CERN is competitive, but can i still apply with a 2:2 (first year) or screw it?

Internships and such tend to be for penultimate year students anyway. Just aim to considerably improve your grades in second year.

Of course there's no reason not to apply - you never know what will happen. I ended up applying to a (theoretically) competitively awarded summer research award scheme, and ended up getting one of the three awards - because including myself, only two people applied!

How considerable?

I'm dissapointed with my 2:2 grade and achieved a 2:1 in the first semester and proceeded to burn out in second semester. However, the past is the past. I want to apply to good placements or at-least earn great work experience to help me with applying to other companies in the future. CERN, Microsoft, etc are cool but feel there's a barrier for people like me. Should I even bother applying? I do an extra curricular where i do robotics competitions and I am a team leader for robotic grippers. I've done some python development, but i intend to study it and get to an advanced understanding of machine learning by the end of my 3 year course. (I'm a second Year Engineering student)