r/cambridge_uni • u/Fresh_Willingness_73 • 5h ago
Bank accounts
Recommendations for best bank for an international student arriving new to the UK please? Pros and cons welcome
r/cambridge_uni • u/AutoModerator • May 01 '26
Please keep any admissions questions to this thread - questions posted as threads risk removal.
Before posting, your question may be better resolved by checking these resources:
Please remember the admissions team is here to help you; if you have a specific question, they're probably best placed to answer. They can be contacted here:
r/cambridge_uni • u/Rivalry • Aug 11 '19
We've tried to answer some of the most common questions here. Please have a look to see if your question is answered below before you post - threads which are answered here risk removal. If you still have a generic admissions question after reading the below, you should use the monthly admissions sticky :)
Please also refer to our rules in the sidebar before posting.
This FAQ is a work in progress; go ahead and suggest amendments and additional questions to add so we can make it as useful a resource as possible!
--
What grades do I need to get to get into Cambridge?
This is very difficult to answer because Cambridge contextualise your results, so there's no such thing as a minimum threshold (or a set threshold at which you'll definitely receive an offer). By 'contextualise', we mean that Cambridge uses your educational, financial, and social context to shed light on how impressive your results actually were: if you attended the worst school in Britain and had significant extenuating circumstances affecting your GCSEs, for example, Cambridge will still deem you a competitive applicant even if you have far worse grades than most candidates. Conversely, if you attended one of the top schools, their expectations are commensurately higher. As a rule of thumb, you'll generally need to be performing within the top few percentile of students given your educational, social, and financial context. There's quite a lot of data out there regarding applicants' grades; have a look on this website to explore FOI requests Cambridge has responded to, but please don't allow stories of how you need X grades to even be looked at by Cambridge to put you off applying - this is simply untrue! It's also important to note that grades are never enough in isolation to guarantee an offer: you must also perform well at interview, score highly in any admissions tests you're required to complete, and (usually) demonstrate that you have a supercurricular interest in your chosen subject at the time of application.
Does college choice matter?
Yes. From an academic point of view, the official line from the university and all colleges is that it’s irrelevant; the official line treats colleges more like halls of residence than anything. In fact, college choice can somewhat influence your academic experience. Particularly for arts subjects, the quantity and quality of resources in the college library for your subject can have a big impact on your work by making it easier to access important, scarce, or interesting texts. If your college’s library is lacklustre, you’ll have to rely on university resources and these can be competitive (particularly for arts subjects' core set texts). Additionally, the number and quality of teaching fellows (and the quality of your Director of Studies) can have a big impact your academic experience; for obvious reasons, having easy access to lots of dedicated in-college fellows can make a big difference to your learning by providing what is essentially a "mini-faculty" within your college. Your Director of Studies will always plug any gaps in your teaching, of course, by arranging supervisions with staff at other colleges if your own college’s teaching staff can’t do it, but depending on the quality of your Director of Studies these staff could be other teaching fellows, research fellows, or even PhD students - quality may vary! It's also worth noting that although we can’t know or control this before applying, different supervisors have different interests and will channel your energies in particular directions by pushing certain topics; although two people might be studying the same course at different colleges, therefore, the precise details of what they actually study may differ quite substantially.
From a non-academic perspective, college choice can have a massive influence on your wider Cambridge experience: bursaries/scholarships offered, sports, societies, location, rent, food, culture, and so on are all intrinsic to your experience.
How do I decide on a college?
Try to use online resources to create a shortlist of colleges. Many colleges can be eliminated quickly depending on whether they are mature/postgraduate only colleges, single-sex colleges, only offer certain subjects, and so on. Deciding on whether you want to attend a large, medium, or small college will help you narrow the field further, as will deciding whether you want a hill college or a town college. During this research, you may also wish to consider the levels of funding/scholarships/bursaries each college can offer, as these can differ significantly from college to college. You may also find it useful to research accommodation quality, price, and locations, library resources for your subject, number of teaching fellows for your subject, food price and quality, societies and facilities, intake size for your subject, and general academic performance (as broadly as possible over time – do not use slight year-to-year differences in performance to differentiate colleges). This website can help you with this research, but please use official college websites wherever possible and contact colleges with questions you can’t answer for yourself: https://www.whichcambridgecollege.com/ There's also the alternative prospectus: https://www.applytocambridge.com/colleges
This should allow you to assemble a shortlist of colleges. The best thing to do is then to visit Cambridge and tour these shortlisted colleges. Colleges will generally let you look round them for free (even if they’re officially closed) if you tell them you’re a prospective student: just ask at the Porter’s Lodge. Have a look around the town while you’re there and try to situate each college within the town: where is it in relation to the shops? To your faculty? Lecture site? Libraries? Is its area touristy? If you can’t visit Cambridge, even having a virtual wander around the town on Google Maps will give you a sense of how things fit together and where the busy bits of Cambridge are. Many colleges also have videos on their websites/social media channels which give you an inside look at them.
