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Original post by AdHominem
Thank you ever so much for all of your help, and for doing this Q&A. I do hope that one day I may study at your institution.


You're welcome, it's a pleasure and best of luck! :smile:
Original post by student73290
Hi,

Thanks for this thread! It has been really helpful :smile:

I am applying for Engineering studies at Cambridge and I was wonderding how to prepare for the ENGAA. There's only one specimen paper online so once I made that one, I've nothing left to study. How do the PAT, MAT and BMAT tests compare to the ENGAA? And do you advise making those? Why (not)?

And what other tips do you have?

M


I'm glad it's been helpful. I'm afraid that, as a medieval historian, I'm not the best person to comment on the similarity of the ENGAA to the PAT, MAT or BMAt, except to say that, as the BMAT is for medicine, it is unlikely to be of much use in preparation for Engineering. You may find this website useful in your preparations for the assessment and, especially, the interview. It's important, however, not to spend too much time practising for the assessment and taking away from other areas of your study, that's one of the reasons why there's only one specimen.
Original post by DamnDaniel2
How shall I prepare for STEP? A user who has done the STEP exams has told me that they found content from S3-4 and M3-5 in STEP III as he had an offer from Cambridge and did the STEP exams. Shall I learn these modules? Would that help? I'm only doing: C1, C2, S1, M1, D1 and FP1 in the first year and C3, C4, S2, D2, M2 and FP2 in the second year so would I need to learn the other modules?


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STEP does has content from the FM syllabus but you do not need to learn extra modules. There are a large range of questions and they involve different content, you will be able to attempt and, if you are a good candidate, complete plenty of questions with the modules you will have taken by next summer.

The best advice of all, however, is to get practising as soon as possible, as it will stand you in good stead for both the interviews and, if you get an offer, the exams.
On the point of where UMS exists, do you expect that to be a tiny proportion of applicants? So for instance, I note that in the past UMS averages were a means of comparing applicants directly, but will it be used in a mechanistic way at all (i.e. ranking candidates) now that most applicants will be doing linear A Levels? I'm aware the new entrance tests have been brought in to counter this, but it's interesting to see how this UCAS cycle will work given the loss of something that's evidently formed a focal part of the admissions process in the past.
Original post by livimagineslife
Hello, thank you very much for setting up this thread!

I'm applying for MML, French and Italian at Cambridge this year, however I'm not sure which Italian option I should put on my SAQ. I have a GCSE in Italian, but no A Level as I took the GCSE over Y11 and Y12. Therefore I know I would not be of the standard of post-A Level Italian, however on the SAQ it says that ab initio is for students with no prior experience of the language. I'm leaning towards just putting ab initio on my application anyway, however I'm just looking for confirmation.

Thanks :smile:


Hello and thanks for your question. You should apply for ab initio Italian, the full Italian course expects A Level or equivalent. It's quite common to apply for ab initio with a GCSE in the language.
Original post by Sallybo44
Hello Dr Spencer

Thank you for running this thread.

I am applying for Computer Science.
Earlier in the year I had a operation on my ribs which affected my studies, my teacher will be mentioning it in her reference, will we also need to complete the Extenuating circumstances form?


Hello and sorry to hear about your operation. I hope it was a success and you aren't in pain. Yes, I'd put it in an ECF.
Original post by Atticusfalls95
On the point of where UMS exists, do you expect that to be a tiny proportion of applicants? So for instance, I note that in the past UMS averages were a means of comparing applicants directly, but will it be used in a mechanistic way at all (i.e. ranking candidates) now that most applicants will be doing linear A Levels? I'm aware the new entrance tests have been brought in to counter this, but it's interesting to see how this UCAS cycle will work given the loss of something that's evidently formed a focal part of the admissions process in the past.


Many candidates will still have UMS in some subjects as many will be taking 'legacy' AS levels, especially in Maths. There will also be those doing Welsh, NI and international A Levels. We aren't using UMS to rank candidates this year because there won't be enough candidates with UMS in three or four subjects to make it meaningful. Where it exists we will still use it but with even more care and caution than before.
Original post by Murray Edwards Admissions
Hello and sorry to hear about your operation. I hope it was a success and you aren't in pain. Yes, I'd put it in an ECF.

Thank you, I'm fit and healthy now and excited to be applying.
Since the vet PS required by other vet schools requires so much emphasis on work experience, is it worth adding some super-curricular information (reading etc that wouldn't fit in the PS) on the SAQ?
Original post by livimagineslife
Hello, thank you very much for setting up this thread!

I'm applying for MML, French and Italian at Cambridge this year, however I'm not sure which Italian option I should put on my SAQ. I have a GCSE in Italian, but no A Level as I took the GCSE over Y11 and Y12. Therefore I know I would not be of the standard of post-A Level Italian, however on the SAQ it says that ab initio is for students with no prior experience of the language. I'm leaning towards just putting ab initio on my application anyway, however I'm just looking for confirmation.

