• Pubs and clubs -
    Two common nightly social stops for Cambridge students are pubs and clubs. (Reminder: The
    drinking age in the UK is 18.) As mentioned above, there is a slew of pubs in Cambridge,
    frequented by both city residents and students; some students visit the pub several nights each
    week. There are five or six nightclubs in Cambridge, each of which offers specials on a given
    night of the week. (Not surprisingly, the nights with the specials are also the nights that the clubs
    tend to get the highest student traffic). In addition to these spots, some students will also spend
    many nights socializing in their College bars or attending their College formal halls. Here is a
    Map of Pubs in Cambridge.
  • Movies -
    The Vue Cinemas in the Grafton Centre show all the big releases, and students get a discount
    there. There is also an independent cinema on St. Andrew's (next to Weatherspoon's, 'the
    biggest pub in Europe'), and a few of the Colleges have screenings of second-run movies (for £2
  • £3 a show). There is a new movie theater down by the train station called Cineworld on Clifton
    Road which is slightly cheaper than the one at the Grafton Centre. It's a bit far, but not bad if
    you have a bike, and there is a bowling alley and an arcade on the ground floor.
    If you're thinking of having a night in and renting a movie, if you register for a card at
    Blockbuster, the first rental is free! Movies can also be rented from the Cambridge public library
    in Lion's Yard (£1 or £2 for VHS and DVDs) and Heffer's on St. John's Street.
  • Punting -
    Punting down the River Cam is one activity that you won't be able to find in many places other
    than Cambridge, and it is better to experience first hand than read about it. Punts can be rented
    from Scudamore's, Granta (both independent companies), or some of the Colleges. For some of
    the Colleges that rent, only College members can rent punts, but other Colleges rent punts to
    anyone and give their members a discount. College punts will cost you less than the independent
    companies, so if you can find a friend at a college with punts (Trinity, John's, and Magdalene, to
    name a few), you could save yourself a few pounds. The independent companies that rent punts
    can be found by Silver St Bridge and Magdalene St Bridge, and they usually charge per hour and
    offer student discounts. Two different routes to travel are (1) along the College Backs and (2)
    up-stream to Grantchester.
  • Working at Balls -
    Many students attend a Cambridge Ball - there are balls at the end of each term, in December,
    March, and June. In addition (or in place of) attending, many MIT students have found that a
    great way to see the balls without having to pay the price of a ticket (from £35 to £125) is by
    working at them. (Or during May Week, working at one or two balls can help you break even in
    costs for the week if you do buy a ticket and attend a Ball.) In working at a May Ball, you fill out
    a simple workers' application about 1 month before the ball for winter and spring balls, 2-3
    months before the ball for the May Balls. You can find the application by going through the
    college website or, perhaps faster, is by using Google to search for it (i.e.: May Ball + Trinity +
    Cambridge will quickly point you to the May Ball website).
    Each ball committee will decide whether workers will get paid (meaning you work the entire
    duration of the ball) or will be employed "half-on half-off" (meaning that for half the ball you're
    working, while the other half you get to enjoy it as a guest, instead of earning money). Jobs you
    will do as a worker vary from trash collecting (walking around with bin bags collecting
    abandoned bottles, plates of food, cigarette butts, etc. This lets you see the various rooms of the
    ball, but it's not the most desirable of things to be doing), fire warden (involving standing at
    room entrances/exits counting the numbers going in and out), security (involving standing at ball
    entrances to ensure people don't get in without a ticket food preparation (involving helping the
    caterers make food and serving it to guests), and bartending (self-explanatory).
    Colleges that hold non-May balls include Selwyn and Fitzwilliam (both in December) and
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    Downing and Churchill (both in March). Colleges that hold May Balls vary from year to year,
    but some of the ones that will pay you include Queens' (around £70 for 12 hours working),
    Trinity (around £40 for 12 hours working). Half-on half-off balls include Robinson, Emmanuel,
    Corpus Christi, and St. John's. Also look for May Events (which are generally slightly less
    formal than the balls) at colleges such as Pembroke, Trinity Hall, and King's. Of course, the
    colleges holding events vary from year to year, so (like many other things) the best way to find
    out where you can work is by word-of-mouth.
  • Outside of Cambridge -
    Cambridge as a city is much smaller than Boston, so you may feel like there isn't too much
    going on. If that is the case, don't forget that London is only 45 minutes away by train and it is a
    far bigger city than Boston. For more about London, see section 6.4.
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