Worth trying for Cambridge?

I’m currently in my 2nd year doing physics in uni of York and my grades are averaging out to be 79% and I’m likely to maintain this average for 2nd semester as well. My 1st year average was 73% and so far I have got firsts in all modules except two 2:1s.
Cambridge has essentially been a dream uni for me and I was wondering whether I should try for the mast physics 2026 intake with these grades. However as far as I’ve read it’s mostly been people with well above 80% who get offers for this course.
Some additional information is that I have two internship experiences in these years and I am looking to get a third before sending out my application. Will this help?
Should I go for it and apply or just do an integrated masters at york? Do I have a real chance?

First of all, it isn't an either or situation at the moment. Apply for both and make a decision if you get offers from both.
But also, consider why you want to do a Masters. Usually, an integrated Masters has fewer options, or a 'softer focus' than a standalone Masters. For example, Integrated - Choose 3 options requirement - 1 is nuclear physics, 2nd is industrial applications, 3rd option is irrelevant, whereas you can do a standalone Masters in Nuclear physics where everything focusses on that. So if you want to work in the nuclear industry, you are clearly better off doing the standalone Masters.
So why are you doing a Masters, what do you want to focus on, and where would be best to do it? There's a strong chance the answer isn't York or Cambridge.

Thanks a lot for your reply!
Apologies, I didn’t provide enough context so as to not make my post any more chunkier. I think it has already started to be an either or situation as of now. I have to let my department know whether I would be going for an integrated masters or leave after a bachelors by June which is when I get my grades for 2nd semester, so I have to choose whether to take that leap for another uni or stay here.
If I do choose to leave after a bachelors, I would be applying a lot of safety net unis which have courses I like as well and not just Cambridge.
I understand the softer focus point, the thing is I am still a bit confused about my desired career path and I am making up my mind on what to do essentially. My specialisation is astrophysics hence I could go for the Mast astrophysics or mast physics for a broader focus and then customise my degree with the optional modules given.
What would you suggest I should do now? Do you think I have a real chance if I do apply for Cambridge? Shall I just take the “safer” route and stay at York in case I get rejected from most unis I apply? I would say it’s not just the university prestige I am after, from what I’ve read the course at Cambridge seems really ideal along with the staff I’ve read into.

Thanks a lot for your reply!
Apologies, I didn’t provide enough context so as to not make my post any more chunkier. I think it has already started to be an either or situation as of now. I have to let my department know whether I would be going for an integrated masters or leave after a bachelors by June which is when I get my grades for 2nd semester, so I have to choose whether to take that leap for another uni or stay here.
If I do choose to leave after a bachelors, I would be applying a lot of safety net unis which have courses I like as well and not just Cambridge.
I understand the softer focus point, the thing is I am still a bit confused about my desired career path and I am making up my mind on what to do essentially. My specialisation is astrophysics hence I could go for the Mast astrophysics or mast physics for a broader focus and then customise my degree with the optional modules given.
What would you suggest I should do now? Do you think I have a real chance if I do apply for Cambridge? Shall I just take the “safer” route and stay at York in case I get rejected from most unis I apply? I would say it’s not just the university prestige I am after, from what I’ve read the course at Cambridge seems really ideal along with the staff I’ve read into.

I'd say go for it! You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. The worst case scenario that could happen if you got rejected from there and your safeties is you take a gap year and reapply.

Your current uni only need to know for number planning purposes. There's nothing holding you to that option. You only need to make a hard decision when you need to a) apply to graduate with a BSc and b) sort out SFE, because it works differently for an integrated Masters and a standalone Masters.

Thank you for the positive outlook! If in case does happen, won’t finding relevant work experience be a bit hard with a bachelors degree? Most internships usually require you to be registered with a university during your time of employment. Also, do you think I stand a real chance at Cambridge with the extremely competitive application pool?

I’m currently in my 2nd year doing physics in uni of York and my grades are averaging out to be 79% and I’m likely to maintain this average for 2nd semester as well. My 1st year average was 73% and so far I have got firsts in all modules except two 2:1s.
Cambridge has essentially been a dream uni for me and I was wondering whether I should try for the mast physics 2026 intake with these grades. However as far as I’ve read it’s mostly been people with well above 80% who get offers for this course.
Some additional information is that I have two internship experiences in these years and I am looking to get a third before sending out my application. Will this help?
Should I go for it and apply or just do an integrated masters at york? Do I have a real chance?

Hey, I was in the same position as you 2 years ago, but in a different degree. I did Chemistry at Leeds and was in the MChem course but decided to leave and try for some uni’s including Cambridge, I exited my course with Bsc at 74% and an internship and they gave me an offer. It’s different for everybody, everyone has different strengths. But I would say go for it as it worked for me.

I’m not too sure about the logistics of work experience etc (I’m a y13 student 😅).
I think you do stand a chance. I applied for undergrad medicine this year, it was my dream and didn’t think I’d be able to compete with everyone else applying, and I was luckily enough to receive an offer. At the end of the day someone is going to be given an offer, if you show your passion for the subject and make sure you still average high % in your modules, it could be you. I know that masters applications will of course be different, but at the end of the day you don’t have anything to lose

Thanks a lot, this does seem quite inspiring considering how you were in a very similar situation and got in. I will consider my semester 2 grades but I’m likely to just go for it and apply and see what happens at this point. Were you given a conditional offer, as in get over 65% in the entire degree for a firm offer or something similar? And if you remember, when did you get the offer by? Again, thanks a lot.

Yeah, it was 65% because it was a high 2:1. I can’t remember when I applied but it was about halfway through final year. My uni also gave me the option of going back to masters after the deadline had passed but I know it’s different everywhere, they might be quite lenient if you try. And no worries, good luck.

Also: side note that I I forgot to mention, I also failed one of my modules and they still gave me an offer! So don’t worry too much, but obviously try not to fail like I did lol.

This really helps boost my confidence, I feel like with my grades I do stand a real chance so I might as well try anyways. Also it does seem like uni wouldn’t be as strict for masters. I’m leaning heavily towards just applying now, thanks a lot again. Is there any other advice you’d have regarding the application or the interview? Any point you feel that made you stand out?

Thanks a lot for your reply!
Apologies, I didn’t provide enough context so as to not make my post any more chunkier. I think it has already started to be an either or situation as of now. I have to let my department know whether I would be going for an integrated masters or leave after a bachelors by June which is when I get my grades for 2nd semester, so I have to choose whether to take that leap for another uni or stay here.
If I do choose to leave after a bachelors, I would be applying a lot of safety net unis which have courses I like as well and not just Cambridge.
I understand the softer focus point, the thing is I am still a bit confused about my desired career path and I am making up my mind on what to do essentially. My specialisation is astrophysics hence I could go for the Mast astrophysics or mast physics for a broader focus and then customise my degree with the optional modules given.
What would you suggest I should do now? Do you think I have a real chance if I do apply for Cambridge? Shall I just take the “safer” route and stay at York in case I get rejected from most unis I apply? I would say it’s not just the university prestige I am after, from what I’ve read the course at Cambridge seems really ideal along with the staff I’ve read into.