Would I be stupid to turn down Cambridge?

Go to where your heart tells you to.

Obviously it is your decision, and if you are going to spend the next 3/4 years of your life somewhere, you need to go somewhere you are going to enjoy and have a good time in, no point going soemwhere you will be miserable..but as somone who is anxiously waiting for their reply from cambridge (coincidentally aslo from clare) this kind of breaks my heart, Id LOVE to go there, not just cause of the reputation and amazing opportunity it would give me to learn from incredible people, but also because I love clare, I love cambridge as a city and think I could have hte most amazing time there. Obviously its hard work, but if you are doing what you love then its worth it isnt it? And would you really have gone through all the trouble of applying and prepping for the interview, stress of interview etc just to turn the offer down?
Just some thoughts I hope wtevs decision you make is the right one for you, dont worry about ppl being shocked..but just remember it IS " jst cambridge" for a reason, and there are many people out there who would give anything to be in your place..(myself included)
xx

Tbh, you'd probably have a better time at Cambridge.

But you know what, if you care more about a pathetic social life than studying at one of the finest institutions in the world, then **** off to Manchester.

God sake's, I just don't know why people imply as if you can't have fun, you can't go out etc etc at Oxbridge. FFS.

Look, go to Cambridge, if you hate it, transfer to Manchester. But if you go to Manchester, you can't transfer to Cambridge; so you might as well go to Cambridge.

I'm disgusted that someone would choose a university over either Oxford or Cambridge because of the social life.

Why the hell did you apply for Cambridge in the first place? If you feel you don't have what it takes to cope in a "high pressure working environment", I feel it begs the question, "how did you get in anyways?"

I'm too saddened to even speak anymore. The very thought of someone even daring to reject a Cambridge offer because of having a lot more "fun" it just disrespectful to Cambridge more than anything.

Yesterday I received an offer from Clare College, Cambridge to study Natural Sciences. I wasn't really expecting to get an offer (though obviously I'm happy that I have done) and I was already really looking forward to doing Physics at Manchester.

I loved Manchester when I went there for my interview and knew that it would be one of my final two choices, but now I have to choose between there (A*AA offer) and Cambridge (A*AAA).

I know to some people it would seem like a clear cut choice and a lot of people wouldn't even think about rejecting an offer from Cambridge. However the only reason I can think of going to there is just because "it's Cambridge". I prefer the course at Manchester, the city, the department...
The high pressure working environment doesn't really appeal to me and I just think I'd have a lot more fun at Manchester. Would it be a stupid move to turn down Cambridge's offer and put Manchester as my firm? Would I be wasting what is potentially the chance to get an education that will hold me in much better stead later in life?

tl;dr would it be stupid to blow off Cambridge and go and have a good time at Manchester instead?

Wish I'd listened to that 'inner voice' a bit more often

/old bloke advice

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Have we ever had a thread for people who seriously considered not going to Oxbridge with an offer in hand (like our OP), went anyway and then had an amazing time socially & academically and were ultimately really pleased they went there?

Jus' askin.

Yesterday I received an offer from Clare College, Cambridge to study Natural Sciences. I wasn't really expecting to get an offer (though obviously I'm happy that I have done) and I was already really looking forward to doing Physics at Manchester.

I loved Manchester when I went there for my interview and knew that it would be one of my final two choices, but now I have to choose between there (A*AA offer) and Cambridge (A*AAA).

I know to some people it would seem like a clear cut choice and a lot of people wouldn't even think about rejecting an offer from Cambridge. However the only reason I can think of going to there is just because "it's Cambridge". I prefer the course at Manchester, the city, the department...
The high pressure working environment doesn't really appeal to me and I just think I'd have a lot more fun at Manchester. Would it be a stupid move to turn down Cambridge's offer and put Manchester as my firm? Would I be wasting what is potentially the chance to get an education that will hold me in much better stead later in life?

tl;dr would it be stupid to blow off Cambridge and go and have a good time at Manchester instead?

My point was maybe her age means she is naive, that's it.

The answer to this question, believe it or not, is relatively simple:

Make Cambridge your firm and Manchester your insurance.

Why? Because you may decide to change your mind later in the year, and if you do, you won't have to worry about anything because, assuming you get the grades, you'll get into Cambridge automatically.. If you don't change your mind and still want to go to Manchester, then you can easily phone Cambridge and ask them to release you so that you can go to Manchester.

Best of luck.

Well she is quite overtly naive, the cause of it seems irrelevant.

And if that was your only point the sentence - "It strikes me as kinda sad to see a forum full of teenagers gleefully taking down a younger girl" - seems awfully ill placed.

Again, thanks for all the replies!

We were told as soon as I started my UCAS application that we should first and foremost chose the courses we wanted to do, not the universities. At the end of the day doing NatSci was always going to be a compromise for me and I applied to Cambridge thinking that the compromise would be worth it, though now I'm obviously not so sure.

One thought I have had is that I think I would be far more likely to get a First from Manchester than from Cambridge (although this could be a complete falsehood!). Would a Cambridge 2:1 be considered better than First from Manchester by, say, an employer?

Again, thanks for all the replies!

We were told as soon as I started my UCAS application that we should first and foremost chose the courses we wanted to do, not the universities. At the end of the day doing NatSci was always going to be a compromise for me and I applied to Cambridge thinking that the compromise would be worth it, though now I'm obviously not so sure.

One thought I have had is that I think I would be far more likely to get a First from Manchester than from Cambridge (although this could be a complete falsehood!). Would a Cambridge 2:1 be considered better than First from Manchester by, say, an employer?

No. You're not stupid at all.

Both have excellent, world leading departments, and if you think Manchester is better suited for you, you should go there. I live in Manchester and I love it. Turning down Cambridge may be closing doors for you, but Manchester is opening others. You don't go to uni just for the degree, you go for the experience too.

The answer to this question, believe it or not, is relatively simple:

Make Cambridge your firm and Manchester your insurance.

Why? Because you may decide to change your mind later in the year, and if you do, you won't have to worry about anything because, assuming you get the grades, you'll get into Cambridge automatically.. If you don't change your mind and still want to go to Manchester, then you can easily phone Cambridge and ask them to release you so that you can go to Manchester.

Best of luck.