Bristol vs Durham vs Cambridge reapply- engineering
hi
I want to do engineering at University but after being pooled then rejected at cambridge not sure where to go.
Have offers from Southampton, Imperial, Bristol and Durham with preferred being Eng Design at Bris or Durham.
Really don't have a clue where to go and am considering a gap year as my teachers think I'd have a good chance of getting into cam 2nd time.
Bristol course is only 25 people but integrated into rest of engineering departments I think.
Anyone any ideas/ go to duham or bristol??
Thanks
I want to do engineering at University but after being pooled then rejected at cambridge not sure where to go.
Have offers from Southampton, Imperial, Bristol and Durham with preferred being Eng Design at Bris or Durham.
Really don't have a clue where to go and am considering a gap year as my teachers think I'd have a good chance of getting into cam 2nd time.
Bristol course is only 25 people but integrated into rest of engineering departments I think.
Anyone any ideas/ go to duham or bristol??
Thanks
Reply 1
if your considering gap yearing it and applying second time round. make sure you get feedback from cambridge as to why you were pooled/rejected, so you can work on this next time. and also do something constructive in your gap year, get a job with an engineering company etc
Reply 2
18
Yeh I was wondering about whether to re-apply, but on the whole I think it"s not worth the risk, because say you get a B at A2 
:, then what are you going to do? You wouldn"t get into Cambridge then, and maybe wouldn"t get into all the other brilliant unis you have.
I know you said you prefer Bristol and Durham so this isn"t the subject of the thread but omg how could you reject Imperial for Engineering??? Arguably better than Cambridge...
Peace x
:, then what are you going to do? You wouldn"t get into Cambridge then, and maybe wouldn"t get into all the other brilliant unis you have.I know you said you prefer Bristol and Durham so this isn"t the subject of the thread but omg how could you reject Imperial for Engineering??? Arguably better than Cambridge...
Peace x
Reply 3
tom1991
OP
didgeridoo12uk
if your considering gap yearing it and applying second time round. make sure you get feedback from cambridge as to why you were pooled/rejected, so you can work on this next time. and also do something constructive in your gap year, get a job with an engineering company etc
yeh feedback comes soon but was thinking of mostly travelling/ volunteering for the year as not the best time to find a job and it is something I really want to do and not as likely to once graduated
Reply 4
tom1991
OP
bj_945
Yeh I was wondering about whether to re-apply, but on the whole I think it"s not worth the risk, because say you get a B at A2 :, then what are you going to do? You wouldn"t get into Cambridge then, and maybe wouldn"t get into all the other brilliant unis you have.
I know you said you prefer Bristol and Durham so this isn"t the subject of the thread but omg how could you reject Imperial for Engineering??? Arguably better than Cambridge...
Peace x
:, then what are you going to do? You wouldn"t get into Cambridge then, and maybe wouldn"t get into all the other brilliant unis you have.I know you said you prefer Bristol and Durham so this isn"t the subject of the thread but omg how could you reject Imperial for Engineering??? Arguably better than Cambridge...
Peace x
You can accept an offer and then change your mind once you have results so I could do Step and AEA phys and if I aced them then reapply
I just didn't like Imperial and prefer the general course which it doesn't offer
Know someone who applied to cam just cos they wanted to reject them- they got rejected
Reply 5
tom1991
yeh feedback comes soon but was thinking of mostly travelling/ volunteering for the year as not the best time to find a job and it is something I really want to do and not as likely to once graduated
you must have alot of money sitting around already if you wont have to work to fund your travelling.
i'm personally on my gap year atm, working for 10 months, and travelling for a bit in the middle, and hopefully for around 2 months or so at the end. and there are still plenty of jobs going round, engineering hasnt been hit THAT hard by the recession compared to other types of business
Reply 6
tom1991
OP
didgeridoo12uk
you must have alot of money sitting around already if you wont have to work to fund your travelling.
i'm personally on my gap year atm, working for 10 months, and travelling for a bit in the middle, and hopefully for around 2 months or so at the end. and there are still plenty of jobs going round, engineering hasnt been hit THAT hard by the recession compared to other types of business
i'm personally on my gap year atm, working for 10 months, and travelling for a bit in the middle, and hopefully for around 2 months or so at the end. and there are still plenty of jobs going round, engineering hasnt been hit THAT hard by the recession compared to other types of business
Nope absolutely skint but gotta summer job lined up should earn 2 or 3 grand+, would hope to travel and then work abroad for a bit- hopefully engineering or maybe teaching.
