Don't panic!

I thought I'd try to put your mind at rest if you are worried about the snow disrupting your travel plans! Our advice is to allow PLENTY of time for your journey (we've got a warm and cosy waiting room here with drinks and biscuits available). And if the roads are really bad in your area perhaps it might be worth considering taking the train if you can. As I write the snow has disappeared from Cambridge but having just consulted the forecast it's difficult to predict what is in store.
If you find you have become stuck or it's not possible to make the journey to Cambridge, please telephone us as soon as you can (01223 764329 or 01223 763983) and let us know what has happened. This is not the first time we've negotiated snowfall around interview time so don't worry, we'll be able to work something out. We will find a way.
If your interview is scheduled for the week 6th to 10th December be aware that there will be HUNDREDS of interview candidates in Cambridge and the traffic will be really heavy. If you or your parents plan to drive, we do recommend that you think about using the park and ride sites around Cambridge. There are direct buses into Cambridge, often with dedicated bus lanes so it's a more reliable and way to get into the centre. Here's the website http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/around/parkandride/
Good luck everybody!

Sorry to keep the Mathematicians waiting

 . . . . and sorry I haven't posted anything for a few days. We've arranged ALL the interviews now with the exception of Mathematics! I'm really sorry it's still not done but I can tell you that the interivews will be on the 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th & 15th December. We will be offering interviews to everyone who applied to this College to study Mathematics - I'll send you details as soon as I possibly can.
We have scheduled 1245 interviews in all the other subjects so when we add the Mathematics interviews in as well we will have arranged over 2,000 Cambridge interviews this year. We started interviews on 15th November (in one or two subjects) and will finally finish on 16th December so that's an average 400-500 interviews a week! Though it's a bit misleading to put it that way because there will be far more interviews taking place from 6th to16th December than 15th November to 3rd December.
So whether you are still waiting to have your interviews or have already had them let me wish you all the best.

2012 Entry Fees

For those of you who are applying for entry in 2012, the university now has a webpage dealing with the changes which are being made to student finance. The page can be found at http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/finance/2012entry/.

This page will be updated as and when the details of the changes become known, so check back regularly.

Not much news to report!

Well, we're still scheduling - ticking off the subjects one by one now. We are still waiting for final details for Education, Mathematics, Modern Languages and Theology so there are not many subjects left to do. Some subjects are very complicated to schedule because they involve people from other Colleges or Departments. And the academic staff are extremely busy with teaching as the end of the Cambridge term approaches. But we hope to have these last subjects interviews scheduled by the weekend.
For those of you who have been invited to attend interviews, if you are living a long way away and your interviews are in the first half of the morning, it's fine to ask to stay overnight in College. But please use the form on the interviewees website - you will have been sent the link. I know it's a really easy form but it helps me to have all the required information in the same format, otherwise I have to start looking things up in the database which takes a lot of time. We'll have more accommodation available after Monday 6th December when our current students will have left. However, we'll do our best to help whichever date you'll be coming to Cambridge.

We're getting there!

Someone noticed that I'd left Mathematics off the list of subjects we're still scheduling - sorry about that - we ARE still working on Maths.
Today has been very busy again, we're trying to get interview timetables scheduled, pack up interview papers for interviews happening next week, AND trying to keep track of those of you who reply to my emails saying that you can come for your interviews! It feels like the eye of the storm here! But we're pressing on, making progress every day.
If you need to get in touch, would you kindly email admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk please? We'll try to get back to you as soon as we can. Of course you are welcome to phone if you need to explain something complicated but we'll probably ask you to email as well so that we've got a record of your query. That way we don't have to rely on remembering things or scribbled notes! Thanks.

Whew!

Sorry, I was so busy yesterday I forgot to post another blog! The interviews went well yesterday, everyone got here on time, found their way around and all went according to plan. That's always encouraging for me - the system is working! Here in admissions it seems a long time from one year to the next - although we've done interviews several times before it's always good to see everything going smoothly.
Now we are busy packing up interview papers and sending them off to the interviewers but we're also still scheduling some subjects; Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, Classics, Economics, Engineering, Biological Sciences, Modern Languages and Theology are the main ones. Some of these are quite complicated because they involve other Colleges or Faculties so they take a bit longer to arrange. But we're pressing on as quickly as we can!

Interviews are starting Monday!

Well, our interviews in a few subjects are starting from Monday 15th November. So we are looking forward to welcoming you to College, whether next week or later in November or December.
Let me just say a bit about not sharing the content of your interviews with others. If you do, and someone else impresses the interviewers more than you (because they knew what was coming), they might get the offer of a place instead of you! So - don't tell!
If you ask someone else what their interviews were about and they tell you (a) how do you know they were telling you correctly and (b) interviewers change their questions in any case.
Just come as you are and be yourself. We know it's nerve-wracking - but many people say they really enjoyed coming to Cambridge for interviews - whatever the outcome.

Thanks for your fast responses

Quite a few of you have received invitations to attend interviews and have been getting back to me really quickly to say you can come. That's great - thank you very much. If you haven't heard yet please be patient, we organise the interviews by subject and the process is still ongoing. We've received just over 600 applications so you can imagine how long it takes to process all of them! We're working as fast as we can. If you have any questions, please remember to email admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk rather than telephoning -  we'll try to respond as quickly as possible. Thank you!

Thank you for your essays!

We've had a deluge of essays arriving this week but if you think yours has been delayed don't worry, nothing awful will happen! We give a deadline so that we can start getting  everything together in preparation for the interviewers. But if you've missed it it's OK, we'll still consider your application. Just get your work to us as soon as you can.

Written work deadline tomorrow!

Hello you Arts applicants, don't forget you should be getting your written work to us by tomorrow! Check out the information on the applicants' website; everything you need is there including the cover sheet which you can download.
Don't forget to include a stamped, addressed postcard or sealed-down envelope. We'll post this back to you as a receipt for your work. (International students can send a Universal Postal Union exchange coupon).
It's not worth sending your work by recorded delivery - we get so much recorded delivery here the postman does not bother to get them signed off. So you will be looking on the track and trace website in vain. Just send a stamped self-addressed envelope - it's cheaper and more reliable!