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rob
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 Posted: Thu May 27, 2004 2:50 pm |
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Oooh...
magdalene want me! don't really know much about the college, except that i've "heard of it", which is more than i can say for teddy hall when i got into Oxford.
does anyone have insider info, or is starting there next year?
Rob |
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Claudia Catacchio
cc410
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 619
Affiliation: Social & Developmental Psychology - PhD
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murph
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| Posted: Fri May 28, 2004 3:34 pm |
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Rob,
I'll also be starting at Magdalene this fall. I was part of an earlier thread about Magdalene. I don't have a link, but you could just search the message board.
I'm going for an MPhil in zoology. What are you studying?
If anyone has any more info about Magdalene, I'd also appreciate hearing it.
Thanks,
MurphRelated pages of the GU website: Magdalene College | Department of Zoology | GU Board
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R
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| About Magdalene |
| Posted: Fri May 28, 2004 5:33 pm |
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(+) Magdalene is a central river fronting college; and you can use a punt for only £10 for the season.
(-) However it doesn't operate much as a college; more just a pretty shoddy hall of residence.
(+/-) It's very traditional; and popular with hunting and shooting types; the university's hunt society is made welcome there.
(+/-) The MCR is corrupt.
(-) College Bills are random. (I think they are in most places)
(+) The gardens are very pretty.
I imagine as you've been to Oxford you'll be fine...
Some Links:
Magdalene MCR Website | Another Forum Post | Another Forum Post | The Magdalene JCR Website
| Quote: | Magdalene currently offer college accomodation to all graduate students who want it. (For PhD students for 3 years - sometimes 4).
Rooms for 1st year graduate students are randomly allocated (It doesn't seam to matter if you're a PhD or MPhil student), and there is a huge range as to what the room could be, from a modern room in a 1960s block, a room in a house owned or sublet by the college, or one of the college's rooms with character - uneaven wooden floors and celings, leadded windows etc. It could be in a silent quad; it could be above a restaurant, it could be on a busy road, it could have a river view...
If it's a college room (not a room in a house), the cooking facilities will be mimimal (generally two hot plates and a kettle between 5 or so people, no cooker, no microwave, no space to eat). There is a canteen that's open everyday though.
Provision for beds, showers and baths varies too (you have to go outside to get to a shower in some cases).
MPhil students have the option to leave for six weeks or so at both christmas and easter which can reduce their costs quite a bit. |
Related pages of the GU website: Magdalene College | MCRs
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Rob
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| Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 1:41 pm |
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| murph wrote: | Rob,
I'll also be starting at Magdalene this fall. I was part of an earlier thread about Magdalene. I don't have a link, but you could just search the message board.
I'm going for an MPhil in zoology. What are you studying?
If anyone has any more info about Magdalene, I'd also appreciate hearing it.
Thanks,
Murph |
Murph,
I'll be starting a PhD in Earth Sciences looking at the stuff volcanoes put up into the atmosphere. Yay. Field trips.
RobRelated pages of the GU website: Department of Earth Sciences | Magdalene College | Department of Zoology | GU Board
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Rob
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| Re: About Magdalene |
| Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 1:07 pm |
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> (+) Magdalene is a central river fronting college; and you can use a punt for only £10 for the season.
It is a lovely punt too, larger than standard punts.
> (-) However it doesn't operate much as a college; more just a pretty shoddy hall of residence.
Couldn't be less accurate. Magdalene is very much a community. Moreover, there are many events to foster a sense of community. One has to actually turn up and make an effort to meet people, but that is true of everywhere. Freshers week is packed with activities to help people meet and the MCR organises a college parent for freshers to help incorporate them into the community.
> (+/-) It's very traditional; and popular with hunting and shooting types; the university's hunt society is made welcome there.
This is true. If T-shirts and lager are your thing then Clare Hall or Darwin is probably better. That is a nice thing about the collegiate system, there is a college for every taste.
> (+/-) The MCR is corrupt.
