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Facilities, Students and Social Life
A College is where students
live, eat, and socialise - much like a Hall of Residence. It is
the Colleges, rather than the University, that are principally responsible
for students' welfare and pastoral care. But Colleges also have
an important academic dimension. They assess students for admission
to the University, and they are responsible for arranging the small
group teaching from senior members (called supervisions) which is
one of Cambridge's distinctive features. This teaching provides
students with a further opportunity to explore the subjects which
they have learned about in the lectures and practicals arranged
at University level in the Faculties and Departments.
Choosing a College can
seem complicated. It needn't be. Most of the differences are
obvious: some are centrally located and some are not; some are large,
and some small; some are old foundations and some relatively recent
- though it's worth noting that 'old' does not necessarily mean
'traditional' in atmosphere. Colleges also differ slightly
in the social facilities that they offer, and these differences
are usually clear in their literature. Having chosen your basic
Cambridge course, you can therefore choose a College in exactly
the same way as any other University - by looking at location, size,
accommodation and facilities, and the level of offer you are likely
to get.
Many students find the
Open Days very useful, but many apply without having come to one.
Don't forget that the course for your subject is the same whatever
your College. It is the University that organises the overall framework
of lectures, practicals and examinations, so that all students in
a particular subject do the same course, regardless of their College.
Clare is able to offer
accommodation to all its students for three years. All first-
years live in the Memorial
Buildings, just across the river from Old Court. Most second-year
students are together in College hostels on a nearby site known
as the Colony, where there is a chance for friends to share flats
and houses. Some students choose to remain here for their
third year, while others prefer to move back to the Memorial Buildings
or move to student rooms in the seventeenth-century buildings of
Old Court. Generally, the standard of accommodation is high, with
a lot of choice in style: en-suite sets, converted attics, seventeenth-century
rooms over looking the river, and modern purpose-built blocks. Rents
vary according to type of accommodation, and first year rents for
2008/09 are likely to be in the range of £691-983 per term,
with most being £820-950.
The Union of Clare Students
(UCS) has an important
presence in the College. UCS representatives, elected every year,
have full voting rights to the College's Governing Body and on other
important College Committees. The UCS is also responsible for the
day-to-day running of many other aspects of student life, from UCS
finance, to sport, as well as the well- known Clare
Ents, which runs student entertainment.
Most students are keen
to develop interests outside work, and in Clare there are plenty
to choose from. There are over 30 societies active in Clare at present,
loosely co-ordinated by the UCS and funded in part by small grants
which the UCS makes available out of its societies' budget. These
cover a very wide spectrum, from film to skiing and rock climbing,
from environmental campaigning to equal opportunity issues.
Drama is particularly strong in
Clare: Clare Actors stage two and sometimes three plays each year,
including a summer play in the beautiful setting of Clare Fellows'
Gardens.
Sport
is also very well represented. There are squash courts behind Memorial
Court. As a riverside College, Clare naturally has a large and active
boat club, with
a boathouse on the river. The sports field is 10 minutes cycle ride
away and has excellent pitches for football, rugby, hockey and cricket,
as well as county-standard tennis courts. At present, women's football
and men's hockey are particularly successful.
Clare has an internationally
renowned mixed-voice chapel choir,
made up largely of choral exhibitioners (but with some vacancies
for volunteers), which sings a wide cathedral-type repertoire in
regular services each week. It broadcasts and records on a regular
basis, and there is an annual overseas tour. A second choir consists
of those who wish to sing on a more ad hoc basis, and there is also
a choral society. A flourishing student-run musical society organises
choral, orchestral and chamber concerts, as well as instrumental
recitals throughout the year. There is in addition, a successful
jazz club, which meets on Sunday evenings in Clare
Cellars.
Contrary to the impression
that some visitors have, Cambridge is not an expensive University
for students. The arrangements for the financial support of UK and
EU students are the same for Cambridge students as they are for
students at other UK universities. Living costs are roughly the
same, and in some respects actually lower. Rents vary according
to the type and quality of your room, but you will find that they
compare favourably with those at other British universities. Importantly,
students in Cambridge are lucky in having no transport costs during
term: the Colleges and Faculties are so close together that it is
possible to walk or cycle for most journeys.
For further details, see
the fees and finance section of the Cambridge
Undergraduate Prospectus.
As suggested above, there
is actually much less to choose between many of the Colleges than
you might at first think: what is important is the educational experience
that Cambridge has to offer, and that is common to every College.
That said, you do have to choose a College, unless you wish to submit
an Open Application. Students in the past have chosen Clare for
a number of different reasons: for its central location and setting
by the river, for its firm offer of accommodation for at least three
years, for its excellence in music, or for its combination of high
academic standards with a friendly and unpretentious student community.
The best way to choose is to come to Cambridge for an Open
Day, where you will be able to talk directly to current students
and teaching
staff.
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