Meet our undergraduates

Mathematics at Cambridge is demanding and I’ve had to be resilient – it attracts the cream of the crop nationally and internationally and at undergraduate level, we have exceptional mathematicians.

We have 12-15 hours a week of lectures and the rest is very individually motivated. The non-modularity of it means it’s very flexible.

Maths is undeniably challenging but because St John’s is a big College we make connections across the year groups, and we have a strong sense of community. We are a tight-knit cohort with a shared love of the subject. It’s important to push ourselves but we also focus on enjoying the process.

The food is really good and reasonably priced at John’s, and the music and sports opportunities are great. I play tennis, I run, and I do climbing, usually with College groups.

Supervisions are organised by the College and I really value the interactions and support from the Fellows and Faculty members I’m supervised by at John’s. They’re pivotal to my learning and have been instrumental in me doing as well as I have.

I’m interested in the brain and how it works but I didn’t want to do straight neuroscience or psychology, PBS allows us to explore lots of different things within one field.

It’s a broad degree, I’ve studied the foundations of the modern state, and behavioural neuroscience and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

There’s so much to do in terms of College life that everyone can find their thing. I’ve taken advantage of so many opportunities here and it is how I’ve formed strong friendships.

I’m involved in the Cambridge Journal of Human Behaviour, which is run by and for undergraduates – as well as an interdisciplinary student-led initiative on global health and humanitarianism. At Cambridge, you can build your own experience.

Music can be approached from many different angles – composing, performance, history, psychology, sociology, even philosophy and we are able to make my degree as broad or specialised as we like.

I play the oboe and piano. I’m in the University orchestra and opera society, and the chamber music scheme, and I’ve been in concert and composing competitions.

This year I’ve been vice-president and artistic director of St John’s Music Society, which is big and active and organises College concerts throughout the year.

Academic support is really good at St John’s. We have a nice-sized cohort, and our Directors of Studies are great and very encouraging as active musicians and composers themselves.

We study two languages in MML and can choose others. I do Spanish and German, and I have begun learning Catalan. The big cohort of international students across disciplines make Cambridge a particularly diverse place to study for those of us doing languages.

At Cambridge there is a strong emphasis on translation and literature, which give a broad insight into time periods and movements, and we can choose to do the European Framework Certificate, which measures language ability.

I feel really supported by my Directors of Studies, especially in planning my year abroad, they’re both really friendly and very helpful.

St John’s is big but there’s still a real sense of friendship, community and solidarity here.

I’m so happy I chose St John’s, it’s the perfect place for me – the academics, the community, the financial support.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel a lot for academic purposes, thanks to College funding. I do French and Spanish for my degree and was able to go to Italy to study Italian.

I learned Catalan in my second year and I also went to Brazil as a charity volunteer, now I hope to learn Portuguese. In my third year I’ve been on my year abroad in the Caribbean.

I have a great relationship with my Directors of Studies and Tutor at St John’s, they are very approachable.

There’s a big investment in our education at John’s and that goes way beyond good results – the academics want us to really enjoy our subject and flourish personally.

The Modern & Medieval Languages Society has a good sense of friendship and camaraderie among year groups – it was lovely to be welcomed when I returned from my year abroad.  

I want to be a barrister, I’m really interested in human rights law and conflict resolution. I’ve been doing mooting at Cambridge – mock court cases – and won a national competition held in the Supreme Court, which has led to work experience with a criminal Chambers in London.

The sense of community at John’s is unique, it’s such a friendly place. The social spaces are brilliant, I always see people I know in the Café or Bar, and I love the Formal Halls – I went to state school and I’d never experienced anything like it before and I love them.

The College’s dedication to sports pulls everyone together across different years very quickly, too. I’m captain of the hockey team, and I play University netball, so having the sports facilities over the road is a massive benefit for me.

There’s something very special about Cambridge, I feel at home, it feels as if the whole city is designed for learning.

