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Should I reject my Cambridge offer?

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Reply 20

alcibiade

Trust your gut instinct. That feeling, which you don't have to justify or articulate, is very, very important.

Reply 21

SmallWorld_16

If you want to find out more about the college you can probably go and visit just to see if it's actually somewhere you'd want to go, I guess I'm kind of in a similar position where I may end up rejecting my offer for Natsci cambridge to go to Bath. (But then I have a pooled offer so I don't yet know what college is offering me a place.)

Reply 22

SiminaM

One does not reject Cambridge.

If they gave an offer it means you have the potential to meet it. Don't get scared get motivated! Good luck!
Just because it's prestigious doesn't mean it's that much harder.
You have an insurance anyway don't you?
And congrats on you offer! :biggrin:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 23

username1402889

Original post by SkyWarrior

Hi people of TSR.

I applied for Natural Sciences (physical) at Churchill College (Chemistry everywhere else) and got an offer today. This really surprised me as I wasn't expecting it at all (better candidates got rejected at my school). However, I never wanted to go to Cambridge and the only reason that I applied was because of parental/school pressure as well as a small part of me.

I do have offers from other universities and I really like Warwick and want to go to there (AAB, although top 5 for chemistry in some league tables and I really like their new labs as well) and also an offer from Imperial (A*AA) but from my horrible interview/applicant visit day I don't want to go there anymore really.

I don't want to go to Cambridge for a whole lot of reasons, although Natural Sciences and flexibility is something that is nice although not essential. My offer is also A*A*AA with the A* in Chemistry and Further Maths with As in Maths and Physics. I highly doubt that I can get an A* in Further Maths. Maths is possible but only because I sat C3 early in Year 12 but feels irrelevant now.

My parents, a couple of my friends (and probably my school too) think that I should go with my parents pretty adamant. I understand that it is my decision but I'd like some advice as I don't think I can just reject Cambridge and go to Warwick and everything will work out nicely.

Thank you for any replies. :smile:

If your considered preference is for Warwick over Cambridge, then of course order your UCAS choices accordingly. I'm not overly convinced that your decision is, thus far expressed, all that considered, however.

I would simply invite you to consider: (i) you cite things peripheral to any university experience as dissuading you from Cambridge (aesthetics and ovens), notwithstanding the quite reasonable concern about too intense a workload; (ii) not to over-state the point, but there is a genuine difference in the quality of education and faculty, and the opportunities presented to you, between the two; (iii) academic issues aside, I am simply - in a personal capacity - incredulous that you favour Warwick over Cambridge as a space to live your student days. To be frank, the former is a grey, corporate monolith on the edge of Coventry, the most recent achievement of which has been to violently attack its own students.

Full disclosure: I'm a graduate student at Cambridge, and have visited friends at Warwick.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 24

The Clockwork Apple

Firstly, congratulations. Not everyone makes it as as far you have.
Both Warwick and Cambridge are amazing. Although, as Chlorophile said, Cambridge is academically considered to be better, you will spend 4 years at uni, so you might as well choose what seems right. Were I in your exact position, I'd firm Cambridge and have Warwick as your insurance. That way, you'd have up until August to decide which one you want to go to. You seem to prefer Warwick, but you definitely don't want to regret rejecting Cambridge!

Reply 25

TVIO

I don't think anyone can tell you if you *should* or not. But it's absolutely fair to be considering other options. I was heavily considering Imperial College (still not 100% about Churchill,Camb) but I think personally a waste if I rejected Cambs after this much effort. And Cambs had my favourite course (just...).

Reply 26

SkyWarrior

Original post by Misovlogos

Firstly, this is a very well-written post, I'm almost intimidated at the prospect of replying to it. :wink:

I have done a bit more research. The 30 week accommodation contract means I need to move out for the holidays which is first of all a hassle and something I was actively trying to avoid at other universities. Besides that however, it means I will need to catch up / recover / revise at home which, like I mentioned earlier, is not as good of an environment to work in as my own room would be.
The course of Natural Sciences, whilst quite useful for the first year in being able to choose various subjects and delaying commitment until I've experienced university level standard, does require you to specialise in the late years which I am fine with. However, instead of being able to choose more topics in one subject like at other universities, my options will most likely be to choose the Chemistry modules - I can't choose specific topics or units within them which I don't find as appealing. For instance, I could come across a topic I really don't like or am really bad at and wish to avoid it but am unable to and if it is on my course, I'll need to learn it. Worst case scenario, this could be part of a reason of a lower end result / grade.

