And this isn't even a definitive elimination) The colleges all seem equally appealing from the alternative prospectus, esp for someone who hasn't personally visited them.

Reply 379

Isometrix

11

do st johns and trinity look for amazingly sporty people?

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