Cambridge demystified - History

What did you mention in your personal statement?

Although its a bit risky to do so because you don't want to alienate whoever's reading your personal statement, I talked quite a bit about contemporary events in my personal statement. I went for two divisive topics which were very relevant when I was applying. Firstly, I talked about Trump and how the Republican Party had evolved since Lincoln. This allowed me to discuss the legacy of historical events in the present, with a specific focus on the long term impacts of Nixon's 'Southern Strategy' in permanently changing US politics. I also went on to mention Brexit so that I could examine how the way in which we teach history influences contemporary events and the role of history in British politics. In both of these, I was careful not to put forward my political opinions on the subjects, instead focusing only on the history.

I also discussed my EPQ and how it had made me think about historiography. For this, I referenced Collingwood's 'The Idea of History' and Carr's 'What is History'. Collingwood goes into much more detail than Carr, exploring historiography since Herodotus whilst Carr's is much more concise and a lot easier to read.

I talked about the insight that literature gives in studying history, mentioning 'Lady Windermere's Fan' and Wilde's essay 'The Soul of Man Under Socialism' for a discussion about socialism in the late 19th century.

Finally, I did mention a few non-academic points at the end of my personal statement. However, Oxbridge tend not to be very interested in this so I kept it very brief.

Which techniques did you use for the entrance test?

For the AHAA there isn't much you can do to prepare except practise tests. My history teacher was kind enough to mark the essay section for me and gave some general advice each time on how he thought I could improve since it's hard to know exactly what it is they're looking for. There weren't many practise tests available for the AHAA, so I mostly had to look for older versions of the entrance test, which were very helpful to complete. In retrospect, I think this was the best way to prepare as its more about your analytical and comparison skills than having any own knowledge of the period/s in question.

How did you choose your college?

I started off by looking at a thread on TSR, which was written by students at each college, listing their pros and cons. From this, I narrowed down a short-list of colleges and picked from there. Later, I used a website that my school had given us called Unifrog, which has a feature that lets you compare statistics from different Cambridge colleges. Both times, my favourite was Homerton.

Homerton appealed to me for several reasons. It rents out your room during the holidays as a hotel, using the money earnt from that to subsidise your accommodation prices to ensure that it is the cheapest college by room price. It also makes sure to source its food locally and the fact that it put such an emphasis on being green was a definite plus. Also, a good thing to check is the amount of History students each college accepts per year. Homerton gives out around 10 History offers a year, which is relatively high. Finally, although it doesn't have many historians at the college, their main one specialises in American history, which is my main area of interest.

Here's links to all the tools I used to pick:
- Application statistics: https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics
- Unifrog: https://www.unifrog.org/
- TSR Cambridge college thread: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Cambridge_College_Pros_and_Cons

I loved the way you picked your college!

TSR has so many brilliant resources for students, and the Oxbridge college pros and cons is right up there with the best! Yes, I did use it as one of the deciding factors.

One of our keenest and most supportive chapter writers, Mona123456, has even written a chapter for me called How to Choose your Oxford College!

When he was younger, my son considered Cambridge so we went to see several colleges. I must admit I did prefer the smaller "cosier" colleges and Homerton was one of these.

https://www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/

You have chosen an ethically responsible college, which really impresses me and shows your caring side.

Also there are 10 places there. This should not be the only criterion when picking a college, but "every little helps"!

Finally you found a professor there who specialises in American history. My son ended up picking Oriel for medicine, as they had two brain specialists there. It really is worth trawling through all the college websites if you have a particular interest. However some professors may not be teaching undergraduates, or may just be there for research. It would be well worth emailing the professor to find out, or even better (not now but in future years) to attend an open day. There may be subject talks and you can ask the relevant person yourself.

@Mona123456