Anyone got any views on Cambridge colleges for post grad?

[neolara]

I'm just about to apply to do a part time masters at Cambridge starting in September. I have to choose two colleges that I have a preference to join and I have absolutely no idea which to choose. I already live in Cambridge (south of the city) so I don't care about accommodation. I'm very old and have lots of kids so don't anticipate that I'll spend a lot of time in the college hanging out with your average 25 year old post grad. I quite fancy a few nice meals in formal hall and meeting some other interesting people. If I don't make a choice, I'll get allocated a random college and may end up with one in the north of Cambridge that I'll probably never visits because it's too far on my bike and I'll have a million other things to do. And as I'll have to pay extortionate college fees, that would piss me off. Does anyone have any suggestions?

My finger is literally poised on the "send in application" button and this is the last question I have to answer. Please help!

You might want to try here
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education

Lucy Cavendish is entirely postgrad, but I don't actually know where it is. You might want to see which colleges the lecturers on your course are attached to, and see if you like the look of them. If you want somewhere with a nice formal hall, Queens has a very fancy ceiling in the old dining room. Can you not have a wander round and see where you like the look of, if you live there anyway? The porters should let you in free of charge if you are clutching a postgrad prospectus and explain you are not a tourist. Good luck - I am a Cambridge graduate from long long ago about to do an MA in London this autumn - nice to see I'm not alone :)

If you do want to visit any you'd better get your skates on.
If I recall correctly many colleges close their doors to visitors during exam time which will be approaching rapidly.

Hughes hall is very unstuffy amd has excellent food. Shite library but you can use your departmental library or the university one. It's not at all fancy buildings though and Iit's just graduates and mature students so no vomity quads on a Saturday morning.

Emmanuel is quite nice as is Downing.

Lucy Cavendish - would probably be my preference in your position. (Its pretty much in the centre of things just behind Magdalene.)
Does your supervisor have a recommendation?

Which faculty will you be attending? I would probably choose the one closest to your faculty, that way you can easily get to your college (to pick up your mail from your pigeon hall) and go to your faculty too.

Otherwise I would either go for prestige (like kings) or go for best transport links. Will you be driving in? If so, some colleges have parking on site, like Wolfson, and they allow students to park. I think ones in the south are mainly Homerton (but parking is not the best round that ends though much better than any of the central colleges!).

It might be worthwhile asking on the student room forum.