[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA]If it weren't for the University, Cambridge would have remained pretty much as the Romans left it: a fairly insignificant village, surrounded by flat fenlands, where East Anglia starts to bulge from the rest of England. It wouldn't, in recent years, have burgeoned a throbbing industry of scientific and computer research around the town. It would just have been blown by cold winds from Siberia in winter and the river Cam would have flowed through gently, uncluttered by tourist's punts in summer. [ITAL]Fortunately, [EITAL]it didn't happen like that. About a century after the trend started in Oxford, higher education sprouted in Cambridge and now, more than 700 years later, these are the most famous, most highly revered and [ITAL]possibly the most extraordinary[EITAL] universities in the world. The University remains (much more than at Oxford) the focal point of the city, which[ITAL] is very pretty, with lots of attractive buildings[EITAL] in light golden stone. The University buildings are its colleges - 31 in all (depending what you count as a college) - [ITAL]and they are as attractive examples of English architecture spanning 8 centuries as are likely to be found anywhere[EITAL]. The area they cover is [ITAL]remarkably compact and has an utterly surreal feel about it, aided and abetted by the suffused quality of light and the names of the areas: the Backs, Commons, Pieces. These words occupy this separate world inhabited by the elite - a controversial word to which the University objects. They are elite not necessarily because of their astonishing intellect, social background and astounding talent in sport, music, drama or whatever, (although often it is also one or more of these), but elite by the mere fact that they are students here. More or less, the centre point of Cambridge (for the purpose of distances to the colleges in [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL] entries, at any rate) is the breath-takingly beautiful King's Parade with a view of King's and Gonville and Caius.[EITAL][HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Okay, so Cambridge and Oxford are more similar than orange trolleys and fried eggs. If you want someone to say they're completely different, go look in their prospectuses. [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL], however, is quite happy to concede that, whilst they have their similarities, (1) it is not sufficient to dismiss them both as 'Oxbridge', (2) they are unlike each other in as many respects as they are alike, and (3) Kurt is Dead. Like Oxford, most of the students' social concerns and the intense academic life revolve around the colleges which run themselves and arrange their own admissions. However, unlike Oxford, there are plenty of opportunities to switch courses and an even stronger sense that this is a student city.[EITAL][PARA][ITAL] 3 years at Cambridge is one of the most intense educational experiences you can hope to have with your clothes on. There is virtually no escape. It can be challenging, it can be claustrophobic and it can be compared to watching Neighbours twice daily for a fortnight. The city (the beauty of which cannot be praised too much) is overwhelmed by the University. It offers little by way of diversion that is not connected somehow and it's rare for students to walk through the streets without meeting faces they know at every other step (unless of course they're sad cases with no friends, and sad cases don't read [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL], do they?). [EITAL][PARA][ITAL] Students have no spare time, not because they're working (although, in Cambridge, the words 'doss' and 'course' rarely go together), but because their leisure time is spent buzzing away in some hive of activity: sport; drama; journalism; music; politics; archaic drinking clubs; whatever. Cambridge students do a lot of whatever. They need to have good time management skills or learn them pretty quick. But anxieties about applying should be waylaid. Apart from the occasional accusations of allegedly lubricated application procedures for top sports people and minor royals, many students only discover their talents once they've reached Cambridge. It is an excellent environment for self-development and the students that come here are not always that special. [EITAL][PARA][ITAL] Life in the colleges is even more cosseted, closeted and all-consuming: ranging in size from Lucy Cavendish with 53 undergrads, to Trinity College with nearly 700. Most colleges have around 400 undergraduates (slightly larger than Oxford on average) and many students experience a little shock when they enter the big bad real world. The colleges themselves vary enormously and it's a foolhardy fool who uses the pinprick method of picking. Remember, Tom Sharp's 'Porterhouse Blue' (where students ate swans, banged the table ceremoniously and performed the strangest rituals for no apparent reason) was allegedly based on Peterhouse and/or Pembroke (the story changes), but some of the colleges are quite modern and even progressive, and the public school stereotype is fading (slowly). The following [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL] entries expose the naked truth and the clothed falsehoods about each of the undergraduate colleges. [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL] doesn't cover Hughes Hall, St Edmund's or Wolfson, which are postgrad colleges. We suggest you write to the above address or the colleges themselves if this upsets you (NB letters of complaint to [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL] will be duly noted and ignored).[EITAL][HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 100,000 [BULL] London: 58miles [BULL] Oxford: 77miles [BULL] Norwich: 57miles[ESTAT][PARA][ITAL]People in Cambridge seem to be either students or tourists. The permanent residents just get lost in the throng and, although there are all the basic ingredients you'd expect in a relatively prosperous city of Cambridge's size. Superficially, at least, most of the shops are trying to appeal to a passing trade: [EITAL]quaint shops and tea rooms, pubs with horse brasses, that sort of thing. [ITAL]The river Cam couldn't have been better designed if it had been put there especially for tourism. It's littered with ducks and drunken punters at almost every turn.