Cambridge colleges - anyone able to give any insight for the open days

[MsFogi]

Dc is visiting one of the Cambridge open days (planning to study languages or linguistics) and doesn't seem to have any strong feelings about any of the colleges. The info suggests that there is usually time to visit about three colleges. Can anyone suggest which to plan to visit so that we get the best feel for the uni (and college system) and don't spend loads of time walking around in circles?

You should be able to fit in far more than 3. They are quite close together.

I'd pick one big, one small, and one of the newer, less formal, more progressive. Maybe St John's (big+old), Pembroke (smaller+old), and Selwyn.

Think about what they like outside of the degree subjects - eg drama or journalism or sports - as some colleges do more of one thing and less of another. Also find wherever the alternative prospectus lives on the internet these days, and look at what people say - each college has its own character.

I won't bother saying anything specific about that, because I was there a long time ago, but some are much more comfortable for state students than others; some are more mixed, etc.

DD made an Excel spreadsheet listing her most important criteria, then marked each college out of ten, using info from each website and The Student Room. (I assume she knocked out some as unsuitable early on.) That gave her a shortlist of favourites, with something tangible to go on.

Where are the lectures based? If it's the Sidgwick site, places like Newnham and Selwyn are really close by. Most places in Cambridge are easy to get to by bike.

We probably looked at 7 or 8 on open days with each DD. Each DD took a notebook and jotted down a few comments on each place. Whilst the old/historic/central colleges look amazing, if you are likely to drive them there, parking is a nightmare. DD1's college has parking on site, which is really useful for starts & ends of terms.

Having been through the process twice with my DDs, don't get too fixated on a college. DD1 applied for one, was interviewed by them and unbeknown to her, pooled to a different one. On offer day in 2017, a letter came from a college we hadn't even heard of. She & I went to visit in February half term, she got the grades and graduated from there in 2021. She's still a student there, but has chosen to live out with friends for her PhD although might move back to write up. She loves her college, she is a great fit for them and has had a blast. They have a high percentage of state school students and she never felt out of place.

I agree; you can look at loads. Most colleges will let you come in as prospective student, even if they're formally 'closed' - just go to the Porter's lodge and ask nicely if it's possible for you to have a quick look as you're considering applying. They might say to keep to the main quad or whatever, but often they will be fine with you having a look.

I would also consider closeness to lecture facilities/ social side. If she's doing linguistics, is there someone in college who will teach it/be her DoS? It's quite nice if there's a decent number of her potential supervisors already in college IMO.

I agree - just go and poke about as many as you fancy. If you're starting at the Sidgwick site, I'd maybe hit Newnham and Queens' and then walk along Silver St to Pembroke, then up towards Corpus and then Kings. Keep going to Caius, Clare, Trinity Hall, Trinity, John's, Magdalene... There's literally a couple of minutes between each. Pop in those you fancy, ignore the others. Or from Pembroke you could go to Emmanuel then Christ's.

If you want to visit a more modern college, such as Fitzwilliam, Churchill or Murray Edwards, factor in a bit of a walk to those (c. 15 mins).

Only Girton and Homerton are any distance (and Homerton is not far from the station).

Have fun with it! No need to overthink it really.

Hi OP. So very small colleges are Peterhouse, Corpus Christi and Trinity Hall (all central).

There are a few colleges with more er, 'modern' architecture - Robinson, Fitzwilliam, Murray Edwards (all female) and Churchill. This may or may not be a factor.

Be aware that not all central colleges will accommodate everyone on site - eg. many students at Gonville and Caius live near the Sidgewick site.

For MML she would be in the Sidgewick site, su G&C might be good? Otherwise, Queens or Selwyn would be nearest (or Newnham if she's interested in an all-female college). Also, Pembroke, Peterhouse, St Catherine's or Corpus are that side of town. But nowhere is far, so any college really.

There is a large college a bit out of central Cambridge called Homerton which is known for being quite forward-thinking and more diverse than most colleges. Also accommodation on site for all three years.

A little further out but the other side of town is Girton.

Other large colleges are Trinity, St Johns and Jesus.