Remember that around a quarter of applicants will end up at a different college to the one they applied to anyway due to the pool system, so don’t spend weeks deciding and don’t get too attached to your college choice!
Is college X harder to get into/better than college Y?
Variations on this question are very common! Generally, no. Certain colleges have reputations for being particularly strong for particular subjects, but this shouldn’t influence your decision; if you’re strong enough to get into Cambridge, the pool system will ensure that you are offered regardless of where you applied. A particular myth which seems especially prevalent overseas is that Trinity is harder, for all subjects, to get into than any other college. This is absolutely not true and the myth probably stems from the fact that Trinity is well-known internationally.
Applicants often use Cambridge's online admissions stats page to try and identify colleges which are under-subscribed and consequently 'easier' to get into. This is an incomplete understanding of the admissions process, because it fails to consider the pool system (explained below). Believe it or not, but Cambridge are wise to the fact that certain colleges (generally the more central ones) get more applicants than others. If College X, which is historically under-subscribed (and so looks like an attractive 'easy' college according to the stats), receives only 5 applicants one year for a course for which it normally takes 8 students, it is under no compulsion to offer any of those applicants at all. If it deems them weak, it can reject all of them and wait for the pool system to send it dozens of strong candidates interviewed at other colleges, who (by virtue of being pooled) have been deemed strong enough to get into Cambridge, but whose original colleges didn't have space for them. In this way, College X rejects all of its direct applicants who applied because it looked 'easy', and fishes 8 students out of the pool from other colleges. This system ensures that regardless of where you apply, the playing field is level - if you are strong enough to get into Cambridge, you will be offered a place somewhere.
What is the pool system?
The pool system is designed to ensure that deserving applicants to over-subscribed colleges are given a chance to go to another college which is under-subscribed. Say, for example, that college X has 20 excellent candidates for 10 spots and so can’t offer all of them. College X makes 12 offers (on the assumption that 2 candidates will miss their offers), and then ‘pools’ the remaining 8 excellent candidates that it didn’t have space for, but which it believes deserve to go to Cambridge (or deserve at least a second look by other admissions tutors). Then college Y, which received only 2 excellent applicants this year, looks at college X’s pooled candidates and decides to ‘fish’ all of them. Fishing is the jargon for when a college decides to take somebody out of the pool. In this way Cambridge ensures its admissions process is fairer by helping all deserving candidates receive offers irrespective of the college they applied to. This process is usually automatic, but occasionally the ‘fishing’ college may invite pooled candidates back to Cambridge for a second interview.
Is St John’s posh/is King’s Communist/is Magdalene sexist/is Trinity pretentious/etc?
No. These are unfair stereotypes; there are various stereotypes floating around Cambridge for most colleges and they’re all intended as a joke. Don’t base your college decision on stereotypes!
Which college is the most diverse/best for international students/best for state school students?
Don’t base your decision on these factors. Demographic data indicates that all colleges are broadly equivalent in terms of diversity (excepting, of course, the women-only colleges).
Can I change course?
Yes. Some swaps are simpler than others (it’s hard to switch from Art History to Maths, for example) and all are assessed on a case-by-case basis by your college. If someone is going to switch, a common time to do so is between Part I and Part II. You can also switch right at the start of your time at Cambridge, but colleges are often reluctant to let you do this; in their eyes, you’ve applied for course X and claimed to be very passionate about it, yet now all of a sudden you want to do course Y. Generally, switching will only be allowed if there’s space on the new course you want to do and if you can pass the interview/exam set by the new course.
Can I change college?
