Cambridge UK

[Redseele]

I am pondering the possibility of applying to the University of Cambridge, in England. I know that it is about 50 miles away from London and that it is a university town. But other than that, can anyone give any more information about what it is like living there? Is the access to London easy? Is housing and the cost of living generally expensive? What is the quality of the entertainment in the area? etc.

Thanks!

[Dubya]

Access to London is very easy. The train takes about 50 minutes and arrives at King's Cross Station. Next door to King's Cross is St. Pancras (where the Eurostar departs). Stansted airport is also quite close (30 min. by train or a bit longer by bus) and the big budget airline fly out of here...so it's actually fairly easy to access most of Europe from Cam.

Cost of living is generally on the expensive side, but it really comes down to where you're coming from. The dollar is doing quite well against the pound right now so the UK is reasonable at the moment. Don't expect to eat out often though. Nice meals can be very expensive in comparison to the US. Housing cost depends on a bunch of factors and will likely be determined by which college takes you. Some have nice, large, new rooms that can be pricey...others have old and small...while many have a mix of both. You'll probably end up paying between

[swr22]

Cambridge is great fun. It is a privilege to study in those surroundings, regardless of where you've been or where you are from. If you live in college then rents are subsidised. London is easily accessible. It isn't a big 'clubbing' town (you have London for that) but it also has VERY high quality theatre, college dances, every different college has there own subsidised bar etc.

[highhopes]

I currently study at Cambridge, and it is an absolutely fantastic town to be in. It's small, but there is a LOT to do here. Students generally tend to live in the city centre, and you can pretty much get anywhere within a 25 minutes walk (most students use bicycles though!). I think the graduates tend to live a little bit further out than the undergraduates (i.e. 20 minutes walk from the centre as opposed to right IN the city centre). Cycling is the main form of transport and most do not have cars.

There are a lot of restaurants here, and with the current economic recession, there are many meal deals which make eating out fairly reasonable (although, costs are of course all relative, depending on what you are used to. You can generally expect to pay about

[Dubya]

The college system is wonderful in providing an in-built pool for friends, although I can't really comment too much on this aspect as I am an undergraduate and life for grads and undergrads can be extremely different in this respect. I believe that the graduate union also organises a fair number of activities for the graduates (although again, I can't comment too much on this).

Nice post! The college system has a similar effect on grads...It's great because the atmosphere is much more social than the grad scene at most American universities.

[vitaminquartet]

Hey,

I am (baring unforeseen circumstances) planning to start my phd at Cambridge this autumn. I'm in my late 20s. Where is the *nicest* place to live in terms of access to bars/pubs stores and stuff with good access to the Sidgwick site where the law faculty is? What are the busiest/liveliest streets? I have lived in London and loved it and have never lived in a small town/city before so I really want to be in the most central places that would be the liveliest/least-sleepy.

[ssk2]

Howdy, just thought I'd bump this thread up - in case anyone else has any questions about Cambridge. I studied there for 3 years.

[jtu2tj]

Hello,

I am applying to MPhil Development studies at Cambridge, and for the application i have to list my first choice and second choice college. I was wondering if you have any advice as to which college to choose? I am most concerned with accommodation - I would like nice, comfortable accommodation with ensuite. good location would be great as well.

thanks!

[jtu2tj]

for good location i mean closer to city centre, doesn't have to be right in the city centre, but closer than far off.

[ssk2]

I've replied to your PM. Check out this map to see what colleges are near your faculty - http://map.cam.ac.uk/Centre+of+Development+Studies

 

Cambridge is a very small city so nearly all colleges are close to the centre of town. Unless you're very unlucky, you'll be within a 15 minute walk of the town centre - and most people cycle around anyway.

[wetheplants]

Hey there! I'm working on my application to Cambridge right now for an MPhil in Medieval/Renn studies. I'm American and really REALLY want to be able to make sure I make friends (didn't work out so well when I studied abroad in London, I was a lonely puppy), so I purposely weeded down pretty much all the colleges in the city center to just the ones where you have a good chance of living either in or really close to your college. I'm hoping to eat with people and socialize daily, that sort of thing. 

Top choices right now are 1. Magdalene and 2. Pembroke
I'm also considering Trinity and Corpus Christi (with Leckhampton). I was also seriously considering Emmanuel but it's more competitive (I hear) and no in college housing. 

Me: New Englander, friendly, sociable, more into arts than sports, like to drink with friends. Formal hall sounds super exciting. I write plays. Down to earth, not really into stuck-up rich people. (Too much of that in undergrad)
 

Do you have any feedback? I feel like there are probably things about each college that everyone knows but they won't have on their webpages... any reputations about these places? I've relentlessly trawled all the alternative prospecti that I can find.
Any thoughts for me?  Other places I should be considering?

