One of the things I quietly mourned while proudly accepting my Cambridge offer was the usual rite of passage: privately renting your first flat or student house (and the movie nights and parties that follow). This is, of course, replaced by numerous other wonders of college life, but, for me at least, a little hole is left. That was until I was placed bottom of the ballot and ended up in a 16-person student house a little farther out from town…

There are endless debates over the pros and cons of the college system, and between its uniqueness and the huge impact it has on the university experience, there’s no shortage of opinions. But whether or not we knew what to expect, most of us do come to love our own college with all its quirks – prepared to valiantly defend it to anyone who dares underestimate its worth and charm.

Nevertheless, Cambridge doesn’t always fit the romanticised images of university life that we see across social media – intimate house garden BBQs; a living room scattered with leftover decorations from Halloween, Christmas, and St Paddy’s Day combined… While I’m not saying the same homely feeling cannot be achieved in college accommodation, it often has to take a slightly adapted form, as we’re forced to rely on individuals’ bedrooms for evening hangouts, and movie nights are restricted to huddling around a singular laptop screen.

“Cambridge doesn’t always fit the romanticised images of university life that we see across social media”

Cambridge college ‘hostels’ or, in other words, houses separate from college grounds, appear to be the solution – but do they fill the specific gaps left by the beautiful but problematic old college accommodation, or the swanky new buildings that haven’t quite shaken the clinical hotel vibe?

There’s a lot of uncertainty around college houses: they’re generally farther out from college, but often have bigger kitchens (but then again, sometimes they don’t). The term describes anything from a five-person abode with higgledy-piggledy stairs and a small kitchen in the basement, to a 30-person converted traditional building with an on-site porter. And with ballot systems working differently across colleges, they can be filled with a group of friends that got lucky together, or several students from across years who clearly got stuck with their last choice.

As a result, I’ve known several apprehensive students fearing the move out to the infamous, but quietly dreaded, college house – perhaps it’s just too far from the servery, or maybe you have to move all of your belongings out each term (always a trying experience). However, I would make the case that realising a uni house’s potential is ultimately up to ourselves – beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all.

“[Houses] can be filled with a group of friends that got lucky together, or several students from across years who clearly got stuck with their last choice”

For the bakers out there, if a house means escaping the two-person, oven-less gyps that plague otherwise lovely college accom, then I’m sure you’ll embrace them with open arms. Another plus: while the support system of a college may be a well-known part of its appeal, the smaller-scale circle that a house offers is just as valuable – so why not have a house dinner once a term, or make use of a living room (if you’re lucky enough to have one) to host a superbowl watch party?

Having a separate space from college, away from the hustle and bustle of meetings and study spaces, shouldn’t be underestimated. You’re afforded a change of scenery whenever it’s wanted, and a little distance from the deadlines and the pull-your-hair-out atmosphere of your local faculty library. You have the freedom to make the space your own, to decorate for each and every occasion! It’s all about finding the small joys that a house offers; you might as well romanticise it. And if you’re lucky enough to end up with a garden, I implore you to brave the sun’s glare and study outside as much as you can. At the very least, we should take our mugs of tea (which are endless in exam term, of course) outside for a periodic study break and reconnect with nature.

“Realising a uni house’s potential is ultimately up to ourselves – beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all”

There does, however, remain some undeniable, unseen downsides of the Cambridge hostel system. For example, not privately renting means students have little to no experience of the property market and, therefore, few ways to build up a credit score before graduating. Despite this, though, most of us will happily embrace this method of guaranteed, (generally) affordable (if sheltered) means of accommodation over braving the wilderness that is the Cambridge private market. After all, credit scores are future me’s problem!

Now, I won’t lie, I did get lucky – both with a brilliant group of housemates who, thankfully, all get along, and with a beautiful detached house that (while lacking a living room or kitchen table) makes up for it in garden space. But even if you aren’t so lucky, nothing about the Cambridge experience is normal, so why should we try and make it so? While one of the less appealing options for many, I couldn’t have asked for better; this year has brought a revival of house parties, and constant late-night bonding and board games sessions that I’ll never forget.

Alas, Cambridge, being characteristically quirky, means preparing to mourn this house as well, since we are also denied the normal practice of living in one student house for multiple years. However, I maintain that the Cambridge uni house is criminally underrated, and I call for colleges – and, crucially, students – to make the small changes that fulfil their potential as the place to live.