Ask Peterhouse - 2017 entry

Hi! I asked a similar question on the christs thread but was wondering if it differs from college to college. What emphasis is there on UMS now for medicine compared to previous years? As I got 5A's at AS and an predicted A*A*A*A however only one subject had UMS (all reformed) which was maths and is only a 90 average across modules. Christs said this one result will not hinder my application but was wondering if different colleges feel the same? Thank you!

I note no response to this so assume Peterhouse maybe just want this to go away?. Let's move it on. I know, given my UMS, I qualified for auto pooling. There are two rejection letters.
One which states the usual "in this round you have been unsucssful", (words to that effect), the other rejection letter confirms that an applicant was placed in the pool but after further consideration was rejected.
I got the standard letter with no mention of the pool. By this point I couldn't care less but my parents did get angry at what they saw as "shoddy" treatment. My parent queried this. I then received a short email confirming the admin error and that I was put in the pool. You also told my parent you would write to other applicants affected by this. My parent politely asked how many other people this applied to (just a number was asked for that's all) and you rudely wrote back and refused to answer the question. Peterhouse, you know everything I post is 100% true, I have the evidence. Do I believe I was ever put in the pool? No I don't but "that's life" and in the grand scheme of things it's no big deal. I also know enough about systems to assume letters will be automatically generated based upon how far one has progressed through?
The important point is this. I know the huge emotional effort that every applicant puts into their Cambridge application and I just feel you guys have a duty of care to "get it right" and respect that. Your lack of response suggests to me an unwillingness to accept and acknowledge you need to improve your ENGINEERING applications process. Obviously I do not speak for other subject areas and don't presume to. I am definitely not anti Cambridge and would always encourage ANYBODY to apply. Peterhouse is a very pretty college.However, Improvemnt only takes place when one is willing to accept that one has flaws.

UMS will be used where it is available. 90% is a good score!

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.

I didn't want to drag this thread off topic but here we are. As you posted in public I think it's best if our response is public.

If your UMS qualified you for compulsory pooling then you were pooled - this is checked both within the college and centrally by others who don't work for Peterhouse. We also triple checked everything once the clerical error you mention was discovered with the intention of bringing any omitted candidates to the attention of the central Cambridge Admissions Office. We know there was a mistake this year where some candidates who were rejected after the Pool were not told they had been pooled. For this mistake we apologise. One of our two admissions administrators was on paternity leave over the posting date and the Pool so the remaining member of staff was doing the work of two people. As soon as the error came to light all affected candidates were emailed.

As to your remarks about your interview I'm sorry that it did not go as you would have liked. However please be aware that you are making some fairly serious allegations through unofficial channels and have not followed the appropriate procedure for complaints. We have looked into the Engineering interview scores for last year and there is no evidence for any one interviewer or team of interviewers consistently scoring candidates lower than the others and the scores agree with each other and the test marks in the ways we would expect.

The Admissions Team keep an eye on our interviewers and if one person or team of people consistently score very differently or receive complaints then they will be sent for training or removed from future interviews. The University also takes steps to protect candidates with the requirement that cases where interviews malfunctioned or where interview scores are very divergent are pooled for reassessment by another College.

We wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

No, please ask away, that's why we're here!

Your FP1 score is fine. 87 is a good mark anyway and your overall maths profile is strong. Everything is considered holistically and slightly lower performance in one module doesn't preclude a successful application at all. We're really not looking for perfection in previous results or small reasons to reject candidates. We take a lot of time to understand the full picture of a candidate's ability and potential and always give candidates the benefit of the doubt.

How many applicants per place for engineering for all colleges on average

I didn't want to drag this thread off topic but here we are. As you posted in public I think it's best if our response is public.

Hello Peterhouse Admissions. Firstly, I would like to say thank you for starting this thread for hopeful Cambridge students. I am terribly sorry for posting this question here but I noticed that you had an 'Ask Peterhouse' thread and hurriedly typed my question before noticing it was for 2017 entry. Do you mind if I still post my question?

At present, the university at which I aspire to study is, unsurprisingly, Cambridge. I come from a school with a below average pass rate of around 45% in 2015, and I am currently undecided about which subject I would like to read at university. This year, I was awarded my GCSE results and I attained 9 A*s and 3 As; I also have an A* in the higher project qualification (level 2) and a Pass in the level 3 certificate in algebra. In addition, I retook a subject last year in the form of GCSE mathematics; I originally obtained an A grade after taking it a year early and decided I was not content with this grade, so I resat the exams in the November examination period. Unfortunately I got the same grade - would this have much of an impact, considering that I have retaken and achieved a grade A twice? Also, one subject (GCSE Computing) is still due for release.

