Arcadia- Pembroke Cambridge Summer Program

PKP has been an intense opportunity and you plan to do this program I highly suggest you go through Arcadia. The process to apply was highly tedious but very worth it. The staff at Arcadia's offices aren not always the mod communicative so you really have to push for information. The packets that tell us about the detail of our program came extremely late, during which no one knew about the detail of our stay. The staff at the Arcadia center in London, on the other hand where phenomenal, very friendly and helpful. The perk about going with Arcadia is that you get to London for a few days before the PKP program starts, which is not only fun but also gives you time to make a few friends before the start of the program and give you a broader sense of independence and confidence. Cambridge is very close to London so day trips to London are common, I took one by myself and had no problems finding my way through the city because of my time spent there. PKP, itself is challenging because of the amount of courses you take in 8 weeks. Most of the courses are held as the Cambridge Union society, although some are at Kings or Pembroke. My classes were interesting but beware of classes that don't have perquisites if the class is in your field of study. these classes tend to be lower level classes,in which the material may become repetitive. Take the art class with Thomas Newbolt, its amazing and worth the price of the program and more! Most of the professors on the program are welcoming and generally very good. I had one not so great professor but I still had no problems doing well in the classes. The price of the program is steep but I though it was well worth it.
The program included a trip to Scotland, this trip was incredible fun and its where I made good friends in the program. Besides Scotland, I had time to go to France, and Ireland, other people where able to travel more.
The housing was great for me, I stayed at Fitzwilliams and it was perfect. The place was old but pretty well kept and very simple. We had a communal kitchen,each a single room, most people shared a bathroom with one other person but I ended up with my own, and we all got along very well in the house. The location is convenient and my walk to class every morning was beautiful. The laundry room was right across the street from me and the, my shower did not always work well, overall I was very happy with my room.
Easting at Pembroke was a nightmare, the silverware was not very clean (use the plastic utensils), the food is bland or burnt and the eating space is overcrowded. If you have a friend that eats at Kings get brunch with them at kings, its worth the walk. The formal halls are a totally different story. Formal halls are amazing, they are fun, the food is delicious and its the moment to relax, go out and socialize.