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Ask an Admissions Tutor IX, 4th August - 2nd September
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Hi @Christ's Admissions
I am considering applying for biological natural sciences during my gap year and was hoping you could comment a little on my UsMS scores/grades, I have really improved across the board coming from AS -> A2 and I think this has been down to increasing maturity and the development of a work ethic and study skills. Interestingly, my lowest grades from this year where both in controlled assessment science practical units, how is this viewed by admissions teams?
UMS breakdown:
edexcel Maths AS: 78% B
Maths A2: C3 - 95/100 C4 - 100/100 M2 - 80/100 275/300 92% A*
Maths: 509/600 85% A*
OCR Chemistry AS: 82% A
Chemistry A2: f324 - 77/90 f325 - 148/150 f326 - 42/60 267/300 89% A
Chemistry: 514/600 86% A
WJEC Biology AS: 80% A
Biology A2: BY4 - 115/120 BY5 - 115/120 BY6 - 44/60 274/300 91% A*
Biology: 514/600 86% A*
A's in History AS (edexcel) and EPQ (edexcel)
Thankyou
(I would like to add that I understand grades aren't the only factor but I would like to hear how strong mine are all the same)
I am considering applying for biological natural sciences during my gap year and was hoping you could comment a little on my UsMS scores/grades, I have really improved across the board coming from AS -> A2 and I think this has been down to increasing maturity and the development of a work ethic and study skills. Interestingly, my lowest grades from this year where both in controlled assessment science practical units, how is this viewed by admissions teams?
UMS breakdown:
edexcel Maths AS: 78% B
Maths A2: C3 - 95/100 C4 - 100/100 M2 - 80/100 275/300 92% A*
Maths: 509/600 85% A*
OCR Chemistry AS: 82% A
Chemistry A2: f324 - 77/90 f325 - 148/150 f326 - 42/60 267/300 89% A
Chemistry: 514/600 86% A
WJEC Biology AS: 80% A
Biology A2: BY4 - 115/120 BY5 - 115/120 BY6 - 44/60 274/300 91% A*
Biology: 514/600 86% A*
A's in History AS (edexcel) and EPQ (edexcel)
Thankyou
(I would like to add that I understand grades aren't the only factor but I would like to hear how strong mine are all the same)
Original post by Christ's Admissions
I am afraid that your grades are not viable for an application to Cambridge. I'm sorry not to be more encouraging.
Say if my grades are better in next summer, what are the chances of getting picked during clearing Or summer's pool?
Original post by chemari
Say if my grades are better in next summer, what are the chances of getting picked during clearing Or summer's pool?
Cambridge does not participate in clearing and summer pool is only for offer holders who have already received offer but missed the offer condition in the final exams of A-levels/IB/etc.
I think your best chance is apply post qualification for 2018 entry if you achieve at least their minimum requirement next summer.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by vincrows
Cambridge does not participate in clearing and summer pool is only for offer holders who have already received offer but missed the offer in the final exams of A-levels/IB/etc.
I think your best chance is apply post qualification if you achieve at least their minimum requirement.
I think your best chance is apply post qualification if you achieve at least their minimum requirement.
Do they take on people midterm? Cause I don't know what I would do for a gap year. As well iif I did the preint. Test this year would I have to redo it with the interview if I got one? Final q.: If I did really well in the preint. Test could I get an interview?
Original post by chemari
Say if my grades are better in next summer, what are the chances of getting picked during clearing Or summer's pool?
Cambridge doesn't do clearing, and you can only be in the summer pool if you already have an offer, so your chances are zero. Your best option would be applying with strong A-levels and taking a gap year.
Original post by sweeneyrod
Cambridge doesn't do clearing, and you can only be in the summer pool if you already have an offer, so your chances are zero. Your best option would be applying with strong A-levels and taking a gap year.
Do they take on people midterm? Cause I don't know what I would do for a gap year. As well iif I did the preint. Test this year would I have to redo it with the interview if I got one? Final q.: If I did really well in the preint. Test could I get an interview?
Original post by chemari
Do they take on people midterm? Cause I don't know what I would do for a gap year. As well iif I did the preint. Test this year would I have to redo it with the interview if I got one? Final q.: If I did really well in the preint. Test could I get an interview?
No, they don't take new students halfway through the year. I'm not an admissions tutor so I don't know the answer to your other two questions, sorry.
Original post by vincrows
No.
To all? And does cambridge count native languages a levels?
Original post by chemari
To all? And does cambridge count native languages a levels?
