The Oxford and Cambridge Project

Today we chat with Ilya, a 3rd year at Jesus College, studying Biological Natural Sciences (aka Nat Sci). If you're thinking about applying to Cambridge, you should definitely check out his Youtube channel - Ilya’s Cambridge Advice - on which he gives great and concise application advice to the university. We sit down and get to know more on his daily life at Cambridge, his study methods, and how COVID affected his final year of undergraduate.

Today we are hosting May Vet Student on our podcast! May Yean is currently in her final year of studying Veterinary Science at Cambridge University. She grew up in Malaysia and matriculated in 2015 at Girton College. In her 6th year in Cambridge, she started a Youtube channel to give others an insight into her life as a vet student, as well as share educational videos and productivity tips.

This week we have Alex Denny with us. Alex recently graduated from St Catharine's College, (or as students affectionately call it: Catz) with a degree in Archaeology. He tells us about why he chose this course, shares his love for the college, discusses his busy university schedule, and debates the merits of May Week with us from the experience of living with a student bursary. Alex has secured a training contract with the firm Allen & Overy and is currently doing his PGDL in London.

Today Opportune speaks to Krishna Ramesh! Krishna graduated with a bachelors’ degree in economics from Cambridge in 2016, and with a masters’ degree from Yale in 2017. He tells us all about Downing College, the structure of the econ course and his career in international development. He also shares tips for future applicants and current students.

This week we speak to Claudia Tam. Claudia is a current 4th year student at St Johns College, reading Medicine. She tells us about life in Cambridge during #COVID, her undegrad and clinical years as a medic, and her role as President of the Cambridge University Amateur Boxing Club. Claudia has also tutored high school students in Oxbridge interview prep and shares some great tips for future applicants!

This week Opportune speaks to Areeg Emarah. Areeg grew up in Kenya and had never heard of Cambridge before her final year of high school, when her head master suggested she apply! She is now in her 4th year, studying Information and Computer Engineering at Trinity College. Areeg speaks about her incredible journey moving to Cambridge, adapting to life and labels (and now #COVID), and developing her passion of increasing access to the University.

Happy New Year! For this first video of 2021, Opportune speaks to Borane Gille, a Girton College graduate, who received a 1st class degree in Land Economy in 2018. Borane speaks to us about adapting to the Cambridge life as an international student, leading sports and social societies, and shares lots of tips for doing your best in exams.

For this very Christmassy episode, Opportune chats to Seb Johns about all things music! Seb is a former member of the famous King's College Choir, and of the close-harmony group The King's Men. Seb graduated from Corpus Christi College in 2017 with a BA degree in Music, and talks about choral scholarships as well of sharing stories of his time at Cambridge.

We're so excited to talk to Joe Binder this week! You may know Joe from his Cambridge vlogger days, from his strong Instagram & LinkedIn game, or from the #StudentsOfCambridge campaign he founded in 2014. In this episode, Joe talks candidly abut his time at university, the feeling of never fitting in Cambridge's mould, and the self belief he developed through paving his own path.

This week we talk to Gina Jackson, who you may know under the Instagram name @GinaGoesTo! Gina graduated with a BA in Classics from Pembroke College in 2017. During her time at Cambridge, Gina started blogging and has grown to an audience of 50,000 followers. She tells us all about the highs and lows of university life, and also shares tips for anyone wishing to build a following as a student. * TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 02:05 Background 03:18 Open days: discovering which college fits you 04:45 Why did you choose Classics? 06:03 Application process 07:20 Interview prep 09:08 Interview day 15:38 First year: exploring everything! 18:04 Classics course structure & workload 23:32 Favourite part of the course 25:55 Are you a good fit for Classics? 30:38 Pembroke College 33:21 Building a social media platform from university  36:13 How has your degree prepared you for working life? 38:22 Perks of Pembroke 39:40 Pembroke College accommodation 42:44 Joining societies 44:26 Organising a May Ball 46:15 Balancing studies, social media and sleep 48:04 Choosing your priorities at the start of the year 49:50 Tips for managing the Cambridge pressure 52:26 Tips for building a social media presence 53:37 Biggest regret at uni 56:28 Happiest day at Cambridge 57:42 May Week memories