Never Been to Cambridge

[professorx]

Hello all,

I have never been to cambridge at all, but i have looked at prospectus's and been to the cambridge website. I am about to apply to cambridge and i was going to put an open application, but my senior tutor said "If you do that it will look as if you have not thought about any of the 29 colleges at cambridge and will disadvantage you in some way"

MY first question is- Is there any real point me apply to cambridge for medicine?

Will i bee in any great disadvantage because I have not been to cambridge?

Is my senior tutor right?

________________
My AS-levels

Biology-A

Chemistry-A

Mathematic-A

Physics-A

P.S. I am carrying on with all 4 as-levels

Thank you

[worshipdubya]

Visiting will not necessarily make your application any better, but it will help you decide whether Cambridge is the place for you. It is very different to the other medical schools - in terms of both the course (there is very little early patient contact); and in terms of the city (its a small, student orientated city, which is great, but it can get a little claustrophobic at times.)

There are open days coming up:
http://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/admiss/ugrad/opendays.html

If you can't visit, and are sure that you want to apply to Cambridge, you will not be a disadvantage with an Open application. The problem is that you will be more likely to end up at one of the less popular colleges. The women-only colleges, and the colleges further away from the city (Girton) tend to take more people with Open applications. If you get called to interview, you will not be at a disadvantage, but you will have to be able to justify choosing Cambridge.

To sum up, If you like sciences (doing four sciences at A-level suggests this), and you feel you'd be able to cope with an intense scientific course, without much patient contact, then Cambridge is a brilliant place to apply to. The atmosphere is great, and I'd recommend applying. If you're unsure about applying, I'd recommend trying to come to the Open day, just to help you make up your mind. If you apply without managing to pay a visit, an Open application will not put you at any disadvantage, but you, along with all other applicants, will have to be able to convince the interviewers that you have thought about the Cambridge course, and that it is appropriate for you.

[psyche87]

Well I just submitted my application form to my form teacher a few days ago with an Open application. Since I'm an international student and have never visited Cambridge, I felt that it would be hard to make a fair choice of which college I'd want to attend. So, I'm pretty much confirmed an Open applicant. According to my school's Oxbridge coordinator, though, he said that it might be better to choose a college for Medicine, but I decided not to in the end (plus, we're all "knocking" each other out...).

[*Liana*]

Everything worshipdubya said was excellent...

At Oxford the college doesn't know if you picked them or not... I'm not sure if the same is true for Cambridge, but plenty of people who do go to the Open Days still find it difficult to decide on a college and choose to submit an Open application. It shouldn't be of any disadvantage to you. Plus, the colleges are, as everyone will tell you, more alike than they are different.

And psyche87 you're quite right in your reasoning that if you haven't been to Cambridge you're not really as able to make decisions about your college.

Good luck!

Liana.

edited cos I got confused...

[Kwekubo]

I think Cam colleges know if you picked them - at least, the tutor at Christs knew at my interview last year, and quizzed me on it.

Basically, my opinion is that you're bound to like any college you get into eventually even if you didn't pick it/got pooled etc.