I understand that you or other people may see Warwick as grey (although I am interested in why you think it is corporate and monolith - perhaps my view of Warwick is too optimistic or high) but I really like the campus and buildings. Maybe I'm weird for liking that and not appreciating Cambridge's old and historic buildings, but that is just the way I am. I'm sure that incident is also isolated and not necessarily representative of the whole university - there could be articles like that on all of my university choices if I look hard enough. Unless it is a constantly recurring thing, I won't pay much attention to what that article says.

Original post by The Clockwork Apple

The downside to this would be not guaranteed accommodation at Warwick which I don't really want to risk. Worst case scenario is that I go to Cambridge and it is exactly how I think it is now causing me to stay but not drop out and really dislike it, or to drop out for various reasons (really not liking workload, not being able to cope, not being able to pass etc.).

However, I could also not like it at Warwick as well so I've decided to email them and ask to go on an applicant visit day (I turned down going to one in November for a different reason, mainly because I was going too many places and spending too much). Maybe I won't be as impressed on my second visit, in which case I could be persuaded to go to Cambridge. If it is as good as / better than I think of it now, it is quite likely I'll turn down Cambridge. I also know that I'll be more relaxed during my exams as I won't have pressure to get an A* by doing well in two/three specific exams or be under pressure by trying to 'fix' my exams to get the specific grade I want (which will most likely not turn in my favor and probably mean I underperform).

Some teachers know about me wanting to turn down Cambridge now and they'll talk to me, most likely persuading me to go to Cambridge or trying to convince me my reasons for not going aren't valid. This could help but would be more useful after my visit to Warwick. I know I sound unappreciative and my teachers do most likely only want to help me make a decision myself, so I'm probably being unfair (if I make it sound my teachers aren't open-minded about rejecting Cambridge). My friends are very supportive and advise me to go where I'll be happy whilst my parents continue to tell me to put Cambridge first and that I don't realize the full extent of this opportunity. I've tried saying it's a lot less likely that I'll be less happy at Cambridge but they say people change their minds, that Cambridge is the best because everyone knows it, to listen to them because I still think like a child etc. so it looks like they will be the barrier to overcome should I want to decline my offer.

I'd like to once again thank everyone who has helped me here, writing down my thoughts has also been a great way to think straight and make sure that I'm making the right decision. :smile:

Reply 27

Muttley79

You sounds as if you want Warwick more so reject Cambridge. I rejected my Oxbridge maths offer as I didn't like the people I met and the push to apply came from school ...

I went elsewhere and loved it; not having that Oxbridge degree hasn't affected me at all. My parents understood as they knew I needed to be happy.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Reply 28

Doones

Just a couple of points to add to your decision-making:

* insuring Warwick does not prevent you from getting accommodation there:
"Once you have responded to UCAS and placed Warwick as either your Firm or Insurance choice, you will be able to apply for accommodation at Warwick"
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/offerholders/next/

* Churchill allow you to stay after Term, although at extra cost:
"Outside the Period of Residence, during the Christmas and Easter vacations, and subject to the availability of accommodation, the normal room rent will apply for whatever room you are occupying. During the Long Vacation, the rent will be charged at £98 per week pro-rata for standard rooms, including electricity and the minimum period out of term is a week."https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/media/uploads/files/2013_Accom_Handbook.pdf

Reply 29

1drowssap

Original post by SkyWarrior

It is true that I wasn't expecting it to happen; if I was, it would make me quite arrogant. I'm not really that happy at getting the offer although that makes me sound whiny and perhaps I don't appreciate it as much as I should, although I had hoped to get rejected as it would make my decision easier for me and I wouldn't need to make this thread. I had been thinking of different scenarios and decided to make this thread for extra advice - I won't base my entire decision around the replies on this thread. I read a lot of threads about parents not letting people move out for uni / pressuring them not to and those threads had a lot of useful replies so I hoped for the same to come of this thread.

Thank you very much, you have been the most helpful. :smile:

My friends did talk with me about what I would do if I got an offer before now and a few of them said to do what would make me happy and others said they would accept the offer if they were in my position but they have been very supportive which is better than my parents who think that the decision is very easy.

