Cambridge for a party girl?

[candlewicker]

My DD has decided to apply for Cambridge after encouragement from school. She is bright and is predicted great grades but she is not obsessively academic or studious. What she is, is wildly social. She loves to party and have fun. Before this she wanted to go to Manchester, Leeds or Glasgow partly for the nightlife. Do kids like this fit in at Cambridge?

@candlewicker my dcs went to an enormous comprehensive and loved the traditions and Oxbridge social life. In fact most of their friends were similar. The socialising is college or university-based; Oxford does have a couple of nightclubs but there are dedicated student nights.

If a main priority is clubbing in an urban sort of way then Manchester or Birmingham is a better option (dd’s friend loved the Brum scene). However your dd is presumably 17/18 and her idea of a good time could radically change!

I’d say no, it’s all pretty tame and quite limited. It suits students for whom study is number one. You also don’t have much time for partying with heavy workload & short terms.

I chose Oxford over Cambridge because of the nightlife. I was worried I wouldn't have as much fun as my mates at other unis but I used to go clubbing at least twice a week. Obviously it's not in the same league as Leeds / Manchester / London but the trade-off is all the other amazing things you get being at an Oxbridge uni. Dancing in a ball gown until 6am and drinking champagne in a hot air balloon is a pretty unique experience that I have sadly yet to repeat.

That really doesn’t reflect my experience at all (though Oxford, rather than Cambridge). People were burning the candle at both ends a lot (easier in short terms), going out in Oxford, going clubbing in London etc, and I had a few friends who were always off to Cirencester to hops or balls at the agricultural college because of their beagle packs. I certainly remember finishing an essay, getting on the Oxford Tube to London, coming back in the morning just in time for a shower and coffee before going into a tutorial.

We have both Oxford & Cambridge in my family and tbh all my mates at the big city unis had much more of a party experience.

Mine’s at Glasgow and it’s definitely got a lively social scene (mine wanted big city but not London)
The 2 semester system suits her well, they do exams then get Christmas break. They finish their year in May. She works abroad in summers, she’s off 4 months.
She was always having a year abroad so extra year in Scotland made no difference.
Definitely encourage her to think about what will be a good fit for her and trust her gut.

God don’t let her go to Leeds or Manchester if she’s a party girl. They’re massive massive drug unis. I’d know I’m from Leeds.

Honestly, it doesn’t sound like she would enjoy Oxbridge nearly as much as a big city uni. Plenty of big cities available.

Does she know what career she wants? Oxbridge makes more of a difference for some careers than others.

It's worth visiting both Cambridge and Oxford if she is considering them and that will give her more idea. Mine went to state comp and is very sociable and loves it but she has mixed with people from private /public schools before which helps though majority are state. It is very different to the nightclub type socialising and there can be traditions involved, my DD loves those. For my DD it's been a great choice, if she had gone to a place with lots of clubbing I don't think any work would have got done. There's also the drugs issue to consider, it's everywhere but some places are higher risk especially for the sociable party types. Plenty of opportunities to dress up at Oxbridge if she's into that. I am glad my DD is with plenty of sensible students as well, it's not made her sensible but has given boundaries. Oxford is slightly posher than Cambridge on average if that makes a difference though traditions are similar.

The cities she has chosen so far are very different to Oxbridge so it is worth investigating what's best for her and it maybe she will prefer a big city.