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Do you regret going to Cambridge University?

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What careers are Oxbridge almost a necessary prerequisite for?

I know Investment Banking sees a lot of UCL/LSE/other guys and isn't Oxbridge only.

Would you say Politics/Journalism are the most Oxbridge-only careers?

Reply 21

Bunratty

Original post by pamplemousse.

I don't have any problem with working hard but for me it's a legitimate concern that I could be at the bottom of the class regardless of effort because of the standard.

I WANT there to be people better than me, that's healthy and exciting, but not to the extent that I struggle to pass regardless of how much work I put in and feel like an idiot.

Being 'at the bottom of a class' of very smart people should not be of concern.

No one at Cambridge is an 'idiot'.

You should be proud of being in Cambridge and do your best. You have already been selected as being in the top 20% of applicants, and nearly all applicants are already very clever with regard to the whole student population, which is only half of the entire population!

Don't worry, just enjoy your time there. 😊

Reply 22

Bunratty

Original post by Moura

There are many good unis out there that have a healthier work/life balance that are just as sought out for by employers. Maybe if you want to go into something super competitive like law or IB or something it might help (? - I know people from my uni who have done both of these things at top firms with no hindrance) but otherwise I don't see why you would sacrifice your life on your undergrad so much unless you are a studious /serious person of course. Before anyone say "Cambridge/Oxford students have a life too !!1!!1!!"... yeah sure, but not compared to other unis in the top 10, sorry. I am basing this off of people I know btw, who actually seem like the more sociable people there. I would say if you are a normal social person then don't box yourself in and look at your other options, seriously consider them and don't get sucked in by the people who masturbate over the thought of going to Oxbridge here on TSR.

Yeah, it's as bad as footballers who want to be in the first division, or athletes wanting to be in team GB. They should all just play in local clubs, which after all is a much 'healthier work/life balance'!

Reply 23

Doones

Original post by Bunratty

Yeah, it's as bad as footballers who want to be in the first division,

Premiership, these days. :wink:

First Div now used to be the Third Division....

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 24

Bunratty

Original post by jneill

Premiership, these days. :wink:

First Div now used to be the Third Division....

Posted from TSR Mobile

I know nothing about football.

I must be a 'studious/serious person' not a 'normal social person'!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 25

Moura

Original post by Bunratty

Not really the same, there are plenty of very intelligent people who just aren't suited to the lifestyle of Oxford and Cambridge. That includes the social side, the town, the academic pressure. If you feel like you might be one of those people you aren't "relegating" yourself to use your football analogy... there are plenty of other universities that are in the "first division" that you might enjoy more. No one is putting down Oxford or Cambridge by saying that there are other universities out there that also contain intelligent people, with excellent teaching facilities, stop being so sensitive lol.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 26

wolfmoon88

Original post by Bunratty

I know nothing about football.

Gathered that :tongue:

but comparison is definitely fair :yep:

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Reply 27

Reality Check

Original post by Quiet_Male

I think this view is a little dated. Oxbridge graduates may be over-represented in certain field, but there are no careers where an Oxbridge degree is 'almost a necessary prerequisite'. It would be entirely self-defeating - just think of all the talent which would be wasted were that approach taken wholesale!

Reply 28

auburnstar

Original post by Quiet_Male

Would you say Politics/Journalism are the most Oxbridge-only careers?

Forgive the jarring witticism but the only job that requires an Oxbridge degree is writing columns in The Guardian tinged with false regret.

There are cases of some law firms only wanting to select law students from Harvard but I am pretty sure that's apocryphal/exaggerated.

An Oxbridge degree undoubtedly opens doors (although it doesn't mean your life will be a breeze by any means...) and is a once-in-a-lifetime experience surrounded with reputation, mysticism and a unique aesthetic and I believe that that is what attracts most people to it.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 29

alow

Original post by Bunratty

No one at Cambridge is an 'idiot'.

I've met a few people who could disprove that statement.

Reply 30

GPiph

Original post by imsoanonymous123

first year maths student at cambridge

kind of disappointed in cambridge. its not as good as i thought it would be. the lectures are honestly just downright terrible, they take simple concepts that you could learn in 5 minutes in sixth form and then make them completely incomprehensible without adding anything to it

do i regret it? no. I dont know where else i would be if i wasnt here. I dont know what its like at other universities but I sure as hell liked being in sixth form more than I do here.

