Got a Cambridge offer but pooled to a mature, female only college :(

OP

Original post by anniebuzzybee

It's natural to be a little disappointed at this. What are your other uni choices?

Only you can make the decision on what's right for you and what is going to give you the best University experience. I can see quite a lot of positives to being in Lucy Cavendish:

1) Female only means more relaxed (for some people) as there's not the constant need to impress men (even if you are not interested in impressing men, others may be, and this can cause tension in close quarters)
2) You're already older than most undergraduates and you may get to university and find them to be immature/find yourself to feel out of place. At Lucy Cavendish you'd be with people who are older and more established.
3) You will meet people with more interesting life stories who may inspire you. You're quite 'alone' at university, and having those older than you around you may help you in times of need.
4) You'll get to go to the university you've worked hard to get in to.
5) Once you're out of university you'll be working with people of all ages, and truthfully, it doesn't matter. I've got friends who are younger and a lot older than me. People are people at the end of the day.

The bottom line is - is going to Cambridge more important than the college you've been placed in?

Thank you so much for all your thoughts, I've considered those positives too :smile:

My second is Edinburgh, which I did really love when I visited.

Reply 3

OP

Original post by oxford reject xo

Wow...I would’ve loved to go to a female only college like newnham had I applied to cambs this year. One (wo)man’s trash really is another (wo)man’s treasure lmao

But on a more positive note, you don’t know yet whether you’re going to enjoy it or not. You have such an amazing opportunity to study at Cambridge that other people would no doubt kill for, and you’ve obviously invested a lot of time and effort into this, so just see how it goes. You could drop out after a semester if you really, really hated it and reapply for the next cycle? Don’t let it get to you , and congrats on your offer! Hope you enjoy your time there—truly! :smile:

Thank you for your reply, that's really kind! You're right there definitely are positives, and I am really grateful for the offer :smile:

Reply 4

Original post by blossombubble

Got an offer to study Theology at Lucy Cavendish yesterday, having been pooled.
...Thoughts/advice anyone? Thanks!

It's definitely worth visiting LC - they have an Offer Holder day in April.
https://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/admissions/visiting-the-college/

I think you will be pleasantly surprised :smile:

Reply 5

OP

Original post by happbee

I'm really pleased that I helped you. I can honestly imagine it is a very difficult choice to make. Just remember, your gut will tell you which to go with. I got pooled for Cambridge but never got fished out and whilst I was disappointed, I'm happy that actually, it was better for me not to go as I didn't think it was the right fit. Whilst Cambridge is, well, CAMBRIDGE, it's a useless choice if it's not for you.

Edinburgh is a fine university and wonderful city. Which did you prefer when you visited?

Yes it is really tough. I'm feeling like my gut is telling me Edinburgh now. I did prefer Cambridge but only marginally, and they are quite different so comparison is hard. I'm sorry you had the dissapointment but I'm glad you've found positives too :smile:

i'm sure we'll both be ok in the end! xx

Reply 6

OP

Original post by Doonesbury

It's definitely worth visiting LC - they have an Offer Holder day in April.
https://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/admissions/visiting-the-college/

I think you will be pleasantly surprised :smile:

Yes I do want to visit, thank you!

Reply 7

ttgr

2

I’m pooled to Lucy Cav as well! Luckily I will be 21 when I enter Uni so I don’t have to defer entry. I applied for maths btw.

Honestly I was quite shocked. Lucy cav did not accept any math undergrad, and only 1 computer science, 1 natural science student in the past 5 years. I don’t even know how the hell can I have tutorials 😂 I think most undergrads there study liberal arts, languages and medicine.

Now I actually kinda like the place as I research more abt it although it seems like one of the most unpopular colleges. I feel it’s really welcoming, nice and flexible, and not as conservative as those traditional colleges. It has a quite diverse student body as well which I really like as an international student. I think maybe it’s a place where I will meet very interesting ppl and listen to their life stories.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 8

Original post by ttgr

I’m pooled to Lucy Cav as well! Luckily I will be 21 when I enter Uni so I don’t have to defer entry. I applied for maths btw.