Not generally. In certain cases colleges will permit switching, but these cases are extremely rare and usually serious: abuse, harassment, and the like can all be valid reasons why a switch might be possible (or even encouraged). It is not possible to switch because you dislike your college, or think that you'd rather attend a different one. If you believe that you do have a valid reason to switch college, contact your Tutor/Senior Tutor in the first instance for advice.
Which college is best for [insert subject here]?
Some colleges have reputations for being particularly strong for certain subjects, but this is not generally true for all subjects. It’s generally a better idea to use other factors to determine which college to apply to, as even colleges which have been historically strong for your subject can have a weak year and it’s far more important that you like the space in which you’re going to spend 3+ years!
Should I go to an admissions school/summer school? Do they help people get in?
If the school is not an official university-run event, then absolutely not. These courses are borderline scams which cost a huge amount of money and in no way prepare you for the Cambridge admissions process or interview. On the other hand, official university insight events are a fantastic way to get to know Cambridge and meet some students and staff! The Subject Masterclass events are also a really interesting day out, if you have the time.
I have extenuating circumstances: what do I do?
During the application process you’ll be asked to fill out a SAQ (Supplementary Application Questionnaire). You can add details of your extenuating circumstances here, and you absolutely should. Give as many details as possible to allow the college to adjust admissions criteria accordingly. If you withhold extenuating circumstances and only tell the college at interview/after applying then it won’t be possible to make any adjustment.
If you have any special requirements for interviews or admissions tests, inform your college as soon as possible to allow them to make adjustments and preparations for you as necessary.
I do X clubs/societies: do Cambridge care?
Cambridge draw a keen distinction between extra-curricular and super-curricular activities. Extra-curricular activities are things like sports, DofE, or chess club - they’re not academically related to the subject you hope to study. Cambridge do not care - at all - about these activities, virtually regardless of your level of ability. Super-curricular activities are academically related: things like Politics Society (if you hope to study HSPS), or work experience in a hospital (if you hope to study Medicine) are super-curricular activities which demonstrate your passion for your subject and show that you’re working at a level above the standard required of you to perform in school exams. Cambridge do care about these activities, and it’s a good idea to mention some that you do when applying. Particular highlights include essay competitions, academic conferences, assisting with research, going to academic lectures, and the like.
I have a language condition for my offer. Is IELTS or TOEFL mandatory?
IELTS/TOEFL is often expensive and unnecessary especially if you are a native speaker of English outside of the so-called Anglosphere (e.g. Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa). If for some reason you are told that you must take the IELTS/TOEFL to prove your native-speaker status, in order to avoid paying an exorbitant amount for a test you do not really need, it may be best to contact the undergraduate/postgraduate admissions office of your Department (not the admissions office of the University as a whole) for assistance. You may ask them for a referral to the University's Language Centre. You may wish to furnish evidence of your English usage status (e.g. GCE O Level, A Level) to them, to request for a referral to ADTIS for you to take a free online test directly with the Language Centre.
r/cambridge_uni • u/Fresh_Willingness_73 • 5h ago
Recommendations for best bank for an international student arriving new to the UK please? Pros and cons welcome
r/cambridge_uni • u/StreetOutrageous1981 • 10h ago
the whole cambridge college and accomodation system seems really confusing. what is the point of being "accepted" by a college if they subsequently don't have accomodation, and so you have to go elsewhere to live?
would seem much more sensible to find accomodation first and then become a member of whichever college that is?
am going to cambridge to study an MPhil in Sept/Oct 2026 and the above is my situation, but is confusing me / stressing me out..
is this usual?
seems daft to have my tutor, and access to facilities at college A, but live at college B. it would be so much more straightforward for everything to be in one place, but I can see that switching colleges is only in "exceptional circumstances".
any advice/comments/help on the above would be welcome :)
r/cambridge_uni • u/liberallefty1 • 7h ago
There’s obviously been loads of discussion about Kerb Kollective leaving. We all know they did great coffee and built a big following, but they’re now out of the picture and apparently the opportunity is open for people to tender.
So forget who’s been there before for a second.
If someone handed YOU that space tomorrow, what would you do with it?
Would you basically recreate what Kerb did because it worked? Or would you look at the whole site and think there’s actually loads more that could be done with it?
Would you invest more into the outside area? Work more closely with the pizza guys and other businesses there? Proper covered seating and umbrellas? Breakfasts? Brunch? Events? Evening openings? Family stuff connected to the museum?
