The Student Room Group

What's 'keeping term' all about?

Just wondering how strict it is when living on college grounds. Does this vary between colleges? Is it like a bootcamp :p: ?

Say you went home a couple of weekends or stayed over at a friends room in another college, would you have to make this time up and stay extra nights or something :confused: and do you have to sign out when you don't stay the night? would they check up on this? would they really fail you for spending a few nights away?

what about people who already live in cambridge and want to live at home, would that be allowed? (not that that has anything to do with me, more out of curiousity really :p: )

and what is its purpose?? :confused:

thanks ! :eek:

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Reply 1
It is a university regulation that undergraduates reside within the precincts of the university (university regulations are actually a part of british law, so technically you could go to jail for breaking them...like cheating in exams.......then again that might be a rumour).

Any student may leave cambridge for a maximum of one night without obtaining permission....you are supposed to sign the exeat book in the p'lodge when you do this, but tbh they really wont check unless it's obvious you arent around much!
If you want to be away for longer, you must obtain permission from your tutor....but once again, for say a weekend they probably wouldn't notice.

when leaving at end of term you must hand in your final exeat...which is like an agreement saying you have kept term.

i'm not sure what the minimum residence period is though tbh.
Reply 2
Willa
i'm not sure what the minimum residence period is though tbh.


I think it's 3/4 of full term
Reply 3
d750
I think it's 3/4 of full term


yeah sounds about right
Reply 4
Willa
It is a university regulation that undergraduates reside within the precincts of the university (university regulations are actually a part of british law, so technically you could go to jail for breaking them...like cheating in exams.......then again that might be a rumour).


:eek: ! what are precincts :redface: is it some kind of catchment area?


Willa
Any student may leave cambridge for a maximum of one night without obtaining permission....you are supposed to sign the exeat book in the p'lodge when you do this, but tbh they really wont check unless it's obvious you arent around much!


do these one nights count towards the total you can stay away for then? or is that only if you do it officially and sign! (i can imagine the penalty's for being caught doing this must be bad though, what if there was a fire or something :confused: )
Reply 5
I don't think, unless they're aware of it, that this will be something you HAVE to make up (though you technically "ought" to). Most people end up staying longer than Full Term anyway (they usually come up the weekend before and go down the weekend after; they stay longer if they're sad like me). But on our final exeat forms, at least, they do state that if you haven't kept term you have to make it up. I think it's something ike 56 nights isn't it? So it's the whole of Full Term, but that is three quarters of "Michaelmas/Lent/Easter Term" (stupid confusing terminology), which starts earlier and finishes later:

The Michaelmas Term shall begin on 1 October and shall consist of eighty days, ending on 19 December. The Lent Term shall begin on 5 January and shall consist of eighty days, ending on 25 March or in any leap year on 24 March. The Easter Term shall begin on 10 April and shall consist of seventy days ending on 18 June, provided that in any year in which full Easter Term begins on or after 22 April the Easter Term shall begin on 17 April and end on 25 June.

Full Term shall consist of three-fourths of the whole term reckoned from the first day of Full Term as hereinafter determined.



I've never signed anything when I've left for a couple of nights. As long as my bedder's aware, so she doesn't panic, I've never worried about it.
Reply 6
Bedder? What/ who's that?
Reply 7
Reema
Bedder? What/ who's that?

Aha. A Cambridge idiosyncrasy that is both great and awful. Your bedder empties your bin and cleans and tidies your room once or twice a week (or if she's like my bedder, every day (if she's allowed to anyway), obsessively). This means that, at least at first, you tidy your room in a panic because you don't want her to see the state it's in; mind you by about halfway through term I just give in, cos I haven't the energy any more. You can indicate that you'd rather your bedder didn't come in - for example if you want a lie in or your room is a total bombsite - by leaving your bin outside your door. But they have to be allowed in at least twice a week.
Reply 8
Reema
Bedder? What/ who's that?


A scout
Reply 9
Oh sounds interesting. I'm not sure I like the idea of someone prying around all of my stuff...

Ah well :wink: . Free cleaning, I can't complain and neither will my mum.
Reply 10
i'm sure my bedder is stealing my clothes! Either that or my desire for clean clothes increases throughout term!
Reply 11
So bedding is a compulsory cleaning service? Hmm... If only that worked for laundry...
Rik_Rock
So bedding is a compulsory cleaning service? Hmm... If only that worked for laundry...


it does at emma. As for keeping term officially you have to be signed in and stay in university accomodation within 3 miles of the steeple off great st mary's church. In fact no-one gives a flying f*ck if you do or don't.

MB
Reply 13
muhahha i love my free laundary service.

but to demonstrate how lazy i am: one week i had to do my own laundry because earlier in the week i was too lazy to put my dirty washing in a bag and take it to the laundry rooms across the college!
musicboy
it does at emma.

Sigh... one of the many reasons I applied there.


I'll have to forget about it now though as there's no way they'll let me back! :p:
Reply 15
musicboy
it does at emma. As for keeping term officially you have to be signed in and stay in university accomodation within 3 miles of the steeple off great st mary's church. In fact no-one gives a flying f*ck if you do or don't.

MB


damn it! :eek:

I totally should have applied to Emma. *sulks*
Reply 16
newnham don't have bedders or laundry done for you. I just think that uni is supposed to be the time when we finally grow up and learn to stand on our own two feet. having someone doing our washing somewhat defeats the object. And I'd hate the prospect of someone in my room, touching my stuff... Not to mention the ick factor when you've got someone staying over!
Reply 17
stephx
Say you went home a couple of weekends or stayed over at a friends room in another college, would you have to make this time up and stay extra nights or something :confused: and do you have to sign out when you don't stay the night? would they check up on this? would they really fail you for spending a few nights away?

what about people who already live in cambridge and want to live at home, would that be allowed? (not that that has anything to do with me, more out of curiousity really :p: )


The weekends at home would be an issue if there were too many; going to another college probably wouldn't as you'd still be within 3 miles of Great St. Mary's. You are meant to sign out to go home etc, but they rarely check if you do - I think the only way our porters check on you is when you collect and hand in your keys at the start/end of term. Other colleges are more arsey, and may make you make up nights.

Dunno why anyone would want to live at home really, and you have to have permission to live outside of college accomodation, though some people do manage this, it's not common. Depends how much of university life you want to absorb!
Reply 18
MadNatSci
Aha. A Cambridge idiosyncrasy that is both great and awful. Your bedder empties your bin and cleans and tidies your room once or twice a week (or if she's like my bedder, every day (if she's allowed to anyway), obsessively). This means that, at least at first, you tidy your room in a panic because you don't want her to see the state it's in; mind you by about halfway through term I just give in, cos I haven't the energy any more. You can indicate that you'd rather your bedder didn't come in - for example if you want a lie in or your room is a total bombsite - by leaving your bin outside your door. But they have to be allowed in at least twice a week.

When you're rushing out and have five minutes to get ready before running to lectures they always like to have a chat and it always seems to last forever. I was late to work so many times over the summer because of chatting to my bedder.

A.
Are there any male bedders? I've never met one!