Information for international undergraduates

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

Hi everyone,

First of all, congratulations on making it this far! Cambridge is an amazing university, and Girton is the best college of them all.

I, Stine, 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 25th to the 27th of September. 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- oh, and then 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 (that I have yet to get fully used to after a year) 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.

With me, I have a brilliant group of Girton students that together form the international freshers days committee. Our introductions and email-addresses are on the last couple of pages of our Welcome Guide, so please check those out if you want to get to know us. This is a formal looking information pack, but I may very well have forgotten something, or some of the information may be confusing. If you are ever unsure about something, please feel free to ask! Important information cannot be repeated or explained enough, and we are here to help- there are no stupid questions, and my inbox is always open!

Can't wait to see you :)
- Stine