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I'm planning to drop history for A2, as I got a B (missed an A by three marks) and just focus on getting the three A*s in my strongest A Levels.

I told my history teacher that I was planning to drop, but he said most Oxbridge candidates carry on all 4 A Levels for a while and then drop later?

Is there any truth to this advice or should I just drop now??

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Reply 121

I can do this

I feel like this will be the umpteenth question I've fired at you and Christs', I'm really sorry!

This isn't strictly speaking ONLY a Cambridge question: I'm applying for medicine, and have my 4 choices ready (of which Cambridge is one). However, for a fifth non-medical option, I am looking at various NatSci courses. I've heard about how detrimental it is to apply to the same uni for two courses so won't be applying to Cambridge for this. However, from your experience, have other prospective medical students with applications targeting medicine applied to NatSci at Cam? Have they been successful? How do you view them? I guess it might be different at Cambridge compared to other places like Durham and Bath because of the interview and SAQ.

I'd be very grateful to ANY advice you have! Thank you for taking the time to answer everybody's questions.

Reply 122

Craghyrax

*is Peterhouse alumna* :ninja:

Reply 123

BasicMistake

I'm looking to apply for Economics and I was just wondering what kind of written work ought to be submitted. Does it have to be straight from classwork or can it be from 'supercurricular' activities?

Reply 124

username1292215

What do cambridge admission tutors think of English Lang/Lit (combined) AS?

My other subjects would be geography,politics and history

Reply 125

DamnDaniel2

What is a mathematics and medicine interview like?
I heard for medicine you would need good set of GCSEs no matter which uni you apply to and no matter which school you did your GCSEs (e.g a bad school or a great public school) as it is very competitive. Is this true?

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Reply 126

Umearirfan

Hi
Would it be worth applying with these results, for natural science or medicine?

GCSEs: 4A*s (3 Sciences and Art) and 7As. (2nd or 3rd best in my year.)

AS Level:
Maths: A (91/100 in C1 and S1, and 81 in C2)
Biology: A
Religious Studies: A (86/100 in Philosophy, 88/100 in Ethics)
Chemistry: B, (however in our internal exam I got an A)

Predicted: A*A*A, for Maths, Bio, and Chem, respectively.

I have extenuating/mitigating circumstances, and my results seem to be high in comparison to what is typical at my college.

Just wondering how the B is looked at and if its worth applying? Because I know those courses are competitive and would love some clarification.
Thanks!

Reply 127

anonymousguy24

Hello, thank you for making this threadI have a few questions concerning personal statement

Do I have to include any book? If my wider reading is from different websites and online courses and a trip, would that be alright because I cannot find a suitable book for the topic(nuclear fusion) for my level.

Also, is it okay if I concentrate on a single topic in the personal statement? In my case, I am applying for Physics(Natsci for Cambridge), and I am particularly interested in nuclear fusion. So is it possible for me to only discuss about nuclear fusion and ignore other topics in physics? (I would still include relevant work experience and super-curricular and contests)Thank you

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 128

amelienine

Would I be required to take IELTS before applying to Cambridge since I come from a non-English speaking country? I consider English to be my first language tho because I go to an international school and I've been speaking it my whole life. Would it be alright if I took it after applying?

Reply 129

Peterhouse Admissions

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Original post by Reaver Daniels

I'd point you back to the advice we wrote with @Christ's Admissions - doing too many exams is a very common and easy way to miss an offer. We're more impressed by high performance than a range of subjects - it is better to excel in 3 than do less well in 4. A*AA>>AAAA.

Reply 130

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Original post by I can do this

You can only apply to one course at Cambridge. Applying to Medicine elsewhere and Natural Sciences here is very unlikely to be successful and I doubt you'd get an interview (situations like this are why we say nobody is guaranteed an interview). Other universities may well differ so check with them.

Reply 131

rwuk

Original post by Peterhouse Admissions

Hi TSR!

As promised, the Peterhouse Admissions Team are back for another two weeks so ask any and all questions you might have about us, our courses or the application process!

This thread will close following our Open Day on the 17th September. Maybe we'll see you there?

Hi,

Since year 11 I've always been interested in applying to Cambridge to study medicine. Open days and trips etc confirmed this for me.

GCSE: 5A*, 7A
AS: A in Maths, A in History, B in Biology, B in Chemistry
A2 Predicted: A* in Maths, A* in Chemistry, A in Biology

I'm banking my AS history and studying 3 A-Levels this year.
The reason my Chemistry is a B with a target of an A* is that we changed from the OCR Salters exam board to AQA halfway through the year with limited AQA resources, which will be outlined on my reference.

I have also conducted a lot of good work experience placements, for example teaching first aid in East Africa and shadowing a Consultant Cardiologist at the Freeman Hospital for a week, alongside the usual GP placements etc.

If my BMAT score is high and my Personal Statement and interview are to a very high standard, is there a chance of admission or do the two B's at AS ruin the application for Cambridge? I've heard that they are big on UMS...

Please can you give me your honest opinions?

