Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Aberdeen or Cambridge?

I have offers for Medicine from Aberdeen and Cambridge and don't know which course will be better. Neither is my first choice (which was Edinburgh) so neither immediately jumped out at me. I preferred the idea of an integrated course like that at Aberdeen but don't know whether it would be a waste of an opportunity to not go to Cambridge, where I enjoyed the interview the most. Any ideas?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Elwyn

Have you thought about which city you'd most like to live in? You're going to be spending a good few years of your life there so you may want to base your decision on that.

Reply 2

nellend

A little bit- Cambridge is very similar to my home town which puts me off a bit but Aberdeen was grey and freezing when I visited. To be honest, I think I'm leaning towards Aberdeen, just the majority of people I've spoken to have said that Cambridge will not only be a great education but will open loads of doors in the future.

Reply 3

.eXe

Hmm to be honest, this one's a hard one. Most people you talk you will simply say Cambridge for obvious reasons. From what I know Cambridge places heavy emphasis on building a strong foundation before you go ahead with clinicals. Although they have some possibilities for patient contact in 1st and 2 year they are by no means substantial and you don't really feel like a doctor until 3rd year onwards. Schools with more integrated curricula however, provide some strong clinical experience and patient contact right from the get go and this may be more suitable to certain students.

It comes down to personal preference, especially about how you want to spend your first 2 years. If you want a more realistic idea about Aberdeen I suggest contacing toosexyformystethoscope, he's a medic there.

goodluck

e:why the negs :s-smilie:

(edited 12 years ago)

Cambridge.

The 'Oxbridge' label is a highly valuable one, but both are prestigious institutions and you should base your decision primarily on which course you prefer.

Reply 6

John Locke

ignore anything re:brand name.

Things you should think about are whether you want the additional stress of intense terms, the issue of reapplying for clinical school, how interested you really are in basic science. i don't know the style of learning aberdeen is but cambridge will be more like pbl (although i would argue a slightly better version) than lecture based with lots of self-directed reading for tutorials. also think about the differences socially for example at cambridge you will probably identify most strongly with people from your college doing all kinds of subjects rather than just medics which i gather tends to be the case at other medical schools. also where you actually prefer to live as they are very far apart geographically.

loads more things too. don't think of it as missing an opportunity if you don't choose either of them, base your selection on what you think will be best for you and don't look back!

Reply 7

Starrstruck

Cambridge. I'm not only saying that because of its "name", you're more likely to get a really good job if you graduate there as well. Plus, it's number 1 in the UK right now.

Reply 8

username356927

Original post by Starrstruck

Cambridge. I'm not only saying that because of its "name", you're more likely to get a really good job if you graduate there as well. Plus, it's number 1 in the UK right now.

You are not more likely to get a good job in medicine if you went to Cambridge. For a start employers aren't allowed to see which uni you graduated from when applying to Foundation jobs and after that post graduate experience matter far more than your university. They may be number one but if you look at the 'worst' medical school in that table it isn't exactly bad.

NHS trusts hate losing money. As a result they tend to employ the best people, regardless of university.

Of course I am biased.... :rolleyes:

Reply 9

OpenArms

Original post by Starrstruck

Cambridge. I'm not only saying that because of its "name", you're more likely to get a really good job if you graduate there as well. Plus, it's number 1 in the UK right now.

This is medicine we are talking about here, I really don't think you can make that comment as all universities are regulated by the GMC and you still get to become a doctor. In saying that studying at Cambridge may open wider opportunities to get into research.

Reply 10

AverageExcellence

Trolling at its worst

Reply 11

Helloworld_95

If you think you might want to practice abroad later on then go for Cambridge, if you don't then it seems like you have a lot of research to do.

Reply 12

Architecture-er

For medicine it really depends on whether you want to go into practical or research healthcare, Cambridge is more academic with less emphasis on the nitty gritty of getting into people's guts, but will spend a lot more time on the learned side of the profession.

It all comes down to how much practical experience is valued by you, what your aspirations are in the field, whether you want to deal with the stress and workload, whether you value the brand enough to receive a greater feeling of self-worth from studying at Cambridge, which will propel you and inspire you to achieve.

If you can't make the decision yourself, toss a coin. If it's heads, Cambridge. If tails, Aberdeen. When you've got the result, analyze how you feel about it, and there's your answer :wink:

edit: read "Edinburgh was my first" - so trollllll.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 13

username854791

com'n It's gotta be Camberdeen.

Sorry for the bad joke. :blush:

Reply 14

Mero8

I live about 15 minutes outside Cambridge and it's absolutely lovely. Quite a fun nightlife yet quite academic and the colleges are beautiful.

I think the University experience here is invaluable, but the course is very very heavy on academic science from years 1-3 compared to other courses so it's really up to you whether you'd prefer that or not. It will probably be more helpful than Aberdeen if you want to go into academic Medicine.

If you fancy a more integrated approach then I guess Aberdeen although I don't think the University experience there will match Cambridge. Also, it's really cold and on the coast so probably smells of fish. :wink:

Reply 15

vedderfan94

I like how several people have completely ignored the fact that this is for MEDICINE, a course for which the university you go to matters a lot less than for other courses. Studying medicine means you are pretty much guaranteed a job at the end of it. Go where you will be happiest at and where you prefer the course.

Reply 16

anoldbaby

Just want to point out that if you pick Cambridge then you may be able to do your clinical years in London so not just Cambridge vs aberdeen… this may or may not make any difference for you

Reply 17

John Locke

Original post by Architecture-er

you do realise that whilst there is a stronger focus on knowing pre-clinical science in the two years that you do it for, there is no difference in overall clinical experience regardless of where you go right? what you've put there is incorrect.

Reply 18

Davidragon

If you are interested in academic medicine one could argue Cambridge would give you a superior basis. Students and graduates on here give me the impression that they learn everything in great detail at Cambridge (though some said sometimes beyond clinical relevance)

Aberdeen seems to have a well structured integrated course with lots of opportunities. I really like the idea of the simulated patients they have there to help you build clinical skills. The scarceness of patient contact in the early stages might put someone off Cambridge (though probably not totally in your case since you still applied).

The third year at Cambridge is amongst the most flexible (when compared to intercalated options at other universities), but then again the course is a compulsory 6 years which might seem pointless if research doesn't appeal to you and you just want to become a doctor as soon as possible.

If you say you enjoyed the interview at Cambridge, chances are you will like the teaching, since the interviews are designed to be similar to the tutorial format. Both are great universities at the end of the day, so it depends on what you want out of them.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 19

nellend

You all have good points but they're just making me more muddled haha. I've heard that Cambridge is good if you want to do a hospital job/something really specialised as it'll open loads of doors but seeing as I haven't even started yet I have no idea what I want to do after F2.

A research job is something I'd considered but more as a backup, if I'm a crap doctor. As for the London option, I'm not a big fan so I just ignored that when applying to UCAS.

Also I'll sound like a noob but "edit: read "Edinburgh was my first" - so trollllll" ya whattt?