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Warning: Post contains traces of Britishness. Do not read if you have not consumed a sufficient amount of tea and crumpets.
So basically, back in January I got an offer to study Maths at Pembroke College, Cambridge. The A-Level requirements of the offer were AAB (Maths,Further Maths,Physics) and grade 1 in STEP II and III. Offers are based on interviews, common-state-educated-folk like me are at a slight disadvantage, (I don't have a poncey demeanour and posh accent) but my sixth-form college had very good interview preparation.
The A-Level exams were pretty much irrelevant, the only concern is the STEP exam, which is a very different kind of paper compared to the A-Level Maths ones. Even someone who can get perfect scores in all A-Level modules could completely fail. STEP usually filters out roughly half of all offer-holders.
The harder STEP exam was scheduled first, since I was already so nervous, the pressure completely messed me up and I knew I'd performed awfully. I pretty much just gave up there and got a bit depressed (so my performance in the next exam suffered too).
Results day was in a month and half time; normally it would be an incredibly agonising period, but we went on holiday so I completely forgot.
Since I was in Tokyo on results day (14th August), I had to have a friend collect and email me my results (he got hit by a car at some point but still emailed me - what a hero).
I was shocked to find that I'd achieved a 1 in STEP II and 2 in STEP III. I'd missed my offer, but I still had a chance in the 'summer pool', which is where your application is considered by other colleges.
During this period it was so difficult to sleep, and go through a whole day thinking "don't check your email, you're 8 hours ahead, they're all sleeping". The summer pool finished on the 15th August, but I didn't receive any information regarding my application. Since no one works on weekends, I had to avoid dying of anxiety until Monday.
I flew back to Hong Kong on Sunday, arriving late in the evening, so I just assembled a Gundam model and slept (don't bother call me a geek, that should've been obvious from the first line).
This morning I logged onto UCAS track (handle university applications online) and saw:
My initial reaction was O_o?
Then it was a bit like... O_O
And a moment later ^_^
Finally it was a -_-"
What it basically means is that I got rejected from Pembroke, but Homerton (another college) gave me an offer through the summer pool. So if I were to do a pro/con analysis of the situation.
Cons:
- Not my preferred college.
- Homerton only recently started taking Maths students. (2 years ago IIRC)
- I'll have to cycle to lectures, or walk 30 minutes.
- It's closer to my house than my sixth-form college.
Pros:
- It's still Cambridge.
- It's closer to my house than my sixth-form college.
?:
- It's known to be a "social" college (could mean lots of fun, or it could mean the class of my degree will suck)
- It's a much larger college.
- I heard that the Go Club (WeiQi/Baduk) at Warwick is stronger.
- Maths at Cambridge is definitely among the most difficult degrees.
I feel so relieved right now, I pretty much just slipped in at the last moment. I just hope there's no important forms I have to fill in before I get back to the UK.
And since my siblings are all getting private education (all 5 of those little buggers) then they'll never achieve a similar feat (of luck).
To be honest I'm not sure if I'm relieved because I got into a good university, or because I don't have to move out of Cambridge.
This must be the longest post I've ever written, since I'm mostly a forum lurker. This is actually a new account, I've been lurking for a very long time.
  
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First of all, CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Although I never visited Homerton once while in Cam (lol sorry), the elitist, toff-ish and biased twat within me advises you to choose Homerton. No question. Overriding reason is that its Cambridge. Purely on CV and career development alone, if you go to Oxbridge you give yourself a huge boost when competing for jobs.
The only major factor which should swing you the other way is if you are not prepared to work hard. Like, really hard. If you want to party more, have more of the stereotypical uni experience, then go to Warwick. I've visited it and it's much more of a normal city with clubs, bars, nightlife aplenty. This isn't to say all this is impossible in Cambridge. No way. It's obviously still a incredibly vibrant and sociable place but I guess you need to ask yourself what is your priority: studying or partying.
I could bang out a whole list of incredibly-biased pro-Cam reasons but I think the above things are the most important.
Edit: If you've got any questions at all about Cam, fire away.
I didn't do Maths but I knew a few that did it. In my college anyway, they were a slightly quirky bunch (haha). All fucking clever and friendly though. They seemed to enjoy the course and I recall a lot of them getting 1sts in finals.
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Congrats! It must feel good turning down universities such as Bath and Imperial
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- I'll have to cycle to lectures, or walk 30 minutes.
So you have to cycle 15 minutes or less, christ dude that's NOTHING. What's wrong with cycling?
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Congrats in cambridge! Even if it's not the college you want it's gonna be hella awesome anyway. I wish NZ universities were cooler 
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Go club? Take it!!! Sealed the deal.
