Which Cambridge college?

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DS is considering applying to Cambridge for History or History and Politics and is unsure which colleges to view for open days. Looking for advice from anyone who went there or who has been through this with their DCs!

About him - He's very thoughtful, self assured, calm and level headed. Likes sport. Doesn't drink (yet). A little bit shy but think he will come out of his shell in time.

What he wants - He's at very big, diverse, noisy, little bit rough state school in London and he really wants a change. Ideally somewhere peaceful with lots of green space around. Preferably not right in the centre of town. He wants the traditional buildings though!

Any recommendations gratefully received.

I think having a wander round in person would really help (though you have to bear in mind you might end up at a different college to the one you apply to anyway).
The tourists tend to gather together in a few hotspots, such as Kings Parade, but once you have threaded your way through and gone into your college it is usually quiet and peaceful.

And there are far fewer people around on the way to lectures in the mornings.

I’ve come on to recommend Pembroke. Short stroll to the river for peace and nature, but also very close to town if you want a change of scene and just to chill out in a cafe after spending hours writing an essay. The roads around it are pretty quiet, and it’s quite close to Sidgwick.

DS visited six colleges and settled on Selwyn for its green space, proximity to Sidgwick site and Old Court - and friendly porters. Has a small gym too and a short bike ride from uni tennis courts for his main sport. His other top contender was Magdalene and he really liked Pembroke but it didn’t offer his course. His friend from school read History and Politics at Downing and rowed and had a great time.

Very little green space though.

If you live in London, Cambridge is only an hour away by train.

Why don’t you go for a pre open day trip to get a feel for the city, the colleges, where his department is etc? Maybe hire a street bike and cycle up Castle Hill to the colleges there and on to Girton, then get the interminably slow U bus back to see if he fancies doing that every day or after a night on the town 😂 If you ask nicely, the porters may let you look around at some of the colleges if you tell them he is a prospective student.

There’s not much at Clare, either, except for the Fellows Garden which is glorious. I don’t know if undergraduates are allowed in there. Wonderful if they can.

There’s a banana tree close to the river. One of the gardeners told me they once hung a bunch of bananas on it as a joke, to entertain passing punters.

Gonville and Caius is lovely. Central but once you’re in v quiet and not too big.

Happy to see the love for Selwyn. I studied history there and loved it for all the reasons given. David Smith was Director of Studies for history then and still is. Highly recommend.

Selwyn does in person interviews too if that is a factor for your DS OP.

DS (2020 intake) thrived at Selwyn; he got on well with his Director of Studies, received significant funding for his sport and made really good friends.

Peterhouse!
small, traditional, lots of green space in the deer park, not completely in the centre. Great for history

Clare gardens are open to undergrads all through the summer term. They are glorious!

Peterhouse or Pembroke, very old colleges with gardens and in the quieter part of the centre, also closer to the Botanical gardens. I would go for a look round though and see what he likes best. Downing may also be worth looking at. This map is helpful in showing green spaces.

Https://map.cam.ac.uk

As someone who both studied and lives in Cambridge, I would say think about practical:

1. how is he getting around, walk or cycle or bus, then if walk think about location for that for subject.
2. new or old. They have pros and cons, but a different vibe.
3. big or small, how many students per year and how many in his subject. You’ve implied smaller but calm isn’t necessarily small.
4. what is the offer on accommodation, what does he want.
5. are interviews in person.
6. what’s the tutorial/pastoral offer. How many students to a tutor.
7. what bursaries are available if applicable.
8. can he manage with tourists or not. Kings Parade gets very busy, as do the backs. Tranquility might be off the tourist trail.

but look at 1. big and old, 2. small and old, at least one which isn’t central, which will probably be a newer one. Then narrow down if he likes new look at the other new ones. If he likes the backs look at the other backs colleges etc.

Now my college is the best but only for me. It might not be for you/him. Look around!

Find out which college has the best reputation / results for History and apply there.

