[CallmeJoss]

(Original post by Joinedup)
Someone posted an article about cambridge admissions a few months ago... to cut a long story short they weren't particularly bothered about GCSE grades, especially if you got them at a school that wasn't high performing.

TBH I think it's becoming a recognised problem that colleges are putting people off applying to oxbridge for basically no valid reason.

Would it make much difference if they supported me?

[Ivanka]

Well, I guess that unless you want to do something maths related, it should be OK. There are people getting offers from Cambridge that don't have straight As and A*s either.

[Chucklefiend]

Depends entirely on what you are applying to study. If you intend to apply for economics, maths or a science the fact that you aren't doing maths at A level and you only have a B and a C in your maths GCSEs may hinder your chances. But hey, it's only one of your choices and you'll most probably regret it if you don't at least try. So personally I'd go for it.

[CallmeJoss]

I would never do a maths related degree. Don't like the subject... I'm thinking of applying for law. But isn't that just as hard to get in for?

Thanks for the replies guys.

[mespannerhanz]

To be quite honest, your college are being a bit ridiculous. a B and a C at GCSE are not going to mean an automatic rejection at all. They use various factors - PS, reference, UMS scores, GCSEs, A2 predictions, interview test where appropriate, and interview. GCSEs are just one small part of this system!

Don't let that put you off applying - your subject choices are good, so providing you do well in your AS levels then I see no reason why you shouldn't give it a shot. Of course, lots of people apply every year with excellent grades etc, but get rejected.

I got 1 B at GCSE (in electronics admittedly) and am now holding an offer for Geography. My GCSEs were slightly better than yours, but certainly not 14 A*s or whatever it is people seem to think you need!

You have nothing to lose. Feel free to PM me if you want any advice etc.

[Joinedup]

(Original post by CallmeJoss)
Would it make much difference if they supported me?

Think it depends on whether the college have a record of sucessfully getting people in or if they're an unknown quantity to the cambridge admissions tutors.




basically doesn't cost anything to try as you still have 4 ucas slots left.

[tsveta]

You should definitely try, my cousin got into Oxford with a C in Maths. Just be really dedicated from now about law, do loads of extra reading so you stun them in the interview. Don't slip for your ASs, get all of those As. Good luck x

[dbou]

(Original post by CallmeJoss)
I think I did quite well for GCSEs with 6A*s, 4As, B (in maths) and C (in additional maths).

My AS levels are all AAAA predictions in economics, history, english lit and politics.

I'm thinking of applying to Cambridge for law next year. However my college aren't giving me any support as they say we should only apply if our GCSE grades are all A*-A grades. Does that really matter though? I'm quite worried...

There is someone on my course who got in with 3 A*'s, a handful of A's and then C's and D's in his GCSE's. They really don't matter that much. Of course there are people with 12 A*'s, but since your C is in Additional Maths I doubt they will be that bothered.

[CallmeJoss]

(Original post by tsveta)
You should definitely try, my cousin got into Oxford with a C in Maths. Just be really dedicated from now about law, do loads of extra reading so you stun them in the interview. Don't slip for your ASs, get all of those As. Good luck x

Thanks for the advice! I am doing my best to get them As

(Original post by dbou)
There is someone on my course who got in with 3 A*'s, a handful of A's and then C's and D's in his GCSE's. They really don't matter that much. Of course there are people with 12 A*'s, but since your C is in Additional Maths I doubt they will be that bothered.

That's what my secondary school said...
What course are you doing?

[alexsasg]

(Original post by CallmeJoss)
I think I did quite well for GCSEs with 6A*s, 4As, B (in maths) and C (in additional maths).

My AS levels are all AAAA predictions in economics, history, english lit and politics.

I'm thinking of applying to Cambridge for law next year. However my college aren't giving me any support as they say we should only apply if our GCSE grades are all A*-A grades. Does that really matter though? I'm quite worried...

The C is a little damaging, I'm not going to lie, but if you get good UMS scores this year then it's worth applying. After all, you've got nothing to lose!

