The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

Sockpirate

OK - one question. I was looking at Caius as a potential college (I'll be an applicant next year) but there was something which I'm slightly unsure about. From what I've read, most (or all?) accommodation isn't actually in the college, it's in the Steven Hawking building, or Harvey court. Do you think it's a disadvantage not to live actually in the college? Also, is Harvey court really ugly, because from the pictures it doesn't look too dandy :tongue:

The actual college looks amazing though :redface:

But yeah. I basically wanted to hear some views on how much of a difference it makes living ~in~ college as opposed to living in college buildings outside of the college. Thanks!

Right as a Caian I think I'll put the record straight...

In 1st year you won't be in old courts, most of the accommodation is a 7 min walk away from old courts, but there's a really nice community spirit. However Harvey Court is being renovated in the 2010-2011 (so all rooms will be ensuit), so you won't actually live there, discussions are on going as where the accommodation will be.

In 2nd year you either live in old courts, in the centre of town, in one block of Harvey Court or on the other side of Parker's Piece. None of the accommodation is more than 10 mins walk from old courts and that's if you walk quite slowly.

In 3rd year you'll be in old courts should you choose to live there.

Re the dinner ticket thing, I have no issues with it, I enjoy going to hall as it's really social and it means that you do see people pretty much every day. Although I will point out that the system is under review.

Right so all in all Caius is a grate college, I love it!!! I really do, the stuff that I may moan about doesn't bother me that much, and everyone has something in their college that they don't particularly like.

Oh and we get free washing!!!!!!!

also don't forget at lots of other colleges you won't always be on sight for the duration of your degree.

Reply 561

Chewwy

17

I've been a member of various cambridge colleges, and I must say Caius has by far been my favourite. great place. strongly advise you to apply.

stephen hawking building - best accommodation in cambridge.

Reply 562

chris.1

Just to start the ball rolling;

I'm wanting to apply to do sps (ppsis,pps etc...) in 2010 after doing a 'credit for entry' course at Edinburgh University starting this Sept.

I'm twenty three and already have a BA from RADA (Drama school) but want to follow a more academic path in subjects that interest me, so, back to school.

I am hesitant to apply to a college that caters solely for mature students as I don't want to miss out on the tradtition, beauty, social advantages and prestige that come with some of the older colleges.

Please share your views. Are my fears unfounded? If so, which is the best mature college? If not, what older colleges might you suggest for PPSIS?

Please bear in mind both academic and lifestyle criteria...

Reply 563

chris.1

Mature Colleges over Traditional Ones

I'm wanting to apply to do sps (ppsis,pps etc...) in 2010 after doing a 'credit for entry' course at Edinburgh University starting this Sept.

I'm twenty three and already have a BA from RADA (Drama school) but want to follow a more academic path in subjects that interest me, so, back to school.

I am hesitant to apply to a college that caters solely for mature students as I don't want to miss out on the tradtition, beauty, social advantages and prestige that come with some of the older colleges.

Please share your views. Are my fears unfounded? If so, which is the best mature college? If not, what older colleges might you suggest for PPSIS?

Please bear in mind both academic and lifestyle criteria...

Reply 564

Craghyrax

17

Well to start with do a forum search to read all the preexisting threads on this topic.
I'll answer it in some detail (being a mature SPS student) but not immediately because I don't have time right now.

Reply 565

Craghyrax

17

chris.1

Mature Colleges over Traditional Ones

I'm wanting to apply to do sps (ppsis,pps etc...) in 2010 after doing a 'credit for entry' course at Edinburgh University starting this Sept.

I'm twenty three and already have a BA from RADA (Drama school) but want to follow a more academic path in subjects that interest me, so, back to school.

I am hesitant to apply to a college that caters solely for mature students as I don't want to miss out on the tradtition, beauty, social advantages and prestige that come with some of the older colleges.

Please share your views. Are my fears unfounded? If so, which is the best mature college? If not, what older colleges might you suggest for PPSIS?

Please bear in mind both academic and lifestyle criteria...

Well I think you ought to visit Cambridge yourself and not go on the subjective preferences of people on TSR for a start.

