Cambridge U.--computer science--Queens, Trinity Hall, Gonville & Caius

Applying to College
1

<p>We would appreciate any comments on the above 3 colleges at Cambridge for a computer science student or if there is another Cambridge college that you think might be a specially good fit.</p>

<p>Our son is a rising senior in a U.S. public high school (in the U.K. it would be a "maintained" high school), and is applying to Cambridge for computer science. He is informal and down to earth. Although he loves computer science, he has other diverse interests. He is not Christian. Son is a dual national (U.S./U.K.) and two of his grandparents live in England (they're getting old).</p>

<p>We are willing to let him go to Cambridge for an interview, if he gets asked, but we would wish to limit possible interview dates to minimize the number of school days he would miss and to moderate overseas airfare costs. </p>

<p>We have the following questions:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How flexible is the college in arranging interview dates in Cambridge for overseas applicants (we realize that on the Queens College website they appear flexible)?</p></li>
<li><p>Any comment on the college's computer science director? Ability to teach or help students in developing their areas of expertize?</p></li>
<li><p>How often do students need to dress up (men in a suit or sport coat and tie) for dinner or other events?</p></li>
<li><p>Other than dress, how formal or informal is the student life style at the college?</p></li>
<li><p>How do non-Christians feel at the college?</p></li>
<li><p>How are the living accommodations?</p></li>
<li><p>How willing is the college to actually take students from U.S. high schools? Anything in particular on their willingness regarding computer science? (Although I'm biased, for these questions please assume our son has very strong computer science credentials).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Comments or thoughts on any of the above 7 areas or any other area you think helpful, would be most welcome. Thanks in advance for any help.</p>

2

<ol>
<li><p>I believe some interviews are held in NY.</p></li>
<li><p>You need a strong AP record. For CS, most likely a 5 in Calc BC? And maybe CS.</p></li>
</ol>

3

<p>Thanks for your comments. Our son has a 5 in AP BC Calculus and a 5 in AP Computer Science AB. He also has earned several science related 5s.</p>

4

<p>These articles may be helpful and answer some of your questions: <a href=“http://www.the%5B/url%5D”>http://www.the</a> student room.co.uk/wiki/Category:Cambridge_Colleges (remove spaces)</p>

<p>You might also like to read the Cambridge alternative prospectus which is written by students: <a href=“Cambridge University Alternative Prospectus - Apply to Cambridge”>Cambridge University Alternative Prospectus - Apply to Cambridge;

5

<p>Recent Cambridge graduate here.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Depends on the Cambridge college. But a lot of teaching is organised at the university level, so in theory it doesn’t matter which college you go to.</p></li>
<li><p>Average might be about once every 2 weeks, depending on social circle.</p></li>
<li><p>Depends on the Cambridge college. But you don’t have to hang out in college – there are lots of uni-level clubs. No doubt that there are a lot of stuffy posh people – but lots of relaxed people too. CS will tend to the latter.</p></li>
<li><p>Fine. The UK is effectively atheist these days. The believing Christians are definitely a minority (a status they seem to enjoy). A lot of college infrastructure is Christian-based (chapel etc) but religion plays a negligible role.</p></li>
<li><p>Infinitely better than almost any American one – you don’t share rooms, for a start!</p></li>
<li><p>I had lots of American friends, so they do let quite a few in. Most Americans aren’t adventurous enough to apply though – they prefer to be ‘study’ abroad tourists for a semester or a summer. We laughed at those people. Note that the colleges admit purely on academic grounds, so they don’t give a **** about ‘rounded people’ or whatever. Sounds like your kid is doing well at school though.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Any other questions, just ask.</p>

<p>keepit</p>

6

<p>Would be very suprised if your son didn’t get an interview with 4 or more 5’s. With a 2200+ on the SAT, I would be very suprised if he didn’t get an offer. Everything in the UK is purely academic. It isn’t like American unis where EC’s matter. </p>

<p>Not applying to Cambridge, but applying to London School of Economics, University College London, Bristol, Durham and Queen Mary—all for law. As you go through the application process you’ll learn about UCAS and that you can apply to a max of 5 schools. Think of UCAS as the common app, but every UK uni is on there. So you might as well apply to more then Cambridge since you are filling out UCAS anyway.</p>

7

<p>Thanks! </p>

<p>fiona, we appreciate the suggestion about NY although we haven’t heard that Cambridge is conducting interviews in NY this year (there will be interviews in Toronto, at least for Canadian applicants). Our thinking is, if our son is asked to interview, to try to have it in Cambridge, even though this is somewhat more difficult logistically and cost wise. </p>

<p>Dionysus58, your links provide a good bit of information and also ways to get other links with even more information. </p>

<p>Keepittoyourself, your detailed response provides us more of a sense of Cambridge. Congratulations on being a graduate.</p>

<p>adam0302, thanks for your encouraging comments. Best of luck with your college sojourn.</p>

