Colleges are privately endowed, independent bodies that provide accommodation, support,
academic help (through supervisions - though most supervisions are done through the department for third years), and a community for students at Cambridge. Each of the 31 Colleges has its own grounds and facilities, including a dining hall, chapel, library, bar, computer lab(s), and JCR (Junior Combination Room, which is a lounge where undergrads can "combine" with each other and watch TV, read papers, sometimes play pool / snooker or foosball. JCR also stands for the undergraduate student government at each college). All students belong to one College, where they matriculate at the beginning of their first year. In addition to students, Colleges also have senior members, who also work in one of the University's departments. Some of these senior members are fellows. Each College has its own administration and each College charges its students fees, namely for housing, food, and general membership. As was discussed above in section 2.8, Colleges have their own set of societies (music groups, charity organizations, religious groups, etc.) and sports teams, which are
generally at a lower level than University teams, due to the smaller pool from which they draw
their members.
So, to paint a picture in review: When you attend lectures, you will go to your department and
be in classes or labs with students who are members of different Colleges from all over the
University. You will live and maybe eat at your College while you attend the University,
generally speaking.
- Tutors -
One of the main roles of the College is to provide support, both welfare and academic. In all
Colleges, each student has a Tutor (shared among many students) with whom they meet once a
term to see how things are going, and to whom they can go if there are any problems. The tutor
is something like an advisor (at MIT) who has nothing to do with academics, but rather with your
general welfare. The Dean of Chapel is also available for consultations (religious or welfare). In
any case, you have to ask for help or consultation if you need it; except for the meetings with
your Tutor, people won't usually seek you out to see if you need help. If you have any general
questions or requests regarding matters in your College (e.g. you want to find a guest room for
visiting family or friends), your Tutor is a good place to start.
- Resources in College -
Above your Tutor is the Senior Tutor, who is responsible for the welfare of all students at the
College and also runs the day-to-day operations of the College. The formal head of the College
is the Master, though his/her role is much more broad and less concerned with the details of
College operations. The Bursar is the head of the College's finances. It is to his/her office that
you will go to pay your fees or to ask any questions you have about these College fees. One
thing to consider in your dealings with the administration is that email used less frequently at
Cambridge than at MIT, so the best way to get in touch with these people might be to go to their
offices. Your DoS and Tutor, whom you will deal with on a more regular basis than Bursar or
Senior Tutor, may or may not be quick with email.
Another very important part of the College community and organization are the porters. It is
hard to put all of their jobs into one description. Porters are responsible for College security,
sorting mail or holding packages, holding keys to various College facilities, and basically
helping you anyway they can. Most Porters are very friendly and are a great place to go for any
question you may have; if they can't give you an answer, they'll point you to someone who can.
They are can be found in the Porters' Lodge, which is usually located immediately adjacent to
the College's main entrance.
A lot of information relevant to settling in and getting set up is college-specific. I think we should compile pages of information relevant to each college. I only know about my own college, so I'll start the list off with: