Pembroke College

User reviews

What are the pros of being at this college?

• 24

  Weekend brunches here are the best!
• 9

  Very central
• 5

  Perfect size (not too big but not small at all!), sociable, beautiful, central, brilliant food
• 4

  Someone has really unjustifiably laid into the College here. Wifi is adequate but with ethernet (which is provided for free) you can get speeds of 70MB/s across all accommodation. Rooms are heated, and you can easily notify maintenance if there is a problem/ask for a space heater if required, but I've never been cold in my own rooms in 4 years here. The beds are small and some may be uncomfortable but most people use mattress toppers/ask housekeeping for a new one which they always happily provide. The accommodation is the cheapest of all Cambridge Colleges and there is a range of quality but it's all excellently valued to make the College accessible. The JCR is always busy at lunch and in the bar in the evenings, although it could do with a refurb, and the Graduate Parlour is even nicer. Accommodation can be far out but you always have the choice of living away with lots of friends or staying in College. It's not even that far compared to the majority of other Colleges.
• 4

  Beautiful but the tourists haven't discovered it yet. Location is absolutely prime. Welfare is great. Rowing team is superb and has the best culture/welfare of any boat club. Generally pretty good at sports. Academically successful. Daily formals. Cheap accommodation. Good food!
• 4

  Beautiful but not too overrun with tourists - and excellent welfare support
• 4

  Accommodation is reasonably priced, as they charge based on how good the room and location are.
• 2

  Super friendly
• 2

  Fantastic college for English students (lots of really good English fellows, large intake, phenomenal English section in the library)
• 1

  really friendly, a wide range of college societies, and great brunch :)
• 1

  A warm, open, active community
• 1

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What are the cons of being at this college?

• 6

  Wifi sucks. Student body is almost impressively non-diverse. Accommodation may be cheap, but it's also quite tatty. College refuse to heat many rooms during the day, so they get unacceptably cold in winter. Beds are awful. JCR isn't used by anyone.
• 3

  Accommodation out of college can be really far away
• 1

  On-site accommodation has regular issues with internet
• 1

  They turn heating off in attics on panton street at 4pm so can go near freeezing in winter - it’s quite dirty in rooms and communal areas with limited covid cleaning
• 1

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If you could, what would you change at this college?

• 5

  [Removed as against our Content Standards] hire somebody who believes in the virtues of central heating
• 2

  The ballot system- to be able to ballot for accommodation in group bigger than 4
• 1

  Not enough diversity
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User reviews

What are the on-site rooms like?

• 6

  Generally quite tatty and cold, but there are some really nice ones. The Foundress building has much warmer rooms since it's newer. There are no ensuites. For the price though it's a decent deal! Scholars' Ballot rooms are much larger, in premium locations, and are sometimes sets (ie multiple rooms and a private kitchen). Definitely pays off to get a First to get one of these rooms
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What are the off-site rooms like?

• 3

  Note: 1st year PG are allocated rooms that are on-site or very close by, to encourage involvement in college community. Rooms are relatively spacious for Cambridge standard, furnished in a basic but functional manner. Typically that includes a metal twin bed, some shelves, a desk and chair, another comfortable chair and a wardrobe. Some rooms have washbasins.
• 1

  It’s dirty and Not cleaned In panton street, there are mice and heating is centrally turned off at 4pm
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• Pembroke, Downing and Homerton May Balls latest to offer discounted tickets for bursary studentsVarsity, Jan. 26, 2019
• Exclusive: Christ's and Pembroke victorious over Trinity in Tompkins TableVarsity, July 21, 2018
• Outrage as Pembroke student proposes 'White Majority Ethnic' officerVarsity, Feb. 21, 2018
• May Ball Review: PembrokeVarsity, June 26, 2017
• Pembroke rowers remember Jo CoxVarsity, June 16, 2017
• Staff subjected to 'xenophobic abuse', says Pembroke MasterVarsity, Nov. 11, 2016
• June Event Review: PembrokeVarsity, June 26, 2016
• Pembroke College 'deeply shocked and saddened' by death of alumna Jo Cox MPVarsity, June 16, 2016
• Pembroke to receive record-breaking 35m donationVarsity, Dec. 7, 2015
• Zadie Smith at PembrokeVarsity, June 17, 2015
• Review: Pembroke's Shahnameh Centre for Persian StudiesVarsity, May 27, 2014
• Varsity talks to the Pembroke PlayersVarsity, Feb. 9, 2013

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User reviews

What is the cafeteria like?

• 2

  The staff are very receptive to feedback from the Food & Bar Officer, which is awesome! Formals are generally accepted as amongst the best in Cambridge, and occur daily. Normal cafeteria food is generally really good too! Lots of provision for veggie/vegan students and for those with more complex dietary reqs.
• 2

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User reviews

Ball review

• 2

  Very, very variable ball - at its best it's a 4/5, at its worst it's a 2/5. Last year for eg the committee flopped and ran out of food and drink (except tequila...) by about 2am. Those last few hours were a nightmare! Not impressive given the hefty ticket price. Theming is usually decent, and it's a really pretty college which is well-suited to an event like this.
• 1

  The May Ball is one of the best in Cambridge, and is certainly the most sustainable and socially responsible of them all. The June Events are lower scaled and more accessible, so in either case you get what you paid for and more. The beauty of the college makes it a very special place for May Balls and June Events, and theming is always out of this world
• 1

  The May Balls are always spectacular--imo the best value of all the colleges (yeh trinity is huge, but it lacks the personal touches) The June Events are also always brilliant, but obviously they're smaller than balls, so everything else scales with that - either way the themeing is always magical and you get far more than you pay for!
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What would you most like to see at the next ball?

• 1

  Food and drink which doesn't run out super early - get the basics right before spending £££ on neon signs and models of shops...
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User reviews

What are the formals like?

• 4

  Occurs daily, superb value for money. BYOB. Generally accepted as amongst the best formal hall in Cambridge (doesn't mean it's always amazing, but generally it's pretty good!)
• 2

  We were served chicken madras the time we went. Quite disappointing.
• 2

  You get to choose whether you want to have cheese or the dessert
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Formals

Graduate-only formals