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Higher education

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Original poster

Engineering - Sheffield Uni for Sept or reapply to Cambridge?

125 replies

niceduvet · 23/08/2022 20:53

My DS was rejected after interview stage for Engineering at Cambridge for 2022 entry. Last week he found out he had achieved 4 x A* for his A' levels which was what he was predicted so he's very chuffed. His next choice after Cambridge was an Integrated Masters at Sheffield Uni - where he now has a place for this Sept. He's spent most of the summer hols on a voluntary mechanics placement abroad.

A friend (who has a child who went to Oxbridge) has recently commented that she really can't understand why he isn't taking a gap year and reapplying to Cambridge for 2023 entry due to his results. We haven't encouraged this so far as we're concerned that it would be demotivating if he didn't get in again and he'd have to sort out a productive gap year at short notice and study hard again for the entrance exam (which is what he fell down on last time we think by getting an average score). Obvs there are no guarantees but I'm now wondering if maybe she's got a point. DS would probably take a steer from us on this. He was disappointed about Cambridge and is fine about going to Sheffield.

I guess I could understand more if it was politics or law or something else, but do employers really care where you got your Engineering degree from and would a Cambridge Eng degree really give you enough of an advantage to be worth reapplying for? Sheffield does seem like a powerhouse for Engineering and is well regarded.

I know this is a nice problem to have, but would really appreciated some advice here as accommodation deadlines are now looming. Thanks!

OP posts:
Whalesong · 26/08/2022 20:13

Anothernamechangeplease · 26/08/2022 19:54

DD has also decided to prioritise UCL over Cambridge, and she isn't going to even bother applying for the latter, despite being an obvious candidate on the basis of grades etc.

She loved UCL in a way that she just didn't warm to Cambridge. This was despite me being a Cambridge graduate and dd always having seen herself applying there when she was younger. Ultimately, she just didn't like the course that was on offer as much as what she liked elsewhere.

Show quote history

Good for her and good luck! DS also loves the vibe at the UCL Bloomsbury campus and has luckily got accommodation just minutes walk away.
Feel free to DM me if your DD has any questions - for now I’m a newbie but we’ll hopefully learn more in the next few months!

Whalesong · 26/08/2022 20:15

Dotcheck · 26/08/2022 20:00

This bloody infatuation with Oxbridge!

Ffs. The point of education is to get a job!

Yes and no. If a job was all it was about there are other ways of getting to high-earning ones.
Surely it’s also about life experience and enjoying your time learning valuable skills?

ErrolTheDragon · 26/08/2022 20:20

Well quite. Education should be both an end in itself and if they've chosen a sensible subject like the OPs DS a means to an end.

notnowbernadette · 26/08/2022 20:35

Sheffield is a fantastic university where he'll have a great time as well as doing a well regarded degree. I'd stick with that rather than a chance of Cambridge

CurlyhairedAssassin · 26/08/2022 20:40

katishot · 26/08/2022 14:15

What does he want to do?
Your posts don't really express his opinion at all - just the friend's,

If he wants to go to Sheffield he should. It's a risk reapplying to Cambridge. Perhaps he won't get in next year either. Maybe they thought he wasn't a good fit.
And there's an advantage of being one of the very top students in a non-Oxbridge university rather than being one of many. I was rejected by Oxford for chemistry - they fed back to my school (this was a long time ago now, don't know if they still feed back to schools) that they felt I wasn't that bothered about going to Oxford! The school tried to pressurize me into reapplying but I stuck with York which I had really really liked (actually interviewed there before the Oxford interview) and because I was one of the top handful of students on my course I had a lot of opportunities for industrial placements, working with professors in the holidays and even doing some educational outreach. I wouldn't have had that in Oxford where I would have been competing with everyone else who was equally good or better than me.

Yep, this is a factor that any parent of an Oxbridge student worries about, I imagine. “How are you going to feel about being average?” I ask my son. He just shrugs and says “”SOMEONE has to stand out there” 😆. He has real self-belief so I am very worried for him because I know what it’s like being at uni with equal peers and there will come a point where he will struggle with the academic side of things, he just doesn’t realise yet how bad it will feel. So that’s one downside of it.

then there are all the things you constantly read about engineering employers preferring students doing more practical courses.

it would be nice to have a crystal ball and choose the best path for yourself. But when you’re 18, you don’t always know what that is and you are swayed by league tables etc. On the other hand it’s great to have a dream and the drive to achieve it. So hard to know how to advise them when as a parent you have very mixed feelings.

Beach11 · 26/08/2022 20:53

Better the devil and all that.
What happens if he still doesn’t get into Cambridge?

fiftiesmum · 26/08/2022 22:06

At Sheffield he has the option of a year in industry supported by the university which for many employers is worth more than a Cambridge degree

lottiegarbanzo · 26/08/2022 22:20

Stupid question I suspect but why can't he do both? Take the Sheffield place and reapply to Cambridge?

Then he'd have the 'bird in the hand' and be able to assess, from the inside, whether he's really happy and would rather stay there anyway.

I imagine it would mess up his funding somewhat if he decided to move and re-start though.

poetryandwine · 26/08/2022 22:29

@lottiegarbanzo you cannot reapply to UCAS whilst holding a place. (If you mean he should ask S heffield for a gap year.)

If he starts at Sheffield Cambridge isn’t going to want to interrupt his momentum.

Needmoresleep · 26/08/2022 22:30

This approach is not unknown, and apparently is used regularly and successfully by overseas students who feel they narrowly missed Cambridge but dare not risk their Imperial offer. However generally engineering is a 4 year course and SFE only allow 4 years funding so you would need to self finance for the fifth.