First of all.. if you go to a "less traditional" college, you will still have 'the Cambridge experience' etc etc, because you'll go on lots of formal swaps with friends, have supervisions at other colleges, be living in a pretty historical town etc.
I think each college has its own sets of pros and cons that you'll come to love and hate once you're there. I get the impression from friends that the mature student colleges are a bit more low key and chilled out. In lots of colleges accommodation doesn't have good cooking facilities (e.g. possibly hobs but usually not ovens, and sometimes only microwaves and toasters) - which means that people rely on eating in hall alot more. Mature student colleges are geared towards self catering, but still have hall if people want to use it. Non mature colleges require you to pack your bags and leave every holiday, usually not letting you leave your kit in college. Mature student colleges accommodate you all year round.
The mature colleges are less wealthy though, which appears to result in less books in the college libraries (which annoys my SPS mature student friend who's at St Eds), and the colleges are less pretty and further away from the department than the central colleges.
So your call, really.
I chose to avoid the mature student colleges as I wanted to go to an old and pretty college. However there are loads of things about my college and its being 'traditional' that can be quite annoying. So like I said - there are always pros and cons. Just pick the ones you prefer.

Just remember that everything is compact and easy walking distance in Cambridge, so being in a mature student college won't mean that you're stranded away from the supposedly nicer bit. You'll spend a considerable amount of time in town centre anyhow.
I'd just go with the general logic of picking colleges: e.g. distance from department, facilities, how many students there are in a year (do you want to be in a big or small college), etc.

Reply 566

FadedJade

15

I think more importantly you need to contact colleges to see which ones will look at your application. You didn't get good Alevels and don't appear to have a good reason for it. Your only A being in Theatre Studies really isn't going to do you any favours. You will need to make sure your course at Edinburgh is adequate, and its worth contacting some colleges to gather their opinions on it, because its likely that some won't look on it overly favourably.

Reply 567

Llamaaa

15

Sockpirate

OK - one question. I was looking at Caius as a potential college (I'll be an applicant next year) but there was something which I'm slightly unsure about. From what I've read, most (or all?) accommodation isn't actually in the college, it's in the Steven Hawking building, or Harvey court. Do you think it's a disadvantage not to live actually in the college? Also, is Harvey court really ugly, because from the pictures it doesn't look too dandy :tongue:

The actual college looks amazing though :redface:

But yeah. I basically wanted to hear some views on how much of a difference it makes living ~in~ college as opposed to living in college buildings outside of the college. Thanks!

I'll give you a slightly less critical view of the college!

First year accommodation is in Stephen Hawking building or Harvey Court. Stevie H is a lovely building, brand new with great facilities, en-suite rooms and so forth. Harvey Court is ugly from the outside but is ok on the inside. It is being renovated this year (or maybe next year) so will be lovely and new by the time you arrive. This won't improve the outside- that is beyond hope, but on the inside it will be cool :biggrin:

All this is a 6-7 minute walk from the old courts, and right next door to the humanities faculties.

It's quite rare to find a college which gives you rooms in the old bit all three years. Some have you in the nice bit at first then move you away, but we do it the other way round. In the second year you can live in the old courts (there are always rooms either in the main old courts or the other old courts across the road called St Michael's and St Mary's courts), or you can live on Rose Crescent (a short curve of a street of which Caius owns all the upstairs- buildings are early victorian at the latest!), or green street (another short road, victorian buildings) [both of these are 20 seconds from college), or out on Mortimer Road. This place is far away- about 20 minute walk from college, but it always gets filled up quickly so you don't end up there as a last resort. It's a row of college-owned houses- people go there for a little more independence.

I have lived in the centre of college for the past two years. It's great being close to everything, but living out in the stevie h building was good too- since all your neighbours are newbies too it has a real community feel- something you miss when mixed up with other students. It's nice to have that in the first year, and then later be a little more spread out rather than the other way round.

Other down points of Caius are the meal ticket system (other colleges have a fixed charge to pay at the beginning of term to pay for kitchen facilities and then buy all their meals separately. We on the other hand have to buy dinner tickets at the beginning to term, no kitchen charge, but the tickets are officially non-refundable. As it happens if you have a valid reason for not using them- in my case training for a university team- they are redeemable. They are roughly £6 each and you buy around 40 a term. It used to be more but it's gradually being reduced after pressure from the student union) and the rubbishness of the bar- it's just a bar and nothing more. You wouldn't go there as a night out like you would go to Clare cellars for example.

