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Chances at an Offer for cambridge? + My social background

Hi, im a bit overwhelmed about the idea of Cambridge since i come from a low income background from a deprived area and live in a council estate, but i am determined to apply, possibly Emmanuel or Trinity

I have all 10 a*s at GCSE and i did the full maths a-level and achieved an a* with A grades in AS maths economics and physics - i hope to apply for economics. i did 8 modules for maths this year, 6 maths modules and 2 further maths modules and i will do the other 4 further maths modules in y13

My UMS average is 95% for maths excluding m2 (no ums for reformed physics and economics) but if i include m2 which i got a B in it is 92%

I seriously have no idea since i keep hearing stories of people who need 95%+ ums , and rumours of bias to private school, privallaged kids.

do i stand a chance of offer and interview and will they consider my social background since it is rare for people in my estate to even go to university let alone Cambridge.

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I think you stand a strong chance
Good for you but they don't care about any of that, it's purely the grades. Come and chat in the Cambridge 2017 applicants thread!
Original post by richpanda
Good for you but they don't care about any of that, it's purely the grades. Come and chat in the Cambridge 2017 applicants thread!


sure ill check it out :smile:
Original post by james1221212
sure ill check it out :smile:


RE social background, what I mean is they don't have a quota of x many council estate kids or y many private school kids. If you come from a disadvantaged school, that can make a slight difference. It's unlikely to be a deciding factor in whether you get in or not.
Original post by richpanda
Good for you but they don't care about any of that, it's purely the grades. Come and chat in the Cambridge 2017 applicants thread!


Yes, because they have quotas to meet regarding taking in more poorer kids. And although the admission tutors mightn't care, fellow students will.
They're literally not allowed to discriminate based on social or economic backgrounds. It's your grades and references, and if you have an interview, that, which will be considered when making you an offer. They won't go 'oooh they're from a council estate they can't do well' (I'm not at oxford or cambridge as they didn't do the course I wanted, but at a Russel group) and I've lived on a council estate all my life :biggrin: In Middlesbrough of all places. If they'll take me then they'll surely take you :tongue:
Original post by Danny the Geezer
Yes, because they have quotas to meet regarding taking in more poorer kids. And although the admission tutors mightn't care, fellow students will.


nonsense
Original post by IfOnlyItWereEasy
They're literally not allowed to discriminate based on social or economic backgrounds. It's your grades and references, and if you have an interview, that, which will be considered when making you an offer. They won't go 'oooh they're from a council estate they can't do well' (I'm not at oxford or cambridge as they didn't do the course I wanted, but at a Russel group) and I've lived on a council estate all my life :biggrin: In Middlesbrough of all places. If they'll take me then they'll surely take you :tongue:


thanks for the reply :smile:
Original post by james1221212
Hi, im a bit overwhelmed about the idea of Cambridge since i come from a low income background from a deprived area and live in a council estate, but i am determined to apply, possibly Emmanuel or Trinity

I have all 10 a*s at GCSE and i did the full maths a-level and achieved an a* with A grades in AS maths economics and physics - i hope to apply for economics. i did 8 modules for maths this year, 6 maths modules and 2 further maths modules and i will do the other 4 further maths modules in y13

My UMS average is 95% for maths excluding m2 (no ums for reformed physics and economics) but if i include m2 which i got a B in it is 92%

I seriously have no idea since i keep hearing stories of people who need 95%+ ums , and rumours of bias to private school, privallaged kids.

do i stand a chance of offer and interview and will they consider my social background since it is rare for people in my estate to even go to university let alone Cambridge.


Better chance than most people who apply.

My money is on you getting in.
Original post by james1221212
Hi, im a bit overwhelmed about the idea of Cambridge since i come from a low income background from a deprived area and live in a council estate, but i am determined to apply, possibly Emmanuel or Trinity

I have all 10 a*s at GCSE and i did the full maths a-level and achieved an a* with A grades in AS maths economics and physics - i hope to apply for economics. i did 8 modules for maths this year, 6 maths modules and 2 further maths modules and i will do the other 4 further maths modules in y13

My UMS average is 95% for maths excluding m2 (no ums for reformed physics and economics) but if i include m2 which i got a B in it is 92%

I seriously have no idea since i keep hearing stories of people who need 95%+ ums , and rumours of bias to private school, privallaged kids.

do i stand a chance of offer and interview and will they consider my social background since it is rare for people in my estate to even go to university let alone Cambridge.


Your GCSEs are excellent as well as the A* in Maths already. This will make you a really competitive candidate and therefore you have a high chance of being interviewed.

