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University of Cambridge

Cambridge

Magdalene College (Cambridge) Students and 2016 entry Applicants

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200428

We're all hiding away from computers swotting up in a desparate attempt to get high enough grades to consider applying [although it's a bit late now] or swotting to get grades high enough to meet offers...
I'm lower 6th now but I'd like to do English at Magdalene...from what I've read/seen/heard it's an amazing place *wistfully stares into space* that said, there are plenty of other nice places...but Magdalene is tops for me at the moment.
:smile:

University of Cambridge

Cambridge

Reply 581

sunspoon

sadie-kiki

I thought your school had to have little tradition of sending pupils to university too...I think it's about 98% to uni. at mine, just very few (about 10 per year) to oxbridge. I was just wondering what to expect with UCAS and offers and interviews and things, I feel a bit daunted by the whole process. I wondered if I'm up to the kind of standard they want too; We don't get very much information and although I've seen the websites and got what I can from there, I'd really value the opinion of someone who has gone through the process.
Thanks for your help though :smile:

Well one of my friends said he applied to Homerton for Maths through the SAS and he got in - I dunno whether he actually did go through SAS in the end but he was originally intending to... our college normally sends around 40-50 a year to Oxbridge.

Reply 582

200428

ah cool that's good to know :smile:

Reply 583

bethy

Sadie-kiki,
I've just finished my first year of Natural Sciences at Magdalene and have had an amazing year.
My 6th form had only 25 people out of around 500 A level students apply for Oxbridge, 4 people got places at Cambridge and I was the first person to apply to Magdalene from my 6th form. I got AAABB at AS level, with only a B in Chemistry which i've studied this year as a quarter of my course.

It doesn't matter about your school's history is with the college; as long as they see that you can achieve the grades needed and you impress them at interview you have just as much chance of getting a place. You just need to show them how interested you are in your subject and how capable you are.

Your chosen A level subjects seem fine for studying English, keep in mind that if you get an offer it will definitely be AAA. If you don't get all As at AS then don't worry. The most important part of admission is the interview. Make sure that you really know everything about what you've put in your personal statement because they will ask you about it.

I would definitely suggest applying!
If you like it as much as you say just from pictures then visiting will make you love it even more.

Reply 584

200428

Thank you so much for your help :smile:

I really didn't know very much about the whole procedure, like interviews etc. but I feel more confident about it now. I'm thinking I'll certainly apply, from what you've said I think I'd regret not at least trying!
I really appreciate your advice, thank you!
Sadie x

Reply 585

pumpkinstein

Hey everyone, I'm not too frequent a visitor to TSR, but I've got a conditional offer to Magdalene for postgraduate mathematics. I'm currently at Warwick, and my offer is conditional on me getting a first ... and I find out my results tomorrow! I'm really hoping to meet you all in October!

Martin

Reply 586

Supergrunch

Any idea when we hear the results of the scholars' ballot thingy?

Reply 587

studentbug

I'm currently in the process of picking a college I want to apply to, and have now discovered Magdalene.

I have a few questions I would like to ask, but from what it seems, Magdalenites (yes, no, was that right?) don't seem to be the largest bunch on TSR.

Well well, let's start of with the atmosphere, it's evidently not known as a "friendly" college but how is it? Are people nice to each other, or are there tons of social groups that are strictly enforced. Is the right wing, obnoxious state school stereotype true (to some degree)?

Then I have a question on economics. How do Magdalenes economists do? Bad, good? Is the DoS good, organized and helpful? How about the supervisors? Is it possible to ask for some extra help in form of extra supervisions if you find something hard? Once again, i'm speaking of economics here.

All replies are much appreciated.

EDIT: Of course, I would find any info whatsoever helpful.