On the plus points, our library has long opening hours, we're often said to be one of the friendliest colleges (something which I can definitely vouch for), our dining hall is really pretty and the main buildings are very central. The food is a bit hit and miss- most people who moan about it are those who haven't experienced it or have only tried it once and yet still think they are the experts on the matter. Really all the people in this thread who have said Caius is **** do not study here. I'm not one for college loyalty for loyalty's sake- I really love my college, I think it's a lovely place to study, with lovely people, has a good balance between work and fun and it's pros far outweigh it's cons.

If you want any information, feel free to PM me.

Reply 568

Llamaaa

15

thegluups

I definitely agree with what has been said :smile:

Also Caius accommodation is quite far out (by Cambridge standards) , as in, you probably wouldn't necessarily want to go back home alone at night there.

If you're worried about accomodation, then have a look at the bigger colleges since they're the ones that usually can guarantee you accommodation in college

Is Caius not the third or forth biggest college?

Oh and the walk back from the centre of town is very well lit, and you can walk through colleges before midnight if you prefer. It's not a bad walk- I've done it at 3am before and I'm officially a wimp.

Reply 569

xixixiwater

Hey guys, I've heard rumours and sayings about different colleges, can some of you confirm these please? =/

---Although all colleges are lovely, I heard that Clare and Emma are the most friendly ones, is this true?

---The popular colleges are Emma, Clare, St John's, Jesus, Trinity and Downing? (Just interested to know)

---I heard Emma students, espcially medics are workaholics who work relatively more/harder than the normal medics at Cambridge, although all do work hard!

---Clare had the most applications for medicine this year and they have a cut-off point for BMAT to eliminate ppl pre-interview

---Caius, Clare, Emma, Downing, Trinity all have a relatively higher affinity for the BMAT (anything below a 6 is likely to end in no offer/pool (unless other parts fo your application are outstanding and make up for it)

Anyways, rumours aside. After talking to someone on TSR a while back, I really want to apply to Emma now for medicine. But what I'm scared of is their shocking reputation for being the best. And the BMAT stuff - I fear I might not be good enough but I really want to go.
Should I still apply when the time comes?

Thank you!

Reply 570

Sockpirate

15

Llamaaa

I'll give you a slightly less critical view of the college!
....cut out for shortness ^^

Thank you so much - that was a really helpful post :smile:

I still don't really have a clue what college I want to apply to though - I think ideally I want to go see them before I choose, but I can only really go on the open day (since I live like 4 hours away) and to go on the open day I need to choose a college! (although I know that this is by no means a binding choice) Ah the dilemma.
OK, so if I were to say what I want in a college, could people give suggestions?
Fairly oldish (i.e. nice architecture)
Near to the centre of town, but this isn't an absolute necessity.
Accommodation all years, preferably as close to the actual college as possible, or in the actual college. Would be good if the accommodation looked nice too, but again not completely essential.
Library with good opening hours.
Medium to larger college, student-wise.
Not girls only.
Good for Phys NatSci, but to be honest, they're probably all pretty equal on that front, since the only difference is the supervisions.

aaannndd that's about it that I can think of for the moment. ^^ any random suggestions? :p:

Reply 571

serrellen

11

xixixiwater

Hey guys, I've heard rumours and sayings about different colleges, can some of you confirm these please? =/

---Although all colleges are lovely, I heard that Clare and Emma are the most friendly ones, is this true?

---The popular colleges are Emma, Clare, St John's, Jesus, Trinity and Downing? (Just interested to know)

---I heard Emma students, espcially medics are workaholics who work relatively more/harder than the normal medics at Cambridge, although all do work hard!

---Clare had the most applications for medicine this year and they have a cut-off point for BMAT to eliminate ppl pre-interview

---Caius, Clare, Emma, Downing, Trinity all have a relatively higher affinity for the BMAT (anything below a 6 is likely to end in no offer/pool (unless other parts fo your application are outstanding and make up for it)

Anyways, rumours aside. After talking to someone on TSR a while back, I really want to apply to Emma now for medicine. But what I'm scared of is their shocking reputation for being the best. And the BMAT stuff - I fear I might not be good enough but I really want to go.
Should I still apply when the time comes?

Thank you!