Unless your applying for languages or linguistics, they usually ignore your native language's grade, or often exclude it from offer if they want assutrance your other subjects that is more relevant to your course is good enough.
And for engineering course, they don't care how well or badly you do in a language, native or not.
They're only interested in subjects that is relevant to engineering = maths/physics.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by vincrows
Unless your applying for languages or linguistics, they usually ignore your native language's grade, or often exclude it from offer if they want assutrance your other subjects that is more relevant to your course is good enough.
And for engineering course, they don't care how well or badly you do in a language, native or not.
They're only interested in subjects that is relevant to engineering = maths/physics.
And for engineering course, they don't care how well or badly you do in a language, native or not.
They're only interested in subjects that is relevant to engineering = maths/physics.
So it's not worth taking my native spanish for A level? and should I just go somewhere else if I got AA*A* Or above?
Original post by vincrows
No, to all your questions, I'm afraid.
Unfortunately with your present grades it's extremely unlikely you'll be invited for interview and only people invited for interview sit pre-interview test.
Unfortunately with your present grades it's extremely unlikely you'll be invited for interview and only people invited for interview sit pre-interview test.
I thought everyone sits the pre-interview test and the results contributes in deciding who to interview.
Original post by NeverLucky
I thought everyone sits the pre-interview test and the results contributes in deciding who to interview.
Sorry, a bit of confusion.
All applicants for some courses are required to sit pre-interview test. Applicants for other courses may need to sit exams at the college if/when they are invited to interview.
And Engineering is the one that requires all applicants to sit pre-interview test.
I'll amend my earlier post.
Original post by chemari
So it's not worth taking my native spanish for A level? and should I just go somewhere else if I got AA*A* Or above?
It won't help your application for Cambridge's Engineering (or other science courses).
Can't speak about other universities, I'm afraid. you need to ask someone who're familiar with them.
Good luck.
Original post by Christ's Admissions
It really depends on the subject applied for and the A Levels they are doing. We might specify exactly which 3 A Levels we want the grades it. We might specify one where we want the grade. Sometimes, if all the subjects are relevant, we might make a 4 A Level offer.
As a CompSci applicant taking advanced highers in Chemistry, Computing, Maths and English, would an offer be likely to be a 4 grade offer? I'm undecided about continuing with English as I enjoy it but would be worried about the possibility of it impacting my grades in the other 3 subjects (since they're evidently more relevant). On the other hand with my not-so-perfect higher results (3A2s, 2A1s, as you know) I was wondering if having the 4 Advanced Highers at good predicted grades would maybe balance out these a bit in my application?
Original post by jenoverboard
As a CompSci applicant taking advanced highers in Chemistry, Computing, Maths and English, would an offer be likely to be a 4 grade offer? I'm undecided about continuing with English as I enjoy it but would be worried about the possibility of it impacting my grades in the other 3 subjects (since they're evidently more relevant). On the other hand with my not-so-perfect higher results (3A2s, 2A1s, as you know) I was wondering if having the 4 Advanced Highers at good predicted grades would maybe balance out these a bit in my application?
They won't care much with 4th subject if it's not relevant to the course you're applying for. Much better to concentrate on 3 subjects that's matters to the course and make sure you get excellent grades in them.
It's quality, not quantity they care.
Reading this thread I can't decide if I should apply or not.. I read one post and think oh that's ok, I'm in a similar position to them, but then another makes me completely doubt I'd even get invited to interview 
I want to study theology and have taken French, Politics, and RS AS, and history is reformed so our school decided not to do an AS in that, but I'm predicted an A*.
Politics I received an A overall- I got a high A in one of the modules, in the other module I was 3 UMS off an A. We had a massive problem with the teacher leading to us being taught all of the topics in about 5 weeks essentially (for the second module.)
RS I got another A, averaging 91.5% UMS over the two modules
French I got a B. Very high A in my speaking, and I was always predicted an A. I have no idea what happened in the second paper and I am quite upset about it, given my A in the speaking. No one in my class got an A, and I got the second highest result. The teachers are a bit confused as at least 3 of us were meant to get an A.
I'm dropping politics so will do French, RS and History at A level, with predicted grades of either A* A* A or A* A* A*.
I am obviously in the position of actually having UMS and I don't know if I have performed well enough. I had some extenuating circumstances, but nowhere near as severe as some people on here who have performed amazingly (well done all you guys btw).
I will hopefully have a good reference and personal statement, and have full UMS for my EPQ on a highly relevant subject.
I love the course at Cambridge so much, but I don't want to give myself false hope. I know that AAB is perhaps not the best to be honest, but I would just love a chance to be invited to interview. If I was rejected after interview I think I'd be at peace with the decision but otherwise idk..
