Accommodation

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College accommodation is available for the duration of your time in Cambridge as an undergraduate. A room either in College itself or in one of our hostels nearby will normally be available for your first three years. We undertake to find rooms for all fourth years who request them but we cannot guarantee where they will be. Those studying abroad in the third year are guaranteed rooms on their return to Cambridge for their final year.

All rooms are single. Most are study bedrooms but some are ‘sets’ with separate bedrooms, a very few are en-suite; many are spacious, and all have central heating or storage heaters. They are all adequately furnished with at least a bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, desk with chair and reading lamp, and an easy chair or sofa. Pillows, duvets and mattress protectors are supplied but not bed linen or towels.

There will be basic cooking facilities available nearby in ‘gyp rooms’ which typically contain a sink, a fridge, a combination microwave, a kettle and a toaster. Larger ones might also have a hob. However, these rooms are mainly intended for the preparation of light snacks and most people tend to eat their main meal of the day in Hall. This contributes greatly to the sense of community within College.

The majority of first year students are housed either within the College’s walls in New Court, Stable Yard or Kwee Court, or very close by in the Beldam, Bene’t Street and Botolph Court buildings. Those living there continue to take their meals in College.

This means that all of the first year students live very near to one another and in an excellent location within the city – right at its centre. The proximity of the rooms to each other also helps in the making of wide friendships as you will be mixing with people studying subjects other than your own.

1397987_10151811783687663_1851876215_o-001Freshers’ rooms are allocated by the College; students are notified of their room and rent around the beginning of September. A ballot is held during the Lent Term each year in which current students choose their rooms for the following year. Twenty especially nice rooms are reserved for College Scholars (those who gain Firsts in their examinations) and Intermediate Exhibitioners (those gaining very high 2.Is) who can bid for these rooms in the annual ‘Prize Room Ballot’. Those who are successful receive a termly rebate, currently £100, on their rent.

One double and two single rooms are available for students’ pre-booked guests. Students are also welcome to accommodate overnight guests in their own rooms. Camp beds for this purpose can be borrowed via the JCR (students’ union).

The College main gate closes at 11 pm but late keys are issued to all students. The College buildings, including all bedrooms, are strictly non-smoking.

Two types of lease arrangement are available:

30 week leases cover term time only; students can request extra nights’ residence during the vacation but this is subject to availability. A flat-rate fee per week is charged and they will be expected to pack up all their belongings and to move rooms, usually to our Trumpington Street hostel (about a ten-minute walk from the main site).  These leases are available for rooms in all hostels except Bene’t Street.

39 week leases cover the period from the beginning of the Michaelmas Term to the end of the Easter Term. Students opting for these can remain in residence in their own rooms for the whole of the Christmas (except for Old Court) and Easter Vacations (all locations) and if they choose to go away for all or part of those times they can leave all their possessions in their rooms. These leases are compulsory for rooms in Benet Street, and optional in Botolph Court, Old Court, Newnham House and Trumpington Street hostels. They are not available in New Court, Kwee Court or Stable Yard.

 

“People often think it’s a cliché when they hear that Corpus is ‘small and friendly’ simply because it’s one of the first things that anyone says about it, but it’s definitely one of the overriding impressions that I have of the College. The fact that it is a small College has been, for me, one of the best things about Corpus. I have been able to get to know a really wide selection of people, both undergraduates and post graduates, as well as Fellows, which I don’t think would have been so easy in a larger College.”- Josie

 

 

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