The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

Non-repayable government maintenance grants, which are based on household income, and student loans (to be repaid) are the same no matter which uni you go to (apart from London, increased due to living costs in the capital).

Cambridge Uni itself gives out a bursary (free money!) which very roughly matches your maintenance grant. This also has nothing to do with the college you apply to, but is pretty much the most generous grant a university will give you based on household income. See: http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/finance/support.html#bursary

I wouldn't choose a college based on specific grants they might have - but generally I guess the richer colleges are more likely to offer more grants for things like books/equipment.

The university has a policy that no UK student will miss out because of financial difficulty.

Reply 981

emilY?

1

Admissions stats regarding applications fluctuate all over the place ever year - no point predicting and looking for a "safe" entry point. And there aren't any quotas.

Reply 982

green10

Does King's offer travel bursaries?

Reply 983

Jigglypuff

16

As Emily said, every college can give you a bursary if you get a maintenance grant, as that is university based.

Lots of colleges give travel grants as well. I got £400 from King's to go to France for a few days, for example.

As for book grants, I've heard Trinity are pretty generous, but I've never had to buy a book anyway so I'm not sure how useful I would have found a book grant. College libraries can often order books in for you, and you have the UL and faculty libraries as well.

Reply 984

aKarma

11

St johns is also pretty good, as another one of the rich colleges.
As well as travel grants, you get bonuses of £500-£1000+ for getting a first each year

Reply 985

eimaan.j

hmmm i meann is it better to apply to those in the bottom half of the tomkins table?? its just a doubt id like to clarify....

Reply 986

illy123

12

eimaan.j

hmmm i meann is it better to apply to those in the bottom half of the tomkins table?? its just a doubt id like to clarify....

Something like Trinity would be more competitive than Homerton.

However, don't play the numbers game. If you pick the wrong college you will get pooled and get into a different college (like I did).

Reply 987

emilY?

1

The system of pooling is designed to negate differences in application numbers between colleges. Theoretically it makes no difference which college you apply to. If you apply to an all girls college, they might get less applicants, but the admissions tutors are aware of the general standard of applicants and are perfectly likely to turn to the pool in order to make sure the "right" people are accepted to the university as a whole.
Pick a college you like - whether that be because its pretty, got a comedy society, the best ultimate frisbee team or the bar with the cheapest pint :smile:

Reply 988

Tempeststurm

7

eimaan.j

hmmm i meann is it better to apply to those in the bottom half of the tomkins table?? its just a doubt id like to clarify....

No. To quote a very good post explaining this

fumblewomble

On tactical college choice:

Reply 989

redalert

Trinity is the richest college and extremely generous in terms of financial support.

Reply 990

Zygroth

14

aKarma

St johns is also pretty good, as another one of the rich colleges.
As well as travel grants, you get bonuses of £500-£1000+ for getting a first each year

What?! My college sucks :frown:

I think we get like £50 or something for a first...

Reply 991

Nihilist

Hi i'm 17 and applying for Mathematics 2010. (Part IA)
Grades are AAABB, A's in Maths, Further Maths, Physics. B's in Chemistry and Economics (missed both As by only a couple of marks)
I'd prefer a college thats Old-ish but that's a relatively low priority. I read a bit so a good library would be nice.
Would prefer a college that gives harder offers but More offers (ie A*AA11 rather than A*AA12 and less offers).
I was looking at St John's/ St Catharine's ?

All help is very appreciated :smile:

Reply 992

aKarma

11

Zygroth

What?! My college sucks :frown:

I think we get like £50 or something for a first...

It could be worse, I know at least one college in Oxford gives you £50, but you then have to pay £80 for the special scholars' gown :p:

Reply 993

Tempeststurm

7

Nihilist

Hi i'm 17 and applying for Mathematics 2010. (Part IA)
Grades are AAABB, A's in Maths, Further Maths, Physics. B's in Chemistry and Economics (missed both As by only a couple of marks)
I'd prefer a college thats Old-ish but that's a relatively low priority. I read a bit so a good library would be nice.
Would prefer a college that gives harder offers but More offers (ie A*AA11 rather than A*AA12 and less offers).
I was looking at St John's/ St Catharine's ?

All help is very appreciated :smile:

This might be a little out of date, but should give you an idea of typical offers and interview tests: http://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/undergrad/documentation/admissionsguide/text.pdf

Reply 994

Nihilist

Tempeststurm

This might be a little out of date, but should give you an idea of typical offers and interview tests: http://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/undergrad/documentation/admissionsguide/text.pdf

That's an awesome link :biggrin:

Thanks a million!
(+rep)

Reply 995

Xei

6

Look out though, it's outdated. Expect the A level grades to be 1 higher (Queens' is listed as a 'never more than AAA offers' but I got an AAAA offer). Not sure about STEP but in general expect a 1,1.

Reply 996

Nihilist

Xei

Look out though, it's outdated. Expect the A level grades to be 1 higher (Queens' is listed as a 'never more than AAA offers' but I got an AAAA offer). Not sure about STEP but in general expect a 1,1.

Mm true but I was expecting at least A*AA 1,1 offer anyways because of my suboptimal ASs :smile:

I hope the stuff about interview formats is still relevant because that is the most help :smile:

dunno whether to go for a college which gives you reading to do or ones which give you an outright test hmm :redface:

Reply 997

Xei

6

There was neither at Queens', just a couple of interviews with STEP I level questions... surprisingly easy.

Reply 998

supa360

Between Clare and St. Johns.

I'm looking for natural science.
I'm looking for equal male/female ratio.
I'm looking for gothic architecture
I'm looking for nice gardens.
and I''m looking for great social life.

any ideas?

thanks

Reply 999

jenna109

I went to Cambridge this summer. I don't remember which colleges were closest to the Sidgwick site. Could you list them out for me please? How long is the walk?

I could look at the map on the Cambridge site, but it really is too much of a hassle.

By the way, which college has the best food in your opinion?

Thanks!

The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

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