I'm sorry for the long post, I just wanted to see what people thought of my chances of getting an interview
I want to study theology and have taken French, Politics, and RS AS, and history is reformed so our school decided not to do an AS in that, but I'm predicted an A*.
Politics I received an A overall- I got a high A in one of the modules, in the other module I was 3 UMS off an A. We had a massive problem with the teacher leading to us being taught all of the topics in about 5 weeks essentially (for the second module.)
RS I got another A, averaging 91.5% UMS over the two modules
French I got a B. Very high A in my speaking, and I was always predicted an A. I have no idea what happened in the second paper and I am quite upset about it, given my A in the speaking. No one in my class got an A, and I got the second highest result. The teachers are a bit confused as at least 3 of us were meant to get an A.
I'm dropping politics so will do French, RS and History at A level, with predicted grades of either A* A* A or A* A* A*.
I am obviously in the position of actually having UMS and I don't know if I have performed well enough. I had some extenuating circumstances, but nowhere near as severe as some people on here who have performed amazingly (well done all you guys btw).
I will hopefully have a good reference and personal statement, and have full UMS for my EPQ on a highly relevant subject.
I love the course at Cambridge so much, but I don't want to give myself false hope. I know that AAB is perhaps not the best to be honest, but I would just love a chance to be invited to interview. If I was rejected after interview I think I'd be at peace with the decision but otherwise idk..
I'm sorry for the long post, I just wanted to see what people thought of my chances of getting an interview
Original post by VL100
Reading this thread I can't decide if I should apply or not.. I read one post and think oh that's ok, I'm in a similar position to them, but then another makes me completely doubt I'd even get invited to interview
I want to study theology and have taken French, Politics, and RS AS, and history is reformed so our school decided not to do an AS in that, but I'm predicted an A*.
Politics I received an A overall- I got a high A in one of the modules, in the other module I was 3 UMS off an A. We had a massive problem with the teacher leading to us being taught all of the topics in about 5 weeks essentially (for the second module.)
RS I got another A, averaging 91.5% UMS over the two modules
French I got a B. Very high A in my speaking, and I was always predicted an A. I have no idea what happened in the second paper and I am quite upset about it, given my A in the speaking. No one in my class got an A, and I got the second highest result. The teachers are a bit confused as at least 3 of us were meant to get an A.
I'm dropping politics so will do French, RS and History at A level, with predicted grades of either A* A* A or A* A* A*.
I am obviously in the position of actually having UMS and I don't know if I have performed well enough. I had some extenuating circumstances, but nowhere near as severe as some people on here who have performed amazingly (well done all you guys btw).
I will hopefully have a good reference and personal statement, and have full UMS for my EPQ on a highly relevant subject.
I love the course at Cambridge so much, but I don't want to give myself false hope. I know that AAB is perhaps not the best to be honest, but I would just love a chance to be invited to interview. If I was rejected after interview I think I'd be at peace with the decision but otherwise idk..
I'm sorry for the long post, I just wanted to see what people thought of my chances of getting an interview
I want to study theology and have taken French, Politics, and RS AS, and history is reformed so our school decided not to do an AS in that, but I'm predicted an A*.
Politics I received an A overall- I got a high A in one of the modules, in the other module I was 3 UMS off an A. We had a massive problem with the teacher leading to us being taught all of the topics in about 5 weeks essentially (for the second module.)
RS I got another A, averaging 91.5% UMS over the two modules
French I got a B. Very high A in my speaking, and I was always predicted an A. I have no idea what happened in the second paper and I am quite upset about it, given my A in the speaking. No one in my class got an A, and I got the second highest result. The teachers are a bit confused as at least 3 of us were meant to get an A.
I'm dropping politics so will do French, RS and History at A level, with predicted grades of either A* A* A or A* A* A*.
I am obviously in the position of actually having UMS and I don't know if I have performed well enough. I had some extenuating circumstances, but nowhere near as severe as some people on here who have performed amazingly (well done all you guys btw).
I will hopefully have a good reference and personal statement, and have full UMS for my EPQ on a highly relevant subject.
I love the course at Cambridge so much, but I don't want to give myself false hope. I know that AAB is perhaps not the best to be honest, but I would just love a chance to be invited to interview. If I was rejected after interview I think I'd be at peace with the decision but otherwise idk..
I'm sorry for the long post, I just wanted to see what people thought of my chances of getting an interview
What was your UMS in politics and french?
