Clare College

Clare College is the second oldest college of the University of Cambridge. If you visit King’s College, you can see a large part of Clare College, the bridge to Clare’s and the Clare Border from the back lawn. Great stuff.

Clare College is rather hidden even though it is located in the city centre. It is undergoing some refurbishment at the moment and seems to be perpetually closed to public. But if you manage to get in, it is a small yet pretty little college. Take a stroll along the bridge and count the number of round stones on it! You can also get a good view of the unique Jerwood Library from there.

Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded in 1338 as Clare Hall by an endowment from Elizabeth de Clare, and took on its current name in 1856. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "The Backs" the back of the colleges that overlook the River Cam.

Had a phenomenal time here pursuing a PhD here at Cambridge. Came back to visit after 8 years away. Was hoping to catch a glimpse of Clare but the college is under construction. While they are open to "alumni," they only mean Clare alumni. Other colleges' alumni are prohibited unfortunately. Not the friendliest porters I must say. Here are the admissions policies of all colleges we visited (or attempted to visit) between July 28 and August 3: Open to all visitors Jesus (open to all visitors) St. John’s (open to all visitors) King’s (open to all visitors) Downing (open to all visitors) Emmanuel (open to all visitors) Corpus Christi (open to all visitors) Queen’s (open to all visitors) Newnham (open to all visitors) Pembroke (open to all visitors, closed on one day for a wedding) Open to any alumni, regardless of college Trinity (only open to any alumni, likely due to construction work) St. Catherine’s (only open to any alumni) Magdalene (only open to any alumni) Only open to their own alumni Peterhouse (only open to their own alumni; exceptions may be made for other alumni) Christ (only open to their own alumni, likely due to construction work and wedding on one day) Sidney Sussex (only open to their own alumni – could not visit) Gonville & Caius (only open to their own alumni – could not visit) Trinity Hall (only open to their own alumni – could not visit) Clare (only open to their own alumni, likely due to construction work - could not visit; second rudest porters behind Pembroke)

Intense academics. Amazing garden. Nice punters going around. Please don't come here if you value sanity and love for life.

May the Lord show his mercy upon you!!!

I stayed at Clare College this week and my experience with the cleaning staff was poor. They took all my belongings and shoved them into the closet days before I had to check out. I also previously wrapped a gift, which I placed away in my room and I noticed it was unwrapped after my room got cleaned. Some of my important personal items went missing after that, as well. My friend, who also stayed at the College found her dirty laundry shoved under the sofa by the cleaning staff.

Beautiful buildings along the River Cam.

Primarily a facilities-related review. This is a beautiful little area of campus right near King's College chapel and the river Cam. I enjoyed its proximity to downtown without any of the hustle and bustle. The porters are generally very helpful and genuinely kind. The campus/dorm-associated dining commons, The Buttery, pumps out pretty good - albeit usually over-salted or redundant - food three meals a day. Being right by the Cambridge University Library is a definitely plus. Overall I give Clare a 4.5 - I didn't get to see inside any dorm buildings other than the W/V buildings we were staying in, but the dorm rooms seemed well-suited for one and poorly-suited for two. We were shoved in two to a room with below-average quality beds, one desk, and one closet. It could've been worse, but it's ass-old, and easily the least adorable thing about Clare College.