St John's College

User reviews

What are the pros of being at this college?

• 23

  They have lots of money that they invest in students through student ships, travel grants and summer bursaries to name a few!
• 10

  Beautiful buildings
• 10

  Separate formal hall and canteen (buttery), with formals 6/7 days a week
• 9

  Being able to chill on the lawn by the river watching the punts go by
• 8

  Sports pitches on site (football, rugby, netball, hockey)
• 7

  Cripps building is fantastic - big kitchens, very social, nice rooms that have been renovated relatively recently, many of which are ensuite
• 6

  Amazing student services team - very friendly and understanding about any issues (exchange programs to accommodation requests to exam arrangements)
• 5

  Free laundry
• 5

  24/7 library
• 4

  Really amazing ents with super cheap drinks
• 4

  Accomodation throughout winter and easter break included in the rent price
• 4

  Great location - close to the centre but also quiet inside
• 3

  Many university-wide events are held in John's as it is this big
• 3

  Accomodation throughout the whole degree (in houses and also on site)
• 2

  Loads of welfare events
• 0

  Cheap punts for students

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What are the cons of being at this college?

• 5

  Lots of tourists visiting
• 5

  We have a scholar's ballot where students who get a 1st or a 2:1 get higher priority when choosing rooms each year
• 3

  Not completely balanced in terms of gender, also has a very high proportion of private school:state school ratio
• 2

  About a quarter of first year accommodation is located at Chapel Court/North Court - it’s much less social than the Cripps building, with much smaller kitchens and smaller rooms on average
• 1

  In second year, a majority of students have to share a double set, which are rather limited with respect to privacy.
• 1

  Accommodation services are terrible at responding to student requests, and accommodation in older buildings is sometimes poor - e.g. broken heating, broken windows etc.
• 0

  scholar's ballot is no longer a thing! it hasn't been for a few years

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

• 18

  Accommodation services

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User ratings

User reviews

What are the on-site rooms like?

• 7

  Heating often broken, accommodation services slow to respond to complaints, tiny kitchen with no oven
• 2

  Big difference between North/Chapel and Cripps in first year, but North/Chapel is also considerably cheaper (cheapest 1300 Pounds per term including term breaks)
• 2

  Very helpful maintenance - there is an online form for sending in maintenance requests and reasonable requests get responded within 1-7 days (lots of students don't seem to be aware of the form though).
• 1

  Really nice and spacious rooms in beautiful buildings.

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What are the off-site rooms like?

• 0

  Price bands seem to be based on size more than functionality. Some of the Magdingley rd rooms feel like repurposed lounges/living rooms (ie super big but with a small amount of furniture pushed to the sides with giant empty floorspace in the middle).

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• St John's May Ball: a reality-bending extravaganzaVarsity, June 25, 2018
• St John's win fourth rugby Cuppers in five yearsVarsity, May 1, 2018
• St John's victorious in 2018 University ChallengeVarsity, April 23, 2018
• Cambridge make University Challenge final for fifth year running as John's smash EdinburghVarsity, April 9, 2018
• Cambridge pins University Challenge hopes on St John's, after Fitzwilliam falls in quarter finalsVarsity, April 3, 2018
• May Ball Review: St John'sVarsity, June 24, 2017
• 'Sweet Lovin' Sigala to headline St John's May BallVarsity, June 13, 2017
• Punts banned for St John's May BallVarsity, May 6, 2017
• St John's conquer Caius to seal stunning rugby seasonVarsity, April 28, 2017
• John's book discovery suggests taboo hindered knowledge of female anatomyVarsity, March 29, 2017
• John's signet rings are a symbol of elitismVarsity, Jan. 20, 2017
• St John's to cover living costs for disadvantaged studentsVarsity, April 14, 2016
• Review: St John's May BallVarsity, June 20, 2014
• St John's to hold global charity auction of May Ball ticketsVarsity, Feb. 10, 2011
• John's do the doubleVarsity, March 11, 2010

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User ratings

User reviews

What is the cafeteria like?

• 1

  Since the new buttery opened the food has been great! Large portions for reasonably cheap. We also have full vegan and vegetarian options every day (though the sides are usually made to match the meat). Nice salad bar too.
• 0

  Super fresh ingredients and large portions for good value. LOVE the buttery!!!

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User ratings

User reviews

Ball review

• 18

  Sixth best party in the world according to The Times and I believe it!
• 8

  Tacky and overpriced
• 6

  Pricey but worth it for all of the entertainment, food, and drink - so much to choose from!
• 5

  Most amazing ball experience you can get!
• 2

  Overhyped ball which frankly just is not as unique as it purportedly used to be a couple decades ago.
• 1

  Best night of my life
• 1

  Amazing night - I loved it. The fireworks really sold it for me
• 0

  Woken Monday night at 1:30am by music from May Ball (May Ball always held in June!) All town music events MUST stop at midnight

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What would you most like to see at the next ball?

• 11

  A band/headliner we've actually heard of please
• 1

  The 'sixth best party in the world' is a joke that was made up years ago and is still being perpetuated and taken seriously today. No such ranking by the Times exists or has ever existed.
• 0

  less queues
• 0

  Less random stuff like Lush bath bombs, orchestras at 2AM etc that noone goes to a May Ball for. Also I think bin off the external caterers like Aromi, falafel van, etc who provide mini portions which they run out of super quick. College catering doing simples like steak and chips is definitely the way to go. Breakfast from 4AM is also key!

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User ratings

User reviews

What are the formals like?

• 0

  Formals are good but since the buttery got a lot better they're not usually anything more than standard fare. The vegetarian usually plays second fiddle to the meat and is generally smaller.

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Formals

Graduate-only formals