Firstly, did anyone get a place on a Sutton trust summer school? I didn't and I emailed back asking why. ( I applied for Cambridge uni for chemistry) . Personally I think this is a poor excuse:
"We prioritise applications based on the selection criteria that is outlined on our website here. This selection criteria is in place as we aim to reach students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds and help them overcome some of the barriers they may face in accessing higher education. We do not use academic performance as a main selection tool (outside of the 5 GCSEs at 6-9 minimum) and do not require students to fill out long personal statements or questionnaires. There is, therefore, nothing that you could personally have done to improve your application"
Okay, I get there probably would have been a few thousand applicants (but the original email said they have 500 odd places) but I thought Cambridge aimed at high achievers like me. if every uni does this then how are are top achievers meant to get any uni experience like this? To quote the email I think they are creating a barrier for us for higher education. I don't mean to be mean or anything, but it sometimes seems like everything is for disadvantaged people and everyone else doesn't get anything! I thought this would be a valid experience for me as I don't have any family who have been to uni and I want to see what chemistry is like at uni, but reading the rejection email I was extremely disappointed. Then they offer you a crappy experience day which I don't want. What does everyone else think about this?