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On August 18 2008 22:26 Frits wrote:So you have to cycle 15 minutes or less, christ dude that's NOTHING. What's wrong with cycling?
Well it's not really a big problem, I just couldn't think of many cons to write about.
There's just little problems like:
- pedestrians
- motorists
- bad weather
- bike thefts/vandals
- bollards if you're haji: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=73118
Oh yeah, there was this guy in my class that got hit by a car while cycling. It happens all the time but this case was a bit different. He was fine apart from some broken ribs and concussion, but the car was declared unserviceable and had to be scrapped.
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On August 18 2008 19:59 Elric_ wrote:
If you've got any questions at all about Cam, fire away.
Oh okay, thanks.
- What was your college/course - did you do post-grad?
- I've heard formal hall is where you dress up properly, bring some wine, then penny each other and get drunk. Is that how you remember it?
- Does anyone care about whether you came from state/public school?
- How severe is the elitist attitude?
- Can you eat at other colleges (if so which ones have the best food)?
- Can you use the facilities of other colleges?
- Are most people in sports clubs?
- Are there any particularly "notable" lecturers? (Maths)
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You rejected Imperial College. I'm offended.
...On a more serious note, I'm not sure how strong Warwick Maths is but its not gonna be anywhere as good as doing it at Cambridge. I have friends who go to both universities and they both say their unis are awesome so Good luck ^^
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What was your college/course - did you do post-grad?
St John's / Law. 3 year undergrad only... Haji's the man for post-grad stuff!
I've heard formal hall is where you dress up properly, bring some wine, then penny each other and get drunk. Is that how you remember it?
Pretty much hahaha. I'm surprised you know about pennying already. Formal Hall varies a lot between colleges as some have better food, service, are stricter about rules etc. However, as long as you are in good company, it is always fun.
Does anyone care about whether you came from state/public school?
No. I never met anyone who even bothered to ask. If anything, I personally think if you come from a state school background and get into Cambridge you deserve a crateload of respect.
How severe is the elitist attitude?
Negligible. You have the odd bit of banter about other unis and places but nothing significant. You will be surprised at how down to earth everyone is. Really. There will always be some nobs around, like in any university so thats to be expected. There are soo many students though so you will have no trouble finding a good group of like-minded friends.
Can you eat at other colleges (if so which ones have the best food)?
Depends on colleges. For the most part, yes but you will be charged a slightly higher price. (You don't pay their college KFC = kitchen fixed charge). Some colleges also require that you go with someone from that college. I don't know much about college food apart from their formal halls... St John's food is quite nice and both their formal and normal food is known for being great value. My advice is to bandwagon on the formal-hall-swapping-train. Its a great way to visit other colleges - I regret not doing it more.
Can you use the facilities of other colleges?
Depends on colleges again. Normally you will need someone from that college to book out the facilities for you. It is almost always free though.
Are most people in sports clubs?
Not really. A lot of people in my 1st year did rowing for a term or two, but that was only because Johns has a rowing tradition going on. There are looooooaaaaaaads of university societies though of every fucking kind imaginable (sport or non-sport). Another regret of mine is not being more pro-active in this way. Societies are probably the best way of meeting people outside of your college.
Are there any particularly "notable" lecturers? (Maths)
I don't know any maths lecturers sorry... But its a safe bet that there will be some big shots about.
Ask more if you want. Hope I'm helping.
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thedeadhaji
39440 Posts
- What was your college/course - did you do post-grad?
Trinity Hall. M.Phil in Micro- and Nanotechnology in the Materials & Metallurgy Department.
- I've heard formal hall is where you dress up properly, bring some wine, then penny each other and get drunk. Is that how you remember it?
Depends on your college. My college, pennying was strictly forbidden. Corkage fees and etc differ from college to college. I definitely recommend taking advantage of every swap opportunity you get, just grab a friend or two and sign up. 3
- Does anyone care about whether you came from state/public school?
No, honestly the pple from public school care the most about the fact that they're from a public school. I think my friend bitched a bit about how coaches for the blues rugby team tended to overlook nonschoolboy kids etc but really, pple dont give a shit from my experience.
- How severe is the elitist attitude?
I knew a good # of grads and undergrads and it was basically nonexistent.
- Can you eat at other colleges (if so which ones have the best food)?
Usually requires a friend from that college. Not sure which has the best food, most places tend to fluctuate a lot.
- Are most people in sports clubs?
I rowed the entire year and dont regret it one bit, and honestly made my experience about 4x better than without it (but then again I was bored out of my mind usually).
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EPT![[image loading]](http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/9493/ucastrackyq1.jpg)