Emanuel, Christ's and Downing are lovely. To be honest, all the colleges are! You can't go wrong. Even the 'modern' colleges have beautiful grounds to distract!

You will be able to see more than three in a day.

Hsve a look at the admissions stats per college (interactive graphs) to get a sense of intake numbers / competitiveness for her subject per college (as this can vary year to year). But good news is, MML is about 40% acceptance rate overall.

Something to consider - search the website for a list of DoS for her course and see who you like the look of which colleges they are in (sort of reverse interview process...).

A lot of good things already said in this thread, so I'll just add a couple of thoughts from someone who graduated from Cambridge not too long ago.

1. Don't worry too much about college. Obviously best to find one you like, but I spent 4 years at Cambridge and never ran into anyone who disliked the college they ended up at. And in any case, ~20% of Cambridge students are at a different college to the one they applied to, thanks to the Winter Pool system.

2. And on that note, I would advise against picking based on admission percentages: some of the "less competitive" colleges will pick their students entirely out of the pool (ie from people who applied to other colleges). Thus your success chance is only slightly affected by college choice.

With the warnings out of the way, some more things to consider.

1. The major things to consider are size (Trinity has about twice as many students Corpus Christi), location, and whether it's an old or new college. All of these are personal, and I would recommend having a look at at least one of each category (unless they're sure that they want a particular type)

2. Although most teaching is done by the university, your director of studies can make a big difference in your experience, some colleges are much pushier than others. You can generally get a feel for this by asking students at the open day. Failing that, colleges that traditionally score well on the Tompkins table are more pushy. (Note this isn't always true, my college scored quite highly but was also fairly laidback)

Also trying to shortlist colleges. For multi disciplinary courses, interested to know views on importance of applying to a college where there is a Director of Studies who covers relevant subject? For example for HSPS (which is politics, sociology, social anthropology ) most colleges have 1 or 2 directors so don’t cover all 3. I know this doesn’t necessarily matter in the long term as courses taken from outside college but i am specifically thinking about interview stage?

No one has mentioned Emmanuel and DS was very happy there. Is the school giving any advice? DSs school only allowed one pupil to apply for a place to read a particular subject at a college. Eg., DS applied to read geography and no one else could apply for geography at Emmanuel although he was there with three friends, all reading different subjects.

I recommend looking at who teaches there for the subjects she’s interested in. The admissions procedure is much more personal because the people who interview you are , by and large, the people who teach you. Kings is great for State School pupils - as well as being stunning but with the exception of Girton everything is very close to everything else. Languages are also currently much easier to get in for owing to much smaller numbers applying. Good luck to your DD.

The older colleges tend to have more money to splash out on travel scholarships etc. eg. St Johns. The price you pay is some of the accommodation is in 400+ year old listed buildings and frankly a bit grim by modern standards.
Pay some attention to distance from faculty/department. A few colleges are stuck quite far out (Girton)
It can be very helpful to have a decent-sized cohort of students on your course in the same college (I managed to be the only student taking my course in my college. There were supposed to be 3 but one couldn't get their visa sorted and the other dropped out after a month. I was isolated and it was very difficult - not an experience I would wish on anyone.)

The info above on which colleges are "good" for state school pupils may be a bit out of date. the percentages have shifted quite a bit in the last 5 years and there are now many colleges where over 70% of students come from state schools and 5 which take a higher percentage than Kings. See p11 of the doc linked below
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/undergrad_admissions_statistics_2022_cycle.pdf

We went about 5 times before DD1 chose. She narrowed it down to a couple but chose the one that could provide accommodation for all three years and had ducks.

DD2 chose on exactly the same basis: the ducks and the swimming pool swung it.

DD1 chose on the basis of how friendly the welcome was on the Open Day. She arrived at one college 15 minutes before the end just to walk through on the way back to the car and got a 45 minute individual guided tour that sold it to her!

I chose on the basis that on the Open Days the students seemed normal and relatable.

DC both had on site accommodation for 3 years. I had to live out - 0.5 miles from college but still in city centre so it was lovely.

@RubyDarke Wow! two Cambridge kids and a Cambridge mum! I don't know which one I'd choose if it was me. Maybe Caius, as I think it's most beautiful, but it would definitely have to be a central college.