I had a gap year before coming to St John’s. I volunteered for a charity, worked in a supermarket, did a brief internship at an MP’s office, and coached and refereed football.

I have a summer birthday so I didn’t feel older than my peers, but there’s such a blend of ages anyway with postgraduates being such an important part of the community too.

St John’s is renowned for its sport, the facilities and playing fields are amazing, and the Head Groundsman is brilliant. I threw myself into everything in first year because I was safe in the knowledge I could give as much or as little as I wanted to College clubs and societies without any pressure.

The community at St John’s is what makes it special, the Bar is always popular on Friday night – the social infrastructure is fun and supportive.

St John’s is elegant and laid back and emits a very intellectual vibe and atmosphere. The College has surpassed my expectations – it’s a welcoming, supportive and innovative place filled with opportunities, and I’ve met people from all backgrounds.

The Human, Social and Political Sciences degree is really special because of its interdisciplinary nature and the ability to pick and choose subjects and papers. The course is rigorous and challenging and requires a lot of independent thinking and studying, St John’s offers a lot of extra support to us including academic writing workshops which are so helpful.

My Director of Studies at St John’s is amazing and we have a really good relationship, she cares about her students and has given me great advice and recommendations.

The infrastructure and amenities are unbeatable at St John’s, the free gym, Buttery and Bar are the central hub to College life.

I’ve been President of the University’s Hungarian Society, I take pride in helping to build the international community and feel grateful for the emotional and social support it has given me.

I was born in Cambridge but grew up in York and I always wanted to study here, it felt the best fit for me because I like to be pushed, I love the challenge and the academic rigour.

John’s is communal across all the years, it’s a very friendly College, and I’ve really enjoyed exploring all the sports on offer – I got into rowing through the novice training programme and now I’m also social secretary for Lady Margaret Boat Club.

There are so many bonuses for choosing St John’s – the fact we don’t have to move out of our rooms until the end of the academic year, the various student grants to support our studies, the frequent Formal Halls, and the Café and Buttery. We are very lucky.

The first year of my four-year Classics degree gave me a strong foundation in ancient languages for the next three years of the course, as my sixth form didn’t offer Latin A-Level.

Classics is broad and rewarding and I enjoy specialising in topics such as ancient history and philosophy, art, and archaeology.

Rowing with Lady Margaret Boat Club helped me get to know people and I’ve made some of my closest friends through sport.

Sitting on various College and University committees has been a positive experience and being the Ethnic Minorities Officer student rep at St John’s has been awesome, I learned how committees work and helped to make a difference.

I’ve been Cambridge African Caribbean Society LGBTQ+ Officer too and ran a club night with friends, it is important to make the most of every opportunity.

My Director of Studies is fantastic and what’s so great about Land Economy at John’s is I effectively have the whole Fellowship to ask questions of and to challenge me.

I was the first in my family to go to university and didn’t know what a May Ball was until I got here and now I’m the President of the committee that organises it! St John’s College May Ball is an amazing annual party for 2,500 people and it is an incredible thing to be part of.

I’ve found the right work-life balance with good grades in my studies, it’s hard work but a lot of fun. St John’s is a place where first-year undergrads connect with sixth-year post-grads, Fellows and staff, building brilliant cross-College relationships.

We live, study, and forge a community together here. The Fellows, students and staff together make St John’s the amazing College community it is

Philosophy is all about big ideas. I took A-levels in Maths, Physics, Religious Studies, and Politics -  a really good foundation for studying Philosophy at Cambridge, as they all develop logic and analytical skills.

I feel incredibly lucky to have come to Cambridge, and especially to St John’s. I learned to row here, and thanks to the amazing Lady Margaret Boat Club and its fantastic novice rowing programme, I’ve been able to get really good at it.

A big draw to St John’s was that the Head of the University’s Faculty of Philosophy is based here. He was my Director of Studies and was always very supportive.

A friend and I started the St John’s Philosophy Society. I’m now Secretary, and it’s been great fun — we’ve hosted speaker events, socials, and an inaugural dinner. It’s been really rewarding to run something like this and feel so supported by the College.