An interesting and totally baseless claim.
> (-) College Bills are random. (I think they are in most places)
They aren't. All charges are itemised and the office staff will happily discuss any problems.
> (+) The gardens are very pretty.
Quite true. The MCR has a croquet set that people use in the garden. Quite lovely.Related pages of the GU website: Clare College | Clare Hall | Darwin College | Magdalene College | MCRs | What's On
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Tristan Collins
wtc22
Joined: 22 Jun 2004
Posts: 10
Affiliation: Engineering
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| Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 3:52 pm |
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hi
Last edited by wtc22 on Tue Dec 13, 2005 2:37 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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R
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| Re: About Magdalene |
| Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 4:53 pm |
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| Rob wrote: | > (-) However it doesn't operate much as a college; more just a pretty shoddy hall of residence.
Couldn't be less accurate. Magdalene is very much a community. Moreover, there are many events to foster a sense of community. One has to actually turn up and make an effort to meet people, but that is true of everywhere. Freshers week is packed with activities to help people meet and the MCR organises a college parent for freshers to help incorporate them into the community.
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Recently the Master has been really fantastic in organising things for Grad Students at Magdalene: behind the scenes tour of the Fitzwilliam Museum where he's a director; a tent with free food and wine at the May Bumps; and a BBQ in the Master's Garden.
However the MCR events are all dinners - which could also be brilliant - Magdalene has a lovely hall and parlor, but the allocation of places is passed on to students who abuse the responsibility, and the rules are unfathomable.
On "not operating as a college" - It's quite easy to be a member of Madgalene, and go through a PhD/Masters and never meet a college fellow. And there's nothing like this,this, or this. (Well there are more dinners!)
| Rob wrote: | >
> (+/-) The MCR is corrupt.
An interesting and totally baseless claim.
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A tiny minority receiving all the benefits from money contributed by a large group of grad students = corrupt, the incestious nature seems to amplify that. Things that make it worse include the fact that the fellows don't see a problem with it and some actively encourage it.
Compare the running of Magdalene MCR's seminars where only (bye-fellows / wannabe bye-fellows get to give talks) with a similar butopen well run series there's also questions of them spending MCR money on alcholol for themselves, generally running the show for personal benefit, and not running open meetings / elections in such a way to enable change to happen. There's not even a pretence of behaving in an appriopriate fashion, with the MCR president openly lying to and misleading members, and even having the gall to expand her committee to widen the number of her cronies benefiting from the arrangements.
| Rob wrote: | >
> (-) College Bills are random. (I think they are in most places)
They aren't. All charges are itemised and the office staff will happily discuss any problems.
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Yes they are, even the staff have no faith in the system, you go with a problem and the response is "well what do you want to pay!" Its silly, pushy people who're involved in college, get huge rent rebates, KFC exemptions etc... wheras others pay many hundreds of pounds for services that either don't exist or they don't use. The whole KFC thing is random. Whether you get charged MCR or JCR subscription is random. The amounts charged on the cafeteria till are even random. Random isn't always bad - you get errors in your favour too.
Then when you're about to graduate they slap a £50 on the bill for "college life membership" (induction info says 'college life membership is free and automatic) then before you have a chance to argue the bill is due and you've got to pay it before graduating. The extortion of that last £50 is surely doing them huge damage in loss of goodwill relative to the amount it earns... then they wonder why alumni are sharp to their students when they get them to phone them on money raising schemes...
| College Magazine wrote: |
Of course, not everyone approved of the telethon approach, and around 20 ‘slammers’ (telethon vernacular for calls abruptly terminated by the other party!) were encountered. |
Related pages of the GU website: Fitzwilliam College | Magdalene College | MCRs | What's On | GU President
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Sweetheart
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| Magdalene is Lovely! |
| Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2004 12:17 pm |
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Dear me, Magdalene is corrupt? Seems terrible to write off such a lovely college with such a sweeping and baseless claim. It's a beautiful place with the friendliest community you will find in Cambridge. Freshers, a few reasons you should be delighted to come to Magdalene:
1) The porters - Universally friendly sorts, who will quickly learn your name and regale you with stories and jokes everytime you walk into the porter's lodge to collect your mail. I can't vouch for the quality of the jokes, but you will be amazed at how much they know about you, and how much they truly care about the students. Tom is somewhat of a legend around Magdalene, you will know him instantly by his handlebar mustache.
