Which college should I apply to?

Nice stats, but they're mostly irrelevant to your college choice, if only in that you may feel slightly more confident in being accepted at a 'popular' college of your choice rather than pooled and selected by a 'quieter' college.

It's a tricky choice to make, but the truth of it is that it doesn't matter much at all. Everybody thinks their college is best, even if they got pooled there. There are many colleges within sensible walking distance of the main NatSci facilities, so that will only rule out a few for you. They pretty much all have 'reasonable' sports facilities - just some may be better tailored to your sports than others, and some do spend more money on sports than others. Everywhere will have a strong community, and assuming your stats continue you'll fit in fine in terms of ability (although this will be judged by your interviewers).

The open day is the best tool for you to use. You can shortlist some colleges based off what you hear on here and by their prospectuses, locations, etc, but on the day you'll get a feel for which of them you'd be happiest at.

There are lots of minor pros and cons to each college (as shown on the TSR wiki), such as food quality, tourist density, accommodation, lawn access etc, but they are fairly trivial, but may shape your decision slightly. I saw that Emma was the only college to do your laundry for free for you, which got me hooked early on, and then I found that everything else I heard about it was great, I loved it on the open day, and can't wait to start there in September.

So basically you CAN choose by shortlisting, eliminating based on various preferences you have and prioritising them, OR you can just read through them and find one or a few which you just like the sound of, because at the end of the day, you will like wherever you end up.

You have nice stats. If you can push some subjects to A*s at A2, then you are ready to go, as long as you have a strong application with excellent recommendation letters and personal statement.

First, if you are thinking of specializing in Physics, Chemistry or Biology, then that subject has to be strong in the A Levels qualification. No need to state that you want to specialize in Bio NatSci (as the Cambridge students call it and pronounced NatSki) with an A while you have A* in Chemistry. If you want Engineering, afterwards, then your Maths and Physics have to be spot on. Remember that you will have competition from other students with A*s and interested in the same subject.

Second, you NEED to be careful with your College choice. I am not saying that you should play the College game that some applicants play, but if you are applying to Trinity, even with 3A*s, the likelihood of you getting into Cambridge at all, is very small because of the number of applicants with top stats. I advise that you think carefully about your preferences and pick a smaller College.

Although it would be small with respect to size, there you will get to be become friends with other members. The only issue is that gossip spreads like wild fire in smaller Colleges and once you are unpopular, then it will be difficult to redeem yourself.

On the other hand, bigger Colleges like Kings, St. Johns and Trinity may make you feel like a tiny drop in a very large ocean. After all that, do not be sold by the grandeur of some Colleges, other ones such as Peterhouse, Downing, Gonville and Caius, Clare and Homerton have excellent atmosphere as well. Pick your college wisely. The most important thing is getting into Cambridge. In the long run, your College may not really be a big deal.

When you attend the Open Day, try to visit as many Colleges as you can. Visit both ‘small’ and ‘big’ Colleges and speak to as many students as you can. If you think that someone walking down the street may be a Cambridge student, whether as an undergrad or postgrad, stop them for a minute and ask them what they think. Tell them about the Colleges that you are thinking of applying to and listen to their feedback. Do not trust the brochures, some information are not as they seem. Also, do not put too much weight on what current students think because they may be biased.

Also, if you are lucky enough to get invited for an interview, then go all out. Treat it like a dinner date and you have just ONE chance to seal the deal. You must impress them and show them why you deserve to be one of them. The good thing is that many interviewers are not ruthless and they will be trying to help you. So, you should use it. Practise for the College tests, if there are any tests. If you have to do other tests like STEP Mathematics, then study hard for it as well.

Finally, DO NOT depend solely on Cambridge. Choose other Universities like UCL, Imperial, Warwick, Manchester and Durham. Remember the competition is high, so you need to be wise in your decisions.

Good luck with your decision. I hope that it goes well.

Strangest post ever...


Students apply before they have A2 results -- not with A2 results in hand. AS doesn't have A* grades. And applicants do need to state which "flavour" of NatSci they are most interested in as it informs the choice of questions asked by interviewers. It's specifically requested in the SAQ.


If you are good enough for Cambridge you are (pretty much) good enough for Trinity. The average A-level attainment for all science students at Camb is 2.7 A*s. If you want to apply to Trinity, go for it. Plan B is you'd be fished from the pool.


What?


So you recommend stopping random possible students in the streets and then advise not putting too much weight on what they say...


I recommend the lamb.


I doubt any candidate would only apply to Cambridge.

Wow.

Thank you very much for taking your time to critique my post. I hope to redeem myself. Here we go…

First, I have family members that have studied in Cambridge. Although their experiences were personal, they were experiences nonetheless.

Yes, you are correct that students do not state the ‘flavour’ of the course. I wrote that the OP would need to attain an A* in his A2 because of the competition. I understand how the UCAS application works, but the application does not end there. One still needs to fulfil the offer conditions.

My suggestion on attaining A* in A2 was to fulfil the offer conditions, which will probably include A*s (hopefully, if the OP gets to that final stage). When my friend got admitted to Cambridge on a Bio NatSci course, her offer clearly stated the A* in Biology and another A* in either Physics or Chemistry. I do not think that advising the OP to strive to push up his grade is STRANGE!

Again, applicants DO need to indicate the flavour of NatSci when applying.

And the OP can't push up from an A to A*. An A is the highest you can get at AS (hence my earlier advise about achieving a high UMS at AS).

Getting the offer is the hard part. Almost all applicants meet their offer, except for STEP offers.


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