The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

You'll find it difficult to find statistics or information on this, for precisely this reason; colleges don't want people applying just to the very richest ones, or else the others wouldn't get any applicants! Colleges' finances are all a bit of a mystery. Essentially, most people will generally manage fine, and college won't want you to drop out for financial reasons. On the other hand, as an international student I would assume most colleges would take the standpoint that if you're studying abroad in the first place, you obviously have some funds available.

Trinity is very rich, yes. St. John's is also rich. Generally older = richer, but with exceptions; King's is reputed to not be as rich as you'd think from looking at it, because the upkeep of its huge chapel and buildings is quite a financial burden. I wouldn't stress too much about it, as I said; generally, people manage wherever they go.

Thanks for your reply. I was just thinking that a lot of people want to go there so some applicants who don't have financial problems will apply for other colleges as many people choose rich ones, so they all will still have applicants.

What about accommodation? are the fees in different colleges similar? If they are, then which college is most beautiful? I'd like if I can see a lot of trees and flowers (but not too much, so I can still see the sky ) from my window, a lake or river will be lovely, too.

It's not quite as simple as rich colleges attracting applicants who would genuinely benefit from more money, and rich applicants picking poorer colleges out of benevolence to allow other people in more need to get at the richer ones! That would be a nice system. But when you say 'financial problems', what do you mean? At all colleges you are going to have to pay your tuition fees at international rates, your accommodation and food bill, and the college fee. If you won't be able to pay these, there isn't going to be a college that will help you; significant help is only really available for British residents. Anything else will just be small grants (a few hundred pounds for travel, the college paying for your music lessons, etc).

Accommodation fees in each college will vary from as low as £60 per week up to around £110 per week. Generally richer colleges will have cheaper accommodation, as they can afford to subsidise it. For specific details, contact colleges you are interested in.

Beauty is, of course, entirely subjective. Trinity and John's have lots of land, so plenty of trees and flowers there. Most colleges have nice gardens, though. Emma isn't huge, but I can see a lovely blossoming tree out of my window right now (or I wouldn't be able to, if it weren't dark). If it's impractical for you to visit, try looking at the college websites? Most will have photo galleries. Start at www.cam.ac.uk, go to colleges, and there'll be a description of each, which should link to the college's official website. Then you can see what kind of trees each college has to offer!

Thanks for your reply, I was surprised to see your reply is "6 hours ago", did you sleep at all?

When I say financial problems I mean find it hard to pay all the fees, I heard my sister saying there was someone rejecting Cambridge just because of that, and chose LSE as they helped him .

What is college fee? and what is that for?

I did go to sleep at 3am, yes, I'm not quite sure why...

Right, I wasn't quite sure about international fees, so I went here: http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/international/finance.html

I'll summarise it for you, though. Your flag says you're from Vietnam, which is obviously outside the EU:

Tuition fees: for engineering you will have to pay £14,073 a year in tuition fees just for your course.

College fee: you have to pay the college extra money just for all their services, and this will be around £4000 a year. UK students get this paid for them by the government, but if you're non-EU then you won't, unfortunately.

Living expenses: Cambridge estimate that your living expenses (accommodation, food, etc) will be around £6000 - £7000 per year. (It doesn't have to be that much - mine haven't been that high!)


As I thought, there is not a great deal in the way of scholarships, but there are some: have a look http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/international/scholarships.html

I hope this is of some help to you!

Hi, I'm thinking about English at Cambridge, and was wondering if anybody could give me any advice as to which college I should apply for.

I'd prefer somewhere with good English tutors, close to a library, medium-large sized, good social life and an active music/drama scene (I play the flute and would love to join a drama society). Any suggestions?

Hi, I'm thinking about English at Cambridge, and was wondering if anybody could give me any advice as to which college I should apply for.

I'd prefer somewhere with good English tutors, close to a library, medium-large sized, good social life and an active music/drama scene (I play the flute and would love to join a drama society). Any suggestions?

I'm applying for veterinary medicine as a mature student (27) and am deliberating between St Edmunds and Wolfson. Have had thorough look at both websites as well as the college guides on here and am still undecided. They both have open days at atart of july but in the meantime anyones opinions on them would be great to know.


Thanks

Thanks for your reply. I was just thinking that a lot of people want to go there so some applicants who don't have financial problems will apply for other colleges as many people choose rich ones, so they all will still have applicants.

What about accommodation? are the fees in different colleges similar? If they are, then which college is most beautiful? I'd like if I can see a lot of trees and flowers (but not too much, so I can still see the sky ) from my window, a lake or river will be lovely, too.

colleges on the river are magdalene, johns, trinity, clare, queens and kings. this means there is a chance you will see the river from your room but other than that there are so many styles of college and each is pretty in its own way! it depends on personal preference

Jack should do whichever subject Jack thinks Jack would enjoy the most.

I'm guessing Jack is you.

Look on the English and PPS department websites and look at some of the lecture notes/exam questions/etc., to get an idea of what stuff you'll actually be doing on the courses. Apply for whichever one you could see yourself enjoying the most. Neither degree is more or less easy to get into, or to actually do, than the other. You're more likely to get an offer for a subject you actually want to do (not one that you think will be easier to get in on) because the passion and interest will be conveyed in the interview. That's what they look for. You're obviously academically able enough, so it's just the willingness to learn and get what you can from Cambridge that you need to think about, rather than how to cut corners.

Tactical subject choice is never a good idea.