Cambridge: unreachable dream or simple reality?

Every person at least once in his life thought about Cambridge as about dream place to study. Why? Narrative that it is a unique place which can change you absolutely. Change the way you think, the way you do. What if I say that Cambridge is not as good as we used to think about it?

So, let me explain this, at first seems, terrible phrase. I was as anyone else: studying at usual university for a while, then life turned around, I found myself in much more interesting place in Riga. Cannot call it usual place, but comparing to what we think about Cambridge - quite usual. Once they said: we will be happy to see you debating for the university and Latvia in Cambridge. Sure thing I could not believe that I will be in the university where the best minds of the history had grown up. Well, few weeks later I was sitting in the Greater Anglia train approaching Cambridge train station.

Few words about the city: Cambridge is a city for students and the staff who serve them. But it is only at first sight. Much difference you can feel latter. City is pretty small, at least it is compact, you can easily do not use public transport for routine necessities. You can feel real England here: architecture, people, atmosphere, etc. The city makes you feel at home, you will miss it when leaving.

The University of Cambridge is an incredibly big establishment which includes 31 colleges (which basically can be considered as a separate university). The structure is really complicated because of the size.

The buildings are amazing: historical, with the soul of genius in the air, you feel it, you are inspired by it. And it looks amazing from any side: outside as well as inside.

Coming closer to academic which is basically surprising and the reason why I decided to write this article. The study process is not as amazing as we think about it. The university does not care much about its bachelor students. The reason is simple as that: it is research university and students are just a problem for professors. It is no need to say now that the professors are not happy to give lectures for young and not so smart guys (of course if compare to themselves). No interest from the side of the teacher makes the study process not really interactive.

Study process. It is divided into parts: 8 weeks of work, 6 weeks of leisure. And while work weeks you have only 3 days per week for lectures. And frankly speaking these 3 days per week do not seem to be very busy

During your studies you do not have to pass exams or any other way of control. The only exam they have: in the end of the year which you cannot fail. What is going on throughout the year is your care. The university does not check your activity throughout the year.

The while concept is based on self-educating. Means that basically education in Cambridge is more like certification than real education. You have exams and you have guidelines how to prepare for them.

Cannot g without saying that actually admissions criteria are based a lot on ability to study on your own. By the way, the admission differs from person to person - individual approach, the idea is to understand your personal characteristic, not only academic.

I want to admit that it does not mean that there study usual average students, no. Students there are really unique and you feel how smart and unique they are. And especially I was impressed by them as humans. It is quite interesting to hear their thoughts about usual things as well as just have a cup of tea in silence which can tell you much more than you think.

But the reason of this article was to tell you that even Cambridge is not as dream place as we used to think about it. It is something we imagined on our own and used to believe in it.

I can say that Cambridge is unique not because of specific methods of teaching or something. It is unique because of people gathering in this place. They just used to go there and that is it. Basically you can put a sign "The University of Cambridge" on any other university and these unique people will still go there and this "any" university will become the same as Cambridge today.

As usual my thoughts are full of mess and need to be clarified by yourself. But it is something you can think about.