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Do I stay or do I go?

Nottingham's a fantastic university- this "oxbridge is oxbridge" stuff and the whole degree snobbery is just cos you're here and have been sucked into it all. Yeah Some employers like certain Cambridge degrees, but also bear in mind things like the fact that most post grad courses want 2.1s and it's a hell of a lot harder to get a 2.1 here than at some other universities- although I'd imagine Nottingham would be hard aswell given its reputation... also the teaching here is questionable in my mind... it seems supervisors are generally into their own research and teaching is somewhere down the list of priorities... fits in with the whole "sink or swim" attitude here i guess.
there's alot more to life than pretty buildings, and some other universities might well be better for specific courses, which is important to bear in mind also.

my advice to Rosie, however, is in agreement with much that has come before on this thread- stick at it til the end of june- why not? I'd also add that with the amount of stress and pain that this term presents in Cambridge, it really wouldn't be the best time to be attempting a balanced decision- I know I'm certainly not emotionally balanced right now- is anyone? Good luck with it all anyway, I'm sure whatever you do you'll be fine, just be happy or be able to see the big picture (I personally am pretty miserable here every day, but it so happens that this is the best place for my particular course, and I don't think I'd be any happier anywhere else so I'm sticking at it with the goal of getting a degree and escaping at long last!!)

Reply 21

Ticki

8

hazpuff

I personally am pretty miserable here every day, but it so happens that this is the best place for my particular course, and I don't think I'd be any happier anywhere else so I'm sticking at it with the goal of getting a degree and escaping at long last!!

I'd agree with that. I'm not convinced that changing courses or universities will make me any happier, plus I really want to get out of study and get a job so swapping would make me feel that I've wasted 2 years, and I doubt I'd be able to afford it. What gets me through is that I've got some brilliant friends here and I love Cambridge - it's a great place and there are some amazing opportunities here that just don't seem to happen to the same extent elsewhere. I don't think that being at Nottingham will mean you've got a worse degree ("Oxbridge is Oxbridge" isn't as relevant an argument these days and you'll still be expected to get a 2.i) but it could mean that you have to spend longer doing a degree and you won't be much, if any, happier. As everyone else has said, why not wait till after the exams to decide. That way you'll still get to have a lovely May Week in Cambridge, which will make all the horrible bits of the past year a bit more worthwhile, whether you eventually decide to stay or go.

Incidentally, your chaplain is lovely and I'm sure she'd try her very very best to help! Richard Reid (the CUSU Welfare Officer) is also really lovely and would be happy to help if you wanted a more studenty/outside college perspective. He even went to Pembroke.

Oh, good luck, Rosie! Please PM or email me if you need to talk. :frown:

Reply 22

musicbloke

17

Hey Rosie,

I don't know anyone in this place who hasn['t thought about packing it in and going elsewhere. It's a shitty feeling so if you just want to go for a drink and chat about random crap and forget about it then just email me (jsb62) or pm me.

MB

Reply 23

Camford

12

I spent 3 nights last week drinking on my own. Thought I might develop a drinking problem. I seriously doubt anyone is actually "happy" in this place. It would have been so much easier had I decided to go to Leicester. Close to home and closer to Chinese food... I love Cambridge though. I don't think Warwick would have anyone as funny as Steven Hand or anyone hates Windows and Microsoft so passionately that he (Larry the Great C. Paulson of course) would have a sticker of Apple on his door in a building build using Microsoft's money. Rumour had it that you are not allowed to use a machine that doesn't have Windows installed, yet he has a G5 Apple in his office. This place drive people nuts... and that's why it's good. In a funny kind of way.

Reply 24

crana9

OP

2

Thanks everyone for some great advice and nice words :smile:

(I actually cried about some of the posts. Yes, I'm that cool).

I definitely won't be leaving before the end of this term. I will probably stay. Probably.

Reply 25

material breach

12

Lozza

cambridge is better than nottingham, better reputation as well etc. oxbridge is...oxbridge!

You said a lot better tho, which is different. It may be abit better in certain subjects but it certainly isnt for all of them. And Nottingham has alot of things going for it which Cambridge doesnt. For some people, the things at Nottingham that they will learn but arent taught in a lecture hall are prehaps more important than those taught in the lecture halls.

Reply 26

freddie88

5

i wouldnt say im a snob (come on i live in liverpool), i just love it here and altho i probably will fail my exams, you can't beat going to a formal to get trollied and find that stephen hawking is there!

i think in 1st year a lot of people have thought about running away. a couple of my friends reassured me that the way i felt last term was perfectly normal, and what they did was get out of college and find some friends in other colleges, so they could escape. colleges are all really different so maybe you could try hanging out somewhere else for a while?

