Choosing a College

The Questions

• What advantage does Downing have over other colleges? Answer
• What are Downing people like? Answer
• What faculty buildings are Downing near? Answer
• How easy is it to get in for {subject x}? Answer
• How easy it is to get in compared to other colleges? Answer
• When are the Downing open days? Answer

The Answers

What advantages does Downing have over other colleges?

See our top 12 reasons to apply to Downing.

What are Downing people like?

Normal . Funny. Friendly. Open. Inclusive. Unpretentious. Clever (allegedly). Downing has a great cross section of people from all backgrounds, and sports, music, drama, the college family system and of course the bar combine to mean that there is a massive amount of socializing between year groups. It is very common to find friendship groups spanning many different years and subjects- not found so much in some larger and more segregated colleges.

What faculty buildings are Downing near?

We asked the subject reps how long it takes to walk to the subject faculties (or lecture theatres if first-year lectures aren't held there!). You can approximately half these times for cycling.

• Architecture (under 5 min)
• Archaeology & Anthropology (5 mins to faculty, 10 mins to first year lectures)
• Classics (Sidgwick site, 15-20 minutes)
• Computer Science (5-10 min, most of 2nd/3rd year lectures at William Gates Building , 45min)
• Economics (15 min)
• English (15 min)
• Engineering (5 min)
• Geography (under 5 min)
• History (Sidgwick site, 15-20 min)
• History of Art (under 5 min)
• Land Economy (5-10 min)
• Law (Sidgwick site, 15-20 min)
• Maths (5-10 min, 3rd year lectures at faculty, 30 min)
• Medicine (under 5 min)
• MM Languages (Sidgwick site, 15-20 min)
• Natural Sciences (under 5 min to lectures, 40 mins to fortnightly physics practicals)
• SPS (10 min)

How many other people will be applying for {subject x}?

A very useful table can be found in the Cambridge online prospectus, it shows which courses are over/undersubscribed.You may like to consult the official admissions pages or consult one of the subject reps for further details on your specific course.

Law is the most heavily oversubcribed course at Downing, since Downing is traditionally very strong in Law, with medicine also attracting a high level of applicants.

How many applicants per place compared to other colleges?

The number of applicants per place will vary from subject to subject, year to year. However, across the board, the quality of applicants will be the same. Downing uses the 'pool' both to take on additional applicants if there's a shortfall, or to pass on good applicants to other colleges if we're oversubscribed. This tends to balance out your chances of success regardless of which college you apply to.

When are the Downing open days?

See the list of Open Days

Based on FAQ originally compiled by Matt Mayer, Revised by Krystyna Larkham
Page last updated 23 Apr 2004 (twh23)