oxbridge?

digsby202

If you want to give your degree the best and take part in all that Cambridge has to offer, then it is impossible to work .

Last week, my daughter had a 3 essay deadline and a dissertation deadline, this involved working almost 24/7 . She is in year 2, is home now but has to return to Cambridge tomorrow for a Supervision.


Not once has she complained, she is just grateful for the opportunity she has been given.


Love D

melancholly

http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2265754,00.html
interesting article in the guardian about private versus state school levels of applications!

caroline1973lefty

There's some great advice on here, just wanted to add my tuppence worth of encouragement (and congratulations on your talented son!). I went to Cambridge a decade ago from a skint family, very non-academic comprehensive (though a more academic 6th form college that pushed me to apply). Found my bills much much lower than my friends at other unis, because its such a rich place, i got college owned, v subsidised accomodation for 3 years, and they were helpful financially (i turned up with NO money and my tutor lent me some!). I got bursaries even then (on top of grant) and the competition for bursaries was very low -out of my college of 300 students, i was one of only 5 on a full grant!

In my experience the interviews aren't too bad, if you can talk about your interests, views and ambitions, (I told them my ambition was to rule the world - they obviously like megalomaniacs!! :rotfl:) Much less scary than Leeds where the opening question was 'what do you think of JS Mill's 'On Liberty?' :eek:. The fact that you have been to a comprehensive/state school counts in your favour, as these students actually outperform their more 'spoon-fed' peers, once there.

One thing that students from non-traditional Oxbridge schools often don't realise (I didn't have a clue til I got there) is that the wealth and atmosphere of the colleges varies HUGELY. As a very rough rule of thumb (check this with the colleges, this is from memory only), richer colleges (usually older ones, like Trinity) tend to have much cheaper rents and provide (sometimes stunning) college owned accomodation for the full 3 years. A poorer college (generally the newer ones like Robinson) might only be able to provide college owned accomodation for part of the 3 years, meaning more expensive private accomodation for the rest of the course.

On the other hand, the richer colleges often have a very posh student intake :rolleyes:, whilst the poorer, newer colleges have a much higher proportion of state school students (eg at Robinson it was about 70%, actually much better than unis like Manchester, Bristol etc) and also be located in cheaper areas away from the town centre - so less pressure to spend, if that is likely to be an issue.

It's important to look around and talk to people to get an idea of what colleges to apply to - though you might end up in the 'pool' anyway if you don't get into your first 3 choices of college. Maybe contact the CUSU (students union) Access Officer, who will be a student themselves. They do a lot to support studnets from non-traditional backgrounds - see here for more info and also the alternative prospectus which i found really useful when choosing what colleges to apply for (though i didn't get into my first choice).

http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/prospective/
hope that's helpful, and good luck :T

littlevet1

A poorer college (generally the newer ones like Robinson) might only be able to provide college owned accomodation for part of the 3 years, meaning more expensive private accomodation for the rest of the course.

This is incorrect. I'm at Robinson and can confirm that college accommodation is available to all students for the duration of their course. As far as I'm aware the cost is comparable to other colleges and we certainly benefit from being the newest college in that the rooms are all of an excellent standard and the majority are en suite - not the case for Trinity!

The only disadvantage Robinson has, money wise, is the number of bursaries available. Compared to the old rich colleges, there are fewer sports and travel grants, but there certainly is money available to those who need it for essential costs.

Please, don't be put off Oxbridge because of money. It really is a myth that it's a more expensive place to study.

Telute

I went to Peterhouse and was accomodated for three years at rates which were v. reasonable. Cost tends to depend on the college and the age of the college is no real guide as to how you're likely to fair financially. Its worth going on an open day and being unashamedly nosy about things like cost if its a worry - students will generally tell you how things stand. I managed for three years on my student loan with only a little bit of extra help and while i was frugal ( and don't drink - which does make a difference) i didn't feel like i was constantly starved of cash.

Remember that while you can't work during term time terms are very short so you can make up for this in the holidays if you need to. Some colleges will let people work for the college - i worked in the library during my time there and i had friends who helped out with serving tables at college functions.

Its a wonderful place to study and no more expensive than anywhere else, - my brother went to Hertfordshire for a bit and needed a lot more financial help than i did.

About grades - I got a very low offer from Pet. because they liked me at interview and they had a 'realistic' offer policy, so don't let your son be put off by the grades needed. I had several friends who missed their offers but were still accepted, again this varies from college to college, but they don't all need straight A's.

Good luck to your son wherever he decides to apply.

lyndasharp

I also went to Robinson College. I come from a family with low income, and was the first to go to uni. My parents only paid for my mobile phone, nothing else. I took out the standard loan plus I received a Newton Bursary of £750 p.a. I worked during the summer holidays, and that was it. I had no need for any money on top of the standard loan, Cambridge was relatively cheap to study there and the book grant helped to pay for extra books for my studies. Unless the parents are earning so much that the student can't get the full loan, there's really no need for any parental handouts at all!

I've eaten in most of the Cambridge colleges, and Robinson has by far the nicest food, and is mostly state school students. Plus applications are lower generally so you have more chance of getting in if you apply there. There is a small chance you may end up living in college accommodation on the other side of town in the second year, but a few of my friends loved it so much there they stayed for the third year too!

surfsister

oxbridge is no dearer than any other uni (most unis charge the same fees anyway) & the degree obtained is worth much more than any other uni so go for it!

If you're on under £35k (I think) he will get finacial help from trhe uni & the education dept. Have a look and put in your wages, plesae don't worry about funding as in the long summer hols he can easily work.

Molanole

virgin_moneysaver wrote: »

I don't know if he would qualify then as we are in Wales

Ah. I'm not sure how it works in Wales. Sorry. But I do know that Aimhigher has reached Scotland and Wales so some googling might throw up some good results.

Also, this website might be helpful http://194.81.48.132/Widening_Access/wider_initiative.htm. It's the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales so geared towards HE provision in Wales but there may well be similar programmes as tasters as a preparation for HE anywhere.

In terms of working while at Uni there are normally opportunities for students within the university itself, as student ambassadors or mentors. Ambassadors/Mentors are often used to help deliver outreach programmes (e.g. supervising school age pupils on summer schools/taster days etc) and on open days. When your son gets in it's worth him contacting the widening participation office to ask about working for them as a student ambassador. Most will be especially welcoming of ambassadors from non-traditional backgrounds as you can relate better to the young people on widening participation programmes.

Let us know how he gets on!

hazelalexa

The standard offer from Cambridge has increased from AAA to A*AA, by the way.

Halloway

Well I worked in my college bar for three years so it's probably down to the individual colleges. The upside is that while the terms are short and intensive you can usually earn enough in the long holidays to keep you going.

I went to probably the poorest college in the University so nothing like a bursary was available. As a self-supporting student I did get useful grants from the Isaac Newton bursary which is administered by someone in Trinity but is available to eligible students at any college.