My brother did 6 months on about 3 grand really depends where you go- although the exchange rate has been destroyed. Don't really know, not sure whether I should gap or not....
How did you get your work btw, how early did you apply??was it YINI? and what do you do/ what's the pay?? without meaning to interrogate.
thx
Reply 7
tom1991
Nope absolutely skint but gotta summer job lined up should earn 2 or 3 grand+, would hope to travel and then work abroad for a bit- hopefully engineering or maybe teaching.
My brother did 6 months on about 3 grand really depends where you go- although the exchange rate has been destroyed. Don't really know, not sure whether I should gap or not....
How did you get your work btw, how early did you apply??was it YINI? and what do you do/ what's the pay?? without meaning to interrogate.
thx
My brother did 6 months on about 3 grand really depends where you go- although the exchange rate has been destroyed. Don't really know, not sure whether I should gap or not....
How did you get your work btw, how early did you apply??was it YINI? and what do you do/ what's the pay?? without meaning to interrogate.
thx
ooh where did your brother go?
yeh i went through YINI, and i applied like a month or two after i has sent my ucas off. i basically do... some testing, the odd bits of soldering, occasionaly programming, lots of stuff in visio, and some other stuff which is confidential. but i reckon about half my time at work, i dont actually have anything to do, so just browse the web, watch iplayer etc. pays 13500pa, which is slightly higher than normal for yini placements, but i also get a scholarship as well, so its not that bad.
i actually plan to use most of the scholarship for travelling inbetween uni years, although i doubt i'll be able to resist spending it during the year
Reply 8
tom1991
hi
I want to do engineering at University but after being pooled then rejected at cambridge not sure where to go.
Have offers from Southampton, Imperial, Bristol and Durham with preferred being Eng Design at Bris or Durham.
Really don't have a clue where to go and am considering a gap year as my teachers think I'd have a good chance of getting into cam 2nd time.
Bristol course is only 25 people but integrated into rest of engineering departments I think.
Anyone any ideas/ go to duham or bristol??
Thanks
I want to do engineering at University but after being pooled then rejected at cambridge not sure where to go.
Have offers from Southampton, Imperial, Bristol and Durham with preferred being Eng Design at Bris or Durham.
Really don't have a clue where to go and am considering a gap year as my teachers think I'd have a good chance of getting into cam 2nd time.
Bristol course is only 25 people but integrated into rest of engineering departments I think.
Anyone any ideas/ go to duham or bristol??
Thanks
Interestingly i am in exactly the same predicament, but I think i have managed to come to a decision. To help you ill lay it out...
Cambridge will always be hard to get into; my feedback made it appear that i was one of the last people to be rejected and then put into the pool. So this is positive, but next year I would come up against such good people again.
Durham is nice, but the engineering department is not that amazing, the course did not seem very interesting, and the lecturers were not at all helpful on the day i visited. Also nightlife seemed limited to say the least.
Bristol course is not one i had thought i would like, i had applied there as my last choice out of the five, without reading what the course was like, as i need the uni to play reasonable standard hockey. When we had to fill out those massive sheets and then go to interview i was a bit confused, but it all worked out well and i got an ABB offer.Perhaps the most important thing was how nice the lecturers were, how willing the interviewers were to have a conversation with me, and how much enthusiasm everyone showed for the course and place. The course is long, but one of the years is spent earning good money doing something enjoyable and useful to later life. and the last 2 year project sounds awesome. The night life is also good.
I think ive gone for bristol...
