What's life at Cambridge really like?
We know it isn’t easy choosing which university to go to and applying to Cambridge can feel like a big decision to make! As we’ve experienced this ourselves, we’d like to try answer any questions you might have and help you make informed decisions. From web pages on Colleges (where we live) to courses, social life to academic support, the Cambridge SU Alternative Prospectus is the student insight to Cambridge: we’re not trying to ‘sell’ it to you – rather tell you our experience so you can decide for yourself.
Unfortunately, Cambridge is surrounded by many myths and stereotypes that prevent people from thinking that it’s worth applying. Hopefully, the student profiles and experiences on this website prove that Cambridge is actually made up of people from all sorts of backgrounds – this university is for everyone, no matter where you've come from, what your parents do for a living, or the type of school you went to. We promise it’s not all work, work, work, either – that myth is very wrong too!
Check out the Courses section for profiles on each undergraduate course, advice on choosing your course and info on academic life. The Colleges section tells you about where students live, with info on what a College actually is and profiles of each one. The town and university as a place to live is described in the Cambridge section. The Student Life and Applying sections are coming soon!
Hello!
Welcome to the Alternative Prospectus for Cambridge University. This resource has been created by the Cambridge Students' Union (Cambridge SU) (in collaboration with students) to give you a greater insight into what life is like here at the University, from the perspective of students themselves!
I'm Neve, the current Undergraduate Access, Education and Participation Officer for Cambridge SU. The SU is made up of an elected team of eight full-time officers who represent students, in addition to a great team of support staff. As sabbatical officers, our job is to work on issues relevant to our roles (like dismantling barriers to access and participation at the University and improving education provision, in my case) by representing students in discussions at a University level, campaigning and building community across the University.
Cambridge is an amazing place to study in so many ways. Its unique teaching system allows for personalised contact hours with academics, there is an incredibly broad range of extracurricular activities to get stuck into, and both the College and University communities bring together people from all over the world.
Everyone should have the opportunity to inform themselves about Cambridge and feel empowered to apply, regardless of background. Hopefully this prospectus will bust some myths about Cambridge and answer a lot of the questions you might have about living and studying here! If reading it invites you to consider Cambridge as a genuine and exciting possibility for you, then it’s done its job. We would love to welcome you here!
@cambtweet
#CambTweet is Cambridge SU's Twitter-based project that helps you find out about student life at Cambridge. There’s one student volunteer per (nearly every) subject, and they’re tweeting daily about everything from what they’re studying to hanging out with friends. Search #CambTweet or @cambtweet on Twitter to find them.