Honestly I was quite shocked. Lucy cav did not accept any math undergrad, and only 1 computer science, 1 natural science student in the past 5 years. I don’t even know how the hell can I have tutorials 😂 I think most undergrads there study liberal arts, languages and medicine.

Now I actually kinda like the place as I research more abt it although it seems like somewhere no one really wants to go (no offence intended). I feel it’s really welcoming, nice and flexible, and not as conservative as those traditional colleges. It has a quite diverse student body as well which I really like as an international student. I think maybe it’s a place where I will meet very interesting ppl and listen to their life stories.

There are relatively far fewer undergrads in all courses at mature colleges due them being mostly for postgrads.

Supervisions are shared with other colleges, and you aren't disadvantaged at all.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 9

ttgr

2

Original post by Doonesbury

There are relatively far fewer undergrads in all courses at mature colleges due them being mostly for postgrads.

Supervisions are shared with other colleges, and you aren't disadvantaged at all.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thanks for the info!
Do you happen to know which college Lucy Cav shares supervisions with?

Reply 10

Original post by ttgr

Thanks for the info!
Do you happen to know which college Lucy Cav shares supervisions with?

It will vary by course and module.

Maybe @Lucy Cavendish Admissions can help :smile:

Reply 11

jalby1992

13

Original post by blossombubble

Got an offer to study Theology at Lucy Cavendish yesterday, having been pooled. Obviously happy to have got an offer but its to a female only college which would never be my preference, mature 21+ and to start in 2020 :frown:

I didn't plan to take a gap year, and though i will be 21 by then I'm still in year 13 now and am only older as I have repeated years due to health difficulties, not because I have taken multiple gap years and grown up loads!
Right now I feel as though I will have to reject Cambridge because I don't think i'd be happy in that environment.
Thoughts/advice anyone? Thanks!

If you do go to Cambridge you are almost guaranteed to have everything you have ever wanted in life, good secure career, nice house, meet nice people nice friends. I notice a big difference life progression wise between that and most unis, you should take it. With your gap year you could focus on your health (trust me I had similiar health issues done my final year from a hospital bed) or you could get valuable or related work experience, so don't think of it as a gap year doing nothing or wasting time! I would have chopped off my pinky finger to get into Cambridge, lots of people are not so fortunate to get an offer.

I was a 'mature' student at 21, good thing about more mature people is more support, less distractions (less likely to party everyday and persuade you not to study), and connections my class I had one of the Heads of Europe from Amazon, people who worked at the BBC, in Planning Permission, TV production companies, GSK compared to the 18 year old who works in Subway, Nandos typically. Go for it!

Reply 12

jiksi

4

Hi

I felt like I should reply - I did my master's in Cambridge (at a standard age "unpopular" college, which is really an outsider's perspective on it because, as has been said before, the people there end up loving their colleges anyway and more often than not, it's people from central colleges being annoyed at tourists rather than people from newer colleges being annoyed about being 300 m further away from whatever or having buildings where the heating actually works... but oh well I get that you may feel like that). What I wanted to say is that some of my friends were from Lucy and they loved it (even though none of them originally applied there and they were all in their 20ies!). Lucy has some of the best bops (-> parties) in Cambridge, with people from many different colleges going there - honestly, there are just as many men around at the bops as women (and in general, it's just college members who are female but all your teaching etc will be mixed, all the university wide societies are, ...). Lucy is really supportive, has nice gardens, is not too far out of the centre (plus close to Aldi which is reaaaaally convenient. It doesn't have tourists visiting and you *will* come to appreciate this when in Cambridge. Also, they have a nice community with the other mature colleges (particularly St Eddies and Wolfson, as Hugh's is quite far away) and people there usually are in their 20ies too. Another plus side is that you'll meet people doing the same subject as you in classes and supos anyway, so you really don't lose out on anything by spending time with people studying other things than you do in college but rather have the chance of getting to know more people overall. An extra benefit of mature colleges is that all the postgrads can actually offer so much help in terms of subject specific knowledge and research skills (in an informal way because they're your friends and not your supervisors haha). And really, mature colleges are the only ones where I know that people were friends across the grad/undergrad line. Please, please, please don't make the college you got pooled to change your decision about Cambridge. (If you don't like the course, that's something different, of course!) But Lucy is lovely and so is Cambridge.

