Why UCL is better than Cambridge (from studying at both)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2024
- Cambridge might be above UCL in the university league tables, but here are some reasons UCL is actually better.
Time to put my two degrees to some use.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:29 Aesthetic
2:03 Food
4:02 Culture
5:07 Accommodation
5:33 Academics
6:32 Blood on Hands
7:49 The Verdict
Who am I? 🙋♂️
I'm Francis, a Trainee Clinical Psychologist at Oxford University. I previously did psychology degrees at Cambridge (Undergrad) and UCL (Master's). I upload videos every few weeks about psychology, university life and occasionally self-improvement.
Feel free to have a browse of the channel🫶
Buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/francismadden
For enquiries, please go to:
/ francismadden
Thanks for the top tips, I will now strive to pick my university via a random spinner
Alternatively you can throw a dart at a map and go to uni wherever it lands
@@FrancisMadden instructions not clear I now go to school in Atlantis
@@FrancisMadden I tried that. It landed off the coast of Ireland.
Great video, could not agree more. This really helped me with deciding on which university out of the two to pursue.
Gonna go with Kings College London!
I had Imperial as my insurance and I'm so glad I got into Cambridge. I would not have been able to afford London at all. Cambridge is cheap for the south, especially because you only need to be there for 27 weeks or so. Also as someone at another university right now for my PhD, Cambridge teaching is absolutely phenomenal, at least for STEM; other places seem so slow in comparison.
I think that the examination is also something to keep in mind. At Cambridge you can do what you want throughout the year, it's very lax. I teach undergraduates here and I'm appalled at just how much pointless examination and testing and grading there is. I feel bad for how infantilised they are. Cambridge treats you like an adult from the start; the colleges give you a much better relationship with faculty and your peers.
Thank you!
Agreed. I live in cambridge and study at the uni. The vibe is just so much better compared to London. I’m an international student, a big city boy (lived in hong kong my whole life), went to london a few times… let’s just say I will never voluntarily choose to live/ work in London ever…
Yes! I really liked being treated as an Adult verse USA!
one of the very few videos i've seen at 1x speed instead of 1.5x or 2x recently because this was so hilarious and informative at the same time 👏🏽👏🏽
I'm starting a MSc at UCL in September and will be looking to follow it up with potential further studies at Cambridge in the future! Will look forward to making a comparison soon :)
Speaking as a second year undergrad at UCL, I would say the social side of has improved a lot since COVID-19 restrictions were fully removed. Finally I have actually spoken to some of my professors and had in-person seminars with other academic staff. Not having colleges like in Cambridge doesn't create that automatic sense of community, but I'd say that has been built within course + societies anyway, assuming you just put in some effort to attend events. Campus is quite lively nowadays - a far cry from the post-covid emptiness we had last year.
Problem now is that there never seems to be EVEN A SINGLE FREE SEAT WITH WORKING PLUG POINT in any of the libraries. Unless you have like the latest technology then best of luck x
Ahh that's really good to hear! I think as you say it's more on you at UCL to seek out and craft the sense of community for yourself, compared to collegiate unis where it's more automatic. So true about the libraries hahah the worst was realising your laptop wasn't charging after an hour in a broken plug socket💀
@@FrancisMaddenAhaha thanks for the reply, I love your videos they keep me sane. Also I can confirm about the broken plug socket thing, it happened to me yesterday 💀💀💀
I got an offer from UCL for physics&astronomy. Never thought I'd be in such a situation between choosing theoretical physics at unpopular colleges or going to one of me dream schools for years but not in my dream major.
I guess you are talking about Mphys and not MSc or PhD. Life is too long to understand what you truly love. So, go for the UCL offer. Theoretical Physics is a subject you could really contribute at a level of recognition if you are among top 50 Physicists around the world. So, an established college with reputation would always help you in multiple cases, especially for collaborations and publishings which is a Physicist’s major. I hope you will understand this after four years. But believe me , I can assure you from my life’s direct experience you cannot show me a single recognised and remembered Theoretical Physicist who was not affiliated with a world leading institute. I hope you have understood the point. Best from Cambridge, MA.