2) The community - It's a small college, which is both its charm (everybody knows everybody) and its curse (everybody knows everything ABOUT everybody). Yet, its one of the few places you never have to worry about dining alone, as the minute you walk in, friendly faces will be quickly beckoning you over to join them.
3) Hall - Magdalene is the only college in Cambridge to have Formal Hall EVERY night, entirely by candlelight. The hall is beautiful and has no artificial lighting at all, and the ceremony of the occasion preserves the formality of years past. If you want a hall where you can saunter in and wear jeans, perhaps another place would be better for you, but if you enjoy it when everybody makes an effort for dinner, wearing their gowns and dressing smart, Magdalene is a delight. Every Friday night there is a formal dinner just for graduates, which provides a great opportunity to catch up with friends and celebrate the end of the week. Having such regular get-togethers makes this MCR more tight-knit than most, I think.
4) The MCR - Yes, it does look like an old hunting lodge, with dark green walls and huge leather chairs gathered around the fireplace, but would you rather have the cinderblock walls and plastic furniture of Christs'? It's the kind of place that just invites you to curl up in one of those big chairs before the fire, drinking a glass of port and chatting with friends. Plus, having Sky in the separate TV room is pretty nice as well.
5) The staff - Beyond just the porters, the staff really deal with the students on a personal level. Sometimes it can be annoying to need to talk to people in person, but unlike colleges who will just automatically slap a late fee on your bill the second it is late, you can always find someone to talk to at Magdalene who will make exceptions because your scholarship payment is late, you need hardship funds, or you just need the rules bent a little bit for you. Some talk about the college's poor financial situation (okay, they're not the richest, but they're not broke by any means), which if any part of it is true, it is because they are more flexible than most places when it comes to their students.
6) The Master - Duncan Robinson is just the greatest, who does a great deal for the MCR, and is universally friendly and cheerful. He opens his home for seminars and musical evenings, hosts barbecues in the summer, and will put in appearances at just about every event, all while still serving as the director of the Fitzwilliam Museum.
7) The events - Cocktail parties, croquet tournaments, garden parties, Oxford exchanges, and seminars, there is always plenty going on. As a small college and MCR, they can't do quite the things that others can (the film nights pale in comparison to what St. John's does, but luckily St. John's is right across the way), but it is remarkable how much goes on for such a small place.
I could go on forever, but as you will find at any college, you will get out of it what you put into it. If you hide in your room all year and never come to any events, I'll bet you'll have a pretty miserable time. Yes, it is more formal than most (you will need to own a gown, and always remember that the port is passed to the left), but that is what makes Magdalene a real "Cambridge experience."
And best part, freshers? This year the bi-annual Magdalene white-tie ball will be taking place. An event unlike any other, loads of fun. Congratulations, freshers, you are going to have a wonderful time! [/quote]Related pages of the GU website: Christ's College | Fitzwilliam College | Magdalene College | Robinson College | Gowns | MCRs | What's On | Awards and Scholarships (Reporter) | Funding for Overseas Students
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rose
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| Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2004 1:18 pm |
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I have been an undergraduate at Magd for 3 years and going on to do PostGrad in Magdalene. Thus I can comment some stuff.
Magdalene isn't perfect but neither is any college. It has flaws but it has little perks that does help in a way.
1) Porters, extremely friendly as Sweetheart mentioned. They can remember where all our pholes are, excellent memory they have.
