I'm a Cambridge reject and I'm thinking of reapplying next year

It's just a small hassle. It's perfectly fine and many many students do it.

The hassle is largely avoided if the student STARTS on the longer course at the outset, but really it's not a big deal to change part way through

If the person was at another uni (say from september until january) and then dropped out and started in october, that would be 4 years wouldn't it? Which would be covered by the loan?

No they allow the longer course without problems if it's an undergrad course. So moving from a BSc at UCL to an MSci (or MEng, or whatever) at Cambridge (or anywhere) is not a problem.

The hassle is largely avoided if the student STARTS on the longer course at the outset, but really it's not a big deal to change part way through

All in all this seems like a lot of work and time just to get into oxbridge, that too transferring from a place like UCL (best case scenario). Is it really worth it? This has left me confused.

So it seems to me that reapplying to Oxford while at another uni is a much easier option than Cambridge. Oxford also don't seem to require a reference from someone specifically at your current uni, which makes things less awkward.

I'm not very keen on the idea of taking a gap year anyways. Unless you're doing something rather outstanding, the gap year only hurts. I don't want to reject the offer I already have from UCL either, even if I get top grades. I've heard that universities don't like giving someone an offer next year after they've already rejected one last year and I don't want to run the risk of not ending up anywhere if i get rejected by oxbridge a second time as well.

All in all this seems like a lot of work and time just to get into oxbridge, that too transferring from a place like UCL (best case scenario). Is it really worth it? This has left me confused.

Hmm, that's not what I heard from my college tutors when I looked (briefly) into transferring unis before - apparently because I was on a three year course at Cambridge and had used up one of those years, that gave me a MAX of three years left of funding (including the grace year), but maybe the situation has changed.



Unfortunately not an option at Cambridge though, since entry to the fourth year is competitive and all students are only admitted initially onto the BA

Well hold on. Oxford says "If possible, your reference should come from one of the academic staff at your current university."
https://uni-of-oxford.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/547/related/1

Gap years are great! A perfect opportunity to stretch yourself (or just chill) before resuming full time education.

Also, Cambridge WELCOMES re-applicants (or gap year applicants). Only mathmos have a bit of an uphill task. For everyone else a gap year is absolutely fine and not uncommon. Just ensure you exceed the typical offer to be competitive, and usually it's best to apply to a different college.

Oh and UCL (and anyone else) will re-offer you if you reapply with good achieved grades. Universities don't hold grudges...

Alright, so the plan of action now then is to firm UCL and wait for my results. If I get exceptional results (I'm thinking 3 A*s or higher) then I have a good chance of getting into oxbridge (I do prefer cambridge) after taking a gap year and turning down all my offers. If, however I do not get exceptional results (2 A* or less, my offer from UCL is A*AA), I simply go to UCL and then re-apply for Oxford?

Alright, so the plan of action now then is to firm UCL and wait for my results. If I get exceptional results (I'm thinking 3 A*s or higher) then I have a good chance of getting into oxbridge (I do prefer cambridge) after taking a gap year and turning down all my offers. If, however I do not get exceptional results (2 A* or less, my offer from UCL is A*AA), I simply go to UCL and then re-apply for Oxford?

Also, auburnstar, could you clarify which scenario you're talking about? I assume it's the second one.

Hey guys, first, some information about me. I'm in year 13 right now doing Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Further Maths A levels. As the title says, I got rejected by Cambridge, Trinity College, for Natural Sciences MSci this week.

Now, disappointments aside, I'm thinking of reapplying next year, perhaps not to the same course/ college though. I already hold offers from UCL, uni of York, Nottingham uni and Lancaster uni. Now before anyone points out that these are great unis, hear me out. This is what I'm thinking:

I put UCL as my firm choice and hopefully if I get the grades, I join it in September this year. However, at the same time I start reapplying to Cambridge (or Oxford for that matter). If I get in, I formally transfer universities and be potentially behind a year, but does that really matter if you're an oxbridge graduate? and if I don't get in, mehh, life goes on and I graduate from UCL (hopefully). This way, I avoid a gap year (unless someone can give me something academically worthwhile to do during the gap year). So, how does it sound?