I was thinking of that but there were a few drawbacks to this:
-I want to do as well as possible in my exams so there is a possibility of getting an A* in Further Maths if I try really hard. But I think my effort could be limited if I don't want to go to Cambridge and so I could not try hard enough and I could end up underperforming in my exams and doing worse than I would be happy with.
-If I get an A* in Further Maths, I can't reject Cambridge at that point I don't think and so won't have the choice of going to Warwick.
-If I put Warwick as my insurance then I'm not guaranteed accommodation and the commute is around three to four hours (not completely sure on bus service from train station to uni). So if I don't get accommodation, or it is one of the worse halls that could dampen my experiences which could have been avoided if I placed Warwick as my firm.

There probably is a small part because I'd like to make my own university decisions instead of my parents deciding for me as I did kind of ignore them telling me not to apply to Warwick because it is too far away and I also ignored them telling me to apply to Kent because it is local (although a university professor advised me not to apply there because their Chemistry department is quite new and Warwick's is better).

The main reasons I could want to go to Cambridge are:
-World leading and very high standard
-Natural sciences course is flexible
-Better job prospects

Neutral:
-At least you are allowed to walk on the grass and don't need to wear gowns to dinners in Churchill

The main reasons I don't want to go are:
-Minor things: Don't like the look of the buildings, the area or the countryside feel to it. I don't appreciate old buildings at all and very much prefer new modern ones (like Warwick's). I also didn't like the canteen when I visited. Also Saturday lectures.
-Unconfirmed: The kitchens don't have ovens. The information doesn't appear to be on their website, anyone know where I can find this out?
-The intense short terms with lots of hours in a small time (including Saturdays). I don't think that this will be helpful for me at all - I'm pretty sure that I will fall behind on the work as I won't be able to keep up and most of my free time will be in the holidays. I'm not sure if most people go home for the holidays but my own room would most likely be a much better working environment than at home but would most likely feel very burned out at the end of each term.

Although I do agree with your last statement about regretting rejecting it over accepting it. I'm not sure if I should put potential happiness over quality of education, because I can't deny that Cambridge is consistently rated very highly and the fact that it is so well known will help me get a job. But then again, Warwick promote finding industry experience during undergraduate study more than Cambridge based on when I asked people there.

Out of all the reasons you've listed, this seems to be the most important one. I am in uni right now, and although it's not oxbridge, it's still intense. I really can't imagine how much more intense the cambridge course would be. From experience, I have trouble trying to keep up with the workload they give me, so if you have experienced these things at A level, you will suffer greatly while you're at uni.
My advice: Firm cambridge. If you don't burn out during the course, then great. If you feel like you can't handle it, then you could always transfer or reapply.

Reply 30

Jantaculum

This may or may not be relevant to you - but it's a point about Warwick accommodation.

You might want to check whether second and third years get much opportunity to live on campus - I suspect that all second years and most third years live in Coventry or (and this seems to be preferable) Leamington Spa. It's worth factoring travel time and costs into your decision.

Reply 31

GailQ

I completely understand where the you're coming from. When we were first in the process of applying, one of my friends and I were both being pressured by our parents to apply to Oxford. This was something neither of us were keen on at the time - for many reasons - and neither of us knew how to tell our parents that we didn't want to apply. So in the end we both did. Like you, I hoped for a rejection and was very surprised to get an interview and then actually be offered a place. Between applying and getting an offer for Oxford, I visited Warwick's open day and absolutely fell in love with it. So when I received a Warwick offer, I genuinely stopped caring about the outcome of my Oxford application.

Now that I have an Oxford offer, I've been weighing it up again this time in favour of the pros as opposed to the cons and I've convinced myself that I do actually really want to go. Visiting for the interviews actually calmed most of my nerves about the kind of people that study there and now the workload is the main issue for me . I'm hoping I'll buckle down when it comes to it - not usually great at that - but hopefully with less distractions than I have at home, it will be more doable.