Reply 588

Supergrunch

I'm one of the few relatively active Magdalenites here, though there are a few others that appear occasionally. Anyway, I didn't know the college was supposed to be non-friendly - in general, I find it very friendly, and though there are social groups, they aren't that enforced and everyone's nice to one another. As for the stereotype, it's not at all true (seems to be a relic of a few decades back) - the atmosphere's fairly neutral, and if anything more on the left wing side. I don't really know much about economics, but the respective standings of colleges for individual subjects tend to vary drastically from year to year, and in addition requesting additional help, be it in the form of extra supervisions or not, tends to be common for everything.

Hope that was of some help to you - I think it's a great college and love it there.

Reply 589

mwiko

*appears to repeat what's been said*
I don't think the college is supposed to be non-friendly.. I certainly don't find it so and think that the current group of students are a good bunch and up for all sorts of laughs.. although I suppose that the outdated 'right-wing-woman-hating' stereotype would sort of give rise to an idea of unfriendliness..
And I suppose there are 'groups', bound to be in any environment with 4+ people but they're in no way rigid..
Economics wise, I think that all of the first years got at least a 2.i.. with one definite first.. I didn't really pay much attention to that class list though, so I could be totally wrong. But as Mr Grunch says, it depends more on you than the college really..

If there are any other questions I will re-appear..

Reply 590

JKM

Hi, i want to apply to Magdalene this oct for Nat Sci if my AS results are good next month. However 1 chem module went badly in jan and I resat it this summer. I know I have to put both first exam and resit on my application form.
Does anybody know the colleges view on resits?
Has anyone got an NatSci offer with a resit?
Thanks

Reply 591

200428

I reckon most people don't take January modules at AS, so if you have summer ones I don't think they can complain. The retake thing will be irrelevant I think. My friend at St. Johns took retakes for all his Jan. AS modules and got in without a problem. Some schools use them as mocks so I think you'll be fine :smile:

I want to apply to Magdalene for english in Oct. :smile:

Reply 592

randomlaughter

JKM - first, let me tell you of the legend that is Dr Jeremy Rawson (this seems irrelevant - bear with me...):

Dr Rawson is, well, a legend. He is the NatSci DoS (physical) and also one of the college Admissions Tutors (yeah, NOW it's relevant). If you're worried about how your work is going, he will invite you round for a cup of tea and gives the mother of all pep talks. He's also generally quite fun - at my matric dinner the two of us just passed the port bottle back and forth between us because noone else on our table wanted any, so the two of us got wasted together. Classic times.
ANYHOO - I was chatting to Dr Rawson just last week, as I happened to be in Cambridge on A level results day, and we mentioned the annual 'groundbreaking' story all over the news that A levels are getting easier... and of course next year's A* grade now coming in. Had the A* been around when I sat my A levels, I'm not sure I would have got any. No wait, I would have had one I think... in the subject that then became my worst, what a joke that was (physics is in fact an invention from Satan that no-one ever truly can understand, it's all just a huge conspiracy where people PRETEND that it makes sense... it's all lies I tell you, they do it all with gnomes). Dr Rawson was saying he'd have to look over this year's admissions and see how the results would have looked with the 90% = A* grade. Point being, Dr Rawson is a man who understands that what you come out with on paper nowadays doesn't necessarily mean all that much. Coming in as a NatSci, I can be 99.99% certain that Dr Rawson will be in one of your interviews (I think only severe illness and/or death can prevent this inevitable occurence - he interviews everyone. He also interviews a large proportion of the candidates in other subjects for their "general" interviews). The paper he has in front of him - traditional string of "I'm a massive geek who loves this ****, honest" personal statement followed by "they are the best student we've ever had" school reference and AAAAAAAAAAA... record of 'perfect' or near-perfect relevant grades - is only actually there to get you through the door to that interview. I certainly resat a couple of my A/AS level papers, and that obviously didn't stop Dr Rawson letting me in...

So having to resit a paper is not going to make them cross you off their list before they've even seen you. So you had a bad paper, who cares - at interview they'll be able to tell if you know what you're talking about, or have the potential to know what you're talking about. That's the bit that matters!

