Is this Cambridge summer school legit?

Have you been to it?

Of course not. I'm not in the habit of throwing thousands of pounds down the drain.

Of course not. I'm not in the habit of throwing thousands of pounds down the drain.

Current Cambridge undergrad here:

Before coming to Cambridge, the only summer schools I'd done were free ones organised by universities as part of their outreach efforts, and none of which were at Cambridge. This really didn't matter, they weren't looking for someone who was rich enough to pay for a two week summer school, instead they were much more interested in how good I was at my subject and the various ways I had independently studied/ read around my subject So there really is no need to pay for a summer school, it's not going to make a huge difference to your chances of getting in.

As others have said, this is just one where a private company is hiring out a college to use their accommodation for the summer school - it is not in any way endorsed or supported by the university or the colleges.

I have seen several adverts around Cambridge trying to recruit undergrads/ postgrads to act as mentors and even teachers on the program - it really isn't being run by the world-famous Cambridge professors as they try to pretend...

If you're looking for a fun and vaguely educational summer program and you've got the money, then go for it, but tbh there are a lot cheaper/ better options out there and in terms of admissions it isn't going to help a lot.

I am looking for actual reviews of the place but still, thank you. I want to do something new this summer and I'm choosing between military camp again or a summer school of this sort. I will make sure that if I do go to Cambridge Immerse, I'll get as involved as possible to avoid "throwing thousands of pounds down the drain".

I'm having a lot of trouble choosing the right career path for me and so far what I've seen of this program I've loved. A girl who studied Biology in Cambridge came to our school to talk about it and I just want to know more.

Yep, I'd echo this. Several of my friends were tutors on these Cambridge summer schools - £1K for a few weeks work - job done. They have no affiliation or connexion with Cambridge apart from the fact that they are in the same city and usually hire college buildings in the hope that some of the Cambridge glitz will rub off on them. They were attended almost exclusively by Arabs and Chinese students whose parents had got more money than sense and were desperate for their children to get any sort of 'advantage' for a subsequent university application. Most of the children who attend these courses are absolute brats because they've spent their entire short lives getting exactly what they want and being told that they're 'special'.

And East Europeans (mainly Russians) these days.

1k for a few weeks doesn't sound much, if you have to be stuck there for the length of period. The company behind it must be making loads.......

That was a few years ago - it's probably gone up a bit now. Those pay rates weren't residential though - that was just for doing a few sessions a day, and having to go on the odd excursion to London and supervise them buying out Harrods. These companies are, to use a Doonesburyism, 'coining it in'. And then there's all the extra stuff on top of the basic course fees - excursions, 'extra tuition', 'mentoring', 'souvenirs'. It's extremely lucrative for these companies who, as usual, take advantage of desperate parent's ignorance of the admission's process. That's where we come in...

It was during a summer holiday,wasn't it? Did the company provide accommodation/food for them for the length of course or did they have to arrange it by themselves?

Lol does it include a shopping tour to Harrods, too?
Well, OP, it says it all.

Yep, we're here to help those wandering souls navigate through complicated Cambridge application trails.......and our service is completely free!

Yep - a summer holiday residential. They provided accommodation and food, but the course fee was something extortionate from memory. Apparently one trip to London, ostensibly an 'educational tour, just ended up with them back on the coach having bought gold iPhone cases, luxury leather goods and watches from Harrods. The whole thing was a bit of a sham, as far as I could see. This doesn't mean that all of these courses are exactly the same as the one I"m anecdotally describing here, but it certainly wasn't the only one which was like this.

Free, accurate and well-considered advice from those in the know. Sometimes, TSR is too good.

Sorry, I meant accommodation/food for those who were working for them, not 'students (=preys)'.

Though I think those summer schools are really dirty business, I'm also very annoyed with those websites and tutoring services that 'implies 'they have connection with Oxbridge and can give you extra advantage for application.
Each 'service' is probably much cheaper than summer schools but they must be preying on much bigger number of applicants......

At least at TSR if someone gives a wrong info/advice, there'd be (usually) other posters rushing in to correct it!

My daughter has just completed the course and it was incredible. Worth every penny and more.

If you genuinely think it'll be interesting for you to attend and your parents are willing to pay for it, do it by all means. It's your choice (and your parents' money) and nobody has right to stop you,
But just don't expect it may give you any benefit or advantage in application to Cambridge because it really won't.
The University is actually a bit annoyed by those kinds of private summer schools/tutoring companies/websites that use their name, pretending they have some connection with the University and/or they'd give you some edge on the application, to prey on unsuspecting applicants (and their parents) .

But that doesn't solve the OP's problem of where to find a good academic programme in the summer

If Cambridge Universities was truly annoyed by these schools they wouldn't be hiring their properties to them every summer. Of course Cambridge is a wonderful, ancient institution with world-class staff and students, but they are just as keen to make money as these summer schools.