[EITAL] On a more sober note, the local amenities including the Grafton Shopping Centre, big book shops (1st and 2nd hand), a street market, the Kettles Yard Art Gallery and a mass of museums: the Fitzwilliam, Zoology, and Archaeology Museums; Museum of Technology; Folk Museum and so on. There is, however, a shortage of supermarkets (1 small and busy Sainsbury's) and convenience shops in the city centre. Some colleges and departments, quite apart from being tourist attractions in themselves, have [ITAL]impressive [EITAL]collections of art or artefacts.[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Some mainline connections - Cambridge Station to London King's Cross and Liverpool Street (57mins, 2/hr), Bristol, Edinburgh and Birmingham.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] Plenty of [ITAL]competitive [EITAL]services, for example, Greenline, Premier Travel and National Express who offer services to London (ú6.50, 1:50hrs, 1/hr), Manchester (ú6.50, 6:20hrs, 2/day), Oxford (ú10.25, 3hrs, 4/day), Bristol (ú19, 4:50hrs, 1/hr) and elsewhere .[PARA][BOLD]Car: [EBOLD]Just a few minutes off the M11 from London. Also A45, A10 and A604.[PARA][BOLD]Air: [EBOLD]There's Cambridge Airport, but unless you own your own jet, you'd better think more in terms of Stansted, 23 miles down the M11 and on a direct train link, with domestic and European flights and flights to the Channel Islands.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching: [EBOLD][ITAL]Variable; aim towards M11 junctions, or A10/Trumpington Road for London.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local: [EBOLD]The local buses, [ITAL]which are regular as prunes[EITAL], go round the surrounding villages, the station and the outer colleges. Cambridge is too small to need much more and only has one BR station .[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] [ITAL]They work out quite cheap (mainly because it doesn't take too long to get anywhere). Some colleges have free taxi arrangements at night. See separate entries.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[ITAL] [EBOLD]A bicycle is an essential part of the stereotype. Apart from looks, it's almost essential to be able to cycle around town and especially to remote departments or colleges if the need arises. Everything has been provided for cyclists: lanes, sheds, thieves, vandals... An Amsterdam-style free bicycle scheme was a short-lived boom period for second-hand bike salesmen.[EITAL][HDNG]FACULTIES and STUDENT NOS:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Social Sciences[EBOLD] 1,500[BOLD][PARA]Arts[EBOLD] 3,200[BOLD][PARA]Science[EBOLD] 4,500[BOLD][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EBOLD][PARA][BOLD][STAT][BULL] Books: 7million [BULL] Periodicals: 2,200 [BULL] Study places: 6,000 [BULL] Computer workstations: c2,500[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]The University Library is one of 5 copyright libraries in the country and as such has the right to claim a copy of every new book published in the UK. Every year, the number of new additions, if laid end to end, would extend the collection by a mile. As if that weren't enough, every college has its own library and there are more than 30 libraries devoted to individual subjects. [ITAL]Quite a few books, then.[EITAL] The general level of computer facilities is [ITAL]good [EITAL]but varies between colleges. Centrally, there is a mainframe to which almost every computer in the University is linked and which has over 10,000 registered users.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 18full/12part [BULL] Unemployed after 6mths (1992): 7%[ESTAT][PARA][ITAL]It is rumoured that certain professions regard those without an Oxbridge degree as unsuitable, and, since it would be quite wrong for [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL] to point the finger, we won't mention the civil service, the Bar, the Beeb or others. Suffice it to say that a Cambridge education rarely does harm on a job application and, supposedly, employers find Cambridge students more down to earth than those from Oxford (who must surely then be utter space cadets).[EITAL] Cambridge also has a[ITAL] hyper-enthusiastic[EITAL] careers service, which carries on helping students even after they've left, such is the determination to keep the number of unemployed graduates down. (The figure above includes a number of unknowns.) Although (allegedly) Cambridge was the spawning ground for most of the spies on every side of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, strangely, vacancies for budding Bonds and Burgesses are not advertised on the careers vacancies board. More than 1/3 of Cambridge graduates (35%) go on to further study - more than any other University.[HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]Cambridge runs STEP (Sixth Term Examination Paper), after A-levels; see the prospectus for details, or contact STEP Office, Purbeck House, Purbeck road, Cambridge CB2 2PU. Tel: (0223) 411211.[PARA][BULL]Cambridge has 8 week terms, but this doesn't mean any lazy days - exams and work pressure manage to ruin all hopes of long vacations with nothing to do.[PARA][BULL]All undergraduate degree courses (except a BEd for education and 4 year MEng in Engineering) lead to a BA, and, 3 years after graduation, an MA can be bought (yup, bought) without any further work.[PARA][BULL]Undergrads have to 'keep term' which means that they may not live more than 3 miles from the city centre and they must get permission before going away during term time.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]See individual colleges. [ITAL]Cambridge seems particularly strong on Tory MPs and comedians[EITAL] [ITAL]- little bit of politics there....[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads, postgrads from the Cambridge Intercollegiate Applications Office ([ITAL]aka CIAO... mio babbino caro...)[EITAL] and the individual colleges. CUSU also produces an alternative prospectus, available at ú3.50.
