Cambridge with no Scholarship Vs St. Andrews with full scholarship

Please help me make a choice for my undergrad in psychology. I have conditional offers from Cambridge as well as St. Andrews. No scholarship from Cambridge but full scholarship from St. Andrews. Which should I firm? What is the ROI comparisons? Please help.

Reply 1

katerrina

Personally I think psychology at St Andrews is so much better than Cambridge. Both are very prestigious unis, but St Andrews with a scholarship as well, that’s amazing! What’s stopping you? Or what doubts are you having?

Reply 2

sumala

Original post by katerrina

Thanks. Tha name of Cambridge. And with regards to employability and further studies, does Cambridge have an edge? I love the structure and flexibility of the course at St Andrews though.

Reply 3

katerrina

Original post by sumala

Thanks. Tha name of Cambridge. And with regards to employability and further studies, does Cambridge have an edge? I love the structure and flexibility of the course at St Andrews though.

It’s a difficult decision, especially if the name is something that you’re hang up on. That being said, St Andrews is very well known and respected by both employers and academics (I’m sure you know Prince William and Kate both went to St Andrews). So don’t worry in terms of whether one is going to live up to the other, they are both as good as each other.

I think there are a couple of other things to think about. Does the scholarship/money play a factor for you? Because if it’s a yes, you have to think about what kind of things you want to get envolved in (like sports clubs and societies). Most sports memberships aren’t cheap, plus equipment, kit, trips…. All would be easier to afford if you don’t have to worry about the tuition fee covered by the scholarship. Also you’re not allowed to work during term time aswell because of the work load. If it doesn’t play a factor, then have a look at the National Student Survey ratings, very helpful to see what current students actually say about the course, in my opinion they are better than general league tables because they don’t reflect the overall grade, but the quality of life that you’re gonna get.

Have you been to open days to both unis? Did you visit them at all? Again you gotta think about what kind of experience you want to have. St Andrews is quite a small town but right by the beach, very beautiful (I loved it when I went for their open day back in the day) but might feel a little isolating (although Dundee a bigger city, is like 20 min away). Cambridge is a lot bigger, more nightlife, a train ride away from London or other big cities and etc…

Let’s be honest, to say that you went to Cambridge, it sounds cool, life time opportunity, but do you think would be able to handle the work load? Do you think you’d enjoy the course? Trust me, a name is not worth it if you will hate every minute of it.

From my knowledge (but don’t take my word for it), Cambridge is not the best at helping you with employment after, but I wouldn’t really worry about that in general. I feel like as you go through uni, you will create opportunities for yourself and you will end where you’d want to be. There are a lot of factors to consider. I’m not sure if I confused you more but I hoped it helped a little. At the end of the day, you have to put your interests first and go with your gut.

P.S I was in your shoes trying to decide between these two (for psychology aswell), so I know how it feels to be torn. I ended up missing out by one grade so I ended up at my back up choice. Now graduating this year, and having gone through the whole uni experience, I can tell you that no one actually cares where you went or where you go. And chose the one where you’d be able to get involved in more like clubs and stuff. In terms of further employment, at the end of the day we’re all applying for the same positions and having the uni name will give you nothing if you don’t have any work experience to back it up with.

If Cambridge ticks all your the boxes, I’d take it. Back in the day, I personally ended up choosing St Andrews as my first choice but that’s because I fell in love with the town and the uni atmosphere felt a lot more chill and enjoyable. But that was my personal impression.

Reply 4

timtimtimtimt

Hi!! can i ask either of you what offer did St Andrews give? It says it’s entry requirements are AAB on their website but will they raise them requirements if I am predicted higher than AAB? Thanks!

Reply 5

sumala

The condition they gave was a 36 on 45 with 666 in IB. Cambridge condition was 43/45 with 7766. Finally went to Cambridge

Reply 6

timtimtimtimt

woah thats quite a high offer! congrats on getting in! Which college are you in?

Original post by sumala

The condition they gave was a 36 on 45 with 666 in IB. Cambridge condition was 43/45 with 7766. Finally went to Cambridge

Reply 7

sumala

Original post by timtimtimtimt

woah thats quite a high offer! congrats on getting in! Which college are you in?

Selwyn college.
And St Andrews will not raise their condition based on your predicted. My predicted was a 43 while the condition they gave was 36.

(edited 6 months ago)

Reply 8

Lord Asriel

Really depends on what you want to do afterwards.

For certain paths Oxbridge gives you an advantage or opportunities (e.g. Law, Media). It's also good for impressing strangers at social functions.

However, in the world of psychology it's far less of an factor. For a research career, it's more about academic kudos, which means scholarships and awards are more helpful and accessing research networks (which are good at both Oxbridge and St Andrews). It's not something most DClinPsy selectors care about if you wanted to do clinical psychology, and instead it's your clinical experience and your overall ability that they often test for at interview, but scholarships and publications do help you stand out from the pack. For other psychology routes its more about experience, supervision and developing skills.

The other things I would bear in mind is the advantages of being a big fish in a little pond. The downside of being at Cambridge is that you are far more likely to get lost or overlooked (because your are up against fairly formidable competition) than at a smaller or less focussed institution. People have written about this, but being the 'star' of a smaller institution where you can stand out win awards, make links with staff/mentors and develop your own opportunities, rather than being 'generic grad #32345' from the University of Impressing Your Mum's Friends. From my experience in both types of environments, I reckon it is probably one of the helpful thing to consider.