2) Formal Hall. Yes, I loved the fact I get to dress up unlike others where u can go in jeans. However, the food ain't that great. One can say that the hall is cheap, comparatively to other colleges, so you get what you pay. However, Johns have formal every nigth as well, so we aren't the only college to have it every night. And theirs are cheaper and much better food than ours.
3) Ramsay Hall, our much joked about cafeteria. Everyone I have met, complains of the food. I too can't stand the food there. But when exams come, I go to save myself time of cooking, but I cook throught out the year.
4) Kitchen fixed charges in Magd is one of the most expensive around. And for not so good quality food.
5) The Master : He is an excellent person. One who really cares about us, and makes an effort to know us. If everything else fails about Magdalene, our Master is worth being in Magdalene. Becos he is such a jolly fellow.
6) The events. Hm... I would have to say its expensive. I remembered I have half-way hall dinner as an undergraduate and I didn't go, becos it cost 25 quid. Other colleges provided half-way hall dinner free.
7) As for the May Ball, sorry, I am not a keen advocate of it. Paying 145 quid for a night out seems a bit outrageous to me. Coming from a developing country, 145 quid is equivalent to a months pay at home. However, May Ball is a great fun to enjoy yourself, and if you find yourself unable to attend due to financial circumstances, work for one instead. I have been working for numerous MayBalls, ie Trinity, Magd, Queens, Caius, Clare, Sidney and Peterhouse. It was hard work, but you get the atmosphere of the Ball.
 As for the MCR, I don't know much about them, as I am entering as a newbie post grad. However, I was slightly irritated with them regarding the room ballot for the postgrad. Apparently, the MCR president forbade us new pgrad freshers from entering the room ballot. Normally room ballot should go to incoming 3rd, 2nd, 1st then only 4th years. We were pushed all the way down to the bottom. Even below the 4th years. Thus, we end up having the last choice. I talked to the Room Tutor and even he was shocked on why we werent entered in the room ballot. But it's over and done with, so no biggie.
9) Magd has pretty flowers and makes the college pretty. However, it ain't that great when you realise they change the flowers every season and think how much better it would be if Magd used the money instead for us students.
10) The Library is too small. And has very limited books, (in my field, that is). Have requested for more books but they only come at the end of the academic year when I have finished my studies. Bummer.
11) For international students, the storage room is extremely small. It gets filled up quickly and one has to strategise and plan carefully when putting your stuff. Oh yes, we are only allowed 8 boxes only.
Don't get me wrong. I am not putting out a personal vendetta against Magd. I do complain/get irritated about it. But at the end of the day, I consider myself fortunate to be in Cambridge and in Magdalene, and my DOS and tutor have been absolutely wonderful to me. They know me on a personal basis and that;s something some colleges dont have. I believe one should accept things as it comes as nothing is perfect. No point comparing with other colleges, as we are all still part of Cambridge.
Hope this helps and let's not turn this post into a for/against Magdalene fighting match.
CheersRelated pages of the GU website: Clare College | Magdalene College | Peterhouse | Queens' College | Trinity College | International students | MCRs | What's On | GU President | GU International Committee
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m
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| Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2004 1:37 pm |
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| Just a note about the graduate room ballot....it is college policy not to allocate rooms until places have been officially confirmed by the Board of Graduate Studies. This is annoying but it has to be fairer than allocating rooms to new graduates who might not even turn up. Related pages of the GU website: GU Board | Board of Graduate Studies (BoGS)
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rose
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| Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2004 2:02 pm |
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The thing is, our places were already confirmed. =)
Even the Room Tutor asked us to enter the room ballot. And it was only on the day before the ballot that the President pop a note in our phole to let us know we weren't allowed to be in it.