My advice would to have a good think - which you probably have already - about the pros and cons of both, and if you can't honestly convince yourself that Cambridge is for you, then go with Warwick. It would be hypocritical to tell you to ignore your parents, since I couldn't, so wish you courage to tell them if you choose to go with Warwick :smile:

[

Original post by SkyWarrior

I understand that you or other people may see Warwick as grey (although I am interested in why you think it is corporate and monolith - perhaps my view of Warwick is too optimistic or high) but I really like the campus and buildings. Maybe I'm weird for liking that and not appreciating Cambridge's old and historic buildings, but that is just the way I am.

This. I love modern architecture and I really like Warwick's buildings/general atmosphere. I chose an Oxford college (St Anne's) solely on which one looked the most modern because I really couldn't appreciate the historic look of most of the other colleges at the open day.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 32

Doones

Original post by GailQ

...

Also, this. I love modern architecture and I really like Warwick's buildings/general atmosphere. I chose an Oxford college (St Anne's) solely on which one looked the most modern because I really couldn't appreciate the historic look of most of the other colleges at the open day.

His potential college at Camb, Churchill, is modern. Some would say brutalist. Definitely not typical historic buildings...

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Reply 33

Grant2007

You don't have to decide for a couple of months...so don't! You have time to think about it. You can re visit the unis too.

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Reply 34

User1255194

I'm in the same place. I feel like I should reject Cambridge and go to UCL as it is calmer and closer to home with less stress placed on students and more free time. I can't afford to slip up in Cambridge and that slip up is likely due to other issues I deal with.

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Reply 35

Simes

Original post by SkyWarrior

I do have offers from other universities and I really like Warwick and want to go to there (AAB, although top 5 for chemistry in some league tables and I really like their new labs as well) and also an offer from Imperial (A*AA) but from my horrible interview/applicant visit day I don't want to go there anymore really.

Get a piece of paper for each university. Draw a vertical line down the middle of each one. Write "Pro" on the left and "Con" on the right.

For each uni, write down the pros and cons. Be really honest, include everything you can think of, including what other people say.

For example, you might put "Prestige" against Imperial and Cambridge with a value of 3.

"Don't want to" is not a valid reason. Work out why.

When you have dried up, put a score against each pro and each con in the range 1 to 3.

Subtract the cons from the pros and see what score each university gets.

You do not have to choose the one that wins, but you will at least either have the evidence to argue with your parents, or you might understand why you want to do what you want to do - and spot a 3rd option as being the best.

Reply 36

Simes

Original post by Grant2007

You can re visit the unis too.

This.

Reply 37

michelle37

Original post by SkyWarrior

Hello

So I guess there's been enough people commenting here already, and you probably already know how to go from here, but just to chip in to say that I might have got it worse - 3 universities to consider instead of 2.

I applied to 5 unis like everybody, and I love each of them based on research and galleries and forums and whatever website I can find. I'm an international applicant, so I have no privilege of visiting any of the unis, which really sucks tbh. :frown:

Anyway- I threw two out, one on its course (not what I exactly want), and one on its prestige (it's not really world-renowned and I'd like to go somewhere better since I've come all the way)

And that leaves me with 3 - Edinburgh, UCL, and Oxford (I know it's a Cambridge thread here tho..).
It's been a terrible dilemma for me as I thought I'd only have to think about the first two and firm one of them and insurance the other.

At no point in the process of applying to Oxford I actually thought I would get the offer: I didn't practise on my two pre-interview tests at all, and it went quite bad because I couldn't finish them.
The interview came as a surprise- messed up one of them, went well in the other, both through Skype so it was fuzzy.
So the offer came as a complete surprise. And because the whole school + other friends + parents (possibly even extended family when we see them) know about it, it's been a great deal of unwanted pressure.

I applied just because there's an extra spot on my UCAS, but I generally like the Oxford feel and the academic prestige and the whole idea really. Plus I was offered my first choice college.

But- UCL has a more tailored course to my future possible career, and Edinburgh is a lovely place to be in (although colder). Gah I'm just so confused without being able to go and see them personally. Not to mention the pressure from everyone around me.

Sorry for ranting along haha. I wish you all the best!

Reply 38

L'Evil Fish

You could always firm it to keep them happy, and then just fail to meet the offer and get the insurance if you play it well :lol:

Reply 39

TurboCretin

Original post by SkyWarrior

If you spend four years in a place you don't particularly like, having work heaped on you, chances are you won't do all that well there.

Whatever you end up doing, don't waste your life experiences on trying to live up to society's expectations of you.