Feel free to message me if you'd like to talk about it!

EDIT: Also congrats on getting an offer, that's amazing and you can be very proud. And like, I completely get the gap year issues, I just wanted to say that discarding colleges based on being single-sex, mature, new, far out, not your favourite style of architecture, whatever really ... is absolutely understandable, but all those things don't matter once you're in Cambridge (please believe me! I've been there :b ) and I think it's better to decide based upon the course, the city, and the gap year issue :smile:

there's no right or wrong decision - I've never been to Edinburgh but it's also a great uni and surely a nice city - but please don't make your decision based on aspects that the vast majority of Cambridge students wouldn't say matter. And many of them have been in your position. Lots of strength making that decision!! I'm sure you'll find your way :smile:

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 13

username2843488

10

I got pooled as well. It's not a mature or female college so not the same, but it's far out and I was attached to my original one and it's taking some time to come around to it. What it has done is make me think about why I wanted to go to Cambridge in the first place. For me, it was the course more than anything, and that stays the same regardless of college. I think if you're unsure, think about why you wanted Cambridge in the first place and whether those reasons still stand despite the environment that you're less sure about. At the end of the day you will be living there for three years, so feeling apprehensive is understandable. Depends whether the course and degree is worth it to you. And go on offer days and get a feel for a place, it might be you love it in the end and it isn't a problem.

Reply 14

OP

Original post by jiksi

Hi

I felt like I should reply - I did my master's in Cambridge (at a standard age "unpopular" college, which is really an outsider's perspective on it because, as has been said before, the people there end up loving their colleges anyway and more often than not, it's people from central colleges being annoyed at tourists rather than people from newer colleges being annoyed about being 300 m further away from whatever or having buildings where the heating actually works... but oh well I get that you may feel like that). What I wanted to say is that some of my friends were from Lucy and they loved it (even though none of them originally applied there and they were all in their 20ies!). Lucy has some of the best bops (-> parties) in Cambridge, with people from many different colleges going there - honestly, there are just as many men around at the bops as women (and in general, it's just college members who are female but all your teaching etc will be mixed, all the university wide societies are, ...). Lucy is really supportive, has nice gardens, is not too far out of the centre (plus close to Aldi which is reaaaaally convenient. It doesn't have tourists visiting and you *will* come to appreciate this when in Cambridge. Also, they have a nice community with the other mature colleges (particularly St Eddies and Wolfson, as Hugh's is quite far away) and people there usually are in their 20ies too. Another plus side is that you'll meet people doing the same subject as you in classes and supos anyway, so you really don't lose out on anything by spending time with people studying other things than you do in college but rather have the chance of getting to know more people overall. An extra benefit of mature colleges is that all the postgrads can actually offer so much help in terms of subject specific knowledge and research skills (in an informal way because they're your friends and not your supervisors haha). And really, mature colleges are the only ones where I know that people were friends across the grad/undergrad line. Please, please, please don't make the college you got pooled to change your decision about Cambridge. (If you don't like the course, that's something different, of course!) But Lucy is lovely and so is Cambridge.

Feel free to message me if you'd like to talk about it!

EDIT: Also congrats on getting an offer, that's amazing and you can be very proud. And like, I completely get the gap year issues, I just wanted to say that discarding colleges based on being single-sex, mature, new, far out, not your favourite style of architecture, whatever really ... is absolutely understandable, but all those things don't matter once you're in Cambridge (please believe me! I've been there :b ) and I think it's better to decide based upon the course, the city, and the gap year issue :smile:

there's no right or wrong decision - I've never been to Edinburgh but it's also a great uni and surely a nice city - but please don't make your decision based on aspects that the vast majority of Cambridge students wouldn't say matter. And many of them have been in your position. Lots of strength making that decision!! I'm sure you'll find your way :smile:

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I'm really grateful for your insight and reassurance <3 My main worry is about missing out on doing proper young people stuff because I'll be a school leaver when I go- i'm only 20 because I repeated two years of school due to health problems. I might be 20 but I feel 18! I don't want to feel like i have to be more grown up because of the college. And I want to live with other young people- would I be living near students of any age or might I be put near students of similar age? Thanks so much again! xx