Great video! I’m doing an MA at UCL and I agree with most of what you said, though I went to Royal Holloway for my undergrad, I did find that (despite lockdowns) social life was better there, as everyone was mostly stuck around campus it created a sense of community and more people took part in societies etc. I still live around there and a lot of my friends do as well (I did try fo find a place in London but it was an absolute nightmare so I gave up) so I kind of compensate that way. Although, when I was at RHUL most of my friends were from societies etc. and I think I only befriended about 3, maybe 4 people from my course/classes, while at UCL I was surprised by how friendly everyone on my course was which makes it really nice to be there, makes me more motivated to go to class and just helps overall because we can always ask each other for help with work etc.
Would be interesting to see a video comparing them to Oxford as well :)
Pov you just got rejected from Cambridge 😔
Got rejected from Oxford, I feel you
excellent video as always Frani!! especially loved the "blood on hands" bit!!
I visited London for a weekend to see some friends, and it has to be one of the most dystopian places I've ever been to. The architecture looks like a random scrapbook of buildings from the last 3 centuries, I don't think I saw a single stranger smiling, and the food was absolutely extortionate in a few zones. When my coach changed departure to a different station a bit further south I was dreading it considering my mum only agreed to let me go if I "didn't get stabbed," but man, I have never been so happy to see a burger meal for £4. And it was the best tasting food I had there 😭
This what I'm talking about bruh. Especially the strangers as well, definitely much colder vibes than up north overall the stereotype is true
Dystopian? Isn’t it a bit of a stretch?
UCL is great. My little brother, he is studying CS at UCL. He said UCL in London. So it is very convenience for life, like China town, Asian market, Asian food, I guess Francis also like China food? right?
I was at UCL, and I felt no sense of belonging. I thought something went wrong with me or I demanded too much. Thank you bro for saying this out.
I like UCL simply because it is much closer to China Town and Soho. (yea I’m a foodie and an alcoholic)
This is way funnier than it should be
Gone to UCL myself, and doing a masters in an ivy league school. I think the fact that you don't have a sense of belonging comes down to the fact that you didnt go to UCL as an undergrad. I feel the same way about my current grad school though it has much more of a campus feel while I get emotional just looking towards the BT tower from a far just bc/ that's where I spent my late teen and early twenties. UCL doesn't have much to offer in terms of quantity of buildings and that, but it offers so much quality with the little amount of infrastructure it has. Absolutely loved my time there and I wish I did a masters there instead of the shite east coast of the states.
UCL has academic buildings all over London, from Stanmore to Old Street to Canary Wharf etc. It appears you have only been to the main site in Bloomsbury. Did you ever go to the IOE?
@@arthuralexander9981 ofc im aware of them - i spent most my time independently studying in the ioe right after the student centre. For a uni in london, it is pretty big, but trust me, compare the campus to oxbridge or campus schools in the states, it's not a lot. But I do see the school getting bigger in terms of size with UCL East and that - but I don't think UCL East counts bc its literally on the other side of London
Cannot agree more!!
Personally, I think you made a wiser choice heading to the US. Career opportunities post graduation from UCL isnt that great even if you studied a STEM subject. Furthermore, considering the economic situation, hostility to immigration, and low wages relative to other developed economies, a masters in mainland Western Europe or North Americas sounds like a better choice.
@@rayfalcone7163 recommend doing a master's degree in Imperial Hydrology and Water Resources Management
I did BSc at university of york and Mphil in real estate finance at Cambridge and the teaching was far better at York
Hi from Taiwan! I'm applying Msc Psychology Conversion programme of UCL. Hope to receive the offer from UCL and to see all the good things in UCL.
Any response? I have applied to an LLM :)
@@danielreinoso4816 Yes! I received the offer from UCL :)
4:00 I don' t think you should give UCL a point for food just because it's in London (!)
UNLESS it uses it's location to make cheaper, healthier, more varied food available to students,
which it doesn't,
so, either Cambridge should get the point (for food), or neither of them should...
