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Changing Tripos

I have a place to study Law at Downing starting in October, but I'm now have second thoughts as to whether I'm doing the right subject. It was always a choice between doing law and becoming a barrister, or doing history and becoming a teacher. After a bad experience recently i'm not sure that I could make it as a barrister.

I love Cambridge, and dont want to go through extra and go to another University to read history.

So what I'm really asking is how realistic is it that I could change from law to history once I arrive?

Reply 1

The West Wing

18

samanthaelizabeth

I have a place to study Law at Downing starting in October, but I'm now have second thoughts as to whether I'm doing the right subject. It was always a choice between doing law and becoming a barrister, or doing history and becoming a teacher. After a bad experience recently i'm not sure that I could make it as a barrister.

I love Cambridge, and dont want to go through extra and go to another University to read history.

So what I'm really asking is how realistic is it that I could change from law to history once I arrive?

Law to history should be a reasonably easy switch. History is pretty much the most catch-all subject of people's interests and people who don't like their subject often end up in history. If you do it before the end of Freshers week it should be very straightforward. Otherwise you might have to do it at the end of your first/second year.

Reply 2

samanthaelizabeth

OP

Can you really change that early?? Wow, I didn't know that!

Reply 3

The West Wing

18

samanthaelizabeth

Can you really change that early?? Wow, I didn't know that!

It's not always successful, it depends on your background, their capacity, your motivations etc.; but otherwise it's best to try in the first week. I'm sure if you genuinely love history it shouldn't be a problem.

A girl in my college was disallowed from switching from French and Spanish to Economics because they didn't think she'd cope.

Reply 4

Craghyrax

17

It will probably be fine. Just mention it when you arrive and they ask 'is everything fine' at your first Tutor meeting.

Reply 5

Takahashi

if you want to switch you may well be allowed after like a small period of time - don't say so at once ( because it looks too premeditated) but after you first week of law then if you are not enjoying it then do ask. You will have to be accepted by the history DOS at your college who will make the choice so you might get a second interview or similar - i have seen it done but it is not a certainty. ALso, don't let one bad experience put you off being a barrister before you have even started to study law!

Reply 6

FadeToBlackout

15

ANd, looking at it from the other PoV, lots of people do the Law conversion course after graduating with other degrees- even History- so you're not cutting yourself off completely if you do switch. :smile:

Reply 7

flicmac

My Brother switched from Law to History within a couple of days of arriving in his first year. Over the summer holidays he just realised, I think, that he was enjoying reading history more than the law books he had bought.
He had to have an interview with the History DoS, to check he was up to it, but other than that, college were fine with him switching - they want their students to be happy and studying the subject they want to study. Obviously it would be different if you wanted to switch to natsci, and hadn't done science a levels, but law to history is less of a jump.
Good luck.

Reply 8

amar09

The West Wing

It's not always successful, it depends on your background, their capacity, your motivations etc.; but otherwise it's best to try in the first week. I'm sure if you genuinely love history it shouldn't be a problem.

A girl in my college was disallowed from switching from French and Spanish to Economics because they didn't think she'd cope.

Doesn't it look like you're not commited to your subject if you try that? What if you're not allowed to switch like you described above, won't the tutors remember that and think "he/she doesn't even want to do this subject"!??

Reply 9

jcb914

11

amar09

Doesn't it look like you're not commited to your subject if you try that? What if you're not allowed to switch like you described above, won't the tutors remember that and think "he/she doesn't even want to do this subject"!??

At the end of the day, most teaching staff couldn't really care less if you're "committed" to your subject in the sense you describe. A lot of people seem to get the impression that Cambridge is full of people who are incredibly passionate about what they study, and whilst this is true to a small extent, it's a minority rather than a majority. As long as you work hard and do the work which is set, the teaching staff won't really care that you "didn't even want to do this subject". Get a 2.1 or 1.1 and your DoS is a happy bunny; that's all it boils down to. It's extremely unlikely they will hold it against you if they know you wanted to do something else - on the whole, they won't take it personally!

Reply 10

The West Wing

18

amar09

Doesn't it look like you're not commited to your subject if you try that? What if you're not allowed to switch like you described above, won't the tutors remember that and think "he/she doesn't even want to do this subject"!??

This particular girl works very hard and effort and ability are much more important than committment. Most people won't drop out and will continue to work extremely hard even if they hate their subject.

