Cambridge UK

[Anonymous]

My daughter is interested in applying to Cambridge next fall. Although I'm not pleased with the distance, she is impressed with the school and the fact that she doesn't have to take any general studies (only courses in her major) is a draw. Graduating in three years instead of four is also appealing.

After looking at the website, it appears that only 1200 international students are accepted. There are also several U.S. universities she is interested in.

I perused a three year old DCUM thread about Cambridge but it really didn't give the info I was looking for about, well, everything. Anybody attended Cambridge? An honest assessment would be appreciated, warts and all.

TIA.

[Anonymous]

It is a great university, the Harvard of Europe (except that, of course, it is much older than Harvard).

Now, what really matters is, what is DD looking for? Why is she so impressed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is interested in applying to Cambridge next fall. Although I'm not pleased with the distance, she is impressed with the school and the fact that she doesn't have to take any general studies (only courses in her major) is a draw. Graduating in three years instead of four is also appealing.

After looking at the website, it appears that only 1200 international students are accepted. There are also several U.S. universities she is interested in.

I perused a three year old DCUM thread about Cambridge but it really didn't give the info I was looking for about, well, everything. Anybody attended Cambridge? An honest assessment would be appreciated, warts and all.

TIA.

OP, your daughter sounds like she has done her homework and knows what she's interested in.

Here are a few articles you might find interesting.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jan/10/how-cambridge-admissions-really-work

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/student-life/whats-it-like-being-at-cambridge-as-an-american-student-8801600.html

http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/choosing-university/oxford-or-cambridge

[Anonymous]

It's a lot of work, if your DD is coming from an insular environment the administrative issues and academic intensity might be very demanding, and there aren't a lot of general ed or electives -- it really is THAT degree program, period. If she wants to change majors, that can mean re-starting the whole program. You apply to the University with specific respect to particular constituent colleges that heavily control their own admissions.

[Anonymous]

I did a masters at lse and have lots of friends who did lse or Oxbridge.

Let her apply and compare to other options. On the whole, though, I'd recommend a top ranked private American four year college with a junior year abroad over uk undergrad degree. Mostly because I find the lack of flexibility regarding major to be very limiting.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Such wonderful insight! The general consensus appears to be while Cambridge is a great school, it is restrictive in its flexibility to change majors and few electives. I like the suggestion of spending a year abroad where DD can have her cake and eat it too.

Great articles, 14:15. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I used to date someone who went to Cambridge, and first of all, it is very restrictive. Not only should your daughter be pretty confident about sticking out her chosen course of study, she needs to pretty confident about sticking it out at Cambridge, because if she does decide to leave after a year, not all of her credit will transfer easily to a program here.

I had another friend who went to a 3-year well regarded, highly respected program at another university, dropped out after a year and found that none of his credits would transfer as anything other than electives.

The other thing is that Cambridge is pretty upper class society in England. And in England, there is stronger sense of class than there is here. Your daughter might be romanticizing studying in England, but when she gets there, she might find that socially it is difficult. I find that upper class British will be very polite to Americans, but they do tend (and this is a generalization) to look down on Americans. It's something that I'm sure is not on your daughter's radar.

If she chooses not to go to Cambridge or if she doesn't get in, another option might be to go to a college here that has a really good study abroad program where she can spend a semester or a year in England. That might be a nice and practical compromise.

[Anonymous]

OP - You may need to check the application deadlines. The kids at my DC's school who are applying to Oxford and Cambridge have already applied and I thought the deadlines were back in October….I'm certainly no expert, though, so I may be wrong on the deadlines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - You may need to check the application deadlines. The kids at my DC's school who are applying to Oxford and Cambridge have already applied and I thought the deadlines were back in October….I'm certainly no expert, though, so I may be wrong on the deadlines.

OP said DD will apply next fall.

[Anonymous]

OP,

You should look at College Confidential. Do you know the site?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

You should look at College Confidential. Do you know the site?

OP here. There are several really good current threads discussing the admission process. Moving over to College Confidential. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Yes, OP. your dd would need to familiarize herself with the admission requirements, which are very different. Because the uk system, is only 3 years, your daughter must essentially be able to show that she is functioning as what we would consider an entering sophomore. The A level exam is a make or break exam that students in the UK spend years prepping for. The equivalent (sort of) would be getting 5s on multiple ap exams. Because the systems are so different, a lot of Americans go to Oxbridge schools for graduate level when things have equalized between the two systems. This is not to discourage, but just to let you know dd should prepare herself very much in advance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to date someone who went to Cambridge, and first of all, it is very restrictive. Not only should your daughter be pretty confident about sticking out her chosen course of study, she needs to pretty confident about sticking it out at Cambridge, because if she does decide to leave after a year, not all of her credit will transfer easily to a program here.

I had another friend who went to a 3-year well regarded, highly respected program at another university, dropped out after a year and found that none of his credits would transfer as anything other than electives.

The other thing is that Cambridge is pretty upper class society in England. And in England, there is stronger sense of class than there is here. Your daughter might be romanticizing studying in England, but when she gets there, she might find that socially it is difficult. I find that upper class British will be very polite to Americans, but they do tend (and this is a generalization) to look down on Americans. It's something that I'm sure is not on your daughter's radar.

If she chooses not to go to Cambridge or if she doesn't get in, another option might be to go to a college here that has a really good study abroad program where she can spend a semester or a year in England. That might be a nice and practical compromise.

+1
It's not an environment I would choose, but I'm very down-to-earth and hate anything upper class (lived in the UK for a decade).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - You may need to check the application deadlines. The kids at my DC's school who are applying to Oxford and Cambridge have already applied and I thought the deadlines were back in October….I'm certainly no expert, though, so I may be wrong on the deadlines.

OP said DD will apply next fall.

Oops…didn't catch that part - read to fast! Good luck with the process, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - You may need to check the application deadlines. The kids at my DC's school who are applying to Oxford and Cambridge have already applied and I thought the deadlines were back in October….I'm certainly no expert, though, so I may be wrong on the deadlines.

OP said DD will apply next fall.

Oops…didn't catch that part - read to fast! Good luck with the process, OP.

***too fast (ugh…typed too fast!)