Reply 9
I'd choose Bristol if I was you. I went for an interview and the course seemed very interesting and the guaranteed placement in third year is great too. The course definitely seemed comparable to the Cambridge course if not better. The only thing I didn't like about the course was that it's for 5 years and as I've already done 2 gap years I didn't want to spend too long at uni. But they would have been my first choice if I wasn't accepted at Cambridge.
Reply 10
I dont see what everyone has got against Durham, i agree that the city is realy small and night life looks a bit non-existant, but newcastle isnt far. As for the Engineering course it offers, its one of the best. If the general thing is what your looking for then its the best after oxbridge.
Reply 11
Hi,
I am in the same position (except for aero/general) , and am not sure either. Here are the pros and cons that I have come up with:
Bristol: Pros: Better course than Durham. Nice if you like cities. (IMO)Better industry connections.
Cons: Big loud city. You make the assumption that you'll like the specialisation you've chosen. London-Bristol is First Great Western. Accommodation far from faculty buildings. Supposedly the worst prospects for earnings...?
Durham: Pros: Specialise mid course. Pretty. Collegiate system. On EC mainline - good access to the rest of the UK.
Cons: Apparently the worst if you believe the league tables. It'll never quite be Cambridge. Some colleges nicer than others. Nightlife (Not that I care).
Cambridge: Pros: You get so say you went to Cambridge. All incredibly pretty. Don't specialise immediately. Collegiate system.
Cons: Work depressingly hard. Spending a good portion of your life to reapply with a big chance of being rejected again - good idea, bad idea? Lets not make remarks about stereotypes...
Personally, I question whether it even matters that much what you/I choose. How well you do is likely to largely depend on how hard you work, not the university you go to. Where ever you go, you'll be goings somewhere many people can only dream of getting into, and be studying with the best. And everyone ends up loving their university.
Good luck anyway. Who knows, perhaps we will end up meeting each other at some point?
AnythingGoes
I am in the same position (except for aero/general) , and am not sure either. Here are the pros and cons that I have come up with:
Bristol: Pros: Better course than Durham. Nice if you like cities. (IMO)Better industry connections.
Cons: Big loud city. You make the assumption that you'll like the specialisation you've chosen. London-Bristol is First Great Western. Accommodation far from faculty buildings. Supposedly the worst prospects for earnings...?
Durham: Pros: Specialise mid course. Pretty. Collegiate system. On EC mainline - good access to the rest of the UK.
Cons: Apparently the worst if you believe the league tables. It'll never quite be Cambridge. Some colleges nicer than others. Nightlife (Not that I care).
Cambridge: Pros: You get so say you went to Cambridge. All incredibly pretty. Don't specialise immediately. Collegiate system.
Cons: Work depressingly hard. Spending a good portion of your life to reapply with a big chance of being rejected again - good idea, bad idea? Lets not make remarks about stereotypes...
Personally, I question whether it even matters that much what you/I choose. How well you do is likely to largely depend on how hard you work, not the university you go to. Where ever you go, you'll be goings somewhere many people can only dream of getting into, and be studying with the best. And everyone ends up loving their university.
Good luck anyway. Who knows, perhaps we will end up meeting each other at some point?
AnythingGoes
Reply 12
Bristol >>>> Durham for Engineering.
Reply 13
Haven't been on this forum for few years... Just stumbled across a notification in my old email thought I'd look lol.
Having studied at Cambridge now revising for the final year exams, I can say the following.
- Cambridge engineering department is rated the best for a reason. They have the world experts in every field, pushing boundaries of technology.
- World experts aren't always good at teaching. Quite often the lectures/notes are **** and you have to be able to decipher things in your own time. I've seen lecture notes from other unis and they're often far more friendlier and easier to get to grips with.
- Everyone you'll be studying with will be super smart and can bring you down sometimes.
- The course is very theoretical based and focuses on understanding fundamentals rather than specific applications. Real useful practicals are nearly non-existent. You can, however, join student projects (Formula Students, Spaceflight etc).
- work load is not that bad, but the pace is ridiculous. In the first two years you'll go through ~80% of the material from each individual discipline. Consequently you get to spend maybe 20% of the time as you would at other places going through any particular material.
