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Got Feedback, Should I Reapply Next Year? (Philosophy)

I have finally received feedback from my interview, and was thinking about whether I should apply again next year.. the reasons they gave for not getting in were that my 2A*s at GCSE being 'a long way below what most of our applicants in philosophy and other subjects achieve', and that my UMS average still placed my in the bottom 40-20% of applicants taking a-levels.. they did say that my interview showed my ability and interest in my subject, and the feedback ended with my interview performance being "much better than his paper application" but that overall they didn't feel confident making me an offer. I want you guys to be honest.. if I get 3 A*s at a-level this year should I reapply, or will my GCSE grades hold me back?
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Original post by GirdlingGodel
I have finally received feedback from my interview, and was thinking about whether I should apply again next year.. the reasons they gave for not getting in were that my 2A*s at GCSE being 'a long way below what most of our applicants in philosophy and other subjects achieve', and that my UMS average still placed my in the bottom 40-20% of applicants taking a-levels.. they did say that my interview showed my ability and interest in my subject, and the feedback ended with my interview performance being "much better than his paper application" but that overall they didn't feel confident making me an offer. I want you guys to be honest.. if I get 3 A*s at a-level this year should I reapply, or will my GCSE grades hold me back?


Yes you should. It is clear that they felt you had potential but lack of paper results meant they could not be sure. If you achieve 3A* you will have shown steady upward development and a performance that puts you comfortably around average for offer holders (or just above, for an Arts student). If you interviewed as well you did this year you would stand a good chance and you would be pretty guaranteed to get any second or third choice. I would think that the supervision style of teaching makes a Cambridge place particularly worth aiming for in a subject like Philosophy.

It is interesting this confirms that outstanding interview alone does not wipe out the effect of uncertain paper results and confirms they are following their research findings. It also shows that whilst excellent AS UMS can probably overcome poor GCSEs, good AS (if mediocre in Cambridge terms) cannot.

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