‘Snobby’ Cambridge raised homeless fresher Jacob Lewis’ entry requirements

“When I realised I might have got into Cambridge I thought: ‘It’s either the home or the college work.’ I chose the work.”

| UPDATED Cambridge Cambridge Outreach Freshers Week Homeless Fresher Jacob Lewis Luke Heppenstall-West wales

Hero Jacob Lewis has revealed Cambridge gave him a harder offer than nearly everyone else, despite the fact he was homeless.

Jacob, from Cardiff, had his offer to study Law at Hughes Hall increased from the University average of A*AA to four A*s.

The stoic 22-year-old was forced to give up nearly all of his paid work to reach these inflated requirements, ultimately forcing him to leave his house.

And you thought you had it tough

Hughes Hall refused to lower their ridiculous offer despite dedicated efforts from Jacob’s sixth form college to inform them he was now homeless.

Lewis, who left home at 18 and worked “every hour under the sun” to meet rent payments, told The Tab in a previous interview he “was finishing my shift at four am and getting to college at nine, having to get up at six to do an essay I hadn’t been able to start.

“When I realised I might have got into Cambridge I thought: ‘It’s either the home or the college work.’ I chose the work.”

“Had it been A*AA it might have been a different story.”

At least there’s a happy ending

According to Jacob, Hughes Hall were aware of his work situation when they made their offer in January.

The college, dedicated to mature students, told The Tab: “We made Mr Lewis an offer appropriate to his academic circumstances as part of the normal admissions process.

“We are delighted that he has met his conditions and look forward to welcoming him in October along with our other new students.”

No thanks to you

Jacob thinks his college raised his grades because of “a general academic snobbery towards the Sociology A Level and the Welsh Baccalaureate.”

He added: “To be honest, I just saw it as a challenge. Once I’d given up my house I realised there was not going back.”

This comes amid fears of declining numbers of Welsh admissions to Cambridge, with successful applicants falling from 89 in 2003 to just 50 in 2013.

Wales has one of the lowest rates of Oxbridge acceptance in the UK, with just 22 per cent of applicants being offered places in 2012, compared to the 28 per cent average for English admissions.