zelauto

No Cambridge for Old Man!

Alright folks... I'm not going to Cambridge.

Someone once told me Cambridge has no clearing admissions in July, simply because virtually everyone they make the offer to accepts it! (ok.... everyone except for the Ivy-league applicants)

So here I am... rejecting Cambridge.

Bye Clare College! Bye punting down the River Cam! Goodbye to stopping by in Abu Dhabi en route to UK and getting my favourite Lebanese Bread! Bye to the opportunity to tell the world that I'm a Cantabridgian! And above all... bye to the one on one Cambridge tutorials. Needless to say, I'm really gonna miss YOU from across the pond!

This news was certainly most sudden. Guess it was my fault for not telling A*STAR that it was a 4 year course. Oh well, best not to dwell too much on it. The other problem of course, is that Carnegie Mellon is too good an alternative to Cambridge!

Yup, for you people who suspect me of mental insanity by passing up Cambridge, Carnegie Mellon isn't bad. It's been voted the 2nd in the US for Computer Engineering by the U.S. News and World Report, alongside ex-crush Stanford (I want to do Electronic and Computer Engineering). They are THAT good. Just that they're really unknown. When I said I was going to Cambridge... everyone went ooo and ahh. And now with Carnegie Mellon, I get people asking me what sort of fruit it is! Ah well, guess my ego was getting fatter than my prosperous waistline! Carnegie would really fit the bill in lowering that while not compromising on my education.

Alright... so my journey to the land of the free starts on August the 16th, instead of September 30th. There goes 1 and a half month's worth of summer. On the bright side, I can do shopping for winter clothes when I get there instead of having to buy it in Singapore (should save a kg or 2 in check-in luggage). Just hope that they have enough 'Asian-sized' outfits for me!

It's really too bad that they get a bit prescriptive on the freshman welfare with the banning of cars! I would have thought a carpool / car journeys with a few buddies would be an apt way to form bonds, but I guess the Tartans had different ideas. Guess I'll have to wait one year to get my Honda Civic/BMW 3 Series/Volkswagen Golf (all used of course, unless any reader feels earnestly compelled to sponsor a flashy, new ride for me).

Those of you with longer memories might remember me considering NUS after my 2 years in NJC (National University of Singapore and National Junior College respectively, for you foreign readers). After all, they both have National as the first word! However, given this opportunity courtesy of A*STAR, I guess it's too good a chance to pass on, given the quality of Carnegie Mellon as a whole.

posted by Zhong Liang @ 4:27 PM