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The Big "Are My Grades Good Enough for Cambridge?" Thread

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Reply 40
I am considering applying to Cambridge, my grades are:
Maths A level: A*
Geography AS level: A
Economics AS level: B

I was hoping to apply for Economics and although the course says Economics A level is not essential, will the B mean I will be rejected? I am taking Further Maths A level next year and think I can get an A in that.
Reply 41
Original post by chloeaj95
It doesnt do further maths no, My maths teacher has agreed to help me do it after my as grades were 100% they figured I may have a shot at Cambridge wih further maths


Pick a college that isn't Trinity (I'd suggest Catz, Pembroke or Jesus, but that's just my personal preference), email their admissions office and see what they advise - you should be able to make an application, it's just whether it'll be this year or next. I suspect you should be okay for this year to do STEP I and II but you'll need to confirm.
Reply 42
Hi all,

Hope results day went well for anyone expecting results.

I have just received my AS results with AAAAB, with 99% in Spanish, 98% in French, 85% in Maths, 82% in Italian and 79% in English. I am hoping to apply to Cambridge to study French and Spanish, and my results for those two subjects were obviously very good. However,I would like to know how much my chances would be affected by my B in English, as MML courses are obviously very literature based. I am actually very disappointed with my English result as I was expecting not only an A, but closer to 90%, and I am getting it remarked and will resit in January if needed.

Now I know they are not too keen on retakes, but they say they realise students can have bad days and don't mind retakes in one or two modules. I am also aware of the fact that arts and humanities applicants usually have an average of 90-95% in their top 3 AS subjects, and my top 3 AS resulta average out to 94%. Would this, as well as my really good results in the two subjects I wish to apply for, help to cancel out the B if it doesn't go up 2 UMS or whatever with the remark? The reason I did 5 ASs is that I did Italian outside the timetable, starting the GCSE last year and getting an A* in a year doing it outside the timetable and then starting the AS this year. I also got 11 A*s at GCSE.

I am really sorry for the long essay, and I am sure that there are loads of threads like this already, but I would love to know people's opinions on my results and Cambridge prospects as a result.

Thank you very much :smile:
Original post by lp386
x


Hello again, I was on the other thread. I think you misinterpreted my other post. When I said I had 266/300 in chemistry, you said "your chemistry is sufficiently close to an A to predict you an A next year.."..240/300 is actually an A...so I got an A but really close to 90% ..i think you're used to assuming 270/300 is an A haha :smile:..so with A*AAA with 99% economics, 92.3% maths/further maths and the high A in chem do you think I have a good chance? My school is weird in that your ISA mark actually directly compares with what teacher you have. The other chemistry class had a whole load of 60/60 in their ISA (which would've brought me to 278/300 in chemistry) because their teacher basically gives them the answers.

Another point is that I have done 9 maths modules (compared to 3-6 of the typical applicant), do you think that is something they care about or is somebody with 95% across C1,C2,S1 seen as better than somebody with 93% across C1,C2,C3,C4,S1,S2,M1,D1,FP1
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 44
results:
a level math:A* 94%
as level economics:a 95%
as level physics: a 90%
as level history: a 83%

i am a student taking CIE exam.
i want to apply for economics in cambridge,and for this results, the UMS is 93?
so does it good enough ?
i have chance to study further math in september, should i take it ? and should i drop any course i currently taking(e.g history)?
thx for answering.:smile:
Reply 45
I did the IB, and I got 40 Points with 766 in HL. Apparently this is good enough for King's College, however the other colleges stipulate higher grades. Do you think I stand a chance? I want to apply for Philosophy.
Original post by hogwartian1993
I achieved A*A*A but I was unable to attend college from January due to severe mental health problems. I worked independently from home and the school sent me the materials I needed to self teach myself. I know my grades are good, so would I be being a douche by filling in the extenuating circumstances form when I apply to Cambridge? Because I know I've done well but, for instance, I taught myself the entirety of my final politics exam by myself without attending a single lesson and achieved 100%. Again, sorry if you think I'm being a douche, but I worked so hard and I want to be recognised for this. Thanks.


Are you now completely medically clear?
Still on medication
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 48
Original post by Pyrifom
I did the IB, and I got 40 Points with 766 in HL. Apparently this is good enough for King's College, however the other colleges stipulate higher grades. Do you think I stand a chance? I want to apply for Philosophy.


Yes. if you really read around your subject and show serious interest.
If you can explain how well you did etc whilst struggling with this whilst also somehow getting across a point of it will not get in the way of your studies then yes.

However if it comes across as that you may be liable to not turn up to university often enough etc they may feel that the pressure of university may get to you.