I do have some conundrums regarding this plan. Firstly, if I do get into UCL, is oxbridge really that much better than UCL? Secondly, how does this affect my finance situation? I will be taking out a student loan.

So, any light to be shed on my situation? I'm happy to provide more details and I'm, well, kinda stuck here.

Edit: I will be applying for a 4 year MSci, oxbridge or otherwise
Edit # 2: Just to be clear, I'm thinking of reapplying either to Cambridge or Oxford, whilst doing my first year at another university (UCL if all goes well).

in the hope OP comes to his senses and chooses the better uni )

Oxford might say that on their website, it doesn't seem true to me though. I reapplied to Oxford this year while attending uni in my home country, the course started at 17th October - the deadline was the 15th. And I wasn't too keen on asking people here about it anyways. I asked probably half of Oxford (I was incredibly concerned throughout the whole process and asked at various colleges) and I can for sure say that at least the handful of colleges I spoke to said that a reference from school was completely fine and that they didn't care about what I was doing in the year (attending uni didn't make a difference). So OP, I would just recommend you to go for the better place

I can confirm that universities don't hold grudges though, I reapplied to Warwick and they offered me a place even earlier than before. (They just were a bit more into this whole "we need a confirmation from a current uni" thing which I found a bit weird, they made it a condition of the offer) - actually really weird cause Oxford didn't require anything from my current uni. They also made my offer unconditional, they don't even care if I finish this year or drop out (which is the ultimate motivation killer, really)

@Qwerty178 is probably able to say more about reapplying from UCL (to Oxford - in the hope OP comes to his senses and chooses the better uni )

I've had friends who applied to uni 3 years in a row cos they badly wanted to get into oxbridge or the 5 london unis. In the end they never made it and for a few years they either stayed at home just staring at the walls and living off benefits or they did odd jobs here and there.

If I can be honest it doesn't really matter which uni you graduate from. Yes it may appear somewhat important before, during and after your UCAS application and when you're in uni but once you graduate and go into the working world, you will realise my point. I only realized this when I did internships at a couple of banks.

Disagree with the bolded. Oxbridge and Ivy League are a class in and of themselves. Russell Group is also very highly regarded. If we are talking about the difference between different RG unis excluding Oxbridge, you're probably right. If we're talking about ambition and dedication to get yourself anywhere, whilst uni will make a difference (esp for the first 5 years before experience), undoubtedly grit is a necessary quality.

I doubt OP is of the kind to stare at walls, sounds like they worked pretty hard (and are clearly dedicated). Whilst I wouldn't reapply more than once (a triple rejection is bound to hurt a lot), reapplying following a gap year or a year somewhere else is pretty reasonable - esp if OP was considering it anyways.

Just told UCL that I'm dropping out cause I got an offer from Oxford and they said ok, we can't stop you.

Hey guys, first, some information about me. I'm in year 13 right now doing Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Further Maths A levels. As the title says, I got rejected by Cambridge, Trinity College, for Natural Sciences MSci this week.

Now, disappointments aside, I'm thinking of reapplying next year, perhaps not to the same course/ college though. I already hold offers from UCL, uni of York, Nottingham uni and Lancaster uni. Now before anyone points out that these are great unis, hear me out. This is what I'm thinking:

I put UCL as my firm choice and hopefully if I get the grades, I join it in September this year. However, at the same time I start reapplying to Cambridge (or Oxford for that matter). If I get in, I formally transfer universities and be potentially behind a year, but does that really matter if you're an oxbridge graduate? and if I don't get in, mehh, life goes on and I graduate from UCL (hopefully). This way, I avoid a gap year (unless someone can give me something academically worthwhile to do during the gap year). So, how does it sound?

I do have some conundrums regarding this plan. Firstly, if I do get into UCL, is oxbridge really that much better than UCL? Secondly, how does this affect my finance situation? I will be taking out a student loan.

So, any light to be shed on my situation? I'm happy to provide more details and I'm, well, kinda stuck here.

Edit: I will be applying for a 4 year MSci, oxbridge or otherwise
Edit # 2: Just to be clear, I'm thinking of reapplying either to Cambridge or Oxford, whilst doing my first year at another university (UCL if all goes well).