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Now I've made my offer, will I be academically OK at Cambridge (Compared to others)?

I'll apologize in advance in case this pisses anyone off, but ive made my offer for history at jesus fairly comfortably and was feeling pretty proud of myself, but the other day an obese friend of mine (who got DDDC and is going to northampton, despite being fairly intelligent) said with obvious relish, 'haha, you're going to go from being at the top of our school (an average-ish non-selective liverpool comp) to academically weaker than most other people at cambridge. Now you'll know how I felt!' I realise the whopper was probably just trying to wind me up, but does anyone who goes there/is going think that i will actually be at a significant disadvantage compared to other students who have been to better schools? I got AAAAa in History, Politics, Spanish and general studies and English AS and got over 95% of the UMS marks available in each subject overall, but I realise that there are other people who will have done more subjects etc. Also, due to adolescent laziness my GCSEs were 4A*s, 3As and 2Bs (I know they're pretty good but in Cambridge terms only average). Will most other people be significantly stronger than me academically? (I realise that a conclusive answer cannot be drawn from this limited info, but your thoughts would help).

Cheers, I know i'm an insecure bastard. sorry. I just want to enjoy my time and not feel stupid.

Reply 1

visesh

17

There's only one way to find out....

Chances are that there will always be someone 'more intelligent' than you', and I guess at Cambridge there will be quite a few more people.

It's going to be quite tough to adjust to this new environment... :frown:

Reply 2

Niccolo

OP

6

visesh

There's only one way to find out....

Chances are that there will always be someone 'more intelligent' than you', and I guess at Cambridge there will be quite a few more people.

It's going to be quite tough to adjust to this new environment... :frown:

Oh yeah, i always knew there were going to be more intelligent people than me, that was one of the attractions of the place, to be around people from whom I could learn, but I am just slightly intimidated at the prospect of being at the 'bottom of the pile.'

Reply 3

visesh

17

Well the majority of students there will have a plethora of As, tops UMS scores and lots of extra-curricular stuff. There will always be a 'bottom' of the pile. This is a really intimidating concept for me, as I have always been used to being in the top few % throughout out my school life. I also think taking a gap year has 'slowed' me down considerably... Only time will tell!

Two of my mates have just finished their first year reading Medicine, and at school they were almost identical on paper. One of them got a First, and the other got a third and failed a few papers.

Reply 4

xyro

Everyone is in the same boat as you! And I would worry about grades, they just mean that one is good in rote learning (more or less dependent on the subject).

Reply 5

crana9

2

Actually, it pisses me off most that you point out your "friend" is obese. Does that have any bearing on what was said?

Reply 6

Niccolo

OP

6

crana9

Actually, it pisses me off most that you point out your "friend" is obese. Does that have any bearing on what was said?

It was only really relevant in that it is a contributing factor to his embattled bitterness and thus one of the reasons that he makes comments of that nature. The other is that he actually is pretty smart and yet his grades suggest that he shouldnt even have been doing A levels in the first place.

Reply 7

platinumki

10

ah, the whole big fish in a little pond idea

Well, someone will be at the bottom of the heap. But are we talking about intelligence, or academic success. The tutors will know more than you - are they more intelligent, or more learned? The same will apply to students. There will be that guy you sit beside in your first lecture that has read all the set books and memorised the important passages, therefore ensuring that he already knows the entire lecture content. But is he more intelligent? Just because someone has more success in an essay or in a tutorial does not mean he is more intelligent than you. Different priorities, different attitudes, different levels of effort. You have got straight As at an average school. Assuming you have also had some semblance of a life and not been the memorisation geek aforementioned, you are unlikely to be the bottom of the heap.

My mother keeps giving me stern warning about suddenly not being the smartest. Well, fair enough, maybe I won't be. But I know I'll be the best looking :wink:

Reply 8

Diotima

crana9

Actually, it pisses me off most that you point out your "friend" is obese. Does that have any bearing on what was said?

Good point crana9. What was that all about? ^o)

I went to a very 'bottom-of-the-pile' school in Mid-Wales, and came out with 3A's and a B (because my teacher left in October, and it was therefore self-study). Like you Niccolo, I was always top of the class, but as teaching has always been pretty poor in my school and we aren't offered many extra-curricular activities, I too have the feeling there will be loads of seemingly more academically-able students than me. But I got an offer, didn't I? And so did you. Think of this as a chance to blossom, and be the best YOU can be. :smile:

Reply 9

Niccolo

OP

6

platinumki

ah, the whole big fish in a little pond idea

Well, someone will be at the bottom of the heap. But are we talking about intelligence, or academic success. The tutors will know more than you - are they more intelligent, or more learned? The same will apply to students. There will be that guy you sit beside in your first lecture that has read all the set books and memorised the important passages, therefore ensuring that he already knows the entire lecture content. But is he more intelligent? Just because someone has more success in an essay or in a tutorial does not mean he is more intelligent than you. Different priorities, different attitudes, different levels of effort. You have got straight As at an average school. Assuming you have also had some semblance of a life and not been the memorisation geek aforementioned, you are unlikely to be the bottom of the heap.

My mother keeps giving me stern warning about suddenly not being the smartest. Well, fair enough, maybe I won't be. But I know I'll be the best looking :wink:

Lol im damn sure you will be. Thanks for that answer, at the moment im making myself feel better by saying 'even if i am less clever than most of the other students, at least I got the same grades without paying 90-odd grand for my education...but you are obviously quite right in what you say. I'll just have to try my hardest to prove myself.