- By the end, you'll come out as knowledgeable as anyone who's studied single discipline but with much broader base. Don't worry about it not being specialised enough.
- Whether you like the fact or not, Oxbridge does open you many doors.
- All above assumes you make the grades; smart people fail each year who go on to flourish in other unis.
Original post by AnythingGoes
Hi,
I am in the same position (except for aero/general) , and am not sure either. Here are the pros and cons that I have come up with:
Bristol: Pros: Better course than Durham. Nice if you like cities. (IMO)Better industry connections.
Cons: Big loud city. You make the assumption that you'll like the specialisation you've chosen. London-Bristol is First Great Western. Accommodation far from faculty buildings. Supposedly the worst prospects for earnings...?
Durham: Pros: Specialise mid course. Pretty. Collegiate system. On EC mainline - good access to the rest of the UK.
Cons: Apparently the worst if you believe the league tables. It'll never quite be Cambridge. Some colleges nicer than others. Nightlife (Not that I care).
Cambridge: Pros: You get so say you went to Cambridge. All incredibly pretty. Don't specialise immediately. Collegiate system.
Cons: Work depressingly hard. Spending a good portion of your life to reapply with a big chance of being rejected again - good idea, bad idea? Lets not make remarks about stereotypes...
Personally, I question whether it even matters that much what you/I choose. How well you do is likely to largely depend on how hard you work, not the university you go to. Where ever you go, you'll be goings somewhere many people can only dream of getting into, and be studying with the best. And everyone ends up loving their university.
Good luck anyway. Who knows, perhaps we will end up meeting each other at some point?
AnythingGoes
I am in the same position (except for aero/general) , and am not sure either. Here are the pros and cons that I have come up with:
Bristol: Pros: Better course than Durham. Nice if you like cities. (IMO)Better industry connections.
Cons: Big loud city. You make the assumption that you'll like the specialisation you've chosen. London-Bristol is First Great Western. Accommodation far from faculty buildings. Supposedly the worst prospects for earnings...?
Durham: Pros: Specialise mid course. Pretty. Collegiate system. On EC mainline - good access to the rest of the UK.
Cons: Apparently the worst if you believe the league tables. It'll never quite be Cambridge. Some colleges nicer than others. Nightlife (Not that I care).
Cambridge: Pros: You get so say you went to Cambridge. All incredibly pretty. Don't specialise immediately. Collegiate system.
Cons: Work depressingly hard. Spending a good portion of your life to reapply with a big chance of being rejected again - good idea, bad idea? Lets not make remarks about stereotypes...
Personally, I question whether it even matters that much what you/I choose. How well you do is likely to largely depend on how hard you work, not the university you go to. Where ever you go, you'll be goings somewhere many people can only dream of getting into, and be studying with the best. And everyone ends up loving their university.
Good luck anyway. Who knows, perhaps we will end up meeting each other at some point?
AnythingGoes
Having studied at Cambridge now revising for the final year exams, I can say the following.
- Cambridge engineering department is rated the best for a reason. They have the world experts in every field, pushing boundaries of technology.
- World experts aren't always good at teaching. Quite often the lectures/notes are **** and you have to be able to decipher things in your own time. I've seen lecture notes from other unis and they're often far more friendlier and easier to get to grips with.
- Everyone you'll be studying with will be super smart and can bring you down sometimes.
- The course is very theoretical based and focuses on understanding fundamentals rather than specific applications. Real useful practicals are nearly non-existent. You can, however, join student projects (Formula Students, Spaceflight etc).
- work load is not that bad, but the pace is ridiculous. In the first two years you'll go through ~80% of the material from each individual discipline. Consequently you get to spend maybe 20% of the time as you would at other places going through any particular material.
- By the end, you'll come out as knowledgeable as anyone who's studied single discipline but with much broader base. Don't worry about it not being specialised enough.
- Whether you like the fact or not, Oxbridge does open you many doors.
- All above assumes you make the grades; smart people fail each year who go on to flourish in other unis.
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