Who accpets Cambridge offer

My son is senior in IB and has very competitive application. He is applying mainly to American Universities but somehow has set his heart on Natural Science course at Cambridge. Now I can't see any scenario how he can go to Cambridge. Even if he gets offer from Cambridge then he will only know whether he is going to Cambridge next Aug or Sep when IB results come out and before that most American Universities would have gotten a commitment from him about where he wants to go.
So there are only one way in which he goes to Cambridge, he gets offer from Cambridge and is rejected by every other place where he is applying. Hopefully that does not happen, he is applying to safeties too but he can't be so unique.I am wondering how do American Student finally end up at Cambridge. I am sorry if this question has been answered but I could not find an answer on Internet.

He's too late to apply for the current admissions cycle anyway (for entry Oct 2016).

Normally he would have applied by 15 Oct, been interviewed in Dec 2015, and (if approved) received an Offer in January 2016.

He has already applied, now he is spending time preparing for interview and maybe another test like TSA. This takes time away from what he can use in writing essays for American universities.
My question was related to scenario where an American kid will take admission to Cambridge over any other university. I can't conceive of any scenario other then one I mentioned above that kid fails to get admission anywhere in USA and is forced to accept Cambridge otherwise Cambridge is not a viable option.

I don't see the issue. If he accepts an offer from Cambridge, he is committed to going there provided he gets the grades. He's going to have to make up his mind when he receives his offers about where he wants to go; he can't have this 'keeping all options open' all the way until the start of the academic year. If his heart is that set on Cambridge and he gets an offer, he should accept that and work hard to meet his offer. If he misses the offer, he can always reapply to the American universities.

Even if he gets offer from Cambridge then he will only know whether he is going to Cambridge next Aug or Sep when IB results come out

My daughter got into almost every school she applied to. Cam was her first choice, but we put down a deposit on an Ivy, about $250 (in May, non-refundable) if I recall. Once she met her conditions (beginning July for bac results in France), she was set: the US uni would have cost about $60K the first year (in addition to a scholarship), while Cam would cost just 50% more than that FOR THE ENTIRE DEGREE. Add to that the absolutely first rate, individualized attention that she gets at Cam and we are glad she chose to go there.

My daughter got into almost every school she applied to. Cam was her first choice, but we put down a deposit on an Ivy, about $250 (in May, non-refundable) if I recall. Once she met her conditions (beginning July for bac results in France), she was set: the US uni would have cost about $60K the first year (in addition to a scholarship), while Cam would cost just 50% more than that FOR THE ENTIRE DEGREE. Add to that the absolutely first rate, individualized attention that she gets at Cam and we are glad she chose to go there.

^this

And OP that's probably one of the reasons why there are not so many US students at Cambridge.

Cost for going to uni on US can be different from student to student. I know a few British students who went to/are at Ivy League whose costs (fees, etc) are entirely covered by scholarship they got from their uni. The only thing they had/have to pay themselves were air fares to/from UK/USA.
It's not very easy for international students to get scholarship for undergraduate course in uk.

My son is senior in IB and has very competitive application. He is applying mainly to American Universities but somehow has set his heart on Natural Science course at Cambridge. Now I can't see any scenario how he can go to Cambridge. Even if he gets offer from Cambridge then he will only know whether he is going to Cambridge next Aug or Sep when IB results come out and before that most American Universities would have gotten a commitment from him about where he wants to go.
So there are only one way in which he goes to Cambridge, he gets offer from Cambridge and is rejected by every other place where he is applying. Hopefully that does not happen, he is applying to safeties too but he can't be so unique.I am wondering how do American Student finally end up at Cambridge. I am sorry if this question has been answered but I could not find an answer on Internet.

What is the cost of committing to a US university and later withdrawing?

It depends on the uni. We paid $250, non-refendable.

I don't see the issue. If he accepts an offer from Cambridge, he is committed to going there provided he gets the grades. He's going to have to make up his mind when he receives his offers about where he wants to go; he can't have this 'keeping all options open' all the way until the start of the academic year. If his heart is that set on Cambridge and he gets an offer, he should accept that and work hard to meet his offer. If he misses the offer, he can always reapply to the American universities.

^this

And OP that's probably one of the reasons why there are not so many US students at Cambridge. Only the one's who are really passionate about it.

Also have you checked the full costs, including College Fees, etc.

Posted from TSR Mobile

The issue is that if you apply to american unis in the first admissions cycle, and they accept you, you have to go. So american uni deadline for reply is december 15th, so if he is accepted by then and he has an offer from cambridge, has must go to the american uni.

OP: Perhaps have him apply in the second admission cycle for american unis. I am aware this is very risky perhaps is worth a try.