(which explains why I spent 7 hours revising attachment theory today, my arch nemesis of a topic)

Reply 11

Zoedotdot

18

A guy in my Russian class switched to History after the first couple of classes. His Russian was amazing for a beginner, and I think someone mentioned to me that he'd thought he'd find it easier to get into MML and then switch to History rather than applying directly. Could be complete gossip and slander, but either way, switching is very possible.

Reply 12

jcb914

11

Zoedotdot

A guy in my Russian class switched to History after the first couple of classes. His Russian was amazing for a beginner, and I think someone mentioned to me that he'd thought he'd find it easier to get into MML and then switch to History rather than applying directly. Could be complete gossip and slander, but either way, switching is very possible.

Hmm, probably gossip because History is actually one of the least competitive subjects to get accepted for.

Rumours like that mostly seem to revolve around people applying for "Education with..." and then switching to a more competitive course when accepted.

Reply 13

Zoedotdot

18

jcb914

Hmm, probably gossip because History is actually one of the least competitive subjects to get accepted for.

Rumours like that mostly seem to revolve around people applying for "Education with..." and then switching to a more competitive course when accepted.

I think that point was that because he was quite clearly very good at languages he felt he had a better chance of getting into Cambridge that way - not necessarily down to the competition, but down to how he perceived his own abilities.

Reply 14

Alexander

12

samanthaelizabeth

...

If you're certain you want to switch now, I would suggest asking over the summer before coming up -- the college will probably appreciate the notice, and it'll save you the stress of having to deal with it in freshers' week (when you will, of course, have lots of other things to think about).

I wouldn't worry about it looking pre-meditated, as Law gets more applicants per place than History so it'd be a slightly peverse strategy for anyone to take.

Reply 15

Bjpchilds

2

samanthaelizabeth

I have a place to study Law at Downing starting in October, but I'm now have second thoughts as to whether I'm doing the right subject. It was always a choice between doing law and becoming a barrister, or doing history and becoming a teacher. After a bad experience recently i'm not sure that I could make it as a barrister.

I love Cambridge, and dont want to go through extra and go to another University to read history.

So what I'm really asking is how realistic is it that I could change from law to history once I arrive?

Are you still planning on switching? I'm doing the same thing (but with different subjects) and I'm incredibly nervous...I feel really guilty about wanting to switch, but I really do not want to take the subject I'm down to take :frown:

Reply 16

bazzasballs

Law to History really won't be that difficult. Try Law though for a bit, you never know, it might be very different to what you expect, and also a Downing Law degree is probably the best starting place you could be without actually doing anything in terms of Barrister applications. If you don't like it, speak to your Tutor.

Remember there's a legal history paper which is supposed to be quite cool.

Reply 17

saster

11

Bjpchilds

Are you still planning on switching? I'm doing the same thing (but with different subjects) and I'm incredibly nervous...I feel really guilty about wanting to switch, but I really do not want to take the subject I'm down to take :frown:

Doesn't it depend the tripos you want to switch to? I heard things like maths & compsci are very difficult to change to if you don't have the STEP requirements etc. Did you want to take the subject you applied for when you first put in your application?

Reply 18

Bjpchilds

2

saster

Doesn't it depend the tripos you want to switch to? I heard things like maths & compsci are very difficult to change to if you don't have the STEP requirements etc. Did you want to take the subject you applied for when you first put in your application?

Yes it does, you have to have the right subjects/grades etc. And the subject I want to switch to is fairly related to the one I originally applied for, so it (hopefully) shouldn't be too much of a problem. Yes, I originally really wanted to do my chosen subject, but after a year of being so ill that I had to stay in bed 50% of the time, I kind of did a lot of soul-searching, as cheesy as that sounds, and realised what my true passion was.

I really hope they let me change. I've come to pretty much DISLIKE the initial subject, and really wish I'd known what I wanted to do earlier. Urgh.

Reply 19

klondiker

Well, I am going to be reading History, and would actually love to read Law at Downing, so perhaps we can switch places? :p:

Jokes aside, I have heard that it is possible to switch to Part II of the History Tripos (and then do a two-year Part II) after having done Part I of another subject.

So, potentially, you could do Part 1A of Law in your first year to actually give it a chance and see whether you might like it. And, then, if you really don't like it, you could switch to History and do a two-year Part II.

Changing Tripos

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