Should i decline my offer from Cambridge?

But when this happens, if you rely on this view, your whole sense of self-worth depletes into a pile of nothing because if you strive for the best and don't get it, what's left?

Not super relevant to the thread but I will just say that as someone who has been personally mentally screwed over by this mentality... This is all well and great, until you f*** up at some point (which you inevitably will because it is impossible to achieve every single goal in life - which is a good thing because it stops you from being complacent, and makes life more interesting). But when this happens, if you rely on this view, your whole sense of self-worth depletes into a pile of nothing because if you strive for the best and don't get it, what's left?

To quote Sam Harris “…our pleasures are, by their very nature, fleeting. If we enjoy some great professional success, our feelings of accomplishment remain vivid and intoxicating for an hour, or perhaps longer, but then they subside. And the search goes on. The effort required to keep boredom and other unpleasantness at bay must continue, moment to moment…”

I'm not saying anyone here holds this mentality, nor do I discount prestige (it exists in many cases for a justified reason). But I would say that choosing something solely on the basis of prestige without considering "do I really want to do this? Is this really what is going to make me happiest?" is often unwise.

I've spoiler'd some interesting links on the topic which may help those who are struggling with this mentality after facing any change in career path, job/school rejections etc.

My teachers, my parents and friends all think that i should go into Cambridge. I supposes they are saying that because it would be good for the school.

Luckily you didn't use your real name for your account.

Oh...

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I been offered a place to study a 4 year Maths in Cambridge. However i just found out that the Masters i want to do you have to apply again after 3 years of the current course.

So i am planning on going to Edinburgh Uni, do my bachelors then apply for master's in Cambridge. Thereby saving more than £36,000. Is that a responsible choice.

- Initial plan is to visit each other every weekend after uni has started (dk how that will go).

Once you’ve got Cambridge on your CV. you’ll get a job anywhere. DO NOT TURN IT DOWN.

That's not strictly true. It's not a golden ticket You are more likely, but there is no guarantee, particularly in very competitive fields.

Oh and goes without saying that if you do a degree in eg Art History you would not be able to become an aeronautical engineer.

(I would mention Jake again, but I think I've overused that point by now xD)

Initial plan is to visit each other every weekend after uni has started (dk how that will go)

But surely in the example of Jake, you wouldn't consider him unemployed because of a lack of quality or anything. The fact that he has graduated from Cambridge means that he has the ability to hand pick which jobs and companies are most suited to his desires. He's able to be choosy. He has got some rejections yes, but he could very easily get employed the next day if he wanted to.

^^ That's just my opinion, correct me if I'm wrong!

Whereas turning down Cambridge is definitely losing something

Not always true.

I been offered a place to study a 4 year Maths in Cambridge. However i just found out that the Masters i want to do you have to apply again after 3 years of the current course.

So i am planning on going to Edinburgh Uni, do my bachelors then apply for master's in Cambridge. Thereby saving more than £36,000. Is that a responsible choice.

True technically. You lose your opportunity to do an undergraduate degree at Cambridge. Definitely something that is tangible