Cambridge Rejectees - Plans?

I was starting to contemplate a gap year before the Cambridge rejection, and now considering it. My issues are
- what can I do to look good for history? Erm, I'm not sure about finding a job in a museum...
- (and this is bigger) What will other unis think? Say I don't get in to Cambridge again, and Durham were to give me an offer this year and I reapplied next year - would they even look at me?

To everyone who reapplied - what about other unis you'd applied to?

I just obtained some feedback (King's college) but I found it very general and very unhelpful... It was just a standard letter with my TSA score and subject copied in it, I think. It said how much they liked me: what a load of ********. If they liked me that much they would have taken me and they didn't, so it would be nice if they at least told me why not. I don't need the "Cambridge-is-competitive"-blah, I KNOW that. By the way, my TSA score was very average but not really bad or anything. It probably did not boost my application but I don't think it's the reason why I'm rejected either.

I really hate this kind of over-polite way of giving feedback. It's not like I will benefit of this kind of feedback. They're probably just too lazy to obtain real feedback from the people that interviewed me...

OK, I'm sorry, just frustrated about this whole application thing. /End of rant

My tutor said that if they give you general feedback you have to get them to write to the college again specifically asking for more detailed feedback and in particular your interview notes.

Why do universities not realise that its kind of their obligation to give you feedback especially as you've taken time to bother applying

I don't get it: who do I have to ask to write the college again? I wrote them myself and they provided this very general letter... Should I ask my referee to write again? I would prefer not to bother him with this, but if it's the only way I will do so...

Yeh usually they don't give very good feedback to the actual candidates if at all apparently. You should ask your refree to write specifically asking them to send the notes from your interview im sure they wont think your bothering them.

Are you reapplying?

Awesome! Would like to hear you wax lyrical on UCL please? (: Haha UCL feels like the perfect school for me I'm just kind of worried that since its all spread out across London that there is less of a community feel to it. Is it hard making friends/socialising? I'm sure it can get pretty lonely in such a huge uni. But on the bright side, its London! No lack of exciting things to do there!

Ooh, and if you don't mindm could you please shed some light on the state of the accomodation? (:

Well I'm an international so they're not really used to this sort of thing at my school... But I will email my referee then. I don't know if I'm reapplying, it mainly depends on my grades.

Here, we've got a scale from 1 'til 10 as a grading system, so an A would probably be 8 - 10. I'm taking eight subjects to final exams and I think that if I get (more than) four times a 9 (and the rest 8) I might reapply. If my grades are lower, I'm not bothering. I really want to maximalize my chances of getting in or otherwise don't apply at all.

Have you made up you're mind yet?

Thats ok i hope it helps especially as it seems so hard to think of things to make yourself stand out!

Im not sure exactly how each uni would see it but I know someone who reapplied to the same set unis a second time (not Durham though) and got in to all of them with no problems

Which unis did you apply to/get offers at this year?

Well I'm an international so they're not really used to this sort of thing at my school... But I will email my referee then. I don't know if I'm reapplying, it mainly depends on my grades.

Here, we've got a scale from 1 'til 10 as a grading system, so an A would probably be 8 - 10. I'm taking eight subjects to final exams and I think that if I get (more than) four times a 9 (and the rest 8) I might reapply. If my grades are lower, I'm not bothering. I really want to maximalize my chances of getting in or otherwise don't apply at all.

Have you made up you're mind yet?

Ahh, sorry this is late, only just noticed! I'm such a ditz.

Some of the accommodation is *****, some is brilliant, so choose carefully - the same with any uni really. If it gets to the stage of you picking, I can list some of the best known for 'community vibe' for you, if you want, and which to avoid.

To be perfectly honest, there's not much I can say about the ease of making friends - you get back what you put in. If you just go to lectures and then go back and sit in your room, you'll make fewer friends than if you really throw yourself in. There are plenty of opportunities to make friends though OP, so I wouldn't worry - as for a campus feel, UCL is in a pretty confined area of central london, so basically everyone you walk past is a ucl student anyway, and there's a union, like any other uni, so i don't see a problem. I quite like the way that it's in the 'real world', as well as being teeming with students.

London's amazing, I thought it'd be too scary/big for me, but I love it now. If you can afford it it's definitely worth experiencing living in central london! When you're older it's unlikely you'll be able to afford it quite so readily

All the best OP! x

I'm having my fingers crossed for you as well, I really think you deserve the place! Must be really annoying to be still waiting, I was almost happy to hear I got rejected as that meant no more waiting. Which college was it that re-interviewed you?
Haha I really hope I meet my offer for Bristol, too, I haven't visited Bristol yet, but it seems just great! If I don't, then I might even reapply to Cambridge next year..

I've now left my Cambridge rejection behind me by far, it confuses me when some people ask me "how did it go with cambridge?".. I go "huh? cambridge? oh, that! that was ages ago. I got rejected but that doesn't matter anymore".

I've actually become happy and satisfied with the way things have turned out. I've lost a lot of pressure from my current studies and I dropped a course where the teacher was really dreadful. I will definitely not reapply.

Yay, I got rejected for MML (French & Russian) yesterday. I was pooled by Clare, and then got rejected by Fitzwilliam.

I left Fitz with quite a bad taste in my mouth to be honest; the second interviewer I had in particular I felt was quite unpleasant at times and I didn't get a great feel for the place. I probably needed longer there. However, it's all academic now, because I clearly was not destined to go to Cambridge!

Plans?
Hopefully I'll go to Manchester or Bristol (my two offers as it stands - only need ABC or ABB !!) and have a great time. I'm from Lancashire, I live 7 miles in between Blackpool & Preston so am quite close to Manchester and love it as a city, but I'm a bit dubious as to whether I want to stay so close to home, even though I really liked the uni.
Perhaps things will become clearer as I visit more places.

Good luck to you all and REMEMBER - ONLY THE COOL KIDS GET REJECTED!!

I've lost a lot of pressure from my current studies and I dropped a course where the teacher was really dreadful. I will definitely not reapply.