Do Cambridge ever offer alternative courses to the one you have applied for?

Hello everyone,
I’m a mature student and have applied to Cambridge (Murray Edwards College) to study PBS. I won’t go into my whole story, but I’ve had quite an unconventional and challenging path, which is why I’m only now returning to higher education.
I submitted my UCAS application by the Cambridge deadline and have since received an offer from York — though interestingly, it’s for a different course than the one I applied for. I was wondering if this is something universities do often? And more specifically, whether Cambridge ever makes alternative course offers if they like an applicant but can’t offer them a place for their chosen subject.
I know it’s incredibly competitive, so I’m not getting my hopes up too much, but I’m curious to hear if anyone has had or heard of similar experiences.
Thank you in advance!

I was initially planning to study Medicine and actually visited Cambridge for advice. The first admissions officer I spoke to was, to put it mildly, quite blunt — he told me I was too old and that they wouldn’t really consider me. But then I had the chance to speak with one of the Heads of Medicine, and after sharing my academic background and life story, she was genuinely moved. She encouraged me to apply and also suggested that PBS might be a great fit, given my strong interest in psychiatry and the psychological side of Medicine.

She was one of the most inspiring lecturers I’ve ever met, and her encouragement really stayed with me. After working in the NHS and reflecting on her advice — as well as what I’d heard from medical students — I decided to apply for PBS instead.
I suppose I’m just wondering whether, if I were lucky enough to get an interview, Cambridge might ever consider offering a foundation year or an alternative route, if they felt I wasn’t quite ready for the full course.

At York, I actually applied for Psychology and was offered a place for Criminology instead, which is also a big interest of mine — so it’s made me wonder how often universities make those kinds of course adjustments.

Hello everyone,
I’m a mature student and have applied to Cambridge (Murray Edwards College) to study PBS. I won’t go into my whole story, but I’ve had quite an unconventional and challenging path, which is why I’m only now returning to higher education.
I submitted my UCAS application by the Cambridge deadline and have since received an offer from York — though interestingly, it’s for a different course than the one I applied for. I was wondering if this is something universities do often? And more specifically, whether Cambridge ever makes alternative course offers if they like an applicant but can’t offer them a place for their chosen subject.
I know it’s incredibly competitive, so I’m not getting my hopes up too much, but I’m curious to hear if anyone has had or heard of similar experiences.
Thank you in advance!

I was initially planning to study Medicine and actually visited Cambridge for advice. The first admissions officer I spoke to was, to put it mildly, quite blunt — he told me I was too old and that they wouldn’t really consider me. But then I had the chance to speak with one of the Heads of Medicine, and after sharing my academic background and life story, she was genuinely moved. She encouraged me to apply and also suggested that PBS might be a great fit, given my strong interest in psychiatry and the psychological side of Medicine.
She was one of the most inspiring lecturers I’ve ever met, and her encouragement really stayed with me. After working in the NHS and reflecting on her advice — as well as what I’d heard from medical students — I decided to apply for PBS instead.
I suppose I’m just wondering whether, if I were lucky enough to get an interview, Cambridge might ever consider offering a foundation year or an alternative route, if they felt I wasn’t quite ready for the full course.
At York, I actually applied for Psychology and was offered a place for Criminology instead, which is also a big interest of mine — so it’s made me wonder how often universities make those kinds of course adjustments.

From what I’ve read, Cambridge’s Foundation Year is aimed at students progressing to Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences courses so PBS wouldn't fall under that. It seems to sit a little outside that scope, as it’s quite scientific as well as psychological, so I doubt it’s something they’d offer as an alternative to PBS. I guess just a thought of mine.
As for York, yes — they did explain vaguely. I think it was largely due to my contextual information alongside my personal statement. My situation is rather unusual (to say the least), and I think it played a big part in how they viewed my application and which areas of study they felt suited me best. They said my background and interests aligned more closely with Criminology, which makes sense, I guess to a certain degree? It could also just be paper pushing due to a more competitive application volume on Psychology and they're just dressing it up, to me. Lol.
That said, PBS at Cambridge really does feel like the perfect fit for me — everything I’ve experienced, both academically and personally, ties into what the course explores. I know how incredibly competitive it is, but I’ve worked hard to get to this point and I’d rather aim high and give it my best shot.

if it helps, i do know of someone who applied to maths but was offered a place for econ at cambridge instead

Cambridge will probably look more closely and with greater flexibility at your application than any of your other choices.
York's response is interesting. Essentially they rejected you for psychology. Would you be happy studying criminology?

Will they? That’s very interesting, thank you. They did seem quite keen to hear more from me, but who knows! My adolescent years were heavily disrupted, and my education was severely affected by very serious circumstances that completely prevented me from pursuing what I wanted at the time. I’m just hoping they’ll at least take the time to read my application — and even if I’m not the right fit, I’m proud of myself for applying.
I would be interested, and one of my other applications is to King’s for Psychology with Criminology. I do appreciate that York didn’t completely discount me, but it was my fourth choice and not somewhere I’m entirely sure I’d want to move to. Still, it may end up being my only offer — who knows!

Yes, they and Oxford delve more deeply into people's academic record rather than conduct a tick-box exercise.
Ok, fair enough on the criminology front, but don't be flattered into thinking that York decided it was in your best interests!

Yorks email felt completely copy and paste. Very generic and probably just filling a course with less applicants at to meet some sort of quota for alternative applicants.

Hello everyone,
I’m a mature student and have applied to Cambridge (Murray Edwards College) to study PBS. I won’t go into my whole story, but I’ve had quite an unconventional and challenging path, which is why I’m only now returning to higher education.
I submitted my UCAS application by the Cambridge deadline and have since received an offer from York — though interestingly, it’s for a different course than the one I applied for. I was wondering if this is something universities do often? And more specifically, whether Cambridge ever makes alternative course offers if they like an applicant but can’t offer them a place for their chosen subject.
I know it’s incredibly competitive, so I’m not getting my hopes up too much, but I’m curious to hear if anyone has had or heard of similar experiences.
Thank you in advance!