Thanks :smile:


Hey I'm applying for MML too but different languages - which college are you applying to? :-)
Original post by Blue.Bird
Since the vet PS required by other vet schools requires so much emphasis on work experience, is it worth adding some super-curricular information (reading etc that wouldn't fit in the PS) on the SAQ?


Yes, that's a sensible way of handling the emphasis of different institutions.
Original post by DamnDaniel2
How shall I prepare for STEP? A user who has done the STEP exams has told me that they found content from S3-4 and M3-5 in STEP III as he had an offer from Cambridge and did the STEP exams. Shall I learn these modules? Would that help? I'm only doing: C1, C2, S1, M1, D1 and FP1 in the first year and C3, C4, S2, D2, M2 and FP2 in the second year so would I need to learn the other modules?


I did STEP II and III with those exact modules. It is possible to succeed with no further knowledge, but your question choices will be limited. However, you don't need to do any extra modules. Personally, I taught myself a bit of FP3 (hyperbolic functions being the most useful extra content) and a bit of extra stats from this site. Alternatively, you could teach yourself some more mechanics if you like M1 and M2. I think it is better to study extra content based on the STEP syllabus than on A-level modules.

In any case, the vase majority of your STEP preparation should be doing STEP questions rather than learning extra content. One thing I think it would be useful to do is self-teach C3 and C4 before February or so, so you can start on STEP preparation in good time.
Hi Dr. Spencer,

Thanks for doing this Q/A, I'm applying for Human, Social and Political Sciences.

My grades are at GCSE's: 1 A, 5 B, 2 C, 2 D and 1 E *MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES*
AS: ABBBC
A-LEVEL PREDICTIONS:A*AAA (History, Govt Pol, English Language and General Studies)
I'm just a wee bit worried regarding my UMS in Politics I got
GP1 74(B)
GP2 77(B)
I obtained the second highest UMS in my cohort.
Should I worried about applying given my academic history
Hi
can you please tell me what the pre-admission test was before the ENGAA for engineering
Thank you very much.
Original post by Murray Edwards Admissions
STEP does has content from the FM syllabus but you do not need to learn extra modules. There are a large range of questions and they involve different content, you will be able to attempt and, if you are a good candidate, complete plenty of questions with the modules you will have taken by next summer.

The best advice of all, however, is to get practising as soon as possible, as it will stand you in good stead for both the interviews and, if you get an offer, the exams.


Oh ok :smile: thank you!

So would preparing in year 12 be fine? Or is that way too early?


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Original post by sweeneyrod
I did STEP II and III with those exact modules. It is possible to succeed with no further knowledge, but your question choices will be limited. However, you don't need to do any extra modules. Personally, I taught myself a bit of FP3 (hyperbolic functions being the most useful extra content) and a bit of extra stats from this site. Alternatively, you could teach yourself some more mechanics if you like M1 and M2. I think it is better to study extra content based on the STEP syllabus than on A-level modules.

In any case, the vase majority of your STEP preparation should be doing STEP questions rather than learning extra content. One thing I think it would be useful to do is self-teach C3 and C4 before February or so, so you can start on STEP preparation in good time.


Oh ok! That's a bit of a relief ahaha.

I was thinking of maybe doing C3 and C4 after my AS exams but I would also like to start preparing for quite some time for the interview as well as the actual exam if I do get an offer.

Would it be possible to do this in year 12 with the modules that I am learning?


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Original post by asdasdasdaasda12
Hi
can you please tell me what the pre-admission test was before the ENGAA for engineering
Thank you very much.


There wasn't one. Cambridge have introduced pre-interview admissions assessments for a number of courses this year. Engineering is one of them, others include Natural Sciences and Economics.
Original post by HAMIN99
Hi Dr. Spencer,

Thanks for doing this Q/A, I'm applying for Human, Social and Political Sciences.

My grades are at GCSE's: 1 A, 5 B, 2 C, 2 D and 1 E *MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES*
AS: ABBBC
A-LEVEL PREDICTIONS:A*AAA (History, Govt Pol, English Language and General Studies)
I'm just a wee bit worried regarding my UMS in Politics I got
GP1 74(B)
GP2 77(B)
I obtained the second highest UMS in my cohort.
Should I worried about applying given my academic history


Hello and thank you for your question and the information you have provided. On paper your GCSEs, AS Levels and A Level predictions are going to look quite weak in comparison to other candidates so you will need to perform very well in other aspects of the application to be competitive.
Original post by asdasdasdaasda12
Hi
can you please tell me what the pre-admission test was before the ENGAA for engineering
Thank you very much.


There wasn't one. Some colleges had individual tests but this is the first year that there is a university-wide assessment.