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Tom Roach
Sixth form college, Cambridge
Third-year Philosophy
student
Before writing this piece I went to look
at a few of the things written by students at some of the other
colleges. They all say the same kind of wonderful things ‘perfectly
situated', ‘fantastic bar', that kind of stuff. And Clare has that
too, to find out about Clare's wonderful bar, fantastic May Ball,
and friendly people read any of the other student profiles. So what
then can I say about being a philosophy student at Clare that you
can't say about other colleges?
Well, a couple of the less
mentioned but equally important reasons:
Firstly: Clare Gardens
are wonderful! I mean, sure, a garden, who cares, right? But there
aren't many things nicer than sitting in Clare gardens in the summer
by the river watching tourists try to punt past and students overtake
them. Last couple of days of Lent term were sunny and we spent some
time picnicking and playing the age old Cambridge game of pole catching
(stealing punt poles from tourists passing underneath). And when
exams come around, revision in the garden is far more fun than being
stuck in a room. Clare Avenue gets planted up with flowers every
year and looks all pretty, you get to walk into town everyday past
the gardens, over the bridge and through Old Court right into the
middle of Cambridge; it's a really fantastic place to live.
Secondly: The Philosophy
fellows at Clare are really great. The interview thing went wonderfully,
sitting down outside my interview room, all nervous, to find a huge
pile of Calvin and Hobbes comics quickly put me at ease. The whole
thing was totally informal and managed to seem just a formality,
though obviously it wasn't. Since you'll almost certainly have a
few supervisions with Dominic Scott and Tim Lewens, it's great if
you get on - but that really isn't hard, they're really nice. They
somehow manage to be challenging without being intimidating and
scary. It's a remarkable skill and one that's been great for settling
in.
Generally Clare is fantastic,
for all the reasons everybody else gives about Clare being friendly
and old and central and so on. When you are being taught by the
faculty and being supervised by whoever is best for the paper you're
doing, what your college actually offers is the people and the place.
And for these, Clare is one of if not the best colleges in Cambridge
.
As for the philosophy course,
I've loved every minute. Generally I have about 7-8 lectures a week
and then a 2-4000 word essay to hand in to a supervisor. But to
put it like that makes it sound so mundane. The topics are fascinating,
but then, I should really hope they would be seeing as I've chosen
this as my degree. But it's the way you learn at Cambridge that
really gets me. It's a beautiful city. On a sunny day you can follow
Wittgenstein or Rupert Brookes punting up to 'The Orchard' at Granchester.
You can sit by the river in the sun and muse on your latest essay
or go write it in a little café somewhere in the back streets
with rain streaking the windows.
Only having the one supervision
a week and few lectures (which in your first year are all morning
lectures and only take up 4 days a week) you really have the freedom
to work where and when you want. You get that most perfect combination
of mentored teaching. Your supervisor answering your questions and
suggesting your reading whilst you explore the topic and carry your
studies wherever you want.
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