<p>We are not that knowledgeable about the Cambridge atmosphere, but are trying to learn more and would be appreciative of any other comments. </p>

<p>Our son is planning to apply to Cambridge, as it could be a great learning environment, and there are personal reasons to consider it as well. Although adam0302’s thought of applying to more than 1 U.K. university is generally a practical and useful suggestion, especially since there appear to be a good number of excellent universities in the U.K. (I don’t know enough to be at all definitive on U.K. schools), I think Cambridge will be the only U.K. university our son is applying to. We’ll see how it goes.</p>

8

<p>One thing to note: academic qualifications earn the interview. But at the interview, everything is reset to zero, so everything hangs on interview performance.</p>

<p>Also, when you go for interview you stay for 2 or 3 nights (free). But there are a tonne of insecure idiots there, who try to subtly undermine each other. Don’t worry about them: the people who get admitted tend to be the nicer ones.</p>

9

<p>happydad, maybe you might find this useful for prestigious UK universities.</p>

<p>[Rough</a> Guide Of The Best & Most Reputable Universities In The UK - Nairaland](<a href=“Rough Guide Of The Best & Most Reputable Universities In The UK - Education - Nigeria”>Rough Guide Of The Best & Most Reputable Universities In The UK - Education - Nigeria)</p>

<p>I think there is a part of it that states which subjects each University is known for.</p>

<p>I know Imperial is very good at Computing, maybe as good as Cambridge.</p>

10

<p>keepittoyourself, thanks for the info and tips regarding the interviewing.</p>

11

<p>There are videos of Cambridge interviews somewhere on their website. Basically tutorials are very much like this (but less stressful as nothing depnds on them). </p>

<p>If location is the most important factor for the family reasons mentioned, there is another university based in Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin University. It is not very highly ranked but perhaps that is not important. The only other uni I can think of in the area is East Anglia in Norwich. But that is not so close. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>I have no idea. Drop them an email and ask (but not this week as there will not doubt be chaos due to A-level results coming out) </p></li>
<li><p>Largely irrelevant unless student has a huge personality clash with them or something. Many supervisions outside your college, especially after the first you. If you don’t like a tutor, ask to change. There is guarentee the college director of studies will teach any aprticular student (mine only taught me in the first year). They are more the person you go to if you have problems with your studies/other tutors etc throughout your course. The other tutors send brief academic reports to them about the student.</p></li>
<li><p>once for matriculation and once for graduation. If you want to avoid all other formal events you can! No-one will force you to go (but most people do).</p></li>
<li><p>Like any other uni. there are all sorts of people in all the colleges (you are allowed to visit the other colleges and make friends there! Sciences are very socialbe in my experience because the lectures are really big groups).</p></li>
<li><p>Normal. The UK is not big on religion and most people consider this a private aspect of their lives (I always think the average American Christian would be considered a raving extremist in the UK! This includes some of my own family).</p></li>
<li><p>Variable. In most colleges the first year students won’t live in the main building. many colleges have somewhere a hideous 1960s “New Block” which though ugly on the outside is ok inside. This may be a bike ride away from the main college. After the first year there is some kind of “room ballot” for choosing your room. Sometimes based on academic merit! As noted above, all single rooms. </p></li>
<li><p>In general UK unis consider US high schools weak in Math and Science, especially Math (don’t say your school is different. It may be but Cambridge uni is not going to analyse every school in the US). For example, a UK student doing A-level maths will have to do ALL types of math. Algebra, calculus, trig etc. These are not separate subjects. I suggest googling A-level maths papers to see if these are the type of questions the student can answer. Also, any grades/SATs/APs in non-science subjects will likely be ignored as irrelevant. If the student has any RELEVANT ECs relating to computer science or math, it would be helpful to put them down in the personal statement (but any other ECs MUST be left out!! (Well rounded = v. v. v. bad. Try to appear dedicated and focused).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Have a look at the A-level subjects needed for the course. Try and get 5-6 APs in these subjects. That is as cloe as you can get to UK qualifications. </p>

<p>Good luck with the application</p>

<p>Cupcake - Natural Sciences graduate (Murray Edwards College)</p>

<p>NB this student will be treated as a foreign students unless parents have paid tax in the EU for the last 3 years. nationality irrelevant. No financial aid for undergads in the UK. Will have to pay full-freight.</p>

12

<p>I am a current Cambridge undergraduate with a couple of very good compsci friends so I will do my best to answer your questions:</p>

<ol>
<li>How flexible is the college in arranging interview dates in Cambridge for overseas applicants (we realize that on the Queens College website they appear flexible)?</li>
</ol>

