Allie-23

I live in New Jersey now, but I was thinking about applying to Cambridge (Computer Science). I just don't know much about the University, and how it stands up to other American schools I have been accepted to, in the business world. I was accepted at Cal tech, MIT and University of Maryland Honors program. The catch with Maryland and Cal tech is that I would have to play soccer for them. Anyway, back on topic. I am a little uncertain about living in the UK for 3 years. Any advice and major cultural differences that I may encounter in the UK that may help me figure this out?

AdobePinon

Don't have much advice for you other than to make sure you know what costs you're running into. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up cheaper than staying in the states.

OK, one piece of advice: Look into "sandwich" courses that give you a working year in the middle of your studies (have no idea about visa issues on this for a USC). Rare here, but extremely valued. Extremely common in the UK, and some courses will give you a year elsewhere in the EU. Really wish I'd gone this path myself, for the experience if nothing else.

md95065

I think that it is safe to say that Cambridge (in reputation, at least) stacks up pretty well against other universities.

As with most places, the quality of undergraduate teaching varies widely - a lot still depends on which college you are in and whether or not you have a good director of studies who has access to a pool of good supervisors - for the rest it pretty much all depends on you.

Since I am not sure how much you have researched this already, here is a link to the university's ungergraduate admissions page, from which you will note that the deadline for applying for admission next year (2011) has already passed ...

avanutria

You will get loads of advice from people who have studied in the UK here:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?board=23.0

I studied in the UK on a 12 month master's programme in 2004-5. It was great fun but there was definitely a culture shock curve and it took me about 6-7 months before I started feeling comfortable. Some take longer, some shorter. It's something worth doing and everyone you talk to in the US when you return (including employers) will be impressed that you did it.

PS - about the application deadline, it won't hurt to email them and ask anyway. UCAS (the national application process) won't close until sometime in 2011, but each uni can set their own earlier deadline. I worked for a UK uni for the last few years (though nowhere near Cambridge's level) and we were always allowing late applications.

And it's university or "uni" in the UK. "College" is a level of education before uni, around age 16 or so.

Allie-23

I know that The 2011 deadline has passes, I am looking into 2012, because I will be spending a year working first.

md95065

Yes, but that doesn't tell the whole story ...

... the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are each comprised of a collection of colleges which are the entities which actually admit students to the university - there are real differences between the colleges and which college you go to can make quite a lot of difference to your experience ...

md95065

OK, good!

I suppose, in the spirit of full disclosure that I should admit that I am a Cambridge graduate and that, although I did not study computer science there I know a lot of people who did (both at the time that I was there and subsequently).

Overall I would encourage you to at least apply and see if you are offered a place. I think your experience at any university depends a lot on what you, yourself put into it. There are a lot of things about a university like Cambridge that I think that you will find very different from any US college but it is also a sufficiently large and diverse place that you should be able to find pretty much anything that you are looking for there. As I said earlier the overall quality of undergraduate education does vary, but I can assure you that having a degree from Cambridge will not have any kind of negative impact on your future employability.

Bob

You don't apply through UCAS if you're applying for OxBridge, but applying directly.

As for how good, depends on the actual college and who's teaching it. Generally though, it's a good uni with the advantage of a good network of alumni, which is probably more valuable to you depending on the career you want to follow.

md95065

I don't think that has been true for a very long time.

As far as I know, everyone has to do both a UCAS application and an Oxford / Cambridge application.

penguinsix

I think it is a great opportunity and something you should at the very least follow up with by sending in an application. As others have said, the different colleges in the university system vary in scope and what their focus but you would have a good education and a great deal of fun studying over there.

The only 'negative' if I had to say there was one was the alumni connections you'll make. If you are looking to say work in the tech industry in Boston after graduation, than MIT might open more doors than Cambridge, and you will probably be more likely to find an MIT grad in Silicon Valley than a Cambridge alum (though there are a few). It depends a bit on your long term plans, and whether you really will need to tap the alumni network to find a job. You might also encounter some visa issues after graduation should you want to stay in the UK (unless you meet the girl of your dreams there and get married).

At the very least, apply. See what they say. See how much it will cost (ouch...). If you get an offer, than splurge on a 'cheapie' flight over there, live in a hostel for a few days and walk around the city and see what it is like. Talk to a few students or professors and get a feel for what it would be like spending several years there.

dunroving

To be equally pedantic, your thread is called "college in the UK", so avanutria was right to point out that using the term "college" in that context is colloquially incorrect terminology - even if you went to Worcester College, Cambridge, you'd still refer to it as "going to uni".

Mind you, I still refer to university as "school" (US colloquialism), and don't care if I get funny looks from the students I teach - they know what I mean by now, and I don't intend to change any time soon (besides, being exposed to different cultural terminology might be useful for them).

Allie-23

I know it should say "University" now, but in the US college and University are used interchangeably, and although they don't mean exactly the same thing, they are taken to mean the same thing conversationally.

Bob

Can't say for everywhere, but in Boston, going to Cambridge won't make much difference for the alumni network. There are loads of OxBridge grads at MIT/Harvard etc and in the tech industry. The UK consulate recently had a UK college alumni night and it was loaded full of folks from OxBridge as well as a load of other decent colleges, a lot of them were pretty senior positions over here and a lot more in various research programs.

retzie

Allie-23, do you have any plans to go on to grad school? If so, you might want to try to plan it all together. I think doing one degree abroad is a great idea (and a good selling point,) but it may be better arranged one way than the other.

Also, how much do you want to play college soccer? From the athletes I know, it is not something you'll get to take lightly, so if it's just a matter of doing it so they'll let you in, I would pass...

dunroving

I think if you are a smart student, a sport scholarship can work out really well - extra study hall, support with registering early (i.e., front of the queue for choosing classes), etc.. Especially if you need the money, it can be a good move.

But from my experience as a course director with lots of scholarship athletes, if you aren't smart, then the university may simply use you for 4 years (especially if you are a football - of the American sort - player).

I think playing minority sports (not basketball or "American" football) is often an academically healthier experience, but as above, there will be a big time commitment. It's not like playing a club sport at university in the UK.