Reply 10

groovy_moose

1

is anyone else actually looking forward to, essentially, being a little fish in a big pond? I really quite like the idea.
i always felt a little like i was from a completely different planet at my school (which, i guess is entirely possibe...) because there was only about two or three other people that i could have an intelligent converstaion with and not have them reply with something along the lines of "Huh??". I mean, i have a really great group of friends, it's just that some of them aren't really that academically inclined and i think it would be really great to be surrounded by people that might actually understand what you're talking about some of the time...

Reply 11

Niccolo

OP

6

Diotima

Good point crana9. What was that all about? ^o)

I went to a very 'bottom-of-the-pile' school in Mid-Wales, and came out with 3A's and a B (because my teacher left in October, and it was therefore self-study). Like you Niccolo, I was always top of the class, but as teaching has always been pretty poor in my school and we aren't offered many extra-curricular activities, I too have the feeling there will be loads of seemingly more academically-able students than me. But I got an offer, didn't I? And so did you. Think of this as a chance to blossom, and be the best YOU can be. :smile:

yeah, suppose so. Out of interest, did you do General studies A-level? Do most people? Do most private schools/grammar schools? Anybody know? And i do apologize for wholly unnecessary references to obesity, or any undue offence that i may have caused to obese/obscenely overweight members of this website. :smile:

Reply 12

platinumki

10

groovy_moose

is anyone else actually looking forward to, essentially, being a little fish in a big pond? I really quite like the idea.
i always felt a little like i was from a completely different planet at my school (which, i guess is entirely possibe...) because there was only about two or three other people that i could have an intelligent converstaion with and not have them reply with something along the lines of "Huh??". I mean, i have a really great group of friends, it's just that some of them aren't really that academically inclined and i think it would be really great to be surrounded by people that might actually understand what you're talking about some of the time...

little fish? No. Average fish? Certainly!

Reply 13

Mop

There seem to be three sorts of people at Cambridge. A few are geniuses who can cruise to a first, a few are people who possibly shouldn't really be there and struggle their entire time (or just give up and do the minimum work neccessary to get a third) and then the vast majority are of around equal, average ability. You probably already know if you are a genius, and it's unlikely you'll be in the small group who really struggle, so most likely you, like nearly everyone else, will find the work difficult but doable.

Reply 14

crana9

2

Niccolo

'even if i am less clever than most of the other students, at least I got the same grades without paying 90-odd grand for my education..

You know, the number 2 category of "People that piss off others most at cambridge" after CICCU members is probably "The person who went to a state school and is immensely proud of it and goes on about it all the time and how it makes them a superior being". They are hated equally by people who went to state schools and to private schools, and probably by homeschooled people as well.

In case you were wondering, number 3 is a tie between "I go on about my gap year ALL.........THE..........TIME" and "I just discovered alcohol! My mummy wouldn't let me have it before! I'm going to drink stupidly and go on about how "wrecked" I am all the time after two Smirnoff Ices!"

Reply 15

visesh

17

Niccolo

And i do apologize for wholly unnecessary references to obesity, or any undue offence that i may have caused to obese/obscenely overweight members of this website. :smile:

Reply 16

crana9

2

Niccolo

And i do apologize for wholly unnecessary references to obesity, or any undue offence that i may have caused to obese/obscenely overweight members of this website. :smile:

Um, you know, I'm not actually obese. Or obscenely overweight. I may LOOK like a whale, but my weight is, in fact, appropriate for my height.

That doesn't mean I can't be pissed off by what you said.

Guess what, it would piss me off as well if you said "...my black friend.." or "...my gay friend..." or "...my friend with renal failure..." in this context, when it's absolutely irrelevant and just sounds like you are trying to denigrate the person for no reason.......and I'm not black, I'm not gay, and I don't have renal failure.

Reply 17

platinumki

10

crana9

You know, the number 2 category of "People that piss off others most at cambridge" after CICCU members is probably "The person who went to a state school and is immensely proud of it and goes on about it all the time and how it makes them a superior being". They are hated equally by people who went to state schools and to private schools, and probably by homeschooled people as well.

In case you were wondering, number 3 is a tie between "I go on about my gap year ALL.........THE..........TIME" and "I just discovered alcohol! My mummy wouldn't let me have it before! I'm going to drink stupidly and go on about how "wrecked" I am all the time after two Smirnoff Ices!"

*snigger*

Did I miss what number one was?

Reply 18

Niccolo

OP

6

crana9

You know, the number 2 category of "People that piss off others most at cambridge" after CICCU members is probably "The person who went to a state school and is immensely proud of it and goes on about it all the time and how it makes them a superior being". They are hated equally by people who went to state schools and to private schools, and probably by homeschooled people as well.

In case you were wondering, number 3 is a tie between "I go on about my gap year ALL.........THE..........TIME" and "I just discovered alcohol! My mummy wouldn't let me have it before! I'm going to drink stupidly and go on about how "wrecked" I am all the time after two Smirnoff Ices!"

I'm intrigued, what is a CICCU member? Excuse my ignorance. And I'm not 'immensely proud' of going to a state school, to be honest, it gave me some advantages that one would normally only expect from a private one such as extra lessons, help and advice and some surprisingly small classes (only 4 in my politics class, for example). I've certainly got no chips on my shoulder about it. Nobody's achievement in terms of getting in to oxbridge should be diminished according to what school they went to.