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.
I chose languages for my degree because I listened to a lot of Francophone and Hispanic music and wanted to explore these cultures more. I aim to be a global citizen, and knowing languages is a valuable skill. The MML course at Cambridge attracted me because it’s diverse - it’s not just about French and literature, but also film history, philosophy, art, and more. Along the way, I’ve learned Spanish and Portuguese, which has made me well-rounded and given me key life skills.
In my third year, I studied in Buenos Aires and then volunteered in Paris. The year abroad was incredible - it offers personal and academic growth that’s hard to match.
Cambridge is competitive and challenging, but in a positive way that pushes you to exceed expectations. There's an active MML Society at St John's that organises talks, parties and dinners and I've been the Co-President. I also have a radio show where I play international music from the languages I speak. It’s been a great passion project and helped me develop my public speaking skills.
Languages have always interested me, especially Spanish and the grammar and pattern aspects. Linguistics is about identifying specific features of languages and understanding how they work. The course gives a broad overview, covering sound, words, and society - so we study phonetics, maths, history, and psychology.
St John’s is a big College, with at least two linguists in each year and an active Linguistics Society. My Director of Studies is a renowned linguist who has written many books on syntax - she’s brilliant and very supportive. The travel grants available at St John’s are important for linguists because our degree involves languages from all over the world.
A Linguistics degree opens up so many career options. I’m considering becoming a speech and language therapist, but computational linguistics also fascinates me, so I might explore working in AI or for a tech company. Outside of academics, I’m helping to organise St John’s May Ball, which has been busy but really fun - I’ve learned lots of new skills. I’m also assistant director for a play written by another student.
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.
Land Economy aligns with my interest in how resources are used in developing countries. The course has a policy focus, it’s ‘how do we apply this?’ rather than just theory. At St John’s we have a small cohort but we’re really close and help each other, and our Director of Studies is amazing and offers extra supervisions if we need them.
We share The Purchas Society with St John’s geographers, we do joint social events together. I want to go travelling in Africa after my degree and come back to St John’s to do a Master’s - I’ve experienced the best so I couldn’t go anywhere else
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.