I grew up in North Wales with horses, dogs and sheep, I’ve always loved animals and science and being a vet brings my passions together. On any given day, I could start with a biochemistry lecture, move on to a dissection, and end the afternoon with animal handling.

My Director of Studies is a leading animal ophthalmologist. We got on so well at the interview, and now that I’m here, it’s clear that applying to St John’s was the right decision.

At St John’s we’re part of both the veterinary and medical societies. We share lectures, talks, and socials which creates a strong network and the chance to learn from students in the years above. I love the scientific history of St John’s – it’s inspiring Nobel Prize-winners like Dr Fred Sanger came here.

There are lots of ways for geographers at St John’s to connect across year groups, which is really helpful in a small cohort. For my dissertation, I’ll be conducting research in Australia, and the College is helping to fund my trip — I’m so grateful, as I wouldn’t be able to go otherwise.

St John’s has shaped my entire Cambridge experience. It’s sporty, sociable, and I honestly can’t imagine being at any other College. I’m a five-minute cycle from my lectures, a two-minute walk from the supermarket, and we have amazing sports grounds just across the road.

I got my Blue in hockey last year, so I’m a member of the College’s Eagles and Flamingos Club for elite sportsmen and women - I find it incredible that we have that facility right on our doorstep.

I loved school, so I decided to study Education - but I wanted an academic degree, one that would challenge my thinking and allow me to explore the theory behind it.

The big draw for me is its interdisciplinary nature, which means I’ve studied a bit of everything from across the arts. I chose St John’s because the Director of Studies’ research is in drama. I’ve been involved in Footlights and produced the Cambridge University American Stage Tour - I enjoyed it so much that I’d like to go into the TV or film industries. For now, though, I’m staying at St John’s to do an MPhil.

People at St John’s genuinely love what they do, and they love talking about what they study - there’s never a dull conversation.

I did a summer school in Cambridge in Year 12 from my school in Newcastle and I really enjoyed it. St John’s has everything I wanted in a College, one of my supervisors is the pre-eminent authority on Mary Wollstonecraft and late 18th-century political thought – it’s so exciting to be taught by someone at the forefront of their field.

I studied in Lyon for my year abroad which was a great experience. There’s so many things to get involved in at St John’s, I’ve been on the committee of the History Society, done lots of different sports including boxing to a high level, and made lifelong friends.

I’ve always loved maths and when a Fellow from St John’s came to give a talk at my school in Liverpool, he encouraged me to visit the College and apply to Cambridge. Even though I don’t consider myself to be a very sociable person, I still wanted to be at a large College so I was part of a sizable group of students to talk about maths with and support one another.

The Adams Society is very active at St John’s and I go to every event because it is an excellent chance to learn about the latest research directly from the people doing it. We are lucky because we have something called example classes for all first and second-year Maths students at St John’s, when our Fellows revisit a lecture to explain the concepts again, and we can ask questions – it’s invaluable.

I liked the sciences and decided on Medicine after doing some NHS work experience. It’s a traditional course, the first two years are pre-clinical, when you learn what underpins everything. In the third year I chose to study physiology development and neuroscience, which was fun.

Then it’s three years of clinical rotations in different specialties. Fifth year is tough but incredibly enjoyable; I saw births, and spent time in paediatrics, A&E and psychiatry. Medics work hard and play hard, and I’ve tried lots of sports that I wouldn’t have had a chance to if I hadn’t been at St John’s.

I was attracted to History at Cambridge because of its breadth, the fact I would use and develop my analytical skills, and I wanted to learn more about the world we live in today. The course is everything I hoped for and more. The history and architecture at St John’s make it the perfect place to study because it helps put things into perspective.

The atmosphere is friendly too, even though it’s so grand you might think it’s overwhelming, it still feels like home. Because St John’s is big, there are lots of communities within it, I’ve found my people here. You can really make this College your own, in a way – you choose how you experience it, and you choose to make the most of it. I’ve been involved in set design at the University’s ADC Theatre, which is very close to St John's, and in the poetry scene in College, with support from our Writer-in-Residence.