As far as which the most 'friendly' college will be, I think it's a rather unanswerable question... big colleges will be friendly in one way, small colleges in another. It depends whether you want it to feel like your school year when assembled, or the whole school. Either way, I really doubt any college is actually 'unfriendly'. My friend actually said she thought Clare was a 'bit sniffy' when she visited, so I do think it's down to personal preference. Visit, and get a feel for them.

Afraid I can't comment in terms of medicine (although the colleges you have listed are the ones regarded as rather elite, so you're probably on the right lines), but regarding where to apply - my advice would be to apply where you want to go, but also apply sensibly. I didn't expect to get in, and didn't mind where I ended up. So I applied to Girton, which has the least applications annually - and I made it. It's really down to priority; I decided I would rather be anywhere at Cambridge than not at Cambridge at all, and I thought the odds of the latter would be a lot higher if I applied to one of the really tough colleges. Strategic, perhaps, but it worked.

Reply 572

Nonsmoking

12

Sockpirate

Thank you so much - that was a really helpful post :smile:

I still don't really have a clue what college I want to apply to though - I think ideally I want to go see them before I choose, but I can only really go on the open day (since I live like 4 hours away) and to go on the open day I need to choose a college! (although I know that this is by no means a binding choice) Ah the dilemma.
OK, so if I were to say what I want in a college, could people give suggestions?
Fairly oldish (i.e. nice architecture)
Near to the centre of town, but this isn't an absolute necessity.
Accommodation all years, preferably as close to the actual college as possible, or in the actual college. Would be good if the accommodation looked nice too, but again not completely essential.
Library with good opening hours.
Medium to larger college, student-wise.
Not girls only.
Good for Phys NatSci, but to be honest, they're probably all pretty equal on that front, since the only difference is the supervisions.

aaannndd that's about it that I can think of for the moment. ^^ any random suggestions? :p:

Pembroke fits the bill pretty nicely! Range of different architecture, but dating from 1347. Not quite in the centre, but in a slightly quieter bit and still very convenient. Accomodation guaranteed for all years - varying quality, but some of it's pretty nice. Library opening times- no idea, I don't use it. Slightly larger than average student-wise, and projected to increase. Mixed sex, and good reputation for Natsci.

Well, I like it anyway!

Reply 573

Llamaaa

15

I personally wouldn't regard Pembroke as central. Central compared to Fitz, Homerton, Girton and the like, but it isn't central to the degree that johns, kings, caius, trinity, sidney and so forth are. It's a few minutes walk from the centre.

Reply 574

Craghyrax

17

xixixiwater

Hey guys, I've heard rumours and sayings about different colleges, can some of you confirm these please? =/

---Although all colleges are lovely, I heard that Clare and Emma are the most friendly ones, is this true?

---The popular colleges are Emma, Clare, St John's, Jesus, Trinity and Downing? (Just interested to know)

---I heard Emma students, espcially medics are workaholics who work relatively more/harder than the normal medics at Cambridge, although all do work hard!

---Clare had the most applications for medicine this year and they have a cut-off point for BMAT to eliminate ppl pre-interview

---Caius, Clare, Emma, Downing, Trinity all have a relatively higher affinity for the BMAT (anything below a 6 is likely to end in no offer/pool (unless other parts fo your application are outstanding and make up for it)

Anyways, rumours aside. After talking to someone on TSR a while back, I really want to apply to Emma now for medicine. But what I'm scared of is their shocking reputation for being the best. And the BMAT stuff - I fear I might not be good enough but I really want to go.
Should I still apply when the time comes?

Thank you!

Um no, that's all complete rubbish except for the last two points. I don't know anything about those so I'll let someone else answer...

What you have to get into your head is that this is a large University and that each college is teeming with loads of individuals who are all very different...
'Clare', 'Emma' etc are not collective entities with a homogenous population that can all be considered 'friendly'. 'workaholic', 'popular' or any such attribute.
All colleges are as friendly as eachother, in that they contain people like you who went to University inclined to be sociable and friendly.

Reply 575

Chewwy

17

xixixiwater

Hey guys, I've heard rumours and sayings about different colleges, can some of you confirm these please? =/

---Although all colleges are lovely, I heard that Clare and Emma are the most friendly ones, is this true?

