Should I reapply to Cambridge if I get good results?

Go to Durham or Imperial.

For me, I think Imperial would be better. I think Durham was too quiet and from what I've heard from current final year students, there isn't too much opportunity for industry in comparison so I think I will firm Imperial and then maybe insure Durham?

Ah OK....I basically have no chance of getting in, I understand. In this case, I'm not going to reapply. Thank you for your help.

No, don't read my comments any negative way, I didn't suggest anything about "no chance", and I have no any intention to diminish your academic achievements. From your many posts sharing your own story (some anonymously), we all could see you have achieved exceptionally, fighting the odds against your reguon/school. Be proud of that! I only meant to provide some cold numbers to help you do your own analysis on the upside/downside of your choices. Nobody can tell you if you should reapply or not, and nobody should. That decision is too personal and too important, you should make your own INFORMED decision.

I have to say it is not good for your wellbeing if you continue to live in "what ifs ”. Do not let what had happened continue traumatise you. It is time to move on, no matter you decide to reapply or not. Actually go visit Durham when they make you an offer, then you have three distinct choices to make, reapply/London/Off-city. For computer science course, it is hard to believe "the industry opportunity not much", no matter which final year student had told you. Because you do not have many peope around you having your achievements, go see it in your own eyes and find out by yourself!

Edit: a few typos

if rankings high on list of priority, do look at global rankings not just national tables
( eg., Manchester or Edinburgh vis-à-vis Durham )

Yeah that's partly why I'm considering Edinburgh (good prospects post-graduation and really great for AI) or Manchester (AMAZING course content) over Durham (which was also recommended by our school careers advisor given that I prefer cities more than quiet places because there is more to do). However, Edinburgh also has high requirements so it's not really much of an insurance choice if I do pick it as insurance.

good points
remember you said prefer cities so Durham is sub optimal
I hear great things about Manchester
with all 3 cities, it pays to plan accommodation far ahead each year of undergraduate study
( ie halls should be fine first year but after that start looking in October)

Yeah thank you for your advice!
Just on entry requirements basis, I think that Durham has the lowest entry requirements between the three (because they always give out either the minimum entry requirements, which shouldn't be too troublesome for me, or lower).

Yeah, Manchester is really great with industry (because of Media City etc.) so also worth considering for that reason. The only problem is I hear that accommodation is sub-optimal and this is coming from multiple sources. This is to the extent that first year people at some accommodations would much prefer to go private than live there. I think that on the whole they are really good but on the off-chance that I get the wrong one, I don't want to be stuck with it.

I will do! Imperial recommends starting two to three months before second year starts and I'm guessing that's the same with all of the other places. I'll probably start slightly earlier than that just so that everything is sorted in advance.

great, and I’m possibly being over cautious
[just to give some perspective, the accommodation shortage is also an issue in Durham forum second year onwards with some reports of overnight queues outside letting agencies in the autumn for the best houses to share the following academic year!]

Better to be safe and early than sorry! I just wish I was able to organise my time as much as I would like to with my A levels at the moment. In terms of organisation, the only thing I have been able to do successfully is to create an exam timetable for the A level exams (i.e. what I will cover on the days of my exams and what days I have the exams themselves).

I really want to get on top of things but it's getting so hard with school making things worse with loads of homework, my incoming NEA deadline and mocks coming up in three weeks!

Honestly, I would take any advice on literally anything at this point so anything you say about accommodation will be duly noted so that when the time comes, I will be ready and prepared for things.

I would definitely go for Imperial, the industry links are wonderful, and some may argue it is better than Cambridge, getting an offer this early is wonderful! That doesn't diminish your intelligence, it highlights it, don't let the rejection get you down. Good luck at Imperial.

Hi everyone,

So I got rejected from Gonville and Caius college at the University of Cambridge for Computer Science. They didn't give me a specific reason on the rejection email (as per usual) but I knew for sure that it was the admissions test.

In the room that the admissions test was taking place, there were 7 other admissions tests in the same room. I was sat at the back of the room and the end timings were presented in a tabular format. I saw the wrong end timing which meant that for the first paper, I thought I had 15 minutes more than I actually did. This messed up with my timings and since I saw that I was working through the test extremely quickly, I wanted to pace myself more so that I don't make any stupid mistakes. The test wasn't even that hard and I had workings out which led to answers that matched the options for each of the questions but timing screwed me over because it meant that I only got half of my answers down on my answer sheet in the allotted time even though I had all of my answers in the question paper.

I have offers from the following places:

Imperial: A*AAA and Grade 2 in STEP II
Edinburgh: 3 A*s
Manchester: 3 A*s

Waiting on:
Durham (but anticipating the offer).


My GCSEs: 9999999988
My A levels: Maths, Further Maths, Computer Science, Chemistry and EPQ (5 A* predictions).


If I do well in my A levels, do you think it's worth me reapplying? I'm happy with Imperial but I really wanted to go to Cambridge too! I understand that there is a risk that I don't get the offer next year and that I will have basically given up a year but it's an opportunity I don't want to regret later on. I will be doing loads of cool projects and internships now that I will have more free time so that I can add and change stuff to my personal statement. I will also do loads of admissions test and interview practice to ensure that I stand out from the crowd. I think that this year destroyed me because of what happened in the admissions test. At least, if I don't get in next year, I will be content with the thought that I gave it a fair shot but I wasn't good enough and that I didn't submit some awful admissions test score that was down to me fumbling the wrong admissions test timing.

Let me know what you think. Options:

1) Be content with Imperial (which I am) and go for it.

2) Reapply for 2025 entry in the hope that you will get into Cambridge.

Hi, I have the same question.

I was rejected post interview from St John's for History and I have offers from Durham, UCL and Exeter (waiting on Edinburgh). Whilst I would seriously consider Durham as an alternative, I'm just so gutted about Cambridge and I really can't see myself anywhere else. I am predicted 4 A*s (History, English Literature, Maths, Further Maths) and my school says I have a much higher chance of getting in next year with grades in hand (if I meet my predicted). However, I'm worried about rejecting my place at Durham (as you cannot reapply with a deferred offer) and I'm not too keen on the idea of a gap year. If I felt my chances would be significantly improved next time around I would take the risk, however if the odds are much the same I'd rather stick with Durham. Any thoughts?

I thought you can reapply with a deferred offer my friend did that with Imperial???

I thought you can reapply with a deferred offer my friend did that with Imperial???

You can but most of the places I've applied to don't accept it. Edinburgh doesn't allow it. I got rejected from Durham now so no chance there. They gave me the most non-committal reason for rejection. For other people, it has been reasons like "low grades", "weak personal statement" or words to the same meaning while I just got:
"Thank you for your application to Durham University. We have not been able to make you an offer this time, but wish you every success in the future. You can find out more about the common reasons for an unsuccessful decision here: durham.ac.uk/unsuccessful. The reason(s) you were unsuccessful on this occasion are: We receive a large number of applications for this course. Because of the high level of competition for places it has not been possible to make you an offer on this occasion."

Sorry to hear that- in my opinion Imperial is far better than Durham for Computer Science, and arguably as prestigious as Oxbridge. You should be extremely proud of an offer!