The Student Room Group

Leeds vs Cambridge

Im in two minds as to which university to go to. Both leeds and cambridge do very good natural sciences degrees, which would both lead to a masters degree. Although cambridge is a very respected university so is leeds, and leeds has the added bonus of being a big city with plenty going on-exactly what i want from a university!

Would i be mad to turn down an offer from cambridge and live the lifestyle i want in leeds, or should i resolve to working hard for the 8 weeks a term im at cambridge so i can get a job and party in the holidays?!

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Reply 1
Sounds like you're swaying towards Leeds tbh, and in the matter of choosing a uni it's important to go with your gut.
I had offers from Cambridge and St Andrews but when it came down to it, that just wasn't the sort of place I would feel comfortable in. It's more relaxed here (not in a bad slacker sort of way), but everyone's really down to earth (for the majority). I know I wouldn't have been happy at Cambridge or St Andrews but I am here. Guess it depends on the personality :smile:
I didn't get an offer from Cambridge after my interview but I'd have chosen Leeds even so. I'm the first in my family to go to uni and we're definitely not from any kind of well-off background, and I feel like I'd be playing catch-up to everyone there. There's a fair amount of public/grammar school students at Leeds as it is, which occasionally makes me feel a bit out of place, so I can just imagine how it would have been at Cambridge. Leeds is a much better city in terms of what's going on - loads of bands play here and it has a very diverse nightlife. I think with Cambridge, you can't really escape the university and the academic nature.
I turned down Oxford and Cambridge to go to Leeds in a dream once.
Reply 4
guitarromantic
There's a fair amount of public/grammar school students at Leeds as it is, which occasionally makes me feel a bit out of place, so I can just imagine how it would have been at Cambridge.


Hey.. well I'm from a grammar school and to be fair I'm struggling as much, if not more than everyone on my course lol.. but then I am incredibly lazy.. (for one 10 credit module this semester I currently have a total of 3 sides of notes..)

But my point is.. just because people go to grammar/public/private schools doesnt make them smarter/better than others!
i wish i'd got into cambridge, if i had i'd have definitely gone there. i think you should seriously consider turning down an offer from there. it's such a lovely place, and you will have a good experience wherever you go, cambridge will just be a little bit different.
ChrisA86
Hey.. well I'm from a grammar school and to be fair I'm struggling as much, if not more than everyone on my course lol.. but then I am incredibly lazy.. (for one 10 credit module this semester I currently have a total of 3 sides of notes..)

But my point is.. just because people go to grammar/public/private schools doesnt make them smarter/better than others!


Haha, don't jump to conclusions, nowhere did I say that I felt people from those schools are smarter. I just feel that because they're from a (most likely) rich background, and from a school where they've probably had a more intense and varied education than my and my state school one, with teachers that actually gave a ****, we're from very different backgrounds and lead lifestyles that make it harder to have things in common, hence feeling out of place.
Reply 7
grammar schools are state schools!!!
Reply 8
most people from public schools are actually incredibly stupid......and I speak from 1st hand experience. Im at a public school now and sure, you get the really smart, intelligent ones, but a lot of them are actually rather stupid...come out with the most ridiculous comments and they think they are being really intelligent - which just makes it all the more funny!!
Reply 9
It pretty much depends on what you want to do with your life. If you want to get into postgrad stuff or go into a high-flying City job, then Cambridge is obviously your best option. If, on the other hand, the prestige of your degree won't matter for what you want to do, then go for what you'll enjoy more.
Reply 10
Ziggy Stardust
I turned down Oxford and Cambridge to go to Leeds in a dream once.


did u regret it then?
Reply 11
This is a really tough decision. student life at cambridge is a lot different to leeds so don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you that you'll have the same experience wherever you go. On the whole cambridge has its history and tradition and loads of societies and things whereas leeds is more of a typical studenty lifestyle- both can be fun and both can and will get boring and annoying at times.
cambridge does stand out on a cv, particularly if you want to go into research or if you want to work abroad but a good degree from leeds is still impressive and shouldn't hold you back- it might just mean you have to put a bit more effort in to get noticed.
I think you just need to think about why you are going to uni. If it is mainly as a means to getting a good job, go to cambridge. If it is more for the student experience go to leeds. either way you're bound to feel some regret at some point.
I have met a couple of people at leeds who turned down offers from oxford or cambridge so you won't be the first and you certainly won't be the last to do so.
Fleece
Sounds like you're swaying towards Leeds tbh, and in the matter of choosing a uni it's important to go with your gut.
I had offers from Cambridge and St Andrews but when it came down to it, that just wasn't the sort of place I would feel comfortable in. It's more relaxed here (not in a bad slacker sort of way), but everyone's really down to earth (for the majority). I know I wouldn't have been happy at Cambridge or St Andrews but I am here. Guess it depends on the personality :smile:


yeah I had offers from Sienna Miller and Kate Moss but when it came down to it I went for Jade Goody cos she's more down to earth
MagicNMedicine
yeah I had offers from Sienna Miller and Kate Moss but when it came down to it I went for Jade Goody cos she's more down to earth


Personally I'd turn down all 3. :biggrin:
Reply 14
Have you considered that if your academically able to get into Oxbridge you could do your hons at Leeds then a masters at Oxbridge when you're ready to be calm? In my opinion Leeds is an awesome uni and if it had absolutely no night life like Oxbridge it would likely compare more favourably. But at the end of the day if you really care about your subject, getting connections, and ultimately a better job then Cambridge is the place to go. At least you have half the year to go to good places to party, perhaps visit friends in big cities so you get the contrast you want?
Reply 15
Elipsis
Have you considered that if your academically able to get into Oxbridge you could do your hons at Leeds then a masters at Oxbridge when you're ready to be calm? In my opinion Leeds is an awesome uni and if it had absolutely no night life like Oxbridge it would likely compare more favourably. But at the end of the day if you really care about your subject, getting connections, and ultimately a better job then Cambridge is the place to go. At least you have half the year to go to good places to party, perhaps visit friends in big cities so you get the contrast you want?


is oxbridge -oxford
is there really no night life? :huff: :huff:
Reply 16
porki
is oxbridge -oxford
is there really no night life? :huff: :huff:


Oxbridge is cambridge/oxford, the night life there is really quite crap and VERY controlled. There are pubs but no clubs as such and there's very little live music anymore.
Reply 17
oh..sounds like such a shame..poor ppl there
Reply 18
I've got a friend, who is from Leeds, at Cambridge uni. He has so much work it's unbelieveable, he barely has time to go on facebook, and as us students know that's all we do haha. He misses the nightlife up here like mad, and sometimes wonders if it's worth all the hard work, he only told me not long ago he wasn't glad in the slightest to be back because of all the fuss everyone is making about exams there. Though that said I personally love the atmosphere there, its so historic, and a lovely place but I don't think I'd be able to keep up with the work and i'd miss the liveliness and diversity of Leeds.
Reply 19
are you last year now?
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