[canŵio]

(Original post by CallmeJoss)
What would you say is a "strong performance" and good predictions in Year 12/13? Thank you for encouraging me

well i'd guess those 4As at AS! I would say straight As would be necessary.
At A2 they say:
Q. What grades do I need?
A. Whatever school or college system you are being educated in, entry standards at Cambridge require you to have studied to the highest level available for school students, and to have achieved top grades. For those studying A Levels we are looking for A*AA.

so you're going to have to work hard for that! however i know lots of people with similar grades to yours at GCSE who came out with 3 As at A-Level-it's entirely possible.

look on the website to make sure you're doing the most appropriate A-Levels. work hard and then even if you don't get into cambridge you'll be set for success wherever you do go! if you get an interview you're going to want to practise so it might be worth finding someone at college on your side.

this might be helpful to you to see what you need to do: http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergrad.../thefacts.html

[tehforum]

(Original post by alexsasg)
The C is a little damaging, I'm not going to lie, but if you get good UMS scores this year then it's worth applying. After all, you've got nothing to lose!

Not really.

A single grade in Additional maths is not going to be pivotal in determining whether the OP gets an offer or not.

[Coke1]

You are not 'out of the race', if you have good a-level grades (which you are predicted to), can interview well if offered one, and generally it depends on what other stuff you do other than study! People tend to forget that you need to be able to talk about other interests than studying.

Now the C would slightly hinder your application, as it is one of the core subjects, but as I said, still apply, it doesn't completley ruin your application.

[Coke1]

Oh wait sorry its ADDITIONAL maths (silly me)

Oh, that will hardly make a difference.

[m411327114]

One year ago I wished to do Chemical Engineering at uni, but after studying all three sciences I decided to apply for Nat Sci (physical). My interest is in Physics and Chemistry but still find Biology very interesting. I was almost sure about dropping Biology next year but then after seeing the A2 textbook I think I just love all my 3 sciences. It is really a difficult decision to drop any.

Actually pretty sure that the grades will be good enough for Cambridge (can't be any better than full marks), but just worrying if I am doing enough 'extras'.

I am about to take my AS exams now: a level maths(further maths next year) + as chemistry + as physics + as biology. Through all the 3 mock exam series at school, each including all the modules, I scored over 90% raw marks in all science units and mostly 100% in the maths modules. Practical units went very well ending up with 39 or 40 out of 40. So hopefully getting full UMS in most of (if not all) my subjects this summer.

I've done some extra things that I thought would be useful:
chemistry schools analyst competition(going to the national final in summer)
Hans Woyda maths competition(member of school team)
UKMT senior maths challenge(gold 105/125)
Chemistry Olympiad(got silver 41/55 in Round 1 after some self-studying through the A2 course)
reading some books (textbooks like Why chemical reactions happen by James Keeler, and Thinking Skills)
watching the Feynman lecture series, and some recorded physics lectures given by MIT professors.
Now thinking about taking STEP I, and also preparing for next year's british physics olympiad and chemistry olympiad(just want to do it for fun although it will be useless for application process, as it happens in the second half of the academic year).
Now planning to go for a bit of work experience in the summer but I doubt if it is really going to be useful, because somehow I have a feeling that for Science subjects it's better to do more in-depth reading and researching. Any suggestions on this?

So if you were an admission tutor what would you think about this CV? I am personally very confused on this because basically my teachers have been saying 'you are a strong candidate' throughout the year, but I was never convinced that this little bit of good grades would get me a place at Cambridge.
I know I need to do some really solid stuff in the forth-coming 5 months before the application deadline, because the awards only look pompous to me. Reading university-level textbooks is probably helpful and great fun so I am doing it.
What else do you think will add to these?

Btw please don't criticize on my English. I am foreign.

[Bulbasaur]

I want to apply for geography at Cambridge next year. Obviously there are many other factors, but I am pretty sure I'm going to get a low B or high C in physics. My other AS subjects are Geography, History and Maths and in those I think I'm likely to get around 90%, if not higher, as an average between the 3. I will be dropping physics after AS.

