Hi! I’m Aga and I’m a computer science student at Clare college in Cambridge. I never really worried much about my college choice because I knew that I wanted to apply to Clare as soon as I realised that I would apply to Cambridge – I had the opportunity to go to a summer school at Clare and from then on I realised that it was definitely the place for me!
One of the greatest things about Clare (and I know people say this for every college but it’s especially true in this case!) is how friendly the students are! I was blown away by how lovely everyone was in my first couple of weeks here and I think this is definitely my favorite aspect of Clare… well other than Cellars – the incredibly well-renowned Clare college bar!
Another nice thing about Clare is that the college is quite medium in size, meaning it’s not so small that everybody knows everybody else, but not so big that you have no chance of getting to know everyone. I think that it’s perfect as you get the best of both worlds – you’ll surely find people you relate to and want to be friends with in college, but won’t feel like you still don’t know the majority of the people in your year by the end of your degree.
The accommodation at Clare is varied but generally quite good (apart from the fact that very few rooms have ovens – though this seems to be the Cambridge standard). In your 1st year, you live in Memorial court with all the other freshers, which makes meeting everyone in your year much, much simpler. Memorial court is just across the road from Old court, which is an incredibly beautiful part of Clare which sits right next to King’s chapel, so it’s right in the centre of the city. You have the opportunity to live in Old court in your 3rd and 4th years at Clare, and it is currently (2021) going through refurbishments to make the rooms even nicer than they already were. In your 2nd year, students usually live in the Colony, which is located about a 10 minute walk from Memorial court, meaning it’s still incredibly convenient and close to the city centre! And a wonderful benefit of living in the Colony is that it is also home to the Colony cat!
Even though Clare is the second-oldest college at Cambridge that is still standing, it is known for being progressive, being part of the first three colleges which led the way in admitting female undergraduate students. Clare is also often known as quite a musical college due to its impressive choir and this is definitely true, but don’t worry if you don’t perform any instruments to a high-level, all students are welcome at Clare’s numerous music societies.
In a normal year (pre-covid) Clare was also quite well-known for Clare Ents, which is a student night held in Cellars every Friday of term, among many other events hosted in Cellars!
One place where Clare could improve is in its communication with students. Me and other students have felt that the information we have received from college, especially during the pandemic, has been lack-luster – though this is not unique to only Clare unfortunately.
If I had to do it all again, I would apply to Clare a second time in a heartbeat. If what I’ve described appeals to you too, then I urge you to apply to Clare too 🙂
Visit the Clare college website for more details.