Cambridge Applicants for 2013 Entry

is anyone looking at Churchill College? going to the open day on the 13th?

It's definitely out of 45. I have a lot of friends who did the IB and have been on these forums for four years and moderating for one of those and I've never seen anybody with an offer that didn't include EE and TOK. It's usually a certain number of points out of 45 with specific grades in your HL subjects (ie, 42 points with 7,7,6).

I'm sure you'll be able to achieve much higher UMS this time around, unfortunately Natural Sciences (being the universal science course) is full of lots of talented applicants with different interests, and different prospects. So admissions must be a bit of a nightmare for tutors, as it is hard to directly compare a candidate who is more interested in physics compared to one more interested in Chemistry or Earth sciences. So without high UMS (as that is probably the universally applicable source of direct and quantitative comparison) it would be very difficult to get in :/

Also, If you don't mind me asking, which College did you apply to, and which (ones) are you considering applying to (if you do reapply)?

On a completely unrelated note, is your username from the Christopher Paolini books (because they are awesome!) ?

Will you apply for Bio or phys Natural sciences? I'm guessing biological, because on first glances the biology of cells module in the first year looks really interesting (and also quite chemistry-focused). Having said that, if you're looking to do mainly chemistry options, it probably doesn't matter so much, especially seeing as chemistry does overlap a lot with both disciplines.

Chemistry is my passion (and I look forward to April's Cambridge Chemistry challenge questions. I'm staying up until midnight tomorrow to get onto page 1 of the honours board. How sad ^^ )

Okay What kind of level is it on the international framework?

Aye, I'm sure myself, to be fair I was incredibly disappointed with what I got last year, but then again, I did doss a wee bit too much last year. My chem AS is let down by just one module as well, but this year, I'm out for vengeance >=)

I applied to Trinity Hall, quite competitive for NatSci from what I've learnt, but not the extremely high. Should I reapply, I'm thinking King's, Homerton or maybe a college that I've yet to research. Shame TitHall recommend not to apply to them again, it is so beautiful...

Well of course it is a reference to those books! One of my favourite sets, shame about the film in my opinion.

Well if there was a chemical scientist I'd go with that. However it falls under the category of physical (along with physics which I find as boring as you find the dull parts of chemistry) so I'll most likely apply for that and avoid physics modules (assuming materials sciences doesn't have too much physics. It does look interesting. I'd go with physiology of organisms instead, but some of the work in it is useful for the chemistry modules which i intend to do in the second year methinks) where possible. Loving chemistry, enjoying biology and slightly apathetic to physics is an interesting position.

Really, Oxford is far more suited to the chemistry course that'd I'd love to do (plus no Saturday lectures there) but I can't help that I fell for Cambridge ^^

Aha! A challenger! I came 42nd in the first month and just missed top 100 the second ¬¬ mainly because I just had to sleep, and when I woke up, I had the answer! D:

I wouldn't go on anyone's opinion other than your own for reapplication. I think if I was in that situation, whether or not I reapplied would probably depend on how well I think I did at A level overall (mostly UMS based). e.g. Come August, if I had 90+ and a fair few A*s, I think I almost definitely would. But come August, if my results were a little underwhelming I'd probably go with Edinborough (which is an excellent university, it's just not Cambridge).

Yeah, King's and Homerton (and a few others like Trinity) are breath-taking to say the least. I think I'm also more interested in the more impressive/ beautiful Colleges more than anything.

I don't acknowledge the existence of that film lol. I also loved and hated the last book, it was incredible but felt sporadic and incomplete. But the series is something I'm definitely going to re-read over Summer, along with a few other books

Hmm, I'm sure if you look into it you could probably learn more about avoiding physics (which is a concept I find so alien that I found it almost impossible to type :P ). Cambridge is definitely on the forefront of Biological research (with DNA etc) and because of that I'd feel almost obliged to take one of the Biology options.

Yes, I don't know why but I'm also weirdly biased towards Cambridge. Every piece of objective data seems to conclude that there's barely anything between the two. I actually have no explanation as to why, perhaps it's because I never fully learned the alphabet and found the OPQRSTU part really annoying, and Oxford starts with O... Or perhaps it's because Cambridge's prospectus has a better font... who knows

Hello,

I wish to study law at Oxbridge.

I was wondering what you guys think about. A* (History), A(Lit), A (Spanish), A (Maths), A (DT), B (Geog), B (Science), B (Language), C (Science).

How much do you believe this will hinder me. I am predicted AAAA in English Lit, Hist, Geog and Politics.

In my Jan Modules I got 100 UMS for my politics exam.

Thanks

Luke

I'm guessing those are GCSE grades, right? Well, assuming they are here is my personal opinion:

Your GCSE's aren't the best for a Cambridge Applicant. Your B and C in Science which is considered a core subject may damage your application. However, if the rest of your exams went anything like the Politics then I would definitely apply, as 100% UMS is no mean feat and will show that you've got into gear since GCSE. As a guideline, I would attempt to ensure you have at least 90+% in your three best subjects at all times. You have a good subject choice for the university as well.

However, I would also say that Law is (I think) one of the more competitive courses, so be prepared to be going up against a lot of applicants with very good applications - I would ensure you've started building up things outside of school to strengthen your application.

Why thanks. I know my GCSE's are not the best. I will state in my personal statement, that i have got my rear into gear and actually started working. Thankfully, I have enlisted in several EC activities which bolster my chances. Mock Trial, MUN, Debating, Public Speaking, Volunteering, Senior leadership within school, Gold DofE and EPQ.

Do you thnk I would stand a good chance, if I achieved 90% + in all 4 of my subjects. With a strong LSAT and Interview. I am praying that they bi-pass my GCSE's.

Yes, Cambridge explicitly state on their website that they believe A Level UMS scores to be a better indicator of success at degree level than GCSE, and a strong set of AS results easily makes up for less than stellar performance at GCSE. If your AS results continue to follow their current trend it would be silly not to apply.

Hello,

I wish to study law at Oxbridge.

I was wondering what you guys think about. A* (History), A(Lit), A (Spanish), A (Maths), A (DT), B (Geog), B (Science), B (Language), C (Science).

How much do you believe this will hinder me. I am predicted AAAA in English Lit, Hist, Geog and Politics.

In my Jan Modules I got 100 UMS for my politics exam.

Thanks

Luke

Thank you. You have been most helpful. Would you advise an open application, if i was to achieve such results... or specifically go for one. Considering, i really want to go to Homerton.

I'll introduce myself.

I'm Oli, a prospective medical student - taking Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics (and the EPQ).

In terms of colleges, i'm not sure as I've never visited Cambridge before. However, I like the look of Emma, Caius and Pembroke.

I recently did an essay for the Peterhouse Kelvin Science Prize, did anyone else enter?