Fitzwilliam

Evan

My favourite thing about Fitz is the friendly atmosphere of the college. It is easy to get to know people and get involved with different aspects of college life such as music and sport. I love that I will always bump into someone I know at the café or in the library and have a quick chat to catch up!

Evan

First year rooms are allocated randomly but there is a choice between recently refurbished accommodation blocks and non-refurbished blocks. The college has plans to upgrade these blocks in the future as well. However, all first year accommodation blocks have fully equipped kitchens (with hobs, ovens, toaster, microwave etc.), showers and washbasins in each room and shared toilets. En-suite bathrooms are available for those with accessibility requirements. I currently live in the non-refurbished block, which in contrast to the other blocks does not have a table/social space in the kitchen. However, the rooms are all around the same size and I pay less rent than in refurbished blocks! Rent changes year-on-year but is currently around £160 for non-refurbished and £180 for refurbished rooms per week. There are a variety of lengths of contracts depending on how long you want to stay in Cambridge for outside of term time.

Evan

Fitz is good because it offers you the advantage of both being able to cook in your kitchen or getting a meal from the buttery. The college is conveniently a 10 minute walk or a 5 minute cycle from Aldi, Iceland and the Coop so it is easy to get a cheap meal and brush up on your cooking skills!  A meal from the buttery costs around £5 and there is a good variety during the week as well as options to cater for different dietary requirements. The buttery serves lunch and dinner every day in addition to brunch on weekends and a roast on Sundays. Formal Hall is a served three-course meal complete with coffee and a good way to celebrate with friends or show the college to guests. These happen once or twice a week and cost around £15.  

Evan

Fitz prides itself to being a welcoming place to students from a range of different backgrounds and so offers financial support on a means-tested basis as well as numerous grants. In addition to the Cambridge Bursary, which all members of the university from low-income households are eligible, Fitz offers a range of financial support.  Although not as wealthy as some of the older colleges, Fitz seem to take a very understanding approach with students' financing and your tutor can always point you towards sources of additional funding. For example, this year the college gave out £300 extra to students receiving the Cambridge Bursary due to the Cost of Living crisis. There are opportunities to apply for a Maintenance Bursary to alleviate some of your rent costs.  In addition, there are a range of grants for travelling, learning an additional language, sport and musical activities to name just a few!

Evan

As we are known as a friendly college, there is a strong support network at Fitz to complement everything offered at a university-wide level. The dedicated Wellbeing Coordinated is always available to chat about anything, as is the Chaplain (it doesn't have to be faith-related!). They also often organise welfare events such as coffee and cake meet-ups and trips to local museums and nature reserves.  The student council within the college (called the Junior Common Room) also has dedicated welfare officers who organise events and help with issues from a more student-led perspective.  These are in addition to your Tutor and Director of Studies whom you meet at least twice a term and can discuss how university life (both academic and extra-curricular) is going.

Evan

The accessible accommodation is integrated within the rest of the college and includes en-suite rooms from 1st year. Students with accessibility requirements are given priority to choose first in the room ballot process. The gym has cardio equipment including treadmills, bikes, cross trainers and rowers, some weight machines including a cable machine and free weights including a squat rack, several barbells and a good range of dumbbells The auditorium is also used as a theatre space. We also have a fantastic coffee shop at Fitz which serves sandwiches, paninis and pizza as well as a variety of drinks at a subsidised price.

Evan

I love college brunch and think that we should have it every day! Also, it would be nice to be a bit closer to the centre of town so that I could just roll out of bed and into my lecture! Having said that, Fitz is only 20 minute walk/10 minute cycle into town and sometimes it is nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of central Cambridge!