---The popular colleges are Emma, Clare, St John's, Jesus, Trinity and Downing? (Just interested to know)

---I heard Emma students, espcially medics are workaholics who work relatively more/harder than the normal medics at Cambridge, although all do work hard!

---Clare had the most applications for medicine this year and they have a cut-off point for BMAT to eliminate ppl pre-interview

---Caius, Clare, Emma, Downing, Trinity all have a relatively higher affinity for the BMAT (anything below a 6 is likely to end in no offer/pool (unless other parts fo your application are outstanding and make up for it)

Anyways, rumours aside. After talking to someone on TSR a while back, I really want to apply to Emma now for medicine. But what I'm scared of is their shocking reputation for being the best. And the BMAT stuff - I fear I might not be good enough but I really want to go.
Should I still apply when the time comes?

Thank you!

emma is not the best for medicine.

Reply 576

thegluups

14

Sockpirate

Thank you so much - that was a really helpful post :smile:

I still don't really have a clue what college I want to apply to though - I think ideally I want to go see them before I choose, but I can only really go on the open day (since I live like 4 hours away) and to go on the open day I need to choose a college! (although I know that this is by no means a binding choice) Ah the dilemma.
OK, so if I were to say what I want in a college, could people give suggestions?
Fairly oldish (i.e. nice architecture)
Near to the centre of town, but this isn't an absolute necessity.
Accommodation all years, preferably as close to the actual college as possible, or in the actual college. Would be good if the accommodation looked nice too, but again not completely essential.
Library with good opening hours.
Medium to larger college, student-wise.
Not girls only.
Good for Phys NatSci, but to be honest, they're probably all pretty equal on that front, since the only difference is the supervisions.

aaannndd that's about it that I can think of for the moment. ^^ any random suggestions? :p:

Pembroke, John's (library open 24/7), Trinity... all fit the bill quite nicely

Reply 577

Sockpirate

15

Nonsmoking

Pembroke fits the bill pretty nicely! Range of different architecture, but dating from 1347. Not quite in the centre, but in a slightly quieter bit and still very convenient. Accomodation guaranteed for all years - varying quality, but some of it's pretty nice. Library opening times- no idea, I don't use it. Slightly larger than average student-wise, and projected to increase. Mixed sex, and good reputation for Natsci.

Well, I like it anyway!

See, I was thinking Pembroke - it looks lovely! The only problem is, one of my friends is thinking about applying there for Phys NatSci too, and our school only lets one person apply to one college for one course, and I'd kind of be stabbing him in the back if I went and told our HE advisor that I wanted to apply there. Bummer :p:

Also, when I say central, this really isn't a big deal - I can cycle :wink:

so anything within a few minutes cycling distance would be wonderful.

thegluups

Pembroke, John's (library open 24/7), Trinity... all fit the bill quite nicely

Thanks for the advice - I'm starting to wish I'd chosen Pembroke before my friend now XD not too keen on John's - isn't it "I'd rather go to Oxford than St. Johns"? :p:

Trinity is an option I guess, but maybe slightly too large, not sure

Reply 578

Nonsmoking

12

Sockpirate

See, I was thinking Pembroke - it looks lovely! The only problem is, one of my friends is thinking about applying there for Phys NatSci too, and our school only lets one person apply to one college for one course, and I'd kind of be stabbing him in the back if I went and told our HE advisor that I wanted to apply there. Bummer :p:

Also, when I say central, this really isn't a big deal - I can cycle :wink:

so anything within a few minutes cycling distance would be wonderful.

That's a kind of daft system - I have friends at Pembroke who were not only from the same school, but have been going out since being at school as well! Also, if the college doesn't want one of you but thinks you're still good quality then they'll pool you. Admittedly that's not a perfect solution though...

Anyway, what about Emma? Also a nice college. Personally I've found being slightly off the beaten track is nice because you get fewer tourists, and everywhere central is very accessible by foot or bike.

Reply 579

Nonsmoking

12

Llamaaa

I personally wouldn't regard Pembroke as central. Central compared to Fitz, Homerton, Girton and the like, but it isn't central to the degree that johns, kings, caius, trinity, sidney and so forth are. It's a few minutes walk from the centre.

Sure, but it depends what facilities you want to use. If you're in New Museums site (as many Natscis are) then it's probably the closest college.

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