Page updated: 8 September 2023
Welcome International Students
We hope this information may be of help to you in planning your first term at Girton.
The University also has a dedicated International Student Office. They also offer a free visa advice service and a fantastic Pre-arrival and orientation information guide.
The International Student Office have a guide on their webpage called 'Finding Your Way to Cambridge' and this guide provides an overview of how to get to Cambridge from the main London airports usually used by students when travelling to the UK. The guide can be found using the following link under 'Guides for International Students': https://www.internationalstudents.cam.ac.uk/arriving/pre-arrival-information
Please do check the guide on the website regularly for any updates.
We advise that you check the route you are planning to take prior to leaving due to unexpected disruptions to public transport.
From the railway or bus station in Cambridge, the simplest way to College is by taxi: this may cost approximately £20.00
We advise all students to have access to a UK bank account. You may need a letter confirming your student status and current address to open a bank account, this is something Student Services (email tutorial@girton.cam.ac.uk) can provide for you. This is especially important for international students as your current bank may not operate in the UK.
The International Student Office have a guide on their webpage called 'Opening a Bank Account' - the guide can be found using the following link under 'Guides for International Students': https://www.internationalstudents.cam.ac.uk/arriving/pre-arrival-information
The National Health Service (NHS) is the UK’s state healthcare system providing a wide range of health care services including appointments with a doctor, hospital treatment and dental care. College also requires you to register with a local Cambridge GP (our College Nurses can help you with this).
- Information about healthcare in the UK can be found at: https://www.internationalstudents.cam.ac.uk/arriving/healthcare-uk
International Freshers Events
The College invites all non-UK Freshers to arrive in College earlier than other students to give them extra time to settle in and to take part in the International Freshers events. International Freshers are welcomed from Monday 30 September 2024. You will not have to pay for participation in the programme, or extra accommodation if arriving on 30 September, but College will charge you for other accommodation outside term-time based on the room you are allocated; this will be approximately £30 (for a standard room).
The Cambridge University Student Union have an International Students Campaign and will be releasing their updated guide for 2024 in September but you can still access the previous guide.
Welcome, freshers!
First of all, congratulations on making it this far! Cambridge is an outstanding university, and Girton is the best college of them all (in my opinion).
I, Christina, am writing to you as the JCR International officer. That means that I am in charge of the issues on the JCR that revolve around life as an international student, whether that be sorting out over summer storage or a welfare chat if you ever feel lost or homesick.
It also means I have the pleasure of organising the international freshers days, which are from the 30th of September to the 2nd of October. The point of the international freshers days is to make the moving-from-home-overseas-part a bit less overwhelming. Our goal is to make sure that you get settled into the basics before the other freshers arrive and get some familiar faces. I am sure that we are going to have loads of fun doing that. We will tour college as many times as we need, go get bikes and explore the joys of British cuisine (we can also go for Chinese food if you guys prefer) together.
The other point of the international freshers days is to get to know each other. Girton in general is a very inclusive community, and the internationals are no different. We are here to help you through the first weeks, that I remember as being confusing and overwhelming myself.
Please check your email regularly to not miss any important information. I hope to be in touch soon!
~ Christina