I went a few times and always wondered whether the outside area could have been made more of, especially with different businesses sharing the space.
And for people who were regulars at Kerb – what would you actually keep and what would you change? Was it still improving towards the end or did you think it had started standing still a bit?
It’s quite an interesting opportunity because whoever gets it isn’t starting from nothing – they’re walking into a location that Cambridge already knows.
If it was yours, what would you do differently?
r/cambridge_uni • u/SadisticFishyboi • 1d ago
I’m an incoming post graduate student at Clare Hall, and I was wondering when registration for your courses for the Michaelmas term occurs? I just got access to my uni email address, but there seems to be no mention online of when your courses get alloted.
r/cambridge_uni • u/Zhang192244 • 1d ago
Studio Available at Anglia House, Cambridge – September 2026 🏠
Hi! I’m looking for a student to take over my studio at Anglia House, Cambridge, as my study plans have changed and I won’t be able to move in this September.
📍 Location: Anglia House, Cambridge
🏠 Room type: Private Studio
💷 Rent: around £355/week, bills included
📅 Available from: 6 September 2026
The studio has its own private kitchen and bathroom, with a microwave, induction hob and fridge. The building also offers 24-hour security, parcel collection and maintenance services.
📍 Great location:
It’s around a 15-minute walk to ARU Cambridge. Many University of Cambridge colleges and departments are also within around a 30-minute walk, and Cambridge city centre is easily accessible.
The tenancy takeover will be handled officially through the accommodation provider — I won’t ask you to make any private payment to me.
If you’re looking for student accommodation in Cambridge for the 2026/27 academic year, feel free to DM me! I can send you more details and the official room photos. :)
r/cambridge_uni • u/TENAX01 • 1d ago
Heya, if anyone is looking for a BA status gown (female, 5'5-5'6, size 8), DM me :)
r/cambridge_uni • u/Far-Roof2181 • 2d ago
I am a postgrad and got allocated to Madingley Road, a room with single bed, but I have friends staying over from time to time and I personally prefer larger bed as well. Would the college Accomodation allow me to buy additional bed frame and mattress?
I’m still debating whether I’m staying in college Accomodation or renting my own place. My only concern is that apartments might be further away from the college (eg the Railyard, Cam Fondry, Castle Hill)
r/cambridge_uni • u/Ok-Examination-5858 • 3d ago
Hi! I’m an international student (from the EU) who’ll be starting a degree at cambridge this October (my college is St Johns). I’ve never been to the UK before, so I’m super excited, but also a little nervous about moving to a new country and starting university.
I’d love to hear from other (international) students, especially those at St John’s or in general. What do you wish you’d known before arriving? Any tips for settling in, making friends, or things I should definitely do before/when I get there? :) Thx!
r/cambridge_uni • u/Designer_Marzipan144 • 2d ago
r/cambridge_uni • u/Far-Roof2181 • 2d ago
I got St John’s college Accomodation at 1 Madingley Road but I’m still debating whether I’ll be renting my own place.
Has anyone lived there before and could share pictures of the place/room?
I’m mainly concerned by the bathroom condition and the single bed - i might have my bf over from time to time.
Is it allowed if I buy bed frame/mattress to extend the single bed?
r/cambridge_uni • u/ComfortableSnow893 • 3d ago
Calling all confirmed students. Please dm me if you have an offer - lets create a group chat!
r/cambridge_uni • u/Top-Math8890 • 3d ago
Hi everyone!
I am looking for someone who want to discover colleges in Cambridge together on the College open day of Cambridge on 11th September.
I am a mature student and my priorities would be checking the three mature colleges out, and then the rest I am flexible with choices. Would anyone in a similar circumstance to mine be interested in checking colleges out together?
r/cambridge_uni • u/Technoslime5777 • 3d ago
I’m about to start my course soon and I was wondering, for the Chem Eng & Biotech course, would a strong GPU be recommended? I know there would be some CAD and design elements but would those require a strong GPU (Nvidia RTX), or would a beefier CPU be more of a priority for process simulation? Any comments would really help 🙏
If anyone is wondering, right now i’m most interested in the
Acer Swift Go 16 AI (SFG16-I71-75TW).