As a current grad at UCLs computer science department, I strongly recommend avoiding the finance courses. The professors are excellent, but lack the pedagogical ability to pass on their knowledge effectively to non Math or Finance background students. I also noticed that this pedagogical inaptitude of a similar nature applies for other programmes as well. Honest recommendation: if you are continuing at UCL, apply only for courses that are your forte, rather than courses that you believe could compliment it.
this was such a funny and cool and charismatic video
i love the deadpan humour
doing my finals at UCL rn, can't wait to graduate in July and get tf out
I did my PhD at UCL and I can state that it was quite a lot better than Harvard. My undergraduate degree was from Sussex, which I chose because of the tutorial system. I went to Harvard because my subject (Greek and Latin Classics) was taught very rigorously there and easily matched Oxbridge in the UK. I followed my Harvard supervisor back to his 'home' university which was UCL. I lived in an intercollegiate hall of residence, where I became the student rep. The residence was just off Euston road and was very close to a dojo, where I practised the Japanese martial art of aikido, which I had started at Sussex (with a Japanese teacher). I never went to Cambridge UK, but I suppose the tutorials at Harvard/Cambridge Mass. were a good substitute. Sussex also had a tutorial system and Sussex also had the benefit of being modern, small, and set in the countryside. A few years ago I retired as a professor at Hiroshima University, where I taught Philosophy and studied very much about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Thank you for sharing your story Peter😊
You really underselling UCL, it's located in Bloomsbury not far from the British Museum, a short walk from Covent Garden. That whole area is prime central London!
You could say that Cambridge has more blood on their hands becuz they’re like a bagillion times older.
well you definitely havent sold me ucl i can tell you that
You forgot the cruciform for UCL aesthetics :( thoughhhh it is mainly for med students so I respect that
Ah true that does look banging, apologies
Thank you I was about to say that, I’m a translation student but had some seminars there and it’s a beautiful building. I also really like the zoology museum! I’ve also had classes in the buildings around Gordon Sq and those are quite pretty as well. Plus, it is in the middle of London which does have its cons but also means you can just go many other places if you want to be somewhere pretty, there’s plenty. I honestly think the area is quite nice though, I don’t mind it at all and really like walking around uni if I’m honest.
I am studying at UCL doing Theoretical Physics. I have to say, the course structure at UCL is very good i.e its clear and well taught. I applied to Oxford Physics however I did not like course nearly as much as I did the UCL one. I would have to say the only downside about UCL is that Oxford and Cambridge colleges are architecturally superior to any building in UCL. There is a lot of variety between colleges and the overall campus is bigger whereas UCL only has one main building with a few more buildings scattered around nearby so it is a bit of a repetitive sight. Another thing I found amazing in the Physics course is the level of research they do here. UCL has multiple labs, with many research teams working on different projects. We also have an observatory which I have been to and frankly, that alone is worth studying Astrophysics here. Great places to study too.
Good stuff
Francis can you please get me into an Emma formal I will pay u back with a Lucy cav formal (we have pre-drinks included 😳)
Cambridge vs Manchester next plz
I would pick up Cambridge for the sense of community, and overall an “proper”, I don’t know to express it, university experience.
gotta love that wii photo channel music ;)
Thanks Matt
😍😍😍😍 love you.... here from Cambodia.. i'm a hospital pharmacist :)
The most important thing is the name on your CV. Content doesn't matter, because it is insufficient at every uni, just study. You could do that even without uni. The experience itself doesn't matter too much either... you'll be mostly studying and in the great scheme of things those few years don't matter. You need the biggest and meanest name on your CV and it better be Oxford or Cambridge.
Unless it's Oxford or Cambridge or imperial it doesn't matter
@@karag4487 *unless its Cambridge or Oxford ... Sorry but Imperial doesnt get in to the same category along those two.
@@user-ev9kg5nc5i Imperial is better than both for STEM
@@user-ev9kg5nc5ithe only one which carries similar weight is LSE for economics, besides that then it’s just oxford and cambridge and nothing else comes close (but i’d argue LSE is marginally more impressive than Oxford in terms of its got a really high graduate starting salary)
I studied at UCL. The teaching quality I thought was quite bad. And nowadays living in London is too expensive.
What was bad about the teaching?
@@gulabani2216 I thought the lecturers often would jump to very advanced concepts, and should have instead focused more on teaching basic concepts as well as focused more on learning practical/technical skills instead of drowning in theory.
@@arjunbhaduri7525 oh I see. What course did you do?
