Decision..... Is Cambridge worth £90K??

[sambo]

 I joined a physics forum and asked the same question and they said that it doesn't make much difference where you go i

how many of them do you think got offered a place at cambridge  


it's a huge decision, one that i wouldn't particularly relish having to make. having said that, i think Ted hit the nail on the head.

if you don't do it, you'll always be wondering "what if?", which isn't a great feeling.

it's a fantastic opportunity, just getting the place, and the fact that it is possible for you to afford it (one way or another).

i would also agree with deg0ey; i know of people who have deliberately turned down places at the big Uni's just because they felt they fitted in better at other places. And when its a 90k decision, it's more important than ever to make sure cambridge is the place you really want to be.

Overall, i would go for it mate, im sure your grandparents really want you to succeed and achieve the best for yourself, (and believe that you can do so), and that's why they're willing to raise the cash in the first place.

[Afghan Dave]

Sorry to rain on the parade here but....

Cambridge is just another University among many in the global elite and top recruiters have many more choices than ever before.

It does open doors if you play the game right but you have got to show there is more about you than simply A* grades to make it work.

Results will get you in but it takes much more to keep you there and make it pay.

The Oxbridge friends and colleagues of mine that have gone on to stellar careers are the ones who pushed hard toward a clear post-graduation goal in business. They pursued these commercial interests throughout their time at Uni and went straight to work with these City companies after graduating.

If you hope to earn 90K+ post-graduation you should have the brains and balls to know how you plan to achieve it prior to borrowing the 90K.

Tuition fees are an investment and all the high earning / high quality graduates I've known have recognised them as such.

I'm not telling you that you shouldn't borrow the money but I am saying be as shrewd as the people you are going to play poker with before you sit at the table.

Good luck  PDT_002

[noodleplugerine]

Cambridge is just another university - Not worth sticking your grandparents on the streets.

[gingataff]

Here are a few more ideas:

Your grandparents are very proud of your offer at Cambridge, by helping you with the money they will feel a part of your life and they want to give you this opportunity. If you turn them down this will hurt their feelings and their family pride. Imagine how happy and proud they'll be telling their friends and neighbours that their grandchild is studying physics at cambridge.
Japanese people, especially older generations, have a very different sense of values and family than most western people. For them this isn't a sacrifice, it's the chance for them to help you.

Japanese houses are not built to last, they are designed to be pulled down and rebuilt. This means that as a house gets old it literally starts to fall apart so it must be rebuilt, this is extremely expensive.
Your grandparents may actually be better off selling their house and the land it's on (this is where the real value lies although it does depend where they live), giving you 90k and use the rest of the money they have left over to get an apartment. Also as your grandparents get older any property they own may be passed on to your parents, who will then be liable to pay tax on it.

I think you may actually be doing everyone a favour, but obviously the final decision is yours.



On a slightly different note I wonder why a university would be so keen to  accept a student who's going to pay 90k but not so happy to allow the student to wait a few years and then pay standard rates?
 :roll:  :roll:   Education is a business as well.

[Kilby]

Gingataff : thanks for the further information about japanese houses, as I love learning something new every day.

On the original topic, I realised that I was being a little vague in my original answer.

If you believe you can make a success of the degree ( and the doors it may open) then you have to try.

When it comes to education and parents or grandparents think differently, If it makes a difference to future prospects then it's not viewed as a sacrifice (as other people would see it)

Gingataff is also correct it could very well be felt a little insulting not to accept.

Rob...

BTW it's costing me over 600 quid a month for my daughter to go to a good school. It means doing without stuff (like new pickups) and living 400 miles from home. But it's what parent's (and grandparents) do. It ensures that our genes have th best chance of survival ;)

Sorry to bring the I into it

[sambo]

just a quick question- have you looked into what the price of other universities will be given your status?

surely cambridge cant be the only uni that are charging extra?

sorry you may have covered this already, but it seems quite an important factor.

after all, cambridge could be an expensive 90k, but there might not even be one under 75. (just a hypothetical statement that lol)

[Elliot]

Cambridge costs about £4k more per year for those classed as 'foreign' students because you have to pay the college as well as the University.  So Cambridge and Leeds (for example) are about £11,900 per year for the University, but at Cambridge you would have to pay the extra for the college.  So all in all tuition is £12-16k over the course of the degree.

