Choosing colleges at Cambridge for HSPS

I’m not entirely sure how the college system works in Cambridge, and I am having trouble figuring out why I would choose one over the other. If I am to study HSPS on the International Relations track, would any college work? Does it affect what employers recruit and the starting salary? I’ve looked at King’s and St. John’s but I’m still puzzled how to choose between 29 options.

Reply 1

Saracen's Fez

Volunteer Section Leader

Original post by alwks

Hi there!

So in answer to your first question, yes, it looks like all undergrad colleges offer HSPS! I don't imagine they'll break things down any further than that, so you should be able to follow any track through HSPS at any college: https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/human-social-political-sciences-ba-hons

In terms of employers, obviously we can't speak for every employer but the enormous majority of employers will not care (or likely know) what college you attended. It's far from guaranteed to be something you'd even put on your CV. There are some colleges that have a reputation for a certain subject, e.g. Downing for Law, and that reputation sort of self-perpetuates because they have a network of alumni in that subject they can draw on to support the current students, who go off into the workplace and become alumni and support the next students. But a) every college has something like that and b) even if you wanted to factor something like that in, there's not a college with a particular reputation for HSPS.

So in the absence of that, how to choose a college to apply to? Of course you don't have to, you could make an open application, but most applicants will find they have a preference. Start with factors like size (big or small), location (in town or a bit further out), age (old or new), potentially things like the current cost of rent (this will likely keep rising at any college but probably in proportion to one another), whether there are any scholarships or bursaries at a specific college that you might qualify for, whether a college has any specific facilities for a hobby of yours (e.g. specific sports pitches).

If you're able to get to Cambridge to visit some of the colleges at some point, that would be ideal. But I'd work on a shortlist of around 5 beforehand because if you just go and visit aimlessly then one college slowly blends into the next!