I got S/1/S for step and at the moment im on the verge of failing. i didnt think i would even consider doing anything other than maths a year or two ago but now I dont even know what im doing here.

love this reply

Reply 31

cambio wechsel

Original post by auburnstar

the only job that requires an Oxbridge degree is writing columns in The Guardian

there's a BTL commentator who has plainly trawled wikipedia and other sources to compile a list of the Guardian columnists, their independent schools and their Oxbridge colleges. He keeps posting it under the articles that are moans about inclusion and (lack of) meritocracy.

Reply 32

auburnstar

Original post by alow

I've met a few people who could disprove that statement.

My mum has met chemists who graduated from Cambridge who are less 'smart' than my dad at chemistry. My dad has always had top scores in most exams and particularly has a fascination for chemistry (he works as a geoscientist). However, he is pretty shy and not so good with verbal conversation and was also at a grammar school that didn't prepare him at all for interviews. Call me biased but I wouldn't believe that it was a shortage of natural aptitude that meant they rejected him, probably a shortage of that charisma, confidence and verbal enthusiasm factor. There have been times where Cambridge grads have said "gosh, he's clever".

Reply 33

markova21

Sorry for a really stupid question but just how exactly can one degree at one institution [Oxford or Cambridge] be more difficult or challenging than another degree at another place if it is more or less the same subject? Isn't economics economics everywhere? Do they do a different degree with more demanding modules or something? A degree is a degree isn't it? If someone has a first in Economics from Cambridge or Oxford and someone has a first in Economics from, say Leeds Becket, yes the name of the institution might be more impressive, but I don't understand how the actual work they are doing every day can be more intense. Can someone explain?

Reply 34

username1865079

Original post by markova21

Courses at universities are not like A-levels/IB/etc at all. They don't have 'national curriculum' like the latter are based upon to set the content & level to aim for nationally common exams. (though there're tiny variations between exam boards, the difference is very small)
Each university decide and set their own course's content and how it's taught. So even if it may look like they cover a same subject, there isn't any course that is identical to those at other universities. Not only the content itself, but level of content as well.
Also, in most universities they have their own quotas for each degree classification/grade for how many each degree class can be given (esp. for top classes, like a first and 2.1), so naturally it makes it harder to get higher classes at top universities like Oxbridge with high calibre of students.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 35

cambio wechsel

Original post by markova21

Do they do a different degree with more demanding modules or something?

yes. Degrees aren't like A levels with the exams set by a centralized authority. The Cambridge degree will explore topics in greater depth than would be true elsewhere, while covering material more quickly, and (in Economics) will assume a mathematical competence and background that cannot confidently be assumed in the students at most other institutions.

I think a large part of what makes Oxbridge grads attractive to employers is the fact of their having been through this very rigorous mill. An 8 week term, 2 essays a week, rinse and repeat 8 times and then cram for closed book exams to be sat over a very short period.

I missed a Cambridge offer and didn't entirely get over that until revisiting the university for my younger sister's graduation. At lunch my proud mum said to me, and with real feeling, "I'm just so relieved you didn't get in". She was right, of course. They always are, mums.

Reply 36

username1865079

Original post by auburnstar

I'm not saying all Oxbridge graduates are cleverer (some are definitely not....) and nor am I talking about your fathers' case, so please don't take that way.
But grades are not the only nor the most important thing they look at when assessing candidates. Nor do they expect or assess candidates' academic ability/potential by their eloquency/personality at their interviews.
That's why candidates with top-notch grades are sometimes rejected while some with not-so-great grades are accepted. Same goes for how things were at interviews. I've seen many students at Cambridge who have absolutely no 'charisma' (using your expression) whatsoever and whose communication skills with other people are quite poor but brilliant in their subject. Admission people are experienced enough to see through those superficial personality and find what academic talent candidate has (or do not have) inside them.

Reply 37

Doones

Original post by vincrows

Admission people are experienced enough to see through those superficial personality and find what academic talent candidate has (or do not have) inside them.

@auburnstar

This, but just to add, there is only a limited number of spaces available so they do have to let some with real acadamic talent go. They can't offer/accept everyone.

Oh, and they do makes mistakes. Not many, but of course, sometimes the "better" candidate doesn't get in. It's a human process.

Reply 38

markova21

Thanks for clarifying, those that did, about the difference between one university degree and another. I had no idea. No-one in my family has ever gone to Uni. Hoping my son will. [It's only Health and Social Care]. But from the background he is from [Very poor, a violent alcoholic father who died when he was ten and me with my long term mental health problems], if he gets accepted somewhere and IF he chooses to go it will really be a big deal.

Reply 39

Aspiring123

Original post by Quiet_Male

Consulting, law (for the top 1-2 firms though other top unis wont hold you back), politics to an extent aswell. Nothing much after that though of course when applying to other jobs it will look impressive.