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Cambridge ($$) vs. Oxford ($)

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Dolly77
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Cambridge ($$) vs. Oxford ($) [#permalink] New post   14 Apr 2021, 11:30
I know this is a question that seems to come up a lot but I wanted to get others perspectives on my situation. I have offers from both Oxford and Cambridge. I received a large scholarship at Cambridge of close to half tuition and when negotiating with Oxford was only able to get 10K out of them so they didn't match.

If the money was equal I would go to Oxford as I prefer the larger cohort/city size and have found the incoming class to be much more interesting and engaged.

Cambridge however will be significantly cheaper and does seem to have more courses/clubs that are relevant to my career, but I'm finding myself less excited about the school.

Does anyone have any advice or even their own considerations of the schools in their research/decisions? Thanks!
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Re: Cambridge ($$) vs. Oxford ($) [#permalink] New post   14 Apr 2021, 15:50
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Congrats on your admits!

I feel there’s a good overlap of applicants to both programs and we’ve had a number of discussions :-)

I think part of the big question is why are you investing extra money into Oxford versus Cambridge. Honestly, an impression of more interesting and engaged people is not a realistic expectation and is simply an impression. Impressions can be deceiving. Is it really worth spending 40 extra thousand dollars because of an impression? At the same time if you are dreaming about some thing and do you see yourself in a certain setting, and there’s no reason to sell your dream either 😱 but I would focus on jobs after graduation. That is the most important aspect and how does each business school fit into your plans. If your salary bump isn’t going to be that significant, I would probably go for a scholarship. At the same time if Oxford has certain employers that Cambridge does not have, but it may be worth spending the extra money to get access to those. At the same time you are gambling at that point.

I would let Dleerium perhaps comment. They wrote a great review of Cambridge: https://gmatclub.com/reviews/business_s ... e-judge-26


Also some Oxford thoughts:
https://gmatclub.com/reviews/business_s ... rd-said-25

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Re: Cambridge ($$) vs. Oxford ($) [#permalink] New post   14 Apr 2021, 17:05
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Hi Dolly77,

I was in your position 2 years ago but exactly the reverse situation. Oxford scholarship just over half of tuition and less for Cambridge. My desired school was Cambridge and I spent countless nights research and scouring the web for articles that would justify my decision. I chose Cambridge in the end and have no second thoughts about my decision.

Most articles you read online about the difference between both cities and the universities are fairly on point. Oxford is a city with a university in it, Cambridge is a university with a city around it. Outcomes of both schools are very similar and rankings fluctuate year on year. Smaller cohort for Cambridge and larger for Oxford. Cambridge has a more tech/science feel compared to Oxford which is more political science and humanities.

My decision may not have made the most logical sense, but I truly believe your gut tells you when a school is the right fit for you based on your experience and talking to current/ future students.

The difference of £10,000+ is substantial but over the course of an entire career it is negligible. What may bother you are those moments in the future you wished you followed your instincts and chose the school you felt like you belonged to and not having regrets.

If you have done your due diligence and your gut tells you it’s the right move and that you believe will have a good experience then go for Oxford.

Congratulations again and I hope that helps!
- Dleerium

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Re: Cambridge ($$) vs. Oxford ($) [#permalink] New post   17 Apr 2021, 00:17
Dolly77 wrote:
I know this is a question that seems to come up a lot but I wanted to get others perspectives on my situation. I have offers from both Oxford and Cambridge. I received a large scholarship at Cambridge of close to half tuition and when negotiating with Oxford was only able to get 10K out of them so they didn't match.

If the money was equal I would go to Oxford as I prefer the larger cohort/city size and have found the incoming class to be much more interesting and engaged.

Cambridge however will be significantly cheaper and does seem to have more courses/clubs that are relevant to my career, but I'm finding myself less excited about the school.

Does anyone have any advice or even their own considerations of the schools in their research/decisions? Thanks!


I was researching both the schools as well and did reach out to some students. They seemed fairly equal! I think the most glaring factor while considering Oxford is that their employment report is usually not updated and the nos. for "Not seeking for other reasons" and "No info available" is shockingly high - 80/303 students!

If you have done due dilligence on the above and find similar recruitment opprtunities, Oxford would not be a bad choice, however, the above seems glaring!
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Re: Cambridge ($$) vs. Oxford ($) [#permalink]
17 Apr 2021, 00:17
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