Mature students discover opportunities at Cambridge

Esmie Vergara (pictured second from left) had taken overnight buses from Bristol via Heathrow, arriving in a frozen Cambridge well before dawn. She is doing an Access course at Bristol College, and moved to the UK from the Philippines three years ago. “This event is really helpful in giving me an overview of what Cambridge has for mature students as I’m thinking of studying medicine,” she said.

Sam Forsyth (far left), who left school six years ago to do an art foundation course, had come from Glasgow to learn more about Cambridge and to visit Wolfson College in particular. He is doing an access course in Scottish history and theology, while working part-time at a theatre, and intends to apply to Wolfson to read music.

“I’m attracted by the academic nature of the music course at Cambridge and the environment of a mature college is a huge draw. I like the fact that Wolfson is located slightly away from the centre of Cambridge and has a really good music society,” he said.

For Timia Berthomé (far right), who lives in Bognor Regis and currently works part-time in a cinema, the Open Day was a chance to find out more about the university she hopes to join in the autumn. She applied to Lucy Cavendish last year and has an offer to read Politics, Psychology and Sociology (PPS).

She said: “As a teenager I had a bad attitude to education and when I left college at 18 I wasn’t ready for university. But my thirst for knowledge developed as I got older and signing up for an Access to Humanities course at Chichester College was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Walking past York Minster every day on his way to work had inspired Rob Ing (second from right) to think about taking a degree in architecture. “I studied art and design for four years - and I’m a big fan of ecclesiastical and medieval architecture. I work in retail and lots of the people I meet have degrees – now I want one too!” he said.

Three current mature students gave brief talks and answered questions on life at Cambridge as a mature student.

Katrina Ffrench, a third-year Social and Political Sciences (SPS) student at Hughes Hall, urged the audience to be brave and “have the bottle to apply”. She said that Cambridge had hugely increased her self-confidence, joking that she had arrived “as a mouse and was leaving as a lion”.

Petra Goldsmith, a sixth-year medical student at Lucy Cavendish, stressed the importance of preparing a competitive application. She did her A levels by distance learning over four years while working and clocking up relevant work experience. “Take your time and seek advice from admissions tutors so that you’re really well prepared,” she said.

A first-year history student at Hughes Hall, Mark Cooper, who has four children, spoke honestly about the challenges of combining family and studying. “I’m enjoying every minute of being an undergraduate but I’ve completely failed to persuade my wife that if I’m reading a book I’m working!” he said, laughing.

All three students emphasised that Cambridge was hard work as well as fun – and that, whatever course you were doing, a great deal of reading was required. “At Cambridge we talk about “reading” a subject and there’s a good reason for that,” said Katrina.

Jane McLarty, Admissions Tutor at Lucy Cavendish College and one of the speakers at the event, encouraged students to think carefully about subject choice and to seek help from admissions tutors. Judith Bunbury, Admissions Tutor at St Edmund’s, was pleased to see how many prospective students had come with friends or family. “It’s good that friends and family are involved at this stage as becoming a mature student at Cambridge is a life-changing experience,” she said.

On 28 February Lucy Cavendish is running a free taster day for mature female students (21 or over) interested in studying law. For more information go to http://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/pages/admissions/undergraduates/visiting-the-college/law-taster-day.php.