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This week, Rob Haworth, a fourth year geology student at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, tells us about life at one of the world's most renowned universities.

Being a student in Cambridge

Cambridge is a fairly small town with a big student population – the university dominates the town centre, and it feels very studenty. As most of your time will be spent in this relatively small area, it’s good to know that most of what you want is there too – all the bars, a great selection of pubs, a less great selection of clubs and plenty of green space when the time comes to kick back and relax in summer.

People get around by bike or foot – most places you want to go are less than a 20-minute walk from, well, anywhere. As the place is rather flat, emerging as it does from Cambridgeshire’s fenlands, bikes are ideal and pretty much universal. London is 45 minutes on the train – this proximity is useful for the devoted clubber, but probably contributes to push the prices up a bit – a typical pint in a town-centre pub will set you back about £2.70, whilst the cinema costs about £5.50 at student rate. Eating out is relatively cheap - students get “£10 deals” in all the major curry houses, and the strangely overrepresented noodle bars will feed you up for under a tenner – obviously, expect to pay a bit extra in more sophisticated places. Clubs cost about £3/4 to get in on student nights.

The town does a good line in small independent shops - those right in the centre typically cater to the visitor, (think “Cambridge, England” splashed over everything) but from vintage shoes to flavourful cheese, you’ll be sure to find it if you look down enough back streets.

There is the hint of a “town vs. gown” divide – but it’s pretty artificial really. You certainly won’t get any unwanted attention just for existing, although most students don’t go clubbing on Saturday night. This is probably a consequence of the hugely inflated prices compared to midweek as much as it is any hostility you might receive. Pubs are generally hassle-free and there certainly aren’t any no-go areas, but by the same token, the personal safety of drunken students will always be an issue - if standard precautions are taken you are hopefully unlikely to be a victim of crime (bike theft excluded – buy a rubbish one so no-one nicks it).

The College System

As a student in Cambridge you are primarily affiliated to a particular college, of which there are 31 all told. The experience to be had varies only really in the detail, and pretty much everyone believes their own college is the best – so you’ll likely end up happy wherever you go.

The big decision when choosing a college is “old” versus “new” – the former are what people think of when someone mentions Cambridge and the archetypes of the breed are Trinity, St. John’s and Magdalene. At the other end of the age spectrum are Fitzwilliam, Churchill, New Hall and Robinson, traditionally a bit more relaxed but lacking beauty. The second thing is size – Corpus and Peterhouse have less than 100 undergraduates in each year, whilst St John’s feels like a small city and you’re unlikely to know everyone’s name even after three years. If you’re female you have the added choice of whether to apply to a women-only college (Newnham or New Hall), the merits of which are probably best left for non-males to decide.

It’s very tempting to play the numbers game when applying (applicants per place ratios vary wildly between colleges), but the best thing to do is visit, talk to some current students and apply on the basis of which place feels right. Each college does have a personality that persists from year to year, so make sure the one you choose suits you. Click here for more information on the colleges, from a student perspective.

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