What I want to ask is that I know a B won't really affect my chances all that much, if at all, if the fourth subject is mostly irrelevant (I've been told this by an admissions tutor) but will a C in physics affect my chances? Assuming I have a prediction of A*A*A/A*AA. Bear in mind however, that I didn't really pick physics; I wanted to do economics. But this clashed with history so I was forced to choose something different. I reluctantly chose physics (apparently there is room on the SAQ to indicate that you didn't get a subject you wanted).

Also, if anyone knows, how badly would this impact my odds at, say, Bristol and Durham? (I do realise that this isn't the correct thread for that)

[The Mr Z]

(Original post by m411327114)
One year ago I wished to do Chemical Engineering at uni, but after studying all three sciences I decided to apply for Nat Sci (physical). My interest is in Physics and Chemistry but still find Biology very interesting. I was almost sure about dropping Biology next year but then after seeing the A2 textbook I think I just love all my 3 sciences. It is really a difficult decision to drop any.

Actually pretty sure that the grades will be good enough for Cambridge (can't be any better than full marks), but just worrying if I am doing enough 'extras'.

I am about to take my AS exams now: a level maths(further maths next year) + as chemistry + as physics + as biology. Through all the 3 mock exam series at school, each including all the modules, I scored over 90% raw marks in all science units and mostly 100% in the maths modules. Practical units went very well ending up with 39 or 40 out of 40. So hopefully getting full UMS in most of (if not all) my subjects this summer.

I've done some extra things that I thought would be useful:
chemistry schools analyst competition(going to the national final in summer)
Hans Woyda maths competition(member of school team)
UKMT senior maths challenge(gold 105/125)
Chemistry Olympiad(got silver 41/55 in Round 1 after some self-studying through the A2 course)
reading some books (textbooks like Why chemical reactions happen by James Keeler, and Thinking Skills)
watching the Feynman lecture series, and some recorded physics lectures given by MIT professors.
Now thinking about taking STEP I, and also preparing for next year's british physics olympiad and chemistry olympiad(just want to do it for fun although it will be useless for application process, as it happens in the second half of the academic year).
Now planning to go for a bit of work experience in the summer but I doubt if it is really going to be useful, because somehow I have a feeling that for Science subjects it's better to do more in-depth reading and researching. Any suggestions on this?

So if you were an admission tutor what would you think about this CV? I am personally very confused on this because basically my teachers have been saying 'you are a strong candidate' throughout the year, but I was never convinced that this little bit of good grades would get me a place at Cambridge.
I know I need to do some really solid stuff in the forth-coming 5 months before the application deadline, because the awards only look pompous to me. Reading university-level textbooks is probably helpful and great fun so I am doing it.
What else do you think will add to these?

Btw please don't criticize on my English. I am foreign.

Christ that's an extensive set of extras! Intimidating even. You're a Very strong candidate, both academically and extra-curricularly.

You've got far more than necessary, in fact you might have problems fitting that all on your personal statement!

For your Personal Statement it's not sufficient to merely list activities, you must reflect on them and what you learnt and gained from them. This will mean selecting a few activities to focus on.

For the challenges and prizes you don't need to reflect, but you may want to select the most impressive or compress it.

Also when you apply your application should focus on one science.

Do you take Further Maths as well as maths and the 3 sciences?

[m411327114]

(Original post by The Mr Z)
Christ that's an extensive set of extras! Intimidating even. You're a Very strong candidate, both academically and extra-curricularly.

You've got far more than necessary, in fact you might have problems fitting that all on your personal statement!

For your Personal Statement it's not sufficient to merely list activities, you must reflect on them and what you learnt and gained from them. This will mean selecting a few activities to focus on.

For the challenges and prizes you don't need to reflect, but you may want to select the most impressive or compress it.

Also when you apply your application should focus on one science.

Do you take Further Maths as well as maths and the 3 sciences?

Yes I am taking double maths and 3 sciences.

And about focusing on 1 subject: at this stage I find Chemistry very easy (though my peers don't agree) however Physics the most fascinating. I have self-studied through half of the physics and chemistry A2 course in my spare time this year. So I'm not dropping any next year because getting full UMS seems not very hard.

I want to apply for Natural Science simply because I wish to continue this sort of wide study and at the meantime concentrate on Chemistry and Physics, to see which one is really my cup of tea. I like the Cambridge system. Oxford does not offer Natural Science but only separate subjects. I guess that means in Oxford I can only do either Physics or Chemistry, let alone some fun from Biological Sciences.