Reply 15

OP

Original post by stephy01

I got pooled as well. It's not a mature or female college so not the same, but it's far out and I was attached to my original one and it's taking some time to come around to it. What it has done is make me think about why I wanted to go to Cambridge in the first place. For me, it was the course more than anything, and that stays the same regardless of college. I think if you're unsure, think about why you wanted Cambridge in the first place and whether those reasons still stand despite the environment that you're less sure about. At the end of the day you will be living there for three years, so feeling apprehensive is understandable. Depends whether the course and degree is worth it to you. And go on offer days and get a feel for a place, it might be you love it in the end and it isn't a problem.

Thank you for your reply. you're right the course is really important and for me it's the best and most flexible out of all the unis I applied to.

Reply 16

jiksi

4

Original post by blossombubble

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I'm really grateful for your insight and reassurance <3 My main worry is about missing out on doing proper young people stuff because I'll be a school leaver when I go- i'm only 20 because I repeated two years of school due to health problems. I might be 20 but I feel 18! I don't want to feel like i have to be more grown up because of the college. And I want to live with other young people- would I be living near students of any age or might I be put near students of similar age? Thanks so much again! xx

You're welcome, glad I could help a little xx
So full disclosure - when I came to Cambridge to start my master's I was 22 and I think I might've felt a bit like you. I'm an international student & had to work part-time during my undergrad (there are no maintenance loans in my country) so I really didn't have a typical student life before, and I really wanted to experience that part. And from my experience (though I think that depends on the people you hang out with) we were by no means more grown up than the undergrads in my college haha. We did the exact same things - going out, skipping lectures, you name it. A Cambridge degree is hard work (lol I bet you know that already haha) and yeah, the structure of work differs between grads and undergrads, BUT it being so much work means that no matter how "grown up" people are, everyone WILL need to take their mind off things and you'd be surprised how little you notice the difference between undergrad freshers and 3rd year PhD students when it comes to that. There are 18 year olds who don't want to go out or whatever, and there are 25 year olds who love doing that. What I want to say by that - I shared a kitchen with 4 other people and I only know the age of one of them because it never came up, it's just not important. That's probably one of the biggest changes from school - in school, everyone is in year X or year Y, but at uni, everyone's experiences are different because their course structures are, and many people take a year out, and others (even in standard age colleges!) return after a period of employment, so age not really that important I think. Also, the mature colleges are much less strict with just about anything because they trust their students more because they're "mature" lol so there tend to be fewer really strict rules about having visitors staying overnight etc (but really the students are just the same as everyone else)

So Idk how the accommodation allocation works at Lucy - you can always give them a call if you're worried. At my college, they specifically asked whether we had any wishes like that iirc. And I think they should be quite understanding because they know that's a huge part of your experience there and they want to make you feel at home! That being said - you could be at a standard age college and live with older students (every college can take mature students) and the people in mature colleges don't tend to be that much older - I'm sure you are not the only one who will just have turned 21 when you get there :wink:

and again, you wouldn't really know how old people are if you don't ask, and even then, at uni it doesn't make that much of a difference :smile:

EDIT: can you tell by the length of my reply how much I am working on my PhD application and how absolutely not stuck I am ahaha :colondollar:

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 17

OP

I am considering rejecting my Cambridge offer, having been pooled to a female-only, 21+ college for 2020. I don't think I'd be happy in that sort of environment, and I don't want to lose my insurance uni.

Has anyone rejected Cambridge before? Or considering it also?

I feel so much pressure to firm it, from so many angles including my college who rarely sends anyone to Oxbridge :frown:

It's such a big decision because Oxbridge is my dream and I've worked so hard for this

Reply 18

Simbasoul

19

Yes, people do reject Oxbridge offers - although it is rare. If you really feel that you would be unhappy then that is an option - 21+ year olds are not, generally, the alpha b*tches from school, and could be inspiring and the equivalent of a sisterhood - I wouldn’t be too worried about that side of it - do you have the chance to go to an offer holders day to have a proper look round and meet some of the college students? I appreciate you have to take a year out and that might be more of an issue for you?

Reply 19