Natural Sciences at Cambridge

I chose to study Natural Sciences at Cambridge because it allowed me to explore subjects like Earth Sciences and Pharmacology but it also allowed me to specialise in Chemistry which is something that I really enjoy. The Natural Sciences course at Cambridge is a very broad course. It involves studying several different subjects in the first and second year before finally specialising in a single subject in the third year and then some subjects will offer a fourth year as well. In your first year you'll take three science courses and one mathematics course and in your second year you'll choose from roughly 20 different topics and you'll take three of those and then you narrow so that by the time you reach your final year you have the opportunity then to specialise and join a single department. The combination of the breadth and depth was something that really appealed to me. The standard modes of teaching are the lectures and the Cambridge has small group teaching or what we call supervisions. Two-on-one or three-on-one groups where we can go into more depth with people who are at the top of their field. We also have a Director of Studies who's responsible for our academic life at university and a tutor who's responsible for anything non-academic such as finances or welfare so I have never felt like I was on my own. I always had people who would be able to help me out with anything. One of the special aspects of the natural sciences at Cambridge is that students are taught by world-leading research experts. These are senior academics, world-class thinkers, highly acclaimed professors. The opportunity to really engage with these people has been amazing. My favourite part of the course has been the practicals. I think it's really interesting to learn things in lectures, to learn them on paper but seeing them in real life, applying them in real-life situations is just why I studied science in the first place and being able to do them in modern well-equipped laboratories is really important. A typical day begins with a few lectures in the morning followed by going to the lab to work on my fourth year research project. I'll also find some time to work on my supervision work. After that I'll leave the department, head back to college, get some food and then I'll head to the university gym to train with my friends. Because I like to keep myself busy I tend to do a lot of societies in my spare time. Rowing, choir, steel pans, kung fu and a little bit of kickboxing. The natural sciences prepares students for any career opportunity. We see students go on not only to do postgraduate research but also to become teachers, bankers, consultants. Some might stay in research, that might be academic research or industrial research. Some go into things like science writing or teaching and then some will do something completely unrelated like banking or management consultancy. After graduating my first option would be to join a pharmaceutical company and become a research scientist there. I want to become a management consultant and although I will be leaving science I will still be using the skills that I have gained throughout my time here. When you come for interview we're looking to get to know the students and see how they think. We're not trying to catch students out or make them feel uncomfortable. Just show them what you can do, think out loud and you'll be okay. Remember you miss every opportunity which you don't take. Your degree and your experience here is what you put into it and what you make of it. If you want to work hard and if you love science go for it.