Living expenses are on top of course.

BTW - Will you become eligible during your degree for UK funding?  Would this help you out in later years?

[LazyNinja]

Yeah Cambridge is £4500 per year more expensive than the others. If I go to Leeds then it would be the cheapest option because I can stay at home.

I will qualify for permanent residency in oct 2008 so I will class as a home student in 2009. Whatever status you have at the start of the course gets carried through to the end. I originally thought you could change but apparently not, so that's why I have to wait (if we don't sell the house).

I don't think I'd enjoy it in the city to be honest. I'm more of a scientist/engineer type guy. I would preferably like to stay within the field. If I do that, then would you say it's not very likely I'll be earning much? I'm actually thinking of switching to engineering because of better job prospects. I heard you can move from NatSci to Engineering.

noodle, it's not like my grans wouldnt have anywhere to go. If that was the case I wouldnt dream of doing that.

[deg0ey]

Yeah, I can see why you'd prefer to stay within the field - that's my preferred end-point also...Although I'm doing Chemistry rather than physics.

Do you mind me asking what made you choose Cambridge over Oxford? My mind was made up by the NatSci course and the fact that I'd have to continue doing physics modules, and I couldn't face any more physics after A-Level :lol:

[LazyNinja]

Yeah, I can see why you'd prefer to stay within the field - that's my preferred end-point also...Although I'm doing Chemistry rather than physics.

Do you mind me asking what made you choose Cambridge over Oxford? My mind was made up by the NatSci course and the fact that I'd have to continue doing physics modules, and I couldn't face any more physics after A-Level :lol:

Haha but physics is the only "proper" science... C'mon we all know that!
I was actually attracted by the diverse aspect of the course because in the end you specialize anyway I thought I might as well learn a bit of other subjects as well. I'm turned off Chemistry now, I did an year in the industry this year, worked for a lab and I'm now sick of it!  :lol:

[Elliot]

Most of my friends who did Natsci or Engineering are earning bucket loads now - quite a few stayed on and did PhDs, with relatively good private industry grants (like from Sony or Microsoft).  Those that are'nt professors now have niche jobs as technical directors in either silicon valley or the silicon fens (i.e. Cambridge).  So even if you want to doodle formulae on white boards in the lab, you can progress pretty far if you work hard.

[dave_mc]

i think the other thing to remember (and i'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade here, i just think it's fair to point it out) is that oxford/cambridge is liable to be a LOT more work. and you have a lot more people who have straight a's (i.e. almost everyone) versus most other universities where the entrance requirements for physics are liable to be a lot lower.


Yes, a cambridge degree is probably worth a lot more than one from a "normal" university- but is a worse degree from cambridge (say, a 2:2 or third) worth more than, say, a first from a well-respected, but not oxbridge, university?

I'm not saying you'd get the worse degree, obviously, but you know what i mean. A lot of jobs state you must have a 2:1. I don't know, there may be leeway if you went to oxbridge, but there may not.

Worth thinking about, i guess.

EDIT: bear in mind, I'm extremely lazy, and the "extra work" part of it would really annoy me. It may not annoy you.  :lol:

[badgermark]

In comes the chemistry muscle...

Name isn't everything though, I remember a very senior lecturer tell us all that if I go to a job interview alongside a Oxford/Cambridge graduate with the same degree then I would get the job 90% of the time. All because my uni is well known for giving 5x as much practical experience.

Weigh it up dude, none of us can give you the answer, if you wanna go to Cambridge then go for it. Try out some other Uni's though. Some of the Scottish unis are just as prestigious but education costs less up here. Possibly even for you  

[deg0ey]

Haha but physics is the only "proper" science... C'mon we all know that!

Well, as my old physics teacher used to say: If it moves, it's biology, if it stinks it's chemistry and if it doesn't work, it's physics :P

[DeanS]

I passed on Cambridge as I didn't think it was for me and went to Imperial college instead. From experience  a student with a first in Physics from either Cambridge/Imperial or Warwick will start on the same salary, if we're talking about jobs in the city's financial district.

If you're talking about research jobs then its going to take a lot of time to repay the 90K-if you need to that is?