Edited October 30, 2014 by wetheplants

[wetheplants]

Howdy, just thought I'd bump this thread up - in case anyone else has any questions about Cambridge. I studied there for 3 years.

Don't know if you're still kicking around gradcafe, but I'd love to hear your thoughts if you are!! =] Just posted above.

[radioglow]

 

snip

 

hey there, final year undergrad here. sorry for the late reply; hope it’s still useful!

 

I’m not really sure I get your line of reasoning tbh - to me it feels like it could very well be easier to make friends at smaller/ less-central or even grad-only colleges, with tighter-knit communities and all that. also, from what I’ve heard from grad friends, while people are generally lovely and friendly, there’s no way of telling what kind of housemates/ hall-mates you’ll happen to get regardless of which college you’re in. and formal halls (and May Balls and the like) are pretty amazing, but again (at least in my experience), it isn’t so much about your own college’s formal halls but going to formals at friends’ colleges (I *have* heard a lot about Caius’s grad superhalls (http://www.mcr.cai.cam.ac.uk/?page_id=31) though!)

 

– so while I think that more information can’t hurt and that your picks sound good, imho probably the best way to be sure you make friends isn’t so much hoping you get lucky with housing allocations, but via societies like the Corpus Playroom and St John’s Picturehouse, or if you’re willing casual college-level sports like lacrosse, badminton and of course rowing

Edited November 16, 2014 by radioglow

[wetheplants]

 

 

 

hey there, final year undergrad here. sorry for the late reply; hope it’s still useful!

 

I’m not really sure I get your line of reasoning tbh - to me it feels like it could very well be easier to make friends at smaller/ less-central or even grad-only colleges, with tighter-knit communities and all that. also, from what I’ve heard from grad friends, while people are generally lovely and friendly, there’s no way of telling what kind of housemates/ hall-mates you’ll happen to get regardless of which college you’re in. and formal halls (and May Balls and the like) are pretty amazing, but again (at least in my experience), it isn’t so much about your own college’s formal halls but going to formals at friends’ colleges (I *have* heard a lot about Caius’s grad superhalls (http://www.mcr.cai.cam.ac.uk/?page_id=31) though!)

 

– so while I think that more information can’t hurt and that your picks sound good, imho probably the best way to be sure you make friends isn’t so much hoping you get lucky with housing allocations, but via societies like the Corpus Playroom and St John’s Picturehouse, or if you’re willing casual college-level sports like lacrosse, badminton and of course rowing

 

Nope, still useful! Thank you! =]

Well, I guess I am gravitating towards smaller colleges, with Magdalene and Pembroke. I was also thinking about Leckhampton which is CC's all grad campus but mreh. The other two seemed like better options.

I guess I just really didn't want to be living far away from the city because I I won't have a bike or anything and I'd like to be able to get to things quickly.

And yes, I don't know if I'd want to do any sports teams (my big sports are snowboarding and softball, neither of which I'll find! ) but I definitely plan on participating in dramatic stuff, either with set/writing/acting, so hopefully that will get in me in touch with people.

Also, speaking of dramatic societies - are they actually as college-centric as they sound? Like, will most of the people in the Pembroke Players be members of Pembroke? Or from all over? Should i care about being a college with a dramatic society or not?

 

Thanks! This is very helpful, I have a few friends in England but none at Cambridge =] 

[faroscience]

Say, does anybody know of any opportunities in or nearby Cambridge for non-students?  Especially opportunities within a medical environment (e.g. volunteering in a hospital), teaching (e.g. ESL teaching), or within the biological sciences?  I'm trying to find career-relevant professional development activities for my spouse.  Thanks!

[danwaterfield]

Say, does anybody know of any opportunities in or nearby Cambridge for non-students?  Especially opportunities within a medical environment (e.g. volunteering in a hospital), teaching (e.g. ESL teaching), or within the biological sciences?  I'm trying to find career-relevant professional development activities for my spouse.  Thanks!

Quite late reply, but there's the science park nearby, as well as papworth (heart speciality) and addenbrookes hospitals. There'll be plenty of opportunities in that regard. 

[MarinaLazarus]

Hi all! 

I have been admitted to the University of Cambridge (PhD in History) and I would like to ask some general questions about the city (how is life there, studying, where to rent rooms, which are the average living costs etc.). My college will be Girton College that I know is a bit far away from the centre and I was wondering if this will be really an issue or not. 

Thank you!

[Feanor]

Cambridge is pretty expensive overall, but it is a wonderful place to live. Girton is indeed a bit far, be prepared for jokes with that respect, but as a graduate student you don't really have to go there very often (you'll spend most of your time at your department) and students end up loving whichever college they get. As for any city, look for accommodation as soon as you can --- you can check with Girton and the university acc. office, but it might be worth living outside college in private accommodation.

I strongly recommend you get yourself a bike and a rain coat.