Hey! I’m Caitlin, a first-year English student at Peterhouse. Peterhouse is the oldest Cambridge college and also the smallest, with around 80 undergraduates in each year, both of which attracted me to it. Initially, I thought about applying to Peterhouse because I won their essay prize in Year 12, and at the awards ceremony I had a really nice unique opportunity to learn about the college. After hearing more about it, I decided the small size and traditional nature of the college was definitely what I wanted in a college.
I knew I wanted to apply to a traditional college, and preferably one in the city centre as well, so I was torn between Peterhouse and some of the other larger traditional colleges such as Trinity and St John’s. Ultimately, though, I preferred that Peterhouse was smaller and seemed much friendlier, which I’ve definitely found to be true.
I can highly recommend applying to Peterhouse — it combines all the features of a traditional Cambridge experience with a really friendly community. Additionally, their support systems (whether that’s for an illness or condition, financial support, or academic backing when you’re struggling with your subject) are excellent, and because it’s a small college it’s easy to quickly access the support you need.
Peterhouse is a really beautiful college, and our outdoor space is amazing, especially for such a small college. Our park is called the Deer Park and it’s an ideal place to study, chill out and have picnics, as well as somewhere with lovely plants and apples we can eat! We have a lovely library too, which is especially well stocked for humanities students, and our accommodation is in listed buildings. Additionally, Peterhouse’s small size means it’s super friendly and really easy to get to know people.
However, as much as I love Peterhouse, it’s obviously not perfect, and sometimes its small size can be a double-edged sword, because gossip certainly spreads fast! Additionally, we don’t have the best cooking facilities, although that’s usually fine because the food they serve us is lovely.
The accommodation is really beautiful and traditional, and we’re so lucky to live in gorgeous old buildings – perfect for photos! We also have the option to live directly on the college site for the entirety of our degrees, which is very convenient for accessing services like the dining hall and library, and all the freshers live in the same accommodation, which is brilliant for getting to know people. However, the downside of our accommodation is the kitchens, because the facilities are usually quite limited and it’s pretty difficult to cook for yourself in most of the accommodation, although most people eat in hall every day, which is really fun! Additionally, the individual rooms are lovely but there isn’t much communal space to spend time with your housemates.
Peterhouse is one of only two Cambridge colleges to have a white tie May Ball (essentially a massive garden party), which is a really fun formal event held every other year. We also have a brilliant and very popular option to eat in the ancient candlelit college hall every night — the hall is actually the oldest non-religious building in Europe still used for its original purpose of eating!
Peterhouse has a reputation as a very traditional college, and I’d say in a lot of ways that’s true. In non-Covid times we have the option of formal dining in the college hall every night, and lots of our architecture and traditions are beautifully old-fashioned. If you want a Hogwarts experience at Oxbridge, then Peterhouse is the college for you! However, this traditional outlook means Peterhouse sometimes has a reputation for not being very progressive, which I definitely wouldn’t agree with. Changes are being made all the time to improve life for our students, and on the whole the college is great at listening to its students and what we want.
Overall, the vibes of Peterhouse are excellent. It’s traditional and beautiful, but super friendly and an easy place to get to know people. There are loads of different places to hang out and activities to do, and I can really recommend it as a place to apply.
Visit the Peterhouse College website for more details!