The Overseas Officer
Trinity is a great place to be an international student and about 40% of Trinity undergraduate students come from overseas. Trinity can seem daunting at times, with its notoriously high percentage of firsts and the expectation that you have to be very dedicated. The reality of being in college, though, is that there is significantly less competition than you might expect. The hardest-working students never make a point of being the best and there’s a huge variety of social groups and types of people at the college. Most students fall in love with college and many would happily describe their time here as the three best years of their life.
Financial
There are plenty of bursaries and grants for students that make the cost of living easier, especially if you’re paying overseas fees. The college does not discriminate between international students and domestic students in its awarding of bursaries and grants, although there are some university-based grants that make such a distinction. The college also has generous vacation storage for overseas students, including students from Northern Ireland.
International Freshers’ Week
The Overseas Officer will runs International Freshers’ Week, from the Wednesday to the Friday prior to Freshers’ Week. As Trinity has so many international students – about 70 or 80 undergrads coming in every year. Trinity has one of the largest International Freshers’ Week in the university. The Overseas Officer’s job is to make sure you settle in and cope with things that are more complicated if you’re an international – registering with the police, opening a bank account, dealing with different arrival times.
Preparations
Before you arrive at Trinity, you will be sent a handbook for international freshers in particular that deals with things like mobile phone contracts, welfare and banks. It will also help you with cultural references; English people are good to get along with but can be perplexing in certain ways and this is a handy way of getting a head start. Although there may be many facebook groups for international freshers at Trinity, you might wish to join the general one, generally called “Trinity College Cambridge Freshers 20XX” (depending on the year). Some students post on the group to find out in advance who else is doing their tripos and who else comes from their part of the world.
More info about the current Overseas Officer
For more info on the current Overseas Officer’s profile and plans for the year check out this page, introducing you to this year’s committee.
Important Information and Links
iTCSU International Freshers’ Guide
To be found in the ‘Freshers‘ section of this website.
iCUSU
As Trinity is so large and, in general, all-consuming, students tend not to get involved in the International Students Campaign, but this is here to support you through the university-wide CUSU (Cambridge University Student Union), which is known for its efficiency and focus on what matters most to students.
The Overseas Officer represents Trinity to iCUSU, so get in touch if there’s anything you’d like me to raise.
