University of Cambridge

Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is a prestigious English university with 31 constituent colleges including Selwyn College and approximately 18,000 total students. It is centered in the city of Cambridge, 50 minutes north-east of London by train. The town operates as a market town for the surrounding villages of Cambridgeshire, and is situated the river Cam.

Cambridge is the second oldest university in the UK, with only the University of Oxford preceding it. Cambridge and Oxford are closely tied, for not only was Cambridge founded by scholars fleeing turbulent times in Oxford, but the Universities regularly compete in athletic contests between the schools known as "Varsity" matches. The most famous of these is the annual "Boat Race" held on the River Thames just east of downtown London. The schools are also referred to collectively as "Oxbridge."

Life at Cambridge
Within the University, academic faculties are shared by all the colleges, while daily life (meals, social activities, libraries, athletic excursions, etc.) are particularized within each college. Students must belong to a college at Cambridge, with undergraduates applying directly to the college of their choice, and graduate students being more freely "drafted" by interested colleges.

Academic life at Cambridge is very different from an American collegiate experience, with lectures only highly recommended, and the only form of assessment happening through frequent papers. So instead of a focus on classroom activity, Cambridge encourages the development of a highly autonomous and self-directed individual. Students may freely attend any course or lecture of interest to them, barred only by capacity of lecture hall or the patience of an instructor. Undergrads will complete their education in three years, by focusing exclusively on the subject of their selection with no "general learning" or "liberal arts" distributions.

The antidote for the individuality of scholastic life is the camraderie of college life. Within the University, identity resides in collegiate membership with students wearing scarfs to denote their affiliations, and attending meals and parties at their home college primarily.

Intercollegiate activity, however, is by no means rare. All athletic contests take place intercollegiately, with students of opposing colleges functioning as convenient ways of making teams in athletic leagues. "Swaps" or student dining exchanges between colleges, are also common, with students at one college inviting a horde of students from another college to have a formal dinner in return for reciprocal rights.

Cambridge is a lively town, filled with shopping opportunities and pubs.

Colleges of Note

 * King's College
 * Selwyn College
 * Clare College
 * Gonville & Caius College
 * Corpus Christi College
 * Queen's College
 * Trinity College
 * Trinity Hall
 * Newnham College
 * St. John's College

Academic Work of Zachary McCune
Can be viewed thru the notes of At Cambridge