Firty · 26/08/2022 22:40

Sheffield is great for engineering and also, such a lovely place to live - great climbing in the peaks and a friendly outdoorsy vibe.

Cambridge is an extremely stressful place, and my friend who did engineering there said it was extremely hard, they were so stressed about maybe failing and then got a 2.2 and now stressed about that.

Let him go to Sheffield, have a nice time, and get a better degree result than if he went to Cambridge.

TizerorFizz · 26/08/2022 23:02

@Firty
Have you ever lived in Sheffield! Outdoorsy? Lots of parks. Climbers are a tiny minority from what I’ve seen. Sheffield for students is vibrant and fun.

You really cannot guess results from each university either. Sheffield is hardly easy! Very few 2:2 degrees at Cambridge. This is unlikely. However, Sheffield is the best bet.

CaptainBeakyandhisband · 26/08/2022 23:15

I was in this position many years ago. Didn’t get my Cam place (medicine) despite being predicted top grades. I was holding an offer for a top RG uni in a STEM subject. I aced my exams and overshot my uni offer, so I thought I would take a gap year and reapply. Then I went out with my friends to celebrate, had an amazing night and through all of it just realised that I really needed to go to uni right then, and not wait a year. Honestly, I’ve not looked back. Met my DH at uni, got married here, had two babies in the local hospital.

there is a bit of a Cambridge/Oxbridge clique locally and I have found that it bothers me sometimes (mostly that I’m just as clever as they are and it seems a bit random the application process sometimes). But I live in a university town with a teaching hospital, I’m surrounded by medics and academics, it’s hard to escape.

Both DH and I have done well for ourselves, both very highly qualified, both in great jobs.

So I think I’m saying that either option is fine, depending on what your son wants, but it has to come from him. If he’s excited about Sheffield that’s fantastic!

ErrolTheDragon · 26/08/2022 23:23

Very few 2:2 degrees at Cambridge. This is unlikely.
As far as I know Cambridge engineering is still sticking to its policy of awarding 30% firsts, 50% 2:1s and 20% other (i.e not joining in the general trend for rampant grade inflation).

This does mean that a student who might well have got a first elsewhere may get a 2:1 there.

RampantIvy · 26/08/2022 23:23

there is a bit of a Cambridge/Oxbridge clique locally

And on mumsnet.

ErrolTheDragon · 26/08/2022 23:29

RampantIvy · 26/08/2022 23:23

there is a bit of a Cambridge/Oxbridge clique locally

And on mumsnet.

Not on this thread though - just about everyone is advising the OP that Sheffield is fine and her DS should stick with it.Smile

NotMeNoNo · 26/08/2022 23:36

I'll add my vote for Sheffield. A better choice for a person who wants to be an engineer as opposed to a Cambridge grad. I did Engineering at Cambridge and I'm not sure I'd recommend it. Not criticising anyone who's there, but I think other courses are probably more focused and useful.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 27/08/2022 00:38

NotMeNoNo · 26/08/2022 23:36

I'll add my vote for Sheffield. A better choice for a person who wants to be an engineer as opposed to a Cambridge grad. I did Engineering at Cambridge and I'm not sure I'd recommend it. Not criticising anyone who's there, but I think other courses are probably more focused and useful.

What did you end up doing afterwards, @NotMeNoNo

NotMeNoNo · 27/08/2022 08:36

@CurlyhairedAssassin I went into engineering, eventually did an MSc at another university to fill the gaps and still work in the field at a senior level. I would definitely recommend engineering as a career.

Stockpot · 27/08/2022 12:10

Sheffield 💯

I work for a high tech engineering firm. We wouldn’t rate Oxbridge over schools like Sheffield, Manchester, Loughborough, etc. For graduate recruitment.

If it’s engineering he wants, he’s in a wonderful position. If he actually wants to go into the City, it might be a different story.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 27/08/2022 15:55

NotMeNoNo · 27/08/2022 08:36

@CurlyhairedAssassin I went into engineering, eventually did an MSc at another university to fill the gaps and still work in the field at a senior level. I would definitely recommend engineering as a career.

Interesting. My son seems to think Cambridge will give him a good grounding in all aspects of engineering and he can specialise later. Would you say you definitely would need to do further qualifications afterwards, then? That’s going to be 5+ years of studying!

god, you hear so many mixed messages about engineering. How some courses are useless and recruiters don’t find their graduates provided with the skills they need. hearing that blind recruitment means that a Cambridge degree means nothing anymore. I mean, it feels like it takes the shine off the achievement of getting in really, when you wonder if it’s worth it and he’ll have worse outcomes than someone at a less competitive uni. Then there are the multiple moans from engineering graduates saying they can’t get a job and the money is crap if you DO get into it.

no wonder poor OP is confused! I think we should listen to our kids who seem to have their path sorted in their heads and be happy with it!

RampantIvy · 27/08/2022 16:09

I would hazard a guess that Sheffield has stronger links with industry than Cambridge, given that they own AMRC.

Daftasabroom · 27/08/2022 16:15

@niceduvet Sheffield, Manchester, Loughborough, imperial, Coventry, Bristol, UWE, Strathclyde, Soton, just to scratch the surface. There are lots of really fab engineering degrees in the UK.

Good luck

Daftasabroom · 27/08/2022 16:18

@RampantIvy that might be the first reference to a catapult I've seen on MN😃

Deeplywailing · 27/08/2022 16:49

My DS is studying engineering at Cambridge. It hasn’t been a happy time so far. Some of it has been covid related, some related to my son’s specific issues, but if he had his time over I wish he’d never applied. Be careful what you wish for.