So I just chose my room the day after the ballot. Which meant even less rooms to choose from. =(Related pages of the GU website: GU President
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m
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| Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2004 2:06 pm |
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| ah - bad luck. Sounds like people just got their wires crossed - a hiccup in college communication. But hey, look on the bright side, at least you got a room! |
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former mag
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| Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2004 7:26 pm |
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I started a PhD last October and was given magdalene as a college. I arrived in cambridge a few days before term started with a number of bags and boxes to drop off in my room. I was told that the room I had been expecting was not mine, and that I was in a temporary room for one night, and then would have to move all my belongings to another permanent room. This was not convenient for me as I was just dropping stuff off and not staying, so all my belongings (suits and ball dresses included) were dumped in the storage room. I returned during the week on the train, and struggled to get someone to help me move all my bags the 15 minutes to my 'new' room. This all happened despite me being told it would be fine to move in my belongings on the date I originally arrived.
On arrival the room was disgusting. It was dirty, unsuitably furnished, with someone elses rubbish left in it, and was smaller than a prison cell. I have studied at and seen a considerable number of other university accomodation in the past few years and this was by far the worst I have ever seen. I complained about the state of the room and a cleaner came, but did no more than hoover the carpet. I spent the next few days cleaning it up. If this had happened at any other university they would have apologised and sorted the problem. I get the feeling that people sometimes get the feeling here that "I am at cambridge, so I must be grateful", which should not be the case.
The general state of the hostel accomodation was poor. It was generally dirty, uncared for and in disrepair. The kitchen was replaced while I was there, although it did take numerous phone calls annd visits to maintenance etc. The house was never clean. When I talked to the graduate tutor about the situation, he told me that he thought the house was in good repair and didn't need looking at - I thought he was concerned about student welfare in the college?
My hostel was for 6 people. Half of these were not members of the university, and were just renting out rooms for short periods. Also, one of the rooms was a 'guest room' which could see anyone stay in it at short notice for a night at a time. A bit like living in a nasty guesthouse, not knowing who you would meet on the way back from the shower.
I also felt an outsider in the college community. I felt I did not fit in with the type of people who would go to dinner and events. The girl I sat next to at the matriculation dinner was obviously not impressed with the universities I have been to, and stopped talking to me half way through. I did not feel I was able to penetrate the core of MCR people. This led to me not going to any magdalene events after christmas.
I moved out of college halls in february, and moved into a house outside college. I lived with very friendly people, who I can talk to and socialise with and have a lovely large room, with decent furniture, a beautiful kitchen, sitting room and garden (with a pond!) for not much more than my prison cell at magdalene.
Unfortunately I have now decided not to continue with my PhD. I feel that I have been let down my Magdalene. I have not found that magdalene has looked out for my welfare. My initial few months at cambridge were torture. I was miserable, and a large amount of this was due to the accomodation and college situation. I would just like to ask people who are members of MCR at magdalene to consider all members of the MCR, not just their friends and acquaintances, and for people to take issue with the standard of the accomodation and the service provided. It is not acceptable, and would not be accepted elsewhere. during my time at Magdalene people I talked to seemed to have a 'well that is how it is' attitude, and I felt all alone in the college, finding noone who shared my opinions. I do not understand what my accomodation fees were spent on. It was certainly not the upkeep of accomodation that I was living in.
The college charges extortionate rates for sub-standard accomodation. I guess this is not really the right place to write this, but I am now leaving cambridge and looking for a job so I can start again.
good luck to all people starting there next year. This was just my experience - as you can see other people have a great time. people I have talked to have said that you are either a cambridge person, and fit in, or you are not, and don't. I guess I am not.Related pages of the GU website: Magdalene College | MCRs | What's On | GU Welfare Committee
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Melody
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| Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2004 1:51 pm |
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I empathise, agree and can confirm all of 'former mag''s experiences are those of many; for every Sweetheart there's lots of others who even if their experience isn't as bad as that described above, aren't blind to it.
I would say to anyone reading this who's been allocated Magdalene, don't worry too much if you're only doing a 1 year course; it'll be over before you know it anyway - and if you know you have to behave like a immoral sweetheart to get a decent deal out of the place then maybe you'll be prepared for it.Related pages of the GU website: Magdalene College
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