Reply 593

Rosemary7391

*Sticks head in*

Hallo! I'm applying to Magdalene for NatSci Physical :smile:

Just loved Magdalene when I saw it at the open day :smile:

My only worry is, will they still interview me with a B at A2 physics (I took it a year early), or will they just discount me automatically? Physics is my only science - my other subjects are Maths (done A2) and further, and some artsy subjects that aren't relevant..

Reply 594

blueberries

Heyyy XD

I am going to join in the thread, and ask a few questions :biggrin:

I went to the college on an open day, and immediately loved it.

Just a few things stopping me from putting it down as my college of choice though.

What is the accomodation like (because I didn't get to see much on the day)? Do they have many ensuites?
Also, how does the college generally view self-catering? Because I know that some colleges actively discourage students from doing so...

Any help's appreciated :smile:

Reply 595

200428

blueberries

Heyyy XD

I am going to join in the thread, and ask a few questions :biggrin:

I was at the open day too :smile:

From what my tour-guide said, the en-suite rooms/nicest ones are mainly in Cripps Court. The room I saw there was quite big with a shiny new en-suite, but I think they're mainly 2nd/3rd years there. The room that I saw in college was in an oldish building with a really dark wooden staircase to get to the room...it was reasonably sized compared with other uni rooms I've seen...single bed, desk, couple of chests of drawers and a which had the door kind of in the wall, plus a sink and a fridge...it wasn't all shiny and new and posh but I thought it was nice and cosy and homely :smile:

The kitchen I saw didn't have an oven, but it did have a hob and a microwave in it, so I reckon you could cook fairly decent meals there? It was quite small though. I didn't see the shared bathroom facilities though...I wonder if they do that on purpose?
Anyway, I liked it enough to decide that that's where I'm going to apply (for english :biggrin:

) and this is coming from a girl who has a large bedroom with a double bed and own tv etc plus a study and en-suite connecting, so it really can't be that bad!
Admittedly the rooms at St. John's/Newnham were nicer...but I felt Magdalene was more friendly :smile:

Reply 596

ems xxx

Hi all!

Rosemary, I'm an arts student and am no way qualified to say what your chances would be. However, by no means does everyone have the full AAA record and it sounds like you've got a pretty good excuse as to why you don't! However, is there any way you could retake a module or two..? results are used in combination with many many other factors decide whether you get an offer or not and I reckon the interview plays quite heavily in comparison. The experience at interview is well worth it, you can only gain!! So go for it!

As for the rooms, very few are ensuite and yes, they're mostly in cripps... If you're high in the ballot for third year you might be lucky! (unless you need one, in which case they'll get you one...) If you can self cater with the facilities you're given then the college will do nothing to prevent it. It's amazing what can be cooked on 2 hot plates- stir fry for 25 has been known! And you'll probably get a microwave too.

Good luck to you all (I love Magdalene!!!)

Reply 597

bethy

Rosemary7391

*Sticks head in*

Hallo! I'm applying to Magdalene for NatSci Physical :smile:

Just loved Magdalene when I saw it at the open day :smile:

I applied (and got in) with a B in AS Chem for NatSci so it shouldn't be a problem getting an interview. But with the subjects you have if you get an offer it will be AAA in Physics, Maths and Further Maths, so as ems said you'll need to retake some modules to get it up to an A to meet the offer.

Reply 598

Tariqé

Woooo go Magdalene! 5th in the college table! That's up 18 places in just two years! :biggrin:

Reply 599

Tariqé

randomlaughter

JKM - first, let me tell you of the legend that is Dr Jeremy Rawson (this seems irrelevant - bear with me...):

Hi Jo! Weird bumping into you on here! (Although there seems to be quite a few Magdalenites on this site...)

Looking forward to the piano lessons this term! :smile:

xxx