QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON ADMISSION

Most tourists ask "Where is the University?" but it's impossible to point to any one building. The University comprises all the Faculties (one in each subject) and the Colleges. The Colleges are responsible for students' education and welfare. They provide teaching through supervisions, accommodation and a social focus.

What sort of accommodation is provided ?

Everyone can live within Queens' College for three years as an undergraduate but the character of the rooms is very different depending on whether they were built in 1450 or 1980. However, all have central heating, washing facilities and close access to showers, toilets and gyp-rooms (basic kitchens). In the first year everyone is assigned a single room, mixing subjects and sexes but making sure there is always another first year close by. For the second and third years there is a room ballot, devised and organised by the students. It works well with some people choosing to share a room set in order to obtain bigger rooms for the same price. About 70% of second years and about 20% of third years opt to share.

What else is provided in College ?

A central focus of the College is the dining hall where self-service meals are available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition there is a more formal meal which you may go to in the evenings. There is a College bar, shop, television room, a reading room; which takes the daily papers and two launderettes. Also on the main site are three squash courts, a table-tennis room, a multi-gym and the multi-purpose Fitzpatrick Hall which may be used as a theatre, cinema, concert hall, bop venue or as a badminton court! There are music practice rooms together with grand pianos, organ and harpsichord. The refurbished College library has all the books needed by undergraduates for their normal course work, but the Faculty and University Libraries provide more specialised texts and sources.

How far away is the sports ground ?

The sports ground is about a mile away and has pitches for football, rugby, cricket and hockey and three hard courts for tennis and netball. The boat-house is about the same distance away in the opposite direction.

Are music and drama strong in Queens' ?

Both music and drama (as with all other clubs and societies) are organised rather differently from the way they are at most schools. All the organisation and enthusiasm has to come from the undergraduates and fortunately at Queens' they have proved to be very efficient and enthusiastic in both areas. There will typically be three major musical productions in each year together with opportunities for chamber music and solo recitals. The dramatic society (BATS) is very strong, putting on at least nine plays in the year culminating in the open air Shakespearean production in Cloister Court in the summer. The Fitzpatrick Hall, which is reputed to be the best small theatre available in Cambridge, gives added scope for drama in Queens'.

Is there a club or society for me ?

Most popular sports are organised on an inter-college basis so that there is at least one competitive soccer, tennis, cricket, rugby or hockey team. Sport is also played at a more informal, less competitive level; Queens' does have teams who don't win all (or any of) their games, but everyone enjoys participating. Many sports, such as squash, are played just for fun at all levels of proficiency. The University has societies for almost every interest and activity from unicycling to tiddlywinks. In addition, Queens' has a number of its own subject societies (e.g. History, Law, Medicine) which hold speaker meetings and arrange dinners and other social events.

How many people study each subject ?

In general we are flexible, and can respond to the relative quality of candidates across subjects. The only exception to this is Medical Sciences where a quota is imposed on each College. The College, however, tries to keep an overall balance between arts and science.

How far is it to lectures ?

Most lecture rooms are within about a half a mile of the College. The only exception is the Cavendish Laboratory which lies about a mile away from the centre (but in the first two years lectures in Physics are given in the City centre so you only need to make the trip at most once a week for practicals).

Queens' has no Fellow in my subject. Should I apply ?

For many of the smaller subjects the number of teaching staff is smaller than the number of Colleges. What usually happens in these cases is that the University takes a much more important role, and supervision is organised by the individual departments. Colleges share their teaching staff, exchanging teaching in say Social and Political Sciences for Music as the need arises. There is no real problem in applying to a College which does not have a Fellow teaching in that subject.

Why should I apply to Queens' ?

This question is hard to answer because when it comes down to it there is relatively little to choose between many of the Colleges. You can make an initial decision on the basis of size or location and of course women have the choice of applying to an all female College. Being able to live in for all three years attracts many applicants to us. Some Colleges have been founded fairly recently but the older established Colleges are not necessarily more traditional. We would encourage you to visit Cambridge, if possible on a College Open Day, when you would be able to talk to current students about their courses and their College.

How can I get more information ?

If you would like answers to specific questions about Queens', you can:-

January 2000