Original post by Christ's Admissions
Hello everyone and welcome to a new Ask an Admissions Tutor thread, back for its fourth year.
I will be here for the next month to answer your questions about admissions to Cambridge, especially if you are planning to apply this year but also to help those already holding an offer for this year and waiting for your results.
Do please fire away and I'll answer them as well and as quickly as I can.
I will be here for the next month to answer your questions about admissions to Cambridge, especially if you are planning to apply this year but also to help those already holding an offer for this year and waiting for your results.
Do please fire away and I'll answer them as well and as quickly as I can.
Hi, Im going into my last year of college and would love to enquire as to whether i should apply to cambridge university, to study geography, with my current grades. At AS level i achieved 3 A grades in geography, biology and religious studies, and have a 86% UMS average. My main inquiry here would be as to whether only doing 3 AS levels is adequate, and aswell, i achieved 79% in one of my geography modules... could this prove to be an issue, even if i achieved 88% in the other module. (I'm planning on repeating this module..)My predicted grades i believe however will be A*AA, and i also achieved 3rd in my year for religious studies.Another issue is my GCSE grades. Although i believe I did well, achieving 8A's and 1C, I achieved no A* grades which i fear may make me under qualified in comparison to the other applications.Basically my question is, with these results do I really stand any realistic chance of being considered for a place, or should i just apply for other russell groups. Thank you for your time, Amelia.
Hello again,
I was a bit disappointed to have got a B my History AS (3 marks off an A) when I wanted to apply for the same subject at Cambridge. My other subjects were Georgraphy (91 UMS), French (95 UMS) and Maths (B). I just have a couple of questions.
Firstly, would applying for History and Politics reduce the negative impact of my worse than expected History grade? A level Geography has a lot to do with politics and I did quite well in this. I see myself as quite political and I thought that A level Geography would be a more interesting way of studying it than A level Politics.
Secondly, how much weight would my AS level results be given in relation to my predicted grades? I should be predicted A*AA - A*A*A next year with at least an A in History.
Finally, will you have to declare UMS and/or raw marks on this year's SAQ in unreformed and/or reformed subjects where the AS was taken?
Thanks
I was a bit disappointed to have got a B my History AS (3 marks off an A) when I wanted to apply for the same subject at Cambridge. My other subjects were Georgraphy (91 UMS), French (95 UMS) and Maths (B). I just have a couple of questions.
Firstly, would applying for History and Politics reduce the negative impact of my worse than expected History grade? A level Geography has a lot to do with politics and I did quite well in this. I see myself as quite political and I thought that A level Geography would be a more interesting way of studying it than A level Politics.
Secondly, how much weight would my AS level results be given in relation to my predicted grades? I should be predicted A*AA - A*A*A next year with at least an A in History.
Finally, will you have to declare UMS and/or raw marks on this year's SAQ in unreformed and/or reformed subjects where the AS was taken?
Thanks
Original post by Sophie7699
Hi!! I was thinking of applying to cambridge for Natural ScienceMy GCSE were 5A* and 5A grades. At AS however I underperformed despite getting straight A's all the way through the year in my best 3 and ended up with:
A- BiologyB- MathsC- Chemistry (which was shocking as I am chemistry ambassador for my sixth form due to my passion for the subject and my talent for it, I have never had anything less than an A in the subject before. My paper may be getting remarked however as I am only a couple of marks away from a B)D- Physics (which I don't need for my degree in biological sciences and my teacher left in March so I taught myself)
My predicted grades are A*A*A still because my AS grades do not carry over to next year due to the reformed A-Level and I know I have the capability of doing this. As it is my final A-Level grades which count towards my university offer and I am more than capable of achieving my predicted grades, Is it still worth applying???
A- BiologyB- MathsC- Chemistry (which was shocking as I am chemistry ambassador for my sixth form due to my passion for the subject and my talent for it, I have never had anything less than an A in the subject before. My paper may be getting remarked however as I am only a couple of marks away from a B)D- Physics (which I don't need for my degree in biological sciences and my teacher left in March so I taught myself)
My predicted grades are A*A*A still because my AS grades do not carry over to next year due to the reformed A-Level and I know I have the capability of doing this. As it is my final A-Level grades which count towards my university offer and I am more than capable of achieving my predicted grades, Is it still worth applying???
Hello and thanks for your question. I am afraid that with ABCD at AS Level then it's very likely that you would not be called for interview. Natural Sciences is a very competitive course and your best bet if you wished to come to Cambridge would be to apply after your A Levels having achieved at least A*A*A. I'm sorry not to be more encouraging.
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