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I want to go to cambridge!! but cant decide course?!?

Reply 40

Danny_777

16

Chewwy

given what you've put in this post, absolutely not.

develop a genuine passion for a subject, then get back to me.

Nice. Also, very true.

Reply 41

fargo89

13

Glutamic Acid

It prudent be would course think to before a of Cambridge of applying thinking to.

I'll bite.

prudent It would be before applying to Cambridge of thinking course think a of to.

hmm maybe not.

Reply 42

jamesh_91

1

you really should choose your course before uni

i've known i've always wanted to do maths and therefore i deduced i wanted to go to cambridge because its the best

Reply 43

Glutamic Acid

17

fargo89

I'll bite.

prudent It would be before applying to Cambridge of thinking course think a of to.

hmm maybe not.

Correct, but not bad not.

Reply 44

m00t

Glutamic Acid

Correct, but not bad not.

It would be prudent to think of a course before thinking of applying to Cambridge?

Reply 45

Glutamic Acid

17

m00t

It would be prudent to think of a course before thinking of applying to Cambridge?

Correctness rep deserve you for.

Reply 46

Supergrunch

10

I thought you'd scrambled it according to some kind of sequence or grammatical transformation... too much linguistics I suppose.

Reply 47

PowerPuffBoy

6

Glutamic Acid

Correct, but not bad not.

not correct but not bad!!! :biggrin:

whats with the 10 warning level btw?

Reply 48

Glutamic Acid

17

PowerPuffBoy

not correct but not bad!!! :biggrin:

whats with the 10 warning level btw?

Via misbehaviour dupery.

Reply 49

Dadeyemi

13

I don't think you can artificial create the passion for a subject that you would need to get into Cambridge choose what you would genuine love to do for the rest of your life.

Reply 50

jw366

Regarding the whole passion and enthusiasm question its a bit...disconcerting, to hear students at the university saying it doesn't matter much. One of the main reasons Cambridge was so attractive to me was because of the idea that I'd be surrounded by very able students who loved what they were doing. I don't actually go to the University, but from having spoken to tutors and fellows in the time I was there it really seems to me that they want students who are academically able AND very passionate about the subject.

From the pool of applicants that apply I would suppose the choice would be between varying levels of ability at the top of the scale and varying levels of passion (perhaps not so much at the top).

So we me have say Jack who loves English and is eager to have his skills sharpened and improved is very good at articulating himself, although he does seem to struggle a bit with grasping language use in conveying a particular theme. Jenny on the other hand picks it all up very quickly but doesn't seem to care much for the subject beyond the fact that her father also read it and is now pretty successful. In that case Jack, though not as able, has the passion; the teachable passion, for the tutors to favour him.

I would also imagine passion would go a long way in terms of when you're at the University. I gather its a lot of work and something needs to keep you driving to perform at your best.

It doesn't have to be explicit 'I just love being a medic!!! :biggrin:

" passion. I know people who are passionate about subjects but you wouldn't see it unless you actually sat down and had a chat with them about the subject, they don't run around screaming it, but its definitely there.

Reply 51

alex_hk90

19

jw366

Regarding the whole passion and enthusiasm question its a bit...disconcerting, to hear students at the university saying it doesn't matter much. One of the main reasons Cambridge was so attractive to me was because of the idea that I'd be surrounded by very able students who loved what they were doing.

Don't worry, there will be many students like that. :smile:

jw366

I don't actually go to the University, but from having spoken to tutors and fellows in the time I was there it really seems to me that they want students who are academically able AND very passionate about the subject.

That would be ideal, yes. But sometimes there is a trade-off to be made.

jw366

From the pool of applicants that apply I would suppose the choice would be between varying levels of ability at the top of the scale and varying levels of passion (perhaps not so much at the top).

So we me have say Jack who loves English and is eager to have his skills sharpened and improved is very good at articulating himself, although he does seem to struggle a bit with grasping language use in conveying a particular theme. Jenny on the other hand picks it all up very quickly but doesn't seem to care much for the subject beyond the fact that her father also read it and is now pretty successful. In that case Jack, though not as able, has the passion; the teachable passion, for the tutors to favour him.

Obviously it will depend on each individual case, but if Jack has pretty much reached his intellectual limit at A-level, then no amount of passion will cause him to be chosen over Jenny, who can of course hide her lack of passion during the application process anyway.

jw366

I would also imagine passion would go a long way in terms of when you're at the University. I gather its a lot of work and something needs to keep you driving to perform at your best.

You're right that it's a lot of work, but there are other motivations for performing well. The most obvious of these is that the better the degree classification you get, the better chances you will have in getting the job you want after university.

jw366

It doesn't have to be explicit 'I just love being a medic!!! :biggrin:

" passion. I know people who are passionate about subjects but you wouldn't see it unless you actually sat down and had a chat with them about the subject, they don't run around screaming it, but its definitely there.

And yet for a significant number of people at Cambridge, the work is probably their least favourite part of university.

