Cambridge

Is undergraduate studies at Cambridge very different from postgraduate studies at Cambridge, this is because I really wanted to study undergraduate at Cambridge but don't have the right grades so I was thinking of maybe going there at postgraduate. I know that the duration of studies for postgraduate is a lot shorter but do you get the same experience of Cambridge as if you were an undergraduate student with all the college activities etc?

Original post by learn233

Is undergraduate studies at Cambridge very different from postgraduate studies at Cambridge, this is because I really wanted to study undergraduate at Cambridge but don't have the right grades so I was thinking of maybe going there at postgraduate. I know that the duration of studies for postgraduate is a lot shorter but do you get the same experience of Cambridge as if you were an undergraduate student with all the college activities etc?

Yes, much the same, same city, same shops, same Colleges (mostly) same way the Colleges work, same lecture space, same academics, same resources, same museums, same visiting lecturers, same College sports and societies, same University sports and societies ... Different lectures, that's all.

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Original post by learn233

Is undergraduate studies at Cambridge very different from postgraduate studies at Cambridge, this is because I really wanted to study undergraduate at Cambridge but don't have the right grades so I was thinking of maybe going there at postgraduate. I know that the duration of studies for postgraduate is a lot shorter but do you get the same experience of Cambridge as if you were an undergraduate student with all the college activities etc?

As 3PD says, it's similar, but I do think some differences exist. I think the primary difference is how you think of the year, in terms of terms! Undegrad life is very much dominated by the eight-week term and panicking about how it's disappearing at a rate of knots. Some social stuff is organised around the term, like Halfway Formals. At the end of term, the majority of students disappear back to wherever, and college is usually very quiet (particular those focussed on undegrads (i.e the majority)). Easter Term is dominated by exam prep, with things like college quiet periods, bops finishing early, that sort of thing.

As a postgrad, you don't really think in these eight-week blocks, and life is much more 'normal' than it is for an undergraduate. Of course, you're more focussed on your department rather than college as a postgrad, and that's beneficial. As a graduate student, the idea of a long summer holiday obviously doesn't exist, and college can be very quiet over the summer (but again, that does make a welcome change sometimes). It's a different rhythm, I think. Not worse, but definitely different. I think looking back on it, I preferred my time as a graduate student than an undergraduate, mainly because there was more time to take a step back and actually enjoy it a bit. There was more time to do extra stuff and clubs/societies without feeling too guilty: at undergrad, being a boatie took up a lot of time!

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