Those who got into oxbridge in last 2 years in my school all seemed incredibly clever: A maths guy with 5 A*s; An engineering guy and a chemical engineering guy with Top 50 in British Physics Olympiad, and many more of these. Athough I am confident about my ability to possibly achieve some of these things, the worries come from the fact that I don't know about the average standard of people applying for oxbridge sciences. Recent-year prospectuses say 1 in 4 chance for science and 1 in 5 for engineering (take away some obviously weaker applicants, chance may be higher?).

Are the people I will compete with generally this clever, or is it just because my school has admitted many really good foreign students in recent years? I know this is a good question to ask here because people have been putting up their grades.

Any suggestion on work experience? Is it really not very helpful for Natural Science as I thought, or can I just enjoy my own summer?

[The Mr Z]

(Original post by m411327114)
Yes I am taking double maths and 3 sciences.

And about focusing on 1 subject: at this stage I find Chemistry very easy (though my peers don't agree) however Physics the most fascinating. I have self-studied through half of the physics and chemistry A2 course in my spare time this year. So I'm not dropping any next year because getting full UMS seems not very hard.

I want to apply for Natural Science simply because I wish to continue this sort of wide study and at the meantime concentrate on Chemistry and Physics, to see which one is really my cup of tea. I like the Cambridge system. Oxford does not offer Natural Science but only separate subjects. I guess that means in Oxford I can only do either Physics or Chemistry, let alone some fun from Biological Sciences.

Those who got into oxbridge in last 2 years in my school all seemed incredibly clever: A maths guy with 5 A*s; An engineering guy and a chemical engineering guy with Top 50 in British Physics Olympiad, and many more of these. Athough I am confident about my ability to possibly achieve some of these things, the worries come from the fact that I don't know about the average standard of people applying for oxbridge sciences. Recent-year prospectuses say 1 in 4 chance for science and 1 in 5 for engineering (take away some obviously weaker applicants, chance may be higher?).

Are the people I will compete with generally this clever, or is it just because my school has admitted many really good foreign students in recent years? I know this is a good question to ask here because people have been putting up their grades.

Any suggestion on work experience? Is it really not very helpful for Natural Science as I thought, or can I just enjoy my own summer?

Natural Sciences applicants are expected to focus on one science for their personal statement. Not because you're expected to actually specialise in that subject, but because for all your other universities you will be applying for a single-science course, and Cambridge do not expect you to ruin your chances of making a successful application to other universities just in order to attempt a Cambridge application.

There is a "supplementary personal statement" on the SAQ which is provided to allow you to write things more Cambridge specific, like why you want to study an initially broader coarse. This is however completely optional.

Many college will ask you to choose a single science to focus on for the interview as well, and the subject-specific questions will relate to that science (there will also be maths questions for all sciences)

I fully support your reasons for picking NatSci though - you don't have the foggiest clue what the sciences are like at degree level and have never got to try things like Geology, Materials etc.

Work Experience relevant to a sciences application is very hard to come by (you don't know enough to be useful for a company yet) and not necessary. I couldn't get any, don't worry about it as your application is full enough as it is.

You have a rather skewed view of what is actually average for a successful Cambridge applicant - you are well above average. Perhaps your school is too pessimistic about peoples' chances and so only sending their brightest or the rest are falling down at interview, but from what I know you should easily get a place.

I don't know the stats, I didn't when I applied and it was a mistake for you to look them up. Every application is judged independently of all others.

[alexsasg]

(Original post by tehforum)
Not really.

A single grade in Additional maths is not going to be pivotal in determining whether the OP gets an offer or not.

I shouldn't really have used the word damaging but obviously it's not the same as an A. (Not saying that you MUST get all As and A*s, I had a B at GCSE and 2 Bs at AS when I applied and it was fine). Anyway, I shouldn't really have phrased it like that.

The OP should still apply, that was the main point I wanted to make. So yeah, I agree that it isn't pivotal - I just meant that a C may look slightly ugly against all of his other grades but this won't really have much of an impact.