The Cambridge Chat Thread

*doesn't get the whole camchat/freshers thing*

Does anyone else ever wonder if it was actually worthwhile going to cambridge?
Because lately, I've been thinking I should have just gone elsewhere. Seems that I would have made myself much more attractive in the job market by doing so. I decided this whilst waiting an hour for a taxi in belfast and receiving 'job' rejections as well as abuse from a doorman called Davey, who decided that I wasn't good enough to work in an office. Sigh.

One day, I'm gonna post happy things in here.

*doesn't get the whole camchat/freshers thing*

Does anyone else ever wonder if it was actually worthwhile going to cambridge?
Because lately, I've been thinking I should have just gone elsewhere. Seems that I would have made myself much more attractive in the job market by doing so. I decided this whilst waiting an hour for a taxi in belfast and receiving 'job' rejections as well as abuse from a doorman called Davey, who decided that I wasn't good enough to work in an office. Sigh.

One day, I'm gonna post happy things in here.

...I know how you feel. I've just had a barrage of rejections too.

I thought getting a 2.1 would set me up fine, but seemingly not. I'm also left thinking I should have went somewhere else - so many of my friends have done so much less work at other unis, but still seem comparable in the job market. It seems loads of law firms are going on and on about how Oxbridge means nothing. Whilst I appreciate that we shouldn't receive any unfair advantage, it still pisses me off that someone with a 2.1 from Man Met could be chosen over me because, in the words of one grad recruitment manager who e-mailed me, "it's only the grade that matters". Ah well.

Does anyone else ever wonder if it was actually worthwhile going to cambridge?

Yeah, at times I have wondered if I should have just gone to LSE/Warwick/Southampton and just dossed my way to a 1st.

I don't know how much consolation this will be but if you're entering academia Cambridge degrees seem to be viewed more favourably than others, in economics at least. I.e. It'll be easier for you to get onto the Masters' programmes at Ox & Cam than for others. They lowered the requirement at Cam to a 2.1 because they found people with firsts from other unis were at a similar or even lower standard than a 2.1 from Cambridge.

*doesn't get the whole camchat/freshers thing*

Does anyone else ever wonder if it was actually worthwhile going to cambridge?
Because lately, I've been thinking I should have just gone elsewhere. Seems that I would have made myself much more attractive in the job market by doing so. I decided this whilst waiting an hour for a taxi in belfast and receiving 'job' rejections as well as abuse from a doorman called Davey, who decided that I wasn't good enough to work in an office. Sigh.

One day, I'm gonna post happy things in here.

If you'll forgive me a somewhat tangential rant: I realise that I'm in the minority here, but I love Cambridge because it challenges and stretches me and because I find the material fascinating, and for no other reason; I'd never want to have gone anywhere else. Job prospects were never even vaguely in the back of my mind (and, worryingly enough, still aren't). Cheesy but true. Had I just wanted a job and not cared about this stuff, I'd have gone to Warwick or Bristol, or another excellent university which is almost as prestigious but where the workload is half the intensity. I don't understand why anyone would put themselves through the pressure of Cambridge otherwise.

Have you graduated now?

Why is the law dept so particularly stingy with grades? I was looking on Camdata, and Law has the lowest proportion of firsts of any arts subjects, possibly of all subjects (I didn't check all of them), and a realy really high proportion of 2.2 and below as well.

But Cambridge was still a pleasure in many ways to study at, so I could hardly wish I hadn't gone there. And anyway the difficulties finding a job are more to do with the lack of graduate positions in the area I want to work than anything - it's hard even finding a good number of posts to apply to, let alone get accepted.

If you'll forgive me a somewhat tangential rant: I realise that I'm in the minority here, but I love Cambridge because it challenges and stretches me and because I find the material fascinating, and for no other reason; I'd never want to have gone anywhere else. Job prospects were never even vaguely in the back of my mind (and, worryingly enough, still aren't). Cheesy but true. Had I just wanted a job and not cared about this stuff, I'd have gone to Warwick or Bristol, or another excellent university which is almost as prestigious but where the workload is half the intensity. I don't understand why anyone would put themselves through the pressure of Cambridge otherwise.

Have you graduated now?

If you'll forgive me a somewhat tangential rant: I realise that I'm in the minority here, but I love Cambridge because it challenges and stretches me and because I find the material fascinating, and for no other reason; I'd never want to have gone anywhere else. Job prospects were never even vaguely in the back of my mind (and, worryingly enough, still aren't). Cheesy but true. Had I just wanted a job and not cared about this stuff, I'd have gone to Warwick or Bristol, or another excellent university which is almost as prestigious but where the workload is half the intensity. I don't understand why anyone would put themselves through the pressure of Cambridge otherwise.

Have you graduated now?

I largely agree with you. I am not one of those self-satisfied tools who treat Cambridge as social preparation for the banking industry, however I do seriously respect the concentration of skills and resources available here. Certainly, I rile and complain every moment while I am here (there are many, many things I dislike about the place, not least the people), but if I were anywhere else I would do exactly the same. I need an institution to struggle against, and Cambridge provides that quite fittingly.

...I know how you feel. I've just had a barrage of rejections too.

I thought getting a 2.1 would set me up fine, but seemingly not. I'm also left thinking I should have went somewhere else - so many of my friends have done so much less work at other unis, but still seem comparable in the job market. It seems loads of law firms are going on and on about how Oxbridge means nothing. Whilst I appreciate that we shouldn't receive any unfair advantage, it still pisses me off that someone with a 2.1 from Man Met could be chosen over me because, in the words of one grad recruitment manager who e-mailed me, "it's only the grade that matters". Ah well.

If you'll forgive me a somewhat tangential rant: I realise that I'm in the minority here, but I love Cambridge because it challenges and stretches me and because I find the material fascinating, and for no other reason; I'd never want to have gone anywhere else. Job prospects were never even vaguely in the back of my mind (and, worryingly enough, still aren't). Cheesy but true. Had I just wanted a job and not cared about this stuff, I'd have gone to Warwick or Bristol, or another excellent university which is almost as prestigious but where the workload is half the intensity. I don't understand why anyone would put themselves through the pressure of Cambridge otherwise.