<p>If i am honest I am not sure but i have heard tell of people being interviewed over the phone if they cannot make it…normally it is after the end of the michaelmas term however</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Any comment on the college’s computer science director? Ability to teach or help students in developing their areas of expertize?</p></li>
<li><p>How flexible is the college in arranging interview dates in Cambridge for overseas applicants (we realize that on the Queens College website they appear flexible)?</p></li>
<li><p>Any comment on the college’s computer science director? Ability to teach or help students in developing their areas of expertize?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>All colleges will be great once one is actually in Cambridge you realise that the difference between quality at colleges is not that big</p>

<ol>
<li>How often do students need to dress up (men in a suit or sport coat and tie) for dinner or other events?</li>
</ol>

<p>Depends on the college at mine we have a formal dinner once a week for which we wear suits but that is unusual most colleges have formal hall every night, but there is an informal one as well - for formal it is the custom at most colleges to wear a gown over the top… certainly if your son did come to cambridge it would be sensible for him to bring a suit and perhaps, depending on what sort of social circiles he moves in, a tux as well</p>

<ol>
<li>Other than dress, how formal or informal is the student life style at the college?ain </li>
</ol>

<p>**Again depends on the college stereotypically Magdalene is the most formal and King’s (my college) the least formal however normal student life is basically the same as at any other uk university **</p>

<ol>
<li>How do non-Christians feel at the college?</li>
</ol>

<p>**this is fine i am a pracitsing Christian but I would say the majority of students are not - the fact of the matter is that nobody really cares whether you are religous or not **</p>

<ol>
<li>How are the living accommodations?</li>
</ol>

<p>Range a lot but I have yet to see a truly terrible room - you are unlikely to get to live in medieval buildings anywhere else however (fully modern on the inside!!) you typically get a quite small room in your first year, a bigger one in your second year and in your third year many people live in ‘sets’ which are bedroom and lounge suites</p>

<ol>
<li>How willing is the college to actually take students from U.S. high schools? Anything in particular on their willingness regarding computer science? (Although I’m biased, for these questions please assume our son has very strong computer science credentials).</li>
</ol>

<p>it is unusual but not unheard of if your son has good grades its sure worth a shot!!</p>

<p>finally i might just put a word in for my college King’s - as I said all colleges are pretty much the same but if your son has any interest in tradition/ history of his subject you cannot get better - King’s is the college where Alan Turing basically invented computer science!</p>

13

<p>My son is also thinking about Cambridge for Computer Science with Mathematics. He has great SAT 1 scores (over 2300) and SAT2s and had done very advanced math and CS (university courses). The problem for us is the interview - the usual period is in the middle of his exam period. We could certainly get to Cambridge once exams are done, but we won’t know the exact schedule for a while.
I’m hoping that maybe there could be a phone or Skype interview.
Does the essay matter much? Would it help to send any supplemental references?
Once an offer is made, how quickly does a candidate need to respond?</p>

14

<p>

</p>

<p>He could just apply and see if he gets an intervew, then ask. It will vary depending upon the college and subject applied for. The interview will be in December though, as the interview results are mailed before Christmas. </p>

<p>My opinion is there is no harm in YOUR SON emailing the uni admissions office about this possibilty before applying. However, don’t do it this week because they won’t reply due to A-level results day (see below). Secondly, it should be your son who emails. It is him applying. It might look bad if mommy has to hold his hand. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Do you mean the personal statement on the UCAS form? Please understand that this is RADICALLY different from any essay you would submit to a US university. I have posted about this before. The statement should say “I would liek to study subject X because…” and then refer to
-high grades in subject applied for or related
-keen interest/outside reading in subject
-Any ECs directly relevant to subject.</p>

<p>NO personal journeys! NO list of 500 ECs! people PM me personal statements all the time, and many are crazy. The object is to make the student look academic and focussed. Well-rounded = no dedication to subject. Likely to drop out. </p>

<p>The PS matters, but I have heard it matters less now than in the past because so many people are plagurising them. You can buy books on Amazon.co.uk about personal statements, and there is also advice on the web.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>There is no provision on the UCAS form for additional references. Unless asked, do not send anything extra to this form (will likely be ignored).</p>

<p>

I think deadline to accept may be April sometime (I forget. This was ages ago for me). bear in mind the vast majority of students are given conditional offers, where the conditions are getting certain grades. UK A-level results came out last week. In other words, most students don’t know they are infor definite until August.</p>

15

<p>Thanks cupcake! I"ve not emailed any colleges - and I noticed in the Economist that A levels just came out. So I assume everyone involved in admissions is up to their eyebrows with emails/phone calls and such. I’ve been poking around to get interview information since I’ll be the one booking flights and hotels. I’m about to hand off the process to my son - he’ll contact whatever colleges he thinks he might be interested in.
Thanks for the pointer on the PS. My son is currently working in a robotics lab, and had done very advanced courses in math and CS, so I think the PS should be pretty straightforward.
Sounds like in the UK, as here “thick file = thick kid” holds.
As long as the response date is after he will hear from American schools, I think things will be fine. Just didn’t want to be stuck having to reply to Cambridge before he hears from other schools.</p>