The vast majority of graduate students at St John’s live in the college’s own graduate hostels, which are located around Cambridge. These are shared between four and about thirteen people, and can be broadly divided into two sections: small terraced houses in the Park Parade/St. John’s Road area, which are slightly cheaper and more conveniently located, but older and with fewer facilities; and large, more luxurious houses in the leafy Madingley Road area, which are newer, more spacious, and have better facilities, but are a 10 minute walk from the town centre. More traditional college-style accommodation is also available in Corfield Court, which consists of about 40 rooms arranged in traditional Cambridge ‘staircases’. It is located immediately adjacent to the College, right in the town centre.
The size of rooms (along with the rent) varies a great deal, even between rooms in the same hostel, but most of the hostels have a sink in each room. All the furniture you’ll need is provided: bed, bedside table, a desk and chair, wardrobe, shelves, cupboards, coffee tables, and if you’re very lucky some comfortable chairs or sofas, as well as a desk and bedside lamp.
Showers, baths and toilets are shared by all residents. All the larger hostels have common rooms shared by all residents, typically including several sofas and a dining area. The kitchens in the hostels are also communal. The quality of the kitchens varies. Most kitchens are fairly small but adequate for most purposes (as long as the entire house isn’t trying to cook simultaneously). There are individual cupboards in all the kitchens, and a reasonable amount of fridge and freezer space. The college does not provide cooking equipment or utensils, although most hostels have a selection of pots, pans, crockery and cutlery left behind by former residents. Most kitchens also have microwaves, kettles, toasters and the like, although again – these belong to current or former occupants of the house and are not provided by the College.
The majority of graduate rooms now have wireless internet connections, which provide high-speed Internet access. Most hostels are connected to the College’s own network, and the first time you connect you will need to enter a username and password which will be in your welcome pack when you arrive. If you lose them, or encounter some problems, you can go to the Computer Support helpdesk (located in the passageway between Forecourt and Bridge Street).
Some general information about graduate accommodation can be found on the St John’s website. Quite specific information about many of the rooms and locations (including ratings, photos, and videos) can be found on rooms.joh.cam.ac.uk (for members of the college only, Raven login required).