In any case, I'm guessing that you applied this year, so good luck. :yep:

Reply 52

jw366

Obviously it will depend on each individual case, but if Jack has pretty much reached his intellectual limit at A-level, then no amount of passion will cause him to be chosen over Jenny, who can of course hide her lack of passion during the application process anyway.

Hmmm, I'm not too sure anyone really reaches their intellectual limit. I see your point and acknowledge that raw, amazing ability will likely win out over simply good ability and passion.

You're right that it's a lot of work, but there are other motivations for performing well. The most obvious of these is that the better the degree classification you get, the better chances you will have in getting the job you want after university.

This is true. People are motivated by all kinds of things but I think you would find that in academic pursuits in general, studying the subject for its own sake, for simple love of it tends to produce the best results. The advance of science especially is mostly due to people just exploring the beauty of the natural world and discovering amazing and useful truths as they went along. Chaining your mindset to a career goal or a degree classification will no doubt limit how much you can gain from studying the subject, I am sure the fellows and tutors at Cambridge are aware of this and take it duly into consideration.

And yet for a significant number of people at Cambridge, the work is probably their least favourite part of university.

In any case, I'm guessing that you applied this year, so good luck.

Heh. Isn't the University experience there dominated by the work in the course though? Does that mean a significant number of people don't enjoy their time there?

And yep, I'm applying this year. Thanks! :biggrin:

Reply 53

purplefrog

18

Surely you should choose the course you want to read at uni first AND THEN the unis at which you hope to read the course at?

Reply 54

Kt.b

12

purplefrog

Surely you should choose the course you want to read at uni first AND THEN the unis at which you hope to read the course at?

That's what I thought!

Reply 55

angelmxxx

14

Soloman

First of all im sorry if it came across that I picked cambridge purely for the reputation. I have choosen a few course but cant narrow it down, I am considering Vet Med, Med, Nat Sci. I know they are very varied and probably shows im not dedicated but I am struggling to chose between them. I like cambridge also because my brother is studying there and I have been to stay with him for many times, I like the people there, the atmosphere, some of the teachers I met, the facilities, its location, the college he was in. Dont get me wrong I know there are other unis out there and i've been to see them but im still more inclined to cambridge. I know I need the revelevant work exp. and assure you that I will definetly get more than the requirements

Ok well this might not help, but do you actually want to be a vet or a doctor? If you don't really, really want to be a doctor then I'd advise you not to apply for medicine. At cambridge & oxbridge they aren't as bothered about your motivations for studying medicine, but at lots of unis your reasons for wanting to be a doctor are more important than your grades - everyone who applies for medicine has AAB/AAAso that will be the differential (check the med forum)!.

The same with vet med, there are only 4/5/6? unis in the country who offer the vet med course so it's very very competitive, and the vast majority of applicants will have a real 'need' almost to do vet med as their desire to be a vet is so strong. For both courses, you will need a lot of work experience.

If you're just really, really interested in science and want to do science then I'd advise going for nat sci, it's a flexible course unlike the other two, which give you little choice about what you want to study, and with a nat sci degree you can probably go into anything from investment banking to journalism to haematology :smile:

Reply 56

alex_hk90

19

jw366

Heh. Isn't the University experience there dominated by the work in the course though?

It can be, if you want it to be. Depending on the subject, a significant proportion of your week can be taken up by lectures, supervisions, classes, practicals, etc. And then of course there's the time required to complete supervision assignments, which I've found is actually greater than all the contact time put together. But with good time management, there will still be plenty of time to pursue other activities - sports (loads of people do rowing, for example), music, theatre, etc. - as well as the typical student nights out (often preceded by Formal Hall).

jw366

Does that mean a significant number of people don't enjoy their time there?

That's an interesting one. I think most people do still manage to enjoy Cambridge, regardless of how much they enjoy their course. There are clearly going to be a few which don't (as there will be at any university), but this will often be because they aren't doing enough outside the work. Of course, there will also be those who spend most of their time working and really enjoy it. That is what I'd hope I'd be but it turned out not to be the case.

jw366

And yep, I'm applying this year. Thanks! :biggrin:

You're welcome. :smile:

Reply 57

200428

3

OP, you're going about this completely the wrong way. You apply somewhere because you love the course first, and the university second. Blindly deciding that you want to go somewhere and trying to work out whether you'll get in on one course or the other very rarely results in success. Get passionate about medicine and then consider whether you want to do three years of theory before the practical training before you decide based on "I want to go to Cambridge...my subjects fit with medicine." The same goes for NatSci - you need to think about the course and whether you'd actually enjoy it!

Reply 58

emioly

How are we supposed to convey 'passion' for the subject in a 30 minute interview?

Reply 59

rnshan

13

emioly

How are we supposed to convey 'passion' for the subject in a 30 minute interview?

Most of it needs to be displayed by the different activities you do during summer and free time. This will show up in your PS statement. In the 30 min interview all you will have is a chance to validate it by answering few questions in more details then what was taught at A level. Atleast that is what I think -one needs to do beyond getting good grades in the pertinent subjects.

I want to go to cambridge!! but cant decide course?!?

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