What's better... a 2:1 from Cambridge or a 1st from another top 10 uni?

An admissions tutor at Cam said most people they reject go on to get firsts elsewhere (presumably at a good uni). It's making me wonder which is better anyway...

Reply 1

sebbie

15

I know most people they reject go on to get AAA but most get firsts too, hadn't heard that.... To be honest I'd rather have the 2:1 from Cambridge....

Reply 2

shady lane

16

The person with a first from UCL or LSE is probably as smart, if not smarter, than the 2:1 at Cambridge, but people treat Cambridge grads like gods so the 2:1 would probably be better in terms of jobs. Not graduate school though--the first would probably get more of a response.

Reply 3

*titanium*

12

has it never occured to you that it depends on the course aswell, personaly i would rather a first from my uni then even a first from cambridge for my course.

Reply 4

mtbab

17

i'd rather the first, coz then you can go to Camb and do a masters lol. best of both worlds.

Reply 5

Turdburger

16

good point mb.

Though if you get a first will you pretty much be pretty much guarenteed a place at Oxbridge for a postgrad?

Reply 6

vixky!

13

I *think* I would rather a first from another top 10 uni but I've no idea about what is classed as "better".

first somewhere else

Heartbreaker

good point mb.

Though if you get a first will you pretty much be pretty much guarenteed a place at Oxbridge for a postgrad?

Fallacy. No one is guaranteed a place at Oxbridge.

Reply 9

sebbie

15

yeah it depends on the course... a 2:1 in Maths from Cambridge is almost certainly better than a first from anywhere else except for Oxford...

Warwick, Durham?

...Imperial?

How hard is it to obtain a 2:1 degree from a top 10 uni in the UK?

Reply 13

Ms.Golightly

MrBing

How hard is it to obtain a 2:1 degree from a top 10 uni in the UK?

That's impossible to answer because "hard" is subjective. You have to put the time and effort into it and it helps if you're passionate about your subject because then you will automatically absorb more information.

Reply 14

FadeToBlackout

15

Heartbreaker

good point mb.

Though if you get a first will you pretty much be pretty much guarenteed a place at Oxbridge for a postgrad?

Not really. Postgrad places are extremely limited; of the people I know doing them in Cam, they tend to have starred firsts. Whilst I want to do postgrad work, I'm resigned to the fact that I will probably get a 2.1 here. Could I have got a First somewhere else? Possibly. But there are other factors to consider.

-Tutorial system. Basically one on one teaching, available at Cam and very rare anywhere else. It can help you learn a huge amount, and is one of the best features of the degree.

-Facilities. Cam has awesome facilities, for example the average faculty library alone has more books than your usual university library elsewhere. Backed up by the UL, which has 7 million books. It also has great computer facilities, etc etc etc.

-Money. Cam say that one you're in you will not have to drop out through financial reasons. Because you won't have to get a part time job, or are limited by rules into how much you can do if you do, then you have the benefit of being able to concentrate on work to a far larger degree.

My point is, basically, the standard of teaching and the oppertunities at Cam mean that you may well do better there than at another uni.

Cam also has a huge amount of oppertunities for extra curricular stuff, from rowing to politics to charity to whatever. If your 2.1 is accompanied by a huge plethora of extra curricular stuff that may well make you a lot more attractive to an employer than a person with a First who's had to lock themselves away in the library and trawl around for books to supplement different teaching.

Basically the argument is massively hard. It depends on the employer; BA (Cantab) no longer opens doors automatically as it did before. That said, there is a huge amount of recruitment in Cam. Over the past year I've been pestered by top-name merchant banks, investment corporations, from PricewaterhouseCoopers to BAE, all of who wish me to consider them after I graduate. I don't suspect such high flying companies promote themselves to such an extent at other universities, so it's not so much that graduates of other unis cannto dom the work, it's more that they're not pushed into top jobs and applying for them.

Theoretically a First from one institution is much the same as a First from another. Cambridge and all otehr universities have external examiners at other universities to ensure that the grades are much the same.

However, there are some caveats in that argument. Cam has an intellectual cachet and also has better facilities and generally better teaching through beter resources hence it might well be easier to get a high grade at Cam than elsewhere.

In terms of 2.1 versus First, there are a huge amount of thigns to consider and it really depends upon who's doing the viewing! To one person a 2.1 Cantab versus a First elsewhere may be worht the same, to another it may not. Hence you really cannot second guess these people. The question is unanswerable completely, because the answer depends upon who is making the judgement and that changes.

Reply 15

shady lane

16

Umm the same happens with recruiting at LSE, mate. A 1st from LSE would almost always look better than a 2:1 from Cambridge, especially given there is less academic hand-holding at LSE.

Reply 16

lynxdry

I would rather have the 1st from LSE than the 2.i from Cam, but I'd prefer the 2.i from Cam to everything else. Evidence suggests that Cambridge is far tougher than any other university, academically. There are colleges where entire subjects don't get a 2.i between them.

Reply 17

MrBing

1

Ms.Golightly

That's impossible to answer because "hard" is subjective. You have to put the time and effort into it and it helps if you're passionate about your subject because then you will automatically absorb more information.

OK, thanks.

Reply 18

shady lane

16

lynxdry

I would rather have the 1st from LSE than the 2.i from Cam, but I'd prefer the 2.i from Cam to everything else. Evidence suggests that Cambridge is far tougher than any other university, academically. There are colleges where entire subjects don't get a 2.i between them.

What about a 1st from Imperial?

Reply 19

Noobish

I would have a first from Oxford than a 2.1 from Cambridge.

Hell, i would have a 2.i from Oxford than a 2.i from Cambridge. :s

What's better... a 2:1 from Cambridge or a 1st from another top 10 uni?

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