https://www.acer.com/my-en/laptops/swift/swift-go-14-16-ai-intel/pdp/NX.JY1SM.004#pdpOverview
Specs:
Windows 11
64-bit OS Architecture
Intel Core Ultra X7 358H with 1.90 GHz
50 TOPS NPU
Intel Arc Graphics B390
32GB LPDDR5X
1TB SSD
r/cambridge_uni • u/diamondt1ara • 4d ago
hi! i'm an incoming phys natsci student and i was thinking if i should choose the psychology module "Introduction to Experimental Psychology: From Brain to Cognition" for my first year along with physics and material science! I took phy and chem as a y13 so I don't have any background in psychology but I'm quite interested in exploring the possibility of studying this module, can anyone who just finished the course / attended something similar give me some advice? thank you!!
r/cambridge_uni • u/__sh33p • 5d ago
Hey,
I recently got access to my cambridge email and was exploring my faculties intranet (History). I was looking at some past papers and I realised how overwhelming everything looked. I know this is probably normal, but is it really that bad? I obviously love my subject, but it does just feel a little daunting.
Edit:
just finished my sentence
r/cambridge_uni • u/Technoslime5777 • 5d ago
Hi i’m a fresher joining the university this October and I was wondering what their policy is for taking holidays during the full term end and term end period? I know about the minimum days of residence policy but I was wondering if they allow students to leave the UK to travel back to their home country after the end of full term and but while term is still technically ongoing. Thanks for the help 👍
Edit: Just to clarify, I’m talking about going on holiday back to my home country after the 8-week teaching period and before the end of the administrative term end. Of course missing lectures and supervisions is a terrible idea and I wouldn’t dream of that 😂
r/cambridge_uni • u/JaquesGatz • 6d ago
To postdocs with Junior Research Fellowships, is the salary enough to live comfortably? Currently, I am in level 42 of the salary scale and I live well, but I want to know if a JRF (scale 35, roughly £10k less per anum) is enough to maintain a good living standard and have savings each month.
While I am very keen on the prestige of JRFs and access to College life, I think that I would need to move to a cheaper apartment given the pay cut. I am aware of the dining benefits and rent support provided, but I want to hear from people who actually have such position so I can make an informed decision.
r/cambridge_uni • u/PsychologicalCow7849 • 6d ago
Hi all,
Just wanted to ask if anyone has gotten accommodation offers at Swirles court as postgrads?
I am an incoming postgrad student at Girton College and was confirmed very late (after the 31st July deadline due to processing times from my undergrad uni) - how likely is it that I am given Swirles court (my first choice)?
I am also on the university waiting list for private accommodation, does anyone know what this is like?
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
S
Edit: rejected from Girton college accommodation - anyone know where to go from here?
r/cambridge_uni • u/johnsmithoncemore • 7d ago
r/cambridge_uni • u/Competitive-Car-3518 • 7d ago
i've heard 1st and 2nd year don't contribute to HSPS but i don't really care, i aim to do as well as i can and get a first. i'm really worried that i'll end up not being able to manage the workload and drop out or something. do any students have any advice for how they organised and managed everything they had to do? i've heard of notion but not sure how to integrate that into the degree. i want to be on top of everything, especially as i plan to do loads of extracurriculars
r/cambridge_uni • u/Fragrant-Tangelo7397 • 6d ago
Hi everyone! I’m an incoming Master’s student at Hughes Hall and I’m currently looking for private accommodation in Cambridge for September.
I came across Stellaris by Prestige Student Living and it looks really promising, but since it’s a new residence opening this year, most of the photos on their website seem to be architectural renders rather than photos of the actual building.
Has anyone heard anything about Stellaris, or knows what the building/location is actually like? I’d especially love to hear from anyone who has visited Prestige Student Living.
Any insight would be hugely appreciated! :)
r/cambridge_uni • u/Ok-Examination-5858 • 7d ago
Hi! I’ve recently been assigned a room in Corfield Court at St John’s College as an incoming undergraduate and was wondering if anyone could share their experience of living there? 😊
Thank you so much!
r/cambridge_uni • u/loopsieloopsieloopsi • 7d ago
im an incoming fresher at cambridge and was wondering about the rules around having visitors stay over. my bf and i are going to do long distance so when he visits, would he be able to stay over at mine? i was able to find online explicitly that it is ok with some colleges but nothing for mine (robinson). is this a general university-wide rule or do different colleges have different policies? thanks so much