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15year-old from my 6th Form going Cambridge!

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Zenobia

I don't drink so that's not an issue for me.

I've been extremely bored in school ever since... well always. I wasn't allowed to skip years at primary school because they worried I'd fall behind socially. Well seriously, if you're smart, you know how to make friends, so that's just silly.

I know now I am not as brilliant as I like to be and I am struggling very hard not to fail this year... but just imagine! I am only bad at two things: math and grammar. I can pass history exams with my eyes closed. If only I could have done extra math and Latin the first three years of high school, I wouldn't have needed these subsequent three years. (High school at my level is six years here in the Netherlands.)

I know everyone's unique though, and that's just me. But that's what I posted before: I would have gone to university three years early without a doubt.

Me too. Thats what I used to think at least. but looking back (with the knowledge of what its like to be even 17... which is not very young by uni standards), especially in cambridge, its a downright pain... not necessarily the drinking thing, but not being able to go have a drink with friends in a pub (even if drinking orange juice :smile:

) or go to a bar/club for someone's birthday is very annoying. Also, being away from home whilst underage at uni implies quite a lot of hassle (ex : i wasn't able to go to the bank yesterday to sort out a bank account problem because i wasn't 18 and my parents weren't there)

Reply 61

Cowtipper

Kolya

How is that an appropriate response to the charge that you made an unwarranted assumption about the child's parents? If you think that such an inane comment constitutes an appropriate reply then I suggest you post in the GD or Chat forums instead.

I suggest you stay quiet whilst the adults are talking.

Reply 62

im so academic

good on him

also, to people that say he's being pushed too early - know he isn't

he's got the talent for it, so why must he be pushed back just because of his age

age =/= ability

university is not about alcohol btw, if it is, why don't you study at a bar then :rolleyes:

Reply 63

cpchem

im so academic

Nobody has claimed any form of relation between age and ability. Maturity, however, is a different thing entirely.

Reply 64

Nishil

I went to university at 17. I have had no problems. Although 15 is entirely different to 17.

Reply 65

TheMeister

I bet he'd give anything for better looks. :rolleyes:

Reply 66

SimonM

im so academic

good on him

also, to people that say he's being pushed too early - know he isn't

he's got the talent for it, so why must he be pushed back just because of his age

Sending people to university early generally does not have positive results. Mathematics is one area where people can often study the subject at a high level relatively easily, making it very possible.

However, Cambridge may benefit him, but at any other university (excluding perhaps a few) he wouldn't find much changes. He would still be able to do the mathematics with relative ease, just not with much depth. The trick to mathematics isn't to be able to do it. That's the easy bit, the trick is to be able to do the challenging stuff at his level. I'm wondering whether staying in school for another two or three years wouldn't benefit him, by offering him the chance to enter the BMO. (I assume he has already done this and clearly hasn't the prodigal ability which the newspaper claimed otherwise his name would appear on the BMOC website)

The interviewers are unlikely to have considered whether or not he can "cope". They assess whether or not he has the academic ability to cope with the course, not whether or not it would be a productive use of his time.

Reply 67

Christien

These children clearly exist for the sole purpose of making the reasonably intelligent less egotistical.

Reply 68

Georgecopter

It's Cambridge, he can't be that good.

Reply 69

shadowsintherain

Rubix

what's the point...he can't legally buy alcohol.

Yes - University revolves around alcohol and anybody who cannot drink it will have a **** time.

Reply 70

Kyle_S-C

Pavlik

That isn't a problem for everyone. Many people, including myself, are only interested in studying.

And many people suffer from terrible loneliness at Oxford and Cambridge because they are both very cliquey and an inability to join in social activities is pretty much a guarantee for being excluded. I find it quite worrying that Cambridge would offer him a place and there are practical issues to consider (e.g. getting student finance, banking, legal issues and his supervisors may have to undergo criminal record checks because he's under 16).

Also, there's more to life than studying, studying hard will get you good grades, but it won't guarantee you a job. You may be the best mathematician in the world, but if you can't interact with people and have had no positions of responsibility, you're probably going to struggle to find a job outside academia.

Reply 71

Mr. Orange

I swear when I saw him on the front page of the Manchester Evening News that he was a girl

Must be pretty clever then!

Reply 72

Kyle_S-C

shadowsintherain

Yes - University revolves around alcohol and anybody who cannot drink it will have a **** time.

I think the point is that you're not allowed in most places which serve alcohol during the evening if you're under 18. That would be most places in Cambridge and ents/balls would also be out of the question.

Reply 73

obnoxious

Another white person..............................******* tosser.

Reply 74

Mask Of Sanity

Congratulations to him.
It's his life, let him do with it as he pleases.

Reply 75

SuperStaaaR

Look how ugly the child is though, would anyone wanna be in his place? I hate reading about these things, I'm 18 and struggling to go to Warwick :/

Reply 76

explosions hurt

Picture didn't really catch him at his best angle did it?

Reply 77

olly_springs

Arrogant Git

Where the hell is Magdalen College? Certainly not in Cambridge...

Errrrrrr???? :s-smilie:

Reply 78

Kyle_S-C

Pavlik

The practical side that you mentioned problematic, but my point is that this guy might not care about being excluded from social activities. He probably knows himself if he's happy to be left alone.

Yes, but he might not have family with him either. There's a difference between not having a social life and not having any significant social interaction with anyone. Eight weeks is a very long time if you're feeling lonely, overworked and/or stressed.

Pavlik

I don't know about maths so much, but I personally doubt that employers are going to care all that much whether or not you've been head of X society at University.

You're often recommended to have a section for positions of responsibility on your CV, you won't even be considered for certain jobs if you haven't demonstrated some ability to manage/lead. Loads of people you're competing with will have a 2.i/1st from Oxbridge (60% of us get them every year...), so you'll need to have something else. I've been lucky in getting involved with stuff fairly early on, but some of my friends in third year are trying to get things to fill their CV (just like the personal statement society rush) before they have to start applying for jobs.