Why is the Cambridge thread so much more popular than the Oxford thread?

I noticed the cambridge 2016 thread has had so much more activity than the oxford one. On the cambridge thread they are already well into Mk. 4, whilst they are only on the first Mark of the oxford thread. Why is this when the universities receive similar numbers of applications and are seen in a similar light?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Kevin De Bruyne

Maybe there are more people applying to Cambridge this year that use TSR rather than Oxford?

Reply 2

TheFarmerLad

In come all the 'coz Cambridge is better' comments and in response all the 'no it's not' comments. And then the MAT vs STEP arguments.... WHY DID YOU ASK THIS? :facepalm:

Reply 3

El Salvador

TSR is heavily tiled towards Cambridge. There are a lot more Cambridge connections than there are Oxford here.

More Cambridge students/graduates = more responses in the applicants' thread = more people being persuaded to apply to Cambridge.

Reply 4

Josb

It's the same for the Oxbridge postgraduate threads.

Reply 5

♥Samantha♥

Original post by SeanFM

Maybe there are more people applying to Cambridge this year that use TSR rather than Oxford?

yeah i assume that already but WHY? if the numbers applying to oxford and cambridge from the general population are relatively similar, why is that within TSR way more people apply to cambridge?

Reply 6

liquidconfidence

I think it's because ( despite the fact that both universities recieve an equal amout if applicants each year) people are more likely to visit the cambridege thread to discuss the probablilty that they would be accepted. This is based on the fact that cambridge is known not rely on GCSE grades so much. Therefore, people are more likely to ask about things that would make their application more competitive and there's a general discussion about this. However, with Oxford, people know that you have to have a high percent\age of A/A*s already so I guess this limits what they talk about.

Reply 7

Doones

*waves*

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 8

Doones

Original post by SeanFM

Maybe there are more people applying to Cambridge this year that use TSR rather than Oxford?

It's the same every year...

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 9

not you

It's because the Cambridge peasants feel the need to gossip more whereas the Oxford elite are perfectly capable of communicating concisely and succinctly :wink:

Reply 10

daisyalltheworld

Original post by not you

It's because the Cambridge peasants feel the need to gossip more whereas the Oxford elite are perfectly capable of communicating concisely and succinctly :wink:

Obviously we are practising our interview techniques by gushing about our subjects over on the Cambridge thread

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 11

acuteLL

Original post by daisyalltheworld

Obviously we are practising our interview techniques by gushing about our subjects over on the Cambridge thread

Posted from TSR Mobile

Plus just better at banter

Reply 12

El Salvador

Original post by ♥Samantha♥

yeah i assume that already but WHY? if the numbers applying to oxford and cambridge from the general population are relatively similar, why is that within TSR way more people apply to cambridge?

I think first of all you need to realise that more posts =/= more people in it.

1 person posting 100 posts can make a thread longer than 49 people posting 2 each.

The second thing ever if there are more people in the Cambridge thread, doesn't mean there are more applicants. There are more Cambridge students and graduates on the site, and other people who have nothing to do with Cambridge can very well also go and comment because the the better visibility of the thread itself being pushed up more often than the Oxford one.

The third thing is just because they wanted to apply to Cambridge and post in the Cambridge, doesn't mean they will definitely eventually apply to Cambridge. Usually the already-more populated threads will attract more people because there are more things to read and respond to, which gives the Cambridge thread another advantage.

The fourth thing is the simple fact that there are more Cambridge students and graduates here. More connections equals to more people talking about Cambridge and asking people to apply to Cambridge or at least frequent the thread.

The fifth thing is that TSR is very tiled towards the QS ranking, where Cambridge has been topping Oxford. They don't care much about Times or the REF.

The sixth thing is the fact that TSR favours stem subjects and Cambridge is seen as the better university for it. Whether this is true doesn't matter.

There's no reason why TSR will have a population mimicking the general population. It doesn't based on political affiliation, religious affiliation, student ratio, age etc so we should this be any different? Oxbridge don't even have that many applicants to begin with, so why are those threads even popular?

Reply 13

♥Samantha♥

Original post by Little Toy Gun

There's no reason why TSR will have a population mimicking the general population. It doesn't based on political affiliation, religious affiliation, student ratio, age etc so we should this be any different? Oxbridge don't even have that many applicants to begin with, so why are those threads even popular?

i agree with all you said but this point seems a bit off. most of these factors differ from the rest of the population because its a site for students (most obviously the student ratio). the difference in the oxbridge forums shouldn't really be affected by the fact that most of the people on the site are students, as the thread is for students.

Reply 14

El Salvador

Original post by ♥Samantha♥

Why are you ignoring the bit where it says Oxbridge are not the most applied to universities to begin with? There are many many universities with much much more applicants, from the more famous Manchester Met to something like John Moores.

Why do you assume that TSR will have a representative sample of applicants, that was my question.

Reply 15

Doones

Original post by Little Toy Gun

The second thing ever if there are more people in the Cambridge thread, doesn't mean there are more applicants. There are more Cambridge students and graduates on the site, and other people who have nothing to do with Cambridge can very well also go and comment because the the better visibility of the thread itself being pushed up more often than the Oxford one.

According to 2012 data (latest available for Oxford)
17,216 applicants to Oxford and 15,701 to Cambridge
https://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/gazette/documents/statisticalinformation/admissionsstatistics/Admissions_Statistics_2013.pdf

And what's your source for there being more current or ex Tabs on TSR?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 16

Chief Wiggum

Original post by ♥Samantha♥

I think Cambridge has a reputation for being a bit "nerdier" and "more sciency" than Oxford, which may be something that the typical academic TSR user would be attracted to?

Reply 17

El Salvador

Original post by jneill

According to 2012 data (latest available for Oxford) 17,216 applicants to Oxford and 15,701 to Cambridge
https://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/gazette/documents/statisticalinformation/admissionsstatistics/Admissions_Statistics_2013.pdf

And what's your source for there being more current or ex Tabs on TSR?

So what? Oxbridge are not remotely the most applied to universities.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/connect

University of Cambridge593
561 connections for Oxford.

In terms of number of members, 556 for Oxford, 584 for Cambridge.

Reply 18

username1865079

Original post by Josb

It's the same for the Oxbridge postgraduate threads.

Interestingly, it's not just TSR.
FB groups like 'memes' and 'Overheard at ...' (and a few other internet sites I can't remember now) are also much more active for Cambridge than that of Oxford.

Maybe this can be a good dessertation subject for a sociology student. :tongue:

Reply 19

Doones

Original post by Little Toy Gun

I didn't say they had high number of applicants. You said Cambridge had more applicants than Oxford. They don't.

And on TSR Cambridge doesn't have 4 to 1 more connections either. (Number of Applicant thread versions). So the roughly equal number of "connections" doesn't explain the posting difference either.