Getting Settled
When you first arrive in Cambridge, whether you live on-site or off-site, you will need to go to Reception (if you live in MPH, go to the MPH Porter's Lodge; for everyone else go to Norfolk, right inside the building entrance with white pillars). There you can pick up your Cambridge ID card and check your pigeon hole for a letter from Tutorial that will allow you to open a bank account. Your University Card provides access to your building, your room, and other College spaces. Accommodation at Eddie’s varies greatly. For more details on each building and its quirks, see the accommodation section of the College site.
One of the first things you’ll want to do is connect to the internet. You can either plug your computer directly into the Ethernet port in your room or you can connect via eduroam, a nation-wide Wi-Fi service for universities.
After you get settled, wander around the site and look for the Dining Hall, our coffee shop Edspressos, the CR, the MPH CR, the small CR, the library, and the orchard. Whenever you have a free moment, drop by the CR. Sit and chat, have a drink, play pool. It is the center of our community here at Eddie’s. During Freshers’ Week, there will be a free store set up in the CR with items from former students for you to take. Swing by and check it out. Also feel free to leave things you brought (or found in your room) but realise you don’t need.
Over the course of Freshers’ Week, there will be a series of events to get you settled into college life. Most are centered in the college, but there will also be a university-wide Freshers' Fair for university clubs (in addition to the college Freshers’ Fair for our own societies). Your department or faculty will have a set of trainings and events as well. At some point during Freshers’ Week we will take the college photo in our formal gowns and later we will don them again for a matriculation service that formally inducts you as a student at St Edmund’s and at the University of Cambridge.
Arriving with a Partner or Children
St. Edmund’s has several accommodations for couples or families. The CR has worked with College to allow partners of students to use the CR spaces for a reduced fee. At reception, you should be able to get an access card for your partner. Also make sure that the porters have your partner’s name and that it is entered in the Starrez system with yours. Until this is done, your partner may experience problems receiving mail.
Eddie’s is welcoming of all students of any background and that diversity includes families. In general, children are welcome in the CR. Teas (at 11 AM, 3PM, and 6:30PM) are great times to swing by the CR with kids and chat with other students, but at other times there may be certain events that are inappropriate for children.
Children are welcome to play on the grounds, but please be sensitive to students who are studying. The college occasionally has events for families, and the University of Cambridge has a weekly play groups. Childcare is quite expensive and can be difficult to come by, so be sure to register well in advance. For more information, see the University Childcare Office. See also the Newcomers and Visiting Scholars page for activities and groups for partners of university students and staff.
Other things you’ll want to do when you arrive are:
1) Open a Bank Account (RBS, Barclays, Lloyds, Monzo, etc.).
2) Sign up for a mobile plan
3) Buy a formal gown (Ryder & Amies, Ede & Ravencroft's, or second-hand)
4) Get a bike (with lock, bell, and lights!)
5) Sign up at the local surgery so you’re in the medical system ("Surgery" = "Clinic" or "Doctor's Office").
6) For groceries, check out Midan, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco.
7) Explore! Check out the view from Castle Hill. Visit the river colleges, the museums, and the botanical garden.