Some schools have links with a particular college or college. It's worth your DS asking the members of staff who support university application whether that's the case for his school, and also to tap into their knowledge of Cambridge colleges.

A few things to remember about some recommendations here

Girton is a looong way out, does he really want that? And not medieval style buildings, which I suspect is what he's looking for.

Caius only houses some third years (and a handful of first years) in the actuall college - most are in more modern buildings and in the second year you're out by the station, in the first year by the Sidgwick site.

Peterhouse imo is too traditional

I'd say Jesus, Christ's, Downing, King's, Pembroke, Queen's are all good choices

Encourage him to take a trip to get a feel for the colleges and where they are. Most will allow perspective students to have a look outside of the open days. You can then narrow it down to a few to look at in more detail on the open days.
I would reccomend one of the ones on the river as generally has more outside green space and punting for when family visit!

Also, ultimately, many candidates end up with their application shared with another college in the pool system and get an offer from somewhere they'd never even considered. I think the majority of those students are very happy with their experience. A good start would just be applying somewhere that feels good when walking around.

I'm another that thinks Jesus could really suit him. A couple of kids from my ds's comp have gone there and had a ball, very friendly to state schools.

Magdalene has the longest river frontage of any college and so feels more spacious than some other colleges. Wonderful college for history.

Selwyn is great and super close to the History dept.

My DS was looking at St John's, Catz and Caius.
He went for St John's in the end, really amazing sports facilties and a very egalitarian approach in terms of support for students from diverse backgrounds. It's a big college so he figured he'd find a tribe but if your DS wants old college but smaller then I think Catz and Caius were great options. We ruled out Catz on the grounds they were very unpredictable in terms of Histpol offers.

Another advantage to St John’s is that it’s a relatively wealthy college. That means it has more to spend eg on extra supervisions for minority courses. The poorer colleges, possibly the newer ones, might not be able to do that.

Magdalene is definitely worth looking at on the basis of your ds’s requirements. Also Jesus. Homerton? I think he should do some research and then look round as many as possible in person.

I'm another one saying Jesus. Lovely buildings and chapel etc but a bit more space than some and very near the river/Jesus Green/Midummer Common etc BUT very easy for central Cambridge too. But not quite on the obvious tourist trail.

Homerton is untroubled by tourists and has plenty of plain green space, but it’s a mixture of late 19c/early 20 century and much more recent buildings, plus it’s relatively far out.

There’s a direct bus from Homerton to (close to) the Sidgwick site, though, and single tickets are only £1 for university students. He could also cycle there only using cycle paths, mostly off-road ones, apart from the last few yards. I read Homerton is also the largest Cambridge college by student numbers.

Here’s a pdf of the bus route. The Sidgwick site is closest to the University Library or Rugby Ground stop, with Girton at the top and Homerton towards the bottom. Some other colleges are marked, too.

I agree that he should definitely look round if he can, but it’s good to have a shortlist, especially if he wants to see Homerton or Girton.

If the school requests it Cambridge will send an outreach team to demistify the process. Each area in the UK is allocated a college - you don’t have to apply to the college assigned to your area.

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/area-links

It sounds like Selwyn ticks most of the boxes for you. Jesus as well is particularly strong on sport but also fairly strong on drinking (moreso 30 years ago, but also apparently this endures).

Pembroke and Emma worth looking at but a bit more oversubscribed so more likely to be pooled. Bear in mind that DC could be pooled whichever college they apply to, so don't get attached to one particular place.

"Reputation" for course is fairly irrelevant... teaching is by faculty and specialist supervisions could easily be at other colleges. If there's one particular academic who swings the decision then by all means pick that college, but don't make it a major factor, they might not have any contact with them at all.

Also, check out where the first year accomodation actually is. Often it's not on the main college site (eg Caius) or people expecting the full medieval experience might be surprised to find themselves in a 1970s block (eg Trinity).