Female only colleges at Cambridge - why do people apply and whats the vibe?

[Norahh]

Just curious if anyone has any experience?

Is this true though as I can see ME has consistently 30-35% acceptance rate and Trinity 10-20%?

Or maybe its skewed by the subject admission rate?

The numbers per college are small though, so even one or two more can skew percentages. There were 6 of us in my cohort , about 100 across the whole university.

Is that statistic for Trinity a 10-20% success rate at Trinity or a 10-20% success rate of getting into Cambridge.

I’m more familiar with Oxford than Cambridge but it is certainly true that while some colleges are more oversubscribed, it evens out once you take into account people getting places at colleges other than the one they applied to.

I was at Somerville, Oxford in the 1980s when it was all women. Had an incredible time, and am still in a really tight friendship group some 40 years on. A lot of women who went to mixed colleges did not have such a good, carefree time as we did and acknowledged it. Men inhabited our (cheapest in Oxford) bar and were welcomed but if they started being a pain, out they went. And we often had tutorials with men in Somerville, where our wonderful tutors took no sexist crap from them at all.

ME is no longer women only. They accept men who identify as women and men who identify as non-binary.

I was on the fence and applied to a different college in the end, but spent a lot of time at Newnham and thought it would have been a great choice.

Another person who loved Newnham, though I was there for my PhD rather than undergraduate. I actually did my undergraduate at a mixed, for which read male dominated, Oxford college. It was just when lad culture was getting going and the mixed college became a really vile place for women. Newnham rebuilt the confidence that my undergraduate experiences had knocked out of me.
I have never been in such a supportive environment, before or since. As a pp said it’s run by women for women. There’s none of the hierarchical nonsense of the older colleges despite the fellowship being composed of really fascinating high achieving women.

Lots of Newnhamites are mumsnetters - what a lovely surprise!
@TheCountessofFitzdotterel describes exactly what is so special about the place. Actually, I was there for undergraduate then my PhD was funded by a subject-specific grant award from Trinity. I could have switched colleges at that point but never wanted too.

Good point, and I'm guessing that you're right and that the distribution of subjects between colleges also matters a lot! (Imagine a college that only offered ASNaC, Archaeology and Art History...)

@Biancablank that's so untrue! My DD fell in love with Newnham and applied there. She liked the suffragette history and was keen on an all girl college. It was also across from where her lectures would be. However she did not get an offer, despite have three A stars in hand.

My DS took me to lunch at Newnham. It's lovely and lots of his friends both male and female used the cafe there because it was so nice.

Another Newnhamite. Pooled but loved it. Has an amazing 4 years there. Such a supportive environment.

Another Newnhamite here. I applied directly, partly because I thought at the time that I stood a greater chance of getting in, but mainly because the admissions tutor at the time gave me a lovely guided tour all on my own (I'd missed all the open days). My 17 year old self thought being allowed to walk on the grass was a Good Sign. I was also impressed by the ongoing commitment to feminism and was truly shocked how late into the 20th century some of the other colleges had admitted women. I had a great time at Newnham and I think the more relaxed vibe was probably quite helpful for my mental health. My closest friends were probably outside the college but I did have friends there and joined in with college life. I certainly don't regret my choice and look back on those days with fondness.

Yes I always thought that about the grass too. Some colleges - only fellows can walk on the grass because it is important to show hierarchy in pointless ways. Newnham - everyone can walk on the grass, except please keep off the spring bulb area when it’s flowering.

We used to sunbathe on the grass. One day Steven Hawking ran his wheelchair over my foot. Still my favourite, if painful celeb interaction.

The grass! Yes, at Oxford one time, Desmond Tutu came to visit and even he wasn't allowed on the hallowed Fellows' grass, FFS!

@Norahh I know someone pooled to a women’s only college - but when the fire alarms go off in the night - there are lots of men that seem to have been ‘visiting’ that emerge onto the lawns 😂- she has a great boyfriend she met at uni and so do the vast majority of her friends. Really not an issue.

Some colleges also put out “keep off the grass” signs to stop tour groups trampling paths into the lawns, but members of college including students are actually allowed on the grass. (Obviously another type of hierarchy, but perhaps a more understandable one and the students get a kick out of being allowed to ignore the sign.)

I went to a mixed college in the 90s, but regretted not having applied instead to the women's colleges, as I found the misogyny of the tutors and male students at my college distressing and I struggled as a result. I know a few people who went to women's colleges around the same time and thrived.

This happened in my women's hall of residence too!