Since the beginning of September I have started my A-Levels: Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and Physics. My school is also discussing the idea of a few of us doing STEP I papers at the end of this year. My subjects are still slightly subject to change, as I am considering either no longer taking physics or simply finishing with it at the end of year 12 by doing the AS level exams. I apologise for digressing, but I thought my academic background would be important to you in answering my questions.

My main question would be how much of a chance it would appear that I currently have of studying at Cambridge, based on my GCSEs and such? Recently, I have been especially looking into the prospect of studying medicine and I was curious about whether, firstly, my GCSE grades are suitable and also if my A-Levels are appropriate. Would dropping physics entirely, or simply taking it to AS level harm my chances?
Conversely, if I were to change direction and want to do a different course at Cambridge, such as mathematics or natural sciences, would much have to change in terms of my subjects or plans?

Thank you again for providing us with the opportunity to ask these questions and I hope to hear from you soon.

Okay thanks! And aha maybe I was misinformed, was told majority of applicants have 96-98 and I maybe shouldn't apply

Oh ok so if a student who got say 1A* 7As 2Bs and a C for their GCSEs at an underperforming school (40% pass rate) and were considered to be the second best grades in the school, and they got very high UMS/RAW marks for their AS exams in the relevant subjects (95+ at least), with a very good BMAT score, reference and on track for A*A*A at least and their interview was good. Would they have a fairly good chance of getting in?
Obviously it's easier said than done and not everyone gets in but would you say they are a very strong applicant and have a good shot on getting an offer?


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Hello Peterhouse Admissions. Firstly, I would like to say thank you for starting this thread for hopeful Cambridge students. I am terribly sorry for posting this question here but I noticed that you had an 'Ask Peterhouse' thread and hurriedly typed my question before noticing it was for 2017 entry. Do you mind if I still post my question?

At present, the university at which I aspire to study is, unsurprisingly, Cambridge. I come from a school with a below average pass rate of around 45% in 2015, and I am currently undecided about which subject I would like to read at university. This year, I was awarded my GCSE results and I attained 9 A*s and 3 As; I also have an A* in the higher project qualification (level 2) and a Pass in the level 3 certificate in algebra. In addition, I retook a subject last year in the form of GCSE mathematics; I originally obtained an A grade after taking it a year early and decided I was not content with this grade, so I resat the exams in the November examination period. Unfortunately I got the same grade - would this have much of an impact, considering that I have retaken and achieved a grade A twice? Also, one subject (GCSE Computing) is still due for release.

Since the beginning of September I have started my A-Levels: Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and Physics. My school is also discussing the idea of a few of us doing STEP I papers at the end of this year. My subjects are still slightly subject to change, as I am considering either no longer taking physics or simply finishing with it at the end of year 12 by doing the AS level exams. I apologise for digressing, but I thought my academic background would be important to you in answering my questions.

My main question would be how much of a chance it would appear that I currently have of studying at Cambridge, based on my GCSEs and such? Recently, I have been especially looking into the prospect of studying medicine and I was curious about whether, firstly, my GCSE grades are suitable and also if my A-Levels are appropriate. Would dropping physics entirely, or simply taking it to AS level harm my chances?
Conversely, if I were to change direction and want to do a different course at Cambridge, such as mathematics or natural sciences, would much have to change in terms of my subjects or plans?

Thank you again for providing us with the opportunity to ask these questions and I hope to hear from you soon.

Thank you so much for replying so swiftly One final question: I've been told that Decision modules aren't really looked at in the application process for Natural Science I just wanted to ask if this is true

Thanks for taking the time to respond to our questions.

I was wondering if a personal statement written with the intention to specifically join a Physics course would be acceptable for a Natural Science course, with an emphasis on Physics of course.

I also have another question regarding my UMS marks for Maths.

I achieved the following UMS at AS:
Core 1: 95
Core 2: 86
Mechanics 1: 100
Further Pure 1: 93
Decision 1: 100
Decision 2: 67

The Decision 2 exam was really easy this year with the mark required for an A being 66/75, will the poor performance in that module be a hindrance to me getting an offer. I'm quite hesitant to apply because of it.

Thank you once again.