It's a fine line as how the circumstances could be perceived. Obviously they cannot discriminate against you but they may feel this could hinder you.

Personally i think that with fantastic results like that, just explaining you wanted a gap year to gain some life skills before attending university would be better than explaining it was due to a mental health problem. You will need quite few peoples opinions on this.

You need to get across how in 2013 you will be perfectly fine to attend university and excel as well as you did right now.
Reply 50
Original post by billlady
results:
a level math:A* 94%
as level economics:a 95%
as level physics: a 90%
as level history: a 83%

i am a student taking CIE exam.
i want to apply for economics in cambridge,and for this results, the UMS is 93?
so does it good enough ?
i have chance to study further math in september, should i take it ? and should i drop any course i currently taking(e.g history)?
thx for answering.:smile:


Yes for ranking 93 but they will look also at your History as it is relevant. Taking up FM is strongly advised.
Reply 51
I applied to Oxford with A*A*AA but I had extenuating circumstances (quite a few) which were included in my reference.

Cambridge has a special access scheme for a reason. I had to think carefully because I didn't want to feel that I'd been accepted solely because violins were playing when admissions tutors looked at my application. At the end of the day, I did the work and got the grades I needed. But, I think it also makes you stand out; at a top uni where almost all applicants have grades like ours, they need something to show a student has something special. I'd say do include it, it is very relevant to your results and it shows a lot about you as a person. You're hardworking, you can cope with pressure, and you are obviously highly intelligent.

Best of luck. :smile:
Reply 52
So should I take history at A2 or just drop it?
And what is the typical ums for economic applicants?


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App
Not really sure what to think of my marks. I got:

Geography: A 94%
-Unit 1 120/120
-Unit 2 68/80

Maths: A 88%
-C1 94/100
-C2 85/100 (recalling)
-S1 85/100

History: A 83%
-Unit 1 84/100 (recalling)
-Unit 2 82/100

Physics: C 62%
-Unit 1 B 88/120
-Unit 2 D 62/120
-Unit 3T C 36/60

I want to study geography. Most sources say my C in physics won't matter (I've talked to cambridge admissions tutors about this, it was just a mistake taking it) but I'm slightly dissapointed with my history mark. History unit 1 felt like the best exam I had in the whole period, and history unit 2 the worst, yet I got similar marks. I'd gotten much better in my mocks so I think I'll recall that paper to see if it's worth getting remarked. And for C2 I also thought I'd done better (you can almost be sure when you look at the official mark scheme) so I think I'll recall that as well, even if it's just to find out I made a bad silly mistake that I didn't know about.

It's an average of 88.3% over my best 3. Do you think I'm in with a shot?
Reply 54
Applying for Medicine;

Three most relevant would be;
Chemistry 93%
Maths 93%
Biology 92%

Other two were;
F.Maths 92% and Politics 87%

I'm almost definitely applying, but would those UMS percentages hinder me (i.e under 95%), given the competition?
Don't mean to sound douchey, I know they're great results but y'know it's Cambridge.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 55
I want to apply for Economics, just wondering if my UMS are up to scratch!
AS Results:
French (self taught) - A - 94
Maths - A - 92
History - A - 92
German - A - 92
Further Maths (self taught) - A - 87
Economics (getting a paper remarked, got a B?) - A - 86

If it helps, GCSEs are 11A*, A, A in FSMQ.

Please don't neg me, this is a serious post. Will my lack of UMS hinder me?
Original post by Bord3r
Applying for Medicine;

Three most relevant would be;
Chemistry 93%
Maths 93%
Biology 92%

Other two were;
F.Maths 92% and Politics 87%

I'm almost definitely applying, but would those UMS percentages hinder me (i.e under 95%), given the competition?


Well, obviously it's always helpful to have higher marks, but there's not much point speculating. Here's the UMS scores of the 2010 medicine cohort: http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/teachers/presentations/teachersforum2010.pdf As you can see, there are people getting in with UMS similar to yours. Of course, BMAT, interview, and GCSEs are also used.
Reply 57
Bumpppppppppp
Reply 58
There's a thread for this... It's probably on people's watch lists so you're more likely to get a response there.
Reply 59
Original post by Chief Wiggum
Well, obviously it's always helpful to have higher marks, but there's not much point speculating. Here's the UMS scores of the 2010 medicine cohort: http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/teachers/presentations/teachersforum2010.pdf As you can see, there are people getting in with UMS similar to yours. Of course, BMAT, interview, and GCSEs are also used.


Interesting statistics, thanks.
Yeah it will be a tough task, but I'm up for it (I think).

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