Thanks

Reply 132

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Original post by BasicMistake

I'm looking to apply for Economics and I was just wondering what kind of written work ought to be submitted. Does it have to be straight from classwork or can it be from 'supercurricular' activities?

We prefer recent schoolwork marked by a teacher but guidance will be sent once you've applied. You don't need to send anything now, you can wait until you're asked.

Reply 133

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Original post by SuperHuman98

What do cambridge admission tutors think of English Lang/Lit (combined) AS?

My other subjects would be geography,politics and history

Which course are you interested in?

Reply 134

Peterhouse Admissions

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Original post by DamnDaniel2

Hi,

A mathematics interview will consist of maths problems and looking over any tests or preparatory work set. A medicine interview will largely consist of science questions relevant to Medicine and there will be some discussion of the role of a doctor, ethics etc. For Medicine you need Cs at GCSE dual award science and maths (or equivalent), otherwise we're much more interested in your more recent studies. If you've met the requirements, we won't reject realistic applicants (on track for A*A*A in relevant subjects, decent BMAT, good reference etc.) on the basis of their GCSEs. Other universities may view things differently so check with them.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 135

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Original post by Umearirfan

Hi thanks for asking!

We can't say exactly how we'd view results until we know the full information from your file and how this compares to the rest of the field and this is especially true if there are extenuating circumstances as these aren't viewed in a single way. All decisions involve a team of people taking the time to read all the information and learn as much about you as possible. There is no weighting for anything and everything is considered holistically. It's hard to appreciate the sheer scale of the Cambridge admissions process from the outside. We know that paper applications and summary statistics don't do justice to the living breathing students and their abilities and potential which is why it is so labour-intensive and why we're keen to interview as many candidates as possible without much in the way of shortlisting.

I'd advise you to put more details on your circumstances, how close the miss was in Chemistr, whether you're leaning more towards Medicine or NatSci (there's not long left to decide!) and, if NatSci, which options you look the look of and email this to the Colleges you're interested in. TSR is great but has limits!

Reply 136

amelienine

Also, what sort of personal statements are you looking for? One that places a bit more emphasis on a genuine love for the subject (books read, talks attended, work experience) or one that emphasises on extra co curricular activities (prefect, head boy etc)?

Reply 137

Peterhouse Admissions

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Original post by anonymousguy24

Hi, you're welcome, let's see what we can do.

There aren't any rules for what you have to include in your PS, what you suggest is fine. If you're applying for Physics elsewhere then a UCAS PS on physics is what we'd expect and we know that there isn't space to talk about everything you're interested in. However Natural Sciences isn't just a Physics course. Lots of applicants come with a predominant interest in Physics and this is fine but you will have to study other sciences, at least in your first year, and we'd like to see some interest and ability to do well. The SAQ personal statement is the ideal place to tell us why you're excited about NatSci and the course as offered at Cambridge.

Reply 138

username2015015

Hello Peterhouse!

Firstly, thank you so very much for doing this! It's greatly appreciated by hundreds of worried Camb applicants, myself included.I have a couple of questions about the SAQ, interviews and that sort of thing; I'm sorry if it comes across presumptuous asking about dates of interviews as I've only just finished my personal statement!

On my PS I've only mentioned 2 well known books for Linguistics and evaluated them - would that place me at a disadvantage instead of mentioning one of the more off-piste books I've enjoyed? If not, could I mention the other books in the 1,200 SAQ slot, or do Camb prefer hearing about other things in the second mini PS? I was just planning on taking all the analysis of books that I couldn't fit in the 4,000 PS and putting it in the shortened one, unless there are other Camb specific things it's worthwhile to include?

Another question is about marks in the reference - at AS I think I performed quite highly in terms of raw marks not UMS: History (44/50 and 48/50 raw marks), English Lit (59/60 and 60/60 raw), English Lang (53/70 but 70/70 so high A overall) and Class Civ (91/100 and 98/100 UMS) so 4 decent As with predictions of 2-3A*s (I also got 10A*s at GCSE). However, since the school say that the reference has limited space, would it look like I have something to hide if my reference just mentioned good marks in Lit overall and full marks in the second Lang paper? Or is it worth declaring them all? I only ask because I was overjoyed with the marks and then have seen everyone with 100 UMS which is a little off-putting!

With interviews, I know they are mid-December and I've heard that you can put down dates you can't make if there are serious reasons why not. I'm the lead in the school play this year which I got back in July, and the performances are, you guessed it, mid-December: 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th. Would it be silly putting those down as dates I can't do? Or, if I got an interview (which would be amazing!), what time would it roughly finish - midday, afternoon or evening?

Final question: why are you called Peterhouse and not Peterhouse College? It's something that's always intrigued me!

Thank you so much, sorry for the length!

Reply 139

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Original post by amelienine

Good question!

For Cambridge, 100% the first kind. We're not interested in extracurriculars which aren't related to your subject. Other universities might be interested in the second thing, but they still want to see mostly academic things so we advise a roughly 80:20 balance.

Has everyone got up early to work on their PS today? :wink: