Year 12 Cambridge Summer School - Medicine

the link is for 2013 i believe...

The only criteria I don't fit is the 'Has been in Care or accommodated in care' and 'Attend schools/colleges with low progression rates to higher education'. Well 2 people were accepted into Oxbridge last year (from the college I'll be attending) and it made the newspaper, it definitely doesn't happen very often but alot of students do go to Universities after their A-Levels at this sixth form.

So I wondered, I fit the criteria, which means I can apply, ofcourse there's no guarantee I'll get in, but I was wondering how would I get the application form? I went to the Durham year 10/11 summer school and our school dispensed those and they required a reference from a teacher. So is it the same? Do you need to download and print a set of forms that you require a reference for, or is it all done online? If anybody could help with the actual application part of the process then I'd really appreciate it!

P.S - Cambridge is about 200 miles from where I live, apparently they can help with/if not completely reimburse travel costs (from the train), but would this distance be taken into account when applying?

I went on the sutton trust cambridge one, and it was absolutely amazing i'd definitely recommend applying, though i did it for chemistry not for medicine.

I'm not in care either - and I didnt meet one person who fit that criteria when i was down there though there probably will have been some.

I just applied online, they emailed me confirmation, and then you get a letter notifying you if you've been accepted/rejected, with more forms to send back if you've been accepted.

Also, I live in Durham, my journey was over 200 miles, and it took me 4 1/2 hours to get there/back with changing trains. They don't care about distance - two people on the same week as me had been on a plane from ireland, and someone was from scotland. Where you live really does not hinder you at all.

This is incredibly endearing; do you know how competitive it is? I'm not sure much about what it's actually like, the Durham one was basically first come first serve (after you fit the criteria), did they reimburse your train tickets aswell? I'm just trying to think about this all before I think about applying, what were the people like there? I'm nervous about it because if I do get in, then I'll be going alone, and I won't have any friends there

It is really competitive; but there is absolutely no harm in applying. I never thought I'd get it - I applied for 2 other summer schools as well just so I had a higher chance of getting at least one and I ended up getting them all.

I went on the durham year 12 one, and it was quite similar, though it was more competitive than "first come first serve". Sutton trust differs from the Durham one, and UNIQ in that you don't have to write a PS - so you really have to make sure you have a teacher who knows you writing your reference and who you know will do it well. Obviously, your grades/where you live also effect massively, but to be honest, I met a lot of people who were not exactly as 'poor' as what they say they target.

For sutton trust, they sent me the tickets - I paid nothing. You just tell them the station youre travelling from, and they organise the entire thing and send it to you. For UNIQ, you have to book them yourself and they reimbursed you after.

I went completely alone as well - really dont worry about this I met lots of lovely people there - and you will honestly meet some of the best people who you won't lose contact with. I didn't want to leave at the end because I knew some of the people there better than some people back at sixthform! Just don't be shy - you'll find you're around really like minded people who are just as nervous as you are.

I'm definitely planning on applying to the year 12 Durham summer school, aswell as the Cambridge one. But don't you need to choose a subject for the Durham year 12 summer school? I don't think they offer Medicine, I remember asking when I was there this summer and they said that they didn't. Also did you get your acceptance letter and then organized the train tickets? It's good that they organize it all for you, makes it much easier! How was travelling over 4 hours to get home? I assume you were alone, I couldn't imagine travelling that long completely alone

Which durham are you applying for? is it supported progression? I recommend that massively - though it might not be for you because it doesnt offer medicine. You get a guaranteed offer at the end of it if you complete your project - and this might be a wasted opportunity that someone else could have if you don't actually want to do that course.

Yep, in the acceptance letter/pack they sent forms sking about which station you'd travel from, and then about a week and a half before I went I got them in the post. It's really helpful as well because they give you a long list with everyone who's going and their emails - and which stations/trains they're getting, so you can meet up with people on your journey.

4 Hours down I was alone - because I didnt email the person who I suspected was on the same train because I was nervous :s I completely regret this now, because I met him down there and we got along great and were together the whole week, and the train journey back was much more fun Dont worry about the train - You'll meet people wearing lanyards all the way down on the train (I did meet him eventually!) and on the way back you'll find other people getting the same train who you're friends with.

Oh my God they've really thought of everything! That sounds amazing, I can imagine it being incredibly competitive now. But I did the year 10 and the year 11 Pre-16 supported progression at Durham, once I found out that they didn't offer medicine in year 12 it made me think if I wanted to go or not. Because I'd be doing a course that I wouldn't be going to do at uni and it'd take a place away from somebody that actually needs it? So I'll have to talk to them about it, because surely this will happen a lot, maybe if they offer Law I'll do it (I'm considering a Law degree if I can't get into Medicine).

Also about the reference, is there any restrictions on who it can be? Since applications open in January (4 months away) would it be better to get a reference off my GCSE maths teacher who I had for 3 years and spent 6 hours/week with and a whole lot of lunchtimes and afterschool sessions with aswell?

Nope, just make sure your head of sixth form is okay with it :d I did it aswell because I'd known my chem teacher all through GCSE but only met my head of sixth for about 2 months, it just made more sense because he knew me better.

Okay this has definitely been so helpful, thank you! I know that there's about 2 months where you can apply, and whether you apply on the first day or the day before the deadline it doesn't matter? I remember reading that they don't look at any applications until after the deadline anyway?

Does not matter at all - my school had never mentioned it and I found it myself on the student room and applied online about 2 days before the deadline. Still got in.

No problem, any more questions just ask.