Take the stories of needing 95% UMS with a pinch of salt - there is no specified UMS percentage that is required. Particularly as most reformed subjects have no UMS anyway, it is not likely that it will be a strong factor, all you would have to worry about is performing well at the pre-interview test and at the interview itself. 92% is still good and if you have plans to retake M2, then that will not put you at a disadvantage - you can include all this on the SAQ.

The bias to private schools and privileged students is nonsense - Cambridge view applications holistically and consider each case separately. You get "red flags" next to your name for each extenuating circumstance, such as low income background, which makes bias a lot less likely to occur. The only reason there is this stereotype is because a lot of rich people can afford private tutors and thus could get an education specifically geared towards reaching Oxbridge.
Original post by richpanda
nonsense


You get social discrimination in all walks of life, it's more prevelant at university, even more so at Oxbridge as it's kids from very wealthy backgrounds (a vast majority) so they're going to be adverse to someone from a "lesser" background, I myself experienced it at my university (not overtly, but I always suspect I was ostracised from the group because of my accent, possibly because of my parent's occupations etc) I just didn't "fit" In, and that's not even Oxford or Cambridge.
Original post by Danny the Geezer
You get social discrimination in all walks of life, it's more prevelant at university, even more so at Oxbridge as it's kids from very wealthy backgrounds (a vast majority) so they're going to be adverse to someone from a "lesser" background, I myself experienced it at my university (not overtly, but I always suspect I was ostracised from the group because of my accent, possibly because of my parent's occupations etc) I just didn't "fit" In, and that's not even Oxford or Cambridge.


Yeah but that's once they're in the university. In terms of the admissions process, it will make little or negligible difference
Original post by GradeA*UnderA
Better chance than most people who apply.

My money is on you getting in.


thanks bro :smile:

i still need to do the assessment and everything so is not all done yet
Original post by richpanda
Yeah but that's once they're in the university. In terms of the admissions process, it will make little or negligible difference


Yes, it will. Given the kind of people I can imagine go to Oxbridge discrimination and bullying will still occur to the more working-class students imo.
Reply 15
Avatar for teeee0
teeee0
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Search cambridge university interview on youtube and watch the video 'the interview' it tells you all about it. As far as im aware they say that they look at your background. Im not very sure if that includes financial and social background.
Original post by Danny the Geezer
Yes, it will. Given the kind of people I can imagine go to Oxbridge discrimination and bullying will still occur to the more working-class students imo.


Discrimination and bullying also in your imagination though. If you don't actually know anything, why are you here just spouting unhelpful tripe? Maybe if you listened to people with relevant experience of similar backgrounds and who have experienced life at Cambridge, you'd also learn something of the truth.
Original post by threeportdrift
Discrimination and bullying also in your imagination though. If you don't actually know anything, why are you here just spouting unhelpful tripe? Maybe if you listened to people with relevant experience of similar backgrounds and who have experienced life at Cambridge, you'd also learn something of the truth.


Whooooaaa there horsey, steadddy on!.

Number 1.)

Discrimination/bullying is not in my imagination, nor were the kinds I experienced at university myself. It happens everywhere school work the street uni if you don't think it does then you're sadly mistaken, just because it's more subtle doesn't mean it's not happening.

Number 2.)

Did you read the part where I said I "do" have experience of similar backgrounds? I went to a Russell Group uni not a million miles from Cambridge. It has a lot of middle class people anyway let's say. And It happened. Maybe this was a special case with me, or the uni where I was at, but I highly doubt it
Original post by Danny the Geezer
Whooooaaa there horsey, steadddy on!.

Number 1.)

Discrimination/bullying is not in my imagination, nor were the kinds I experienced at university myself. It happens everywhere school work the street uni if you don't think it does then you're sadly mistaken, just because it's more subtle doesn't mean it's not happening.

Number 2.)

Did you read the part where I said I "do" have experience of similar backgrounds? I went to a Russell Group uni not a million miles from Cambridge. It has a lot of middle class people anyway let's say. And It happened. Maybe this was a special case with me, or the uni where I was at, but I highly doubt it


The discrimination and bullying at Cambridge is entirely in your imagination because a) you said you were only imagining the people who go to Oxbridge and b) you've never experienced life as a student there.

RG isn't the same as Cambridge. The OP is asking a very specific question about Cambridge - so leave answers to those that have experience of Cambridge and don't make wild speculations that are incorrect and not constructive.
Go for it. I had slightly lower grades than you (when adjusted for the parity) and got into Oxford for PPE, and I'm from a rural village community in Finland.

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