Reply 27

Camford

12

Oh my god... I only had two sips of my wine and I'm going woozy already! :eek:

God, this isn't good...

I like to think that most of the students in Cambridge have never lived away from home for such long time before, maybe that's the reason why getting through the 1st year is so hard. Once you are through with it, you'll be fine. Or, at least I'd like to think that the majority will be fine.

Reply 28

crana9

OP

2

thing is, it's not just been an occasional thing.. its been bursting into tears several times a day almost every day since a couple of weeks into 2nd term (apart from holidays). which is not normal for me.

I don't think it's living away from home either, really. I just mainly miss that for someone to look after me if my joints are ****ing around.

Reply 29

amateurish

4

crana9

thing is, it's not just been an occasional thing.. its been bursting into tears several times a day almost every day since a couple of weeks into 2nd term (apart from holidays). which is not normal for me.

Eh, I did that for most of michaelmas in my first year. I wasn't well and it was horrible being away from home like that. But it does get better, and everyone else is right, exam term is definitely not the right time of year to base a decision like this on. I hope things get better for you soon :smile:

Reply 30

naelse

15

crana9

thing is, it's not just been an occasional thing.. its been bursting into tears several times a day almost every day since a couple of weeks into 2nd term (apart from holidays). which is not normal for me.

have you tried UCS?

Reply 31

khil

15

crana9

Yeah, though I skirted round some of it a bit.

Alaric...you have very good advice.. it's not *just* the exams etc though..even if I get a good mark I'm not sure that I want to stay. Realistically, I don't think I'm *right* at the bottom, although I'm let down by not working every given second in the day.

HMS is a consideration, but I don't really want it to be the deciding factor. I am coping with it ok still most of the time..

I think deep down you know what you wanna do - most people do - you just gotta make the decision. I know it's never as easy as it sounds, but it's what you gotta do isn't it? Thing is deep down only you know what you wanna do. Wait til you get your results for exams, maybe things would've changed a bit then?

*hugs* hope you feel better. Maybe think of it this way - why did you come Cambridge at all in the first place? Then think why you might wanna go Nottingham? And think what's most important to you.

Hey if you do come Nottingham, and you're the random sort, you can join the sofa lounge, which me and a load of Notts-students-to-be's are hoping to set up, where we eat marshmellows and drink coffee and have our own sofa :smile:

Reply 32

dreamer

I was miserable as hell for the 1st term: I missed home loads, I hated having to work so hard (I'd NEVER had to do this before), I disliked my college, I disliked everything.

In the holidays I reflected. Minus stress, I realised I had made a few good mates, met some very interesting people, got a feel for what activities I'd like to do, and realised that out of college was the way I'd be happy.

2nd term: mentally threw myself into loads of activities. had much fun, ace. Work didn't depress me as the rest of my life was now much better. Made a couple of great out of college mates who I still regularly escape to.

3rd term. Working, working working. BUT I went home last weekend and that really helped. Maybe a short break back home would do you good? Sponateously, can you get a train tonight? Don't worry about work, this may help you with it. It definitely helped me.

Reply 33

Camford

12

dreamer

I was miserable as hell for the 1st term: I missed home loads, I hated having to work so hard (I'd NEVER had to do this before), I disliked my college, I disliked everything.

Schools in the UK generally don't work you as hard as oxbridge do. It is more of shock when you get here more than anything else.

Reply 34

visesh

17

irisng

I think deep down you know what you wanna do - most people do - you just gotta make the decision. I know it's never as easy as it sounds, but it's what you gotta do isn't it? Thing is deep down only you know what you wanna do. Wait til you get your results for exams, maybe things would've changed a bit then?

*hugs* hope you feel better. Maybe think of it this way - why did you come Cambridge at all in the first place? Then think why you might wanna go Nottingham? And think what's most important to you.

Hey if you do come Nottingham, and you're the random sort, you can join the sofa lounge, which me and a load of Notts-students-to-be's are hoping to set up, where we eat marshmellows and drink coffee and have our own sofa :smile:

I don't think she'll want to go to Nottingham now for some reason*-)

:p:

(jk

)

Reply 35

khil

15

visesh

I don't think she'll want to go to Nottingham now for some reason*-)

:p:

(jk

)

*pulls face at you* meh!

Hehe okies - I can have all the fun with Helen, Rai, Yvonne and Ken then :biggrin:

(wonder if Daniel wants to join actually?) Gonna be so cool! - so looking forward to Notts - I'm actually really glad Cam rejected me now lol! - despite the fact that I'm still fond of Cambridge :smile:

Ahhh let's hope my Chemistry doesn't fail me!

But anyway, yeh Rosie, it'd be great wherever you go. I love both Cambridge and Nottingham! - hope everything works out for you *hugs*

Do I stay or do I go?

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