@@gulabani2216Economics
I went to UEA in Norwich, so I appreciate some Brutalism!
I am from India, can you please guide Indian students for master's degree in clinical psychology at uk.
This will be really helpful
UCL is by far and away the best neuroscience/psychology research institution in Europe and one of the best in the world. It has several Nobel prize winners in the field, and for postgraduate, if you looking to go into research, UCL is better than oxbridge for this.
Just failed my Cambridge admissions exam, coming here to lick my wounds and soothe my ego (prob didn't get into UCL either)
TMUA ? honestly went so so badly..
@@jessicaamelie9745 NSAA, had my first panic attack since middle school and botched the timing because I was hyperventilating and crying and couldn't read the questions. Awful and of course no retakes for any reason.
@@ellathefinefella2084Aw that sucks I'm sorry! I got my rejection literally a couple of days ago but was fully expecting it after the exam (plus edinburgh is a bit of a preference for me). Anyway how did it end up?
@@jessicaamelie9745 Rejected! And no way: I also applied Edinburgh!!!! My other friend did as well but for a different program. We'll see how they feel about me (and UCL and ICL too). Best of luck with all your admissions and I hope to see you in Edinburgh :)
omg I'm applying to imperial too but out of ucl edinburgh and manchester edi is still my fav! Good luck to you too hope to cya :D@@ellathefinefella2084
Wetin concern someone like us wey dey come from 9ja my country 😂
"if you want to flex to compensate for your low self-esteem" 😂
❤😂
USA colleges and universities. Cambrdge vs the other guys academically is equal; some good some bad and a few Professors outstanding. Tutoring in USA zero. Cambridge a 8. Food in USA zero and Cambridge outstanding! Academic vibe a 6 out of ten USA and Cambridge a 10! Quarters USA about an 8 and Cambridge also an 8. Helpfulness such as Porters. Cambridge a 10. USA a zero! Grounds Cambridge a 10 USA a 3. Costs at Cambridge a 1 and USA a 10. Prestige Cambridge with 122 Nobel Prize winners a 10 and USA (based on my 4 institutions) a 5. Memories at age 89 USA a 5 and Cambridge a 10.
Reacting without watching but boooo, hisss
I had a friend reject offers from both Cambridge and Oxford because he didn't like the course as much as he thought he would. Oxbridge to alot is overrated and is very competitive people think alot of people don't get well there's alot of people in the classes the info goes out quick. If you're someone whose a slow learner Oxford and Cambridge is not the place for you TRUST ME. If you're able to pick up info quickly then go ahead. Alot of people end up dropping out or getting removed from the course because of how competitive it is personally there are way more better uni's and uni's who aren't Russel group uni's who top Oxbridge
How did they reject offers from Cambridge *and* Oxford when you can only apply for one...
@@yin-yi5189 Applying to universities is limitless you can apply to as many as you would like depending what type of application I.e UCAS. It is correct to say that you can only accept one university choice however you can accept/ reject ‘offers’ as many universities as you need or up to 5 if through UCAS. I don’t understand where you’re coming from, that statement his friend merely rejected 2 offered places both from Oxford and Cambridge can’t you comprehend that?
@@Czyb20 Specifically for Cambridge and Oxford you can only APPLY for one. You cannot apply to both, they literally don't allow you to. So saying someone was offered a place at both is just bs.
@@yin-yi5189 innit, so many chat so much 🤣
@@yin-yi5189 I thought that was only for undergrad programs?
Is work experience necessary for masters ỉn Cambridge
Imperial is better :) 😂
Dude... get to your senses! Cambridge on your CV has nothing to do with UCL (no offence). You are living in a student city, that its all about the university. World class research, it has DEPOSITED LIBRARY (means that everything that is published in the UK, the library MUST hold a copy, there are two more, Oxford University Library and London Central Library), and lots of ties with the industry and clinics. Competition makes you better and better, because you have no other option. I dont care when women got the right to get admitted... like 150 years ago... who cares, when we have 2023 and everyone has equal opportunities. Let's face it, this video is only for click baits and nothing more. Cambridge wins in all categories, hands down. Show some respect mate.
I can’t believe I got out of england before the Elisabeth line opened 🥹🥹🥹