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The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

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timelordess
one of my friends has an uncle who is a porter at John's, so we get free use of his punt whereas the people at John's have to pay, I believe. :wink:


Boo you :wink:

I'd definitely reapply to John's. I've only heard "the song" a couple of times, and I get to live here:

Oh, and the people are great too :wink:

I would opt for a less scientific method than last time and draw all eligible colleges out of a hat. I call it The Sevendaughters Patented Self-Pooling System (SPSPS).
... I would have opted for one that guaranteed me accommodation :angry:.
Reply 1743
Avatar for dd4483
dd4483
11
Are there any mature students here who are at a Cambridge college which isn't a mature college?

I'm having doubts about going to a mature college; a lot of these seems to tailored towards graduate students, so I can't help but feel I would be better off at an undergraduate only college. Also I wouldn't really call myself 'mature' since I'm only in my early 20s.

On the other hand, I'm not familiar with what its like at an undergraduate college - surely not all undergraduates engage in alcohol-fuelled antics etc? That would be a bit of a generalisation, but I have heard worrying things about what goes on at undergraduate colleges...I don't really want to go out and get drunk (I don't even drink alcohol), but I don't want to seem like the odd one out or like I'm putting my nose up to the other students. The last thing I want is to be a loner just because I'm a few years older and don't drink.

I have my reasons for wanting to go to an undergraduate college - they perform better in exams, the undergraduate teaching is better, they are nearer to the centre of Cambridge. I can't help but feel I will get more out of studying at one of these colleges.

Are any of you a a mature student at Cambridge at a non-mature college, in particular Gonville & Caius? If so, please share your experiences.
Reply 1744
Avatar for nymeria
nymeria
I'm really curious as to what kind of logic you engaged in when writing that :-\

a) No colleges are "undergraduate only".

b) Colleges don't "perform" in exams, students do. Individuals. People. The college you go to is very unlikely to have a significant impact upon your results.

c) The teaching is better in standard age colleges? Sorry... what? Probably some of the most outstanding tutors will be at standard age colleges, sure. There are more of them, so that much kind of figures. But generally?

d) Nearer than...? Numerous standard age colleges are further out than any of the mature student colleges.
Reply 1745
Avatar for ICQ
ICQ
6
nymeria


b) Colleges don't "perform" in exams, students do. Individuals. People. The college you go to is very unlikely to have a significant impact upon your results.


fair play, but i think the OP was alluding to the fact that mature colleges usually are at the bottom of the tompkins table, year in, year out. granted, it's perfectly possible that someone can go to st edmunds and emerge with a starred first, just as it is possible to go to emma and emerge with a 3rd. whether a person who goes to st edmunds, had he gone to say emma, would have emerged with a higher class degree is debatable and obviously impossible to prove. it may or may not be the case.

OP: yes mature students may apply to 'undergrad' colleges. i'm starting at trinity and a friend of mine attended christs as a mature, and another acquaintance is starting as a mature at downing. if you're good enough you'll get an offer. and if you're not interested in drunken bops, you're under no compulsion to attend. i certainly won't. hope that helps!
Apply to whichever college appeals. There are a sprinkling of matures across the colleges. If you are early 20s then you will hardly stand out at a mature undergraduate anyway.
One of the lawyers in my year at Christ's is a mature student. He seems to enjoy himself. I'm pretty sure we have another one in our year as well and she's having a great time. If age differences don't bother you (and, really, it's not an issue) i'd say go for it.
Hi all,
Which colleges are particularly musical? Emmanuel seems to have an active music society - Which others are particularly active and strong?
Cheers :smile:
Reply 1749
Avatar for dd4483
dd4483
11
I meant to say a primarily undergraduate college, as opposed to 'undergraduate only'.

Colleges may not perform in exams, but the quality of the teaching students receive at their college certainly has an impact on their results - the way I see it is that if a tutor wishes to teach at undergraduate level, they are hardly going to go to a mature college to do it.

Also it would seem 'standard age' colleges are likely to have more resources available for undergraduates (such as books etc) than mature colleges, which probably have more resources for postgraduates than undergraduates. In my opinion this has something to do with why mature colleges are at or near the bottom of the tompkins table at undergraduate level.

Yes there are standard colleges which are further out, but on the other hand there are standard colleges which are right in the heart of Cambridge. The mature colleges are hardly near the centre of Cambridge.
Trinity, Queens', King's...
Clare has a reputation for being particularly musical (mainly 'cause of the cellars really as they can host everything), but don't worry about it. Everywhere will have enough musical things for you to get involved. A lot are uni-wide and you don't have to be from the college to join their groups/choirs/bands a lot of the time.
Reply 1752
Avatar for JecAL
JecAL
8
High school musical...
Go wild cats?? :biggrin:


Sorry, but i had to do it :s-smilie:
Kings and Clare.
Reply 1754
Avatar for JCM89
JCM89
13
Trinity, King's, Queens, Jesus, Caius, Emmanuel... actually you'll be fine most anywhere.
Viceroy
Hi all,
Which colleges are particularly musical? Emmanuel seems to have an active music society - Which others are particularly active and strong?
Cheers :smile:


If you want more info about the Emma music society, PM me. We've also got lots of information on our website - http://www.emmamusic.co.uk/
werlop
If you want more info about the Emma music society, PM me. We've also got lots of information on our website - http://www.emmamusic.co.uk/


Cheers, thanks so much!
Kings produce the most CD's...
dd4483
Colleges may not perform in exams, but the quality of the teaching students receive at their college certainly has an impact on their results - the way I see it is that if a tutor wishes to teach at undergraduate level, they are hardly going to go to a mature college to do it.


This is not entirely true. Going to a particular College does not mean that only tutors from that College will teach you. Colleges regularly send students to tutors at other Colleges. In fact, this probably happens more frequently at mature Colleges, so you will actually have more of an opportunity to be taught by tutors at other Colleges.

A friend of mine is a mature student at St Eds (well, "mature" as in early-20s), and he has never had a supervision in College. In his first year, his supervisions were at Trinity, Corpus, and St Johns.

You mentioned that you were choosing between Caius and St Eds. You should know that these two Colleges are VERY different for reasons that have nothing to do with mature or non-mature students. So, don't let that be the deciding factor. Research the Colleges and go with which one appeals to you.
I applied to a standard-age college (St. John's) as a mature student last year, but didn't get in. I know that my rejection had nothing to do with the fact that I'm mature - nobody even mentioned it. I got pooled and two mature colleges showed an interest, but I didn't do well during my second interview (I was having exams at my current university and like you really didn't like the idea of a mature college), so didn't get in.

There are colleges that will consider you no matter what your age is, but there are some that are not very keen on mature students, so choose wisely! I went to the open day at Pembroke, and got told I 'didn't stand a chance' by an admissions officer. They literally told me that they would just pass me on through the pool, and would not even consider me because of my age :s-smilie: I have to say I appreciated the honesty of their answer - in some colleges I got: '... Well, you're allowed to apply here, but why not choose a mature college?' - so yeah. Other colleges said they couldn't care less about age, so there certainly is a difference.

The best advice I could give you is to choose the college you like best, and to get in touch with admissions to ask if they would seriously consider you. They are all supposed to do so, but in reality they don't, so getting in touch might help you decide.

All the best of luck to you :smile: I've been in the same boat (and probably will be again - I'm considering to reapply), and I know it's not an easy decision to make!

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