History and politics were my favourite subjects at school and I wanted to do a degree that brought them together. I chose St John’s because everything is on-site or close by in the city, and I loved the views and river.

History & Politics is a brilliant course, it’s so flexible. We can select from a wide range of papers and decide in third year which subject to focus on. St John’s is a big College but it has a close-knit social fabric to it, which is why I love it. I’m really thankful for the sporting community at John’s - College football has been a brilliant way to make friends, including students in older years who are like cousins to me.

I couldn’t decide on STEM or Fine Art but Design at Cambridge is a perfect bridge between them. I have a lot of contact hours, so it’s busy, but my Director of Studies is very supportive.

Being in a small cohort in a large College means I’ve met lots of people. I’m from the North-West and was worried about leaving home for university here, but it’s been amazing as the community is so diverse.

My identity as a Muslim is important to me and it’s been wonderful to get involved in Cambridge University Islamic Society, I feel part of the community.

I wanted to do something meaningful for humanity and for the planet. Engineering fits, I love it. It’s a very sociable STEM subjects and I find working with my teammates and lab group partners very rewarding.

I can explore what I’m good at and get new insights from my supervisors and peers, it’s a great process. I was part of the Engineering Department’s Cambridge Riviera racing team and we built a hydrogen-powered boat to race in Monaco - I learned a lot from working with third-year engineers.

Cambridge is a big university and St John’s is the perfect size - I know the people here, I can always talk to them, they’re my friends and we are part of a very strong community.

I was initially torn between studying literature and languages and I discovered the Cambridge AMES degree combines them in a novel way.

The Faculty is quite small and St John’s is on the larger side and our Director of Studies specialises in Chinese Studies so that combined with being part of a community of people doing my subject is why I chose St John’s. The College has been supportive of everything I’ve done, whether it’s trips in the long vacations, or things that crop up during term time; there’s always someone to talk to, and to point you in the right direction, I really love that about St John’s.

St John's has everything - an amazing location, lovely staff, great rooms, great facilities. Nothing’s missing.

HSPS is unusual because we study Politics, Sociology and Anthropology at the same time. The degree is excellent and the supervision style exceeded my expectations – if you are endlessly curious and enjoy the challenge of trying to figure something out, St John’s is a brilliant place to learn.

I’m President of the Palmerston Society, which is for Human, Social and Political Sciences students at St John’s. We do speakers’ events, debates and help freshers manage their work-life balance.

When I was researching Cambridge Colleges, St John’s really stood out. Not only is St John’s beautiful, the College also provides excellent academic and pastoral support. I love the interdisciplinary nature of the Education tripos, it combines English, drama, and arts with education, psychology, and international policy, it’s so flexible.

The tutorial system here is balanced and helpful and makes the experience very bespoke as you get your own mentor. My Director of Studies in Education is lovely and she’s always there for me, providing support, whenever I need it.

At school, I really liked all the sciences, including maths, and so I found it really hard to pick a subject to study at degree level, but I really like the interdisciplinary aspect of Natural Sciences. You can do, for example, Earth Sciences, which I didn't think I would do as one of my modules when I applied, but I wouldn't have had the opportunity to even try it if I hadn't picked this subject.

I’m from Hungary, and the Natural Sciences course at Cambridge is internationally recognised for its flexibility - we can focus on the areas that interest us most. I’ve also had the opportunity to complete an integrated Master’s, which isn’t always an option in other biochemistry courses.

The Larmor Society for Natural Sciences students here at St John’s is very active, and there’s a great relationship between students and Fellows, as we see them regularly - both formally and informally.

There are so many quirks I love about St John’s, like climbing the Chapel Tower to enjoy the views over Cambridge. There are lots of international students at St John’s, and plenty of opportunities to socialise with others from Hungary and across Europe - it’s a great community.