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Original post by Lucy Cavendish Admissions
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Thank you very much for doing this!

I understand you might not be able to answer this, but I thought I'd ask anyway - I hope that's alright.

1. I'm considering applying for the CGCM and I know we need to get a reference from someone other than our UCAS referee as part of the CGCM application form. May I ask what sort of person is suitable to write this reference? I'm considering asking one of my old A Level teachers who I knew well and knows what I have been doing since then. I recognise it would probably be more ideal to ask someone who knows me academically from university in addition to my UCAS referee, but the way my course is structured means that I don't get to know any academic members of staff for extended periods of time.

2. How much weight is the reference given in the application as a whole?

3. Do you prefer those who have already graduated over those who are in their final year of their undergraduate degree?


Thank you! :smile:
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by emmaaa88

1. I'm considering applying for the CGCM and I know we need to get a reference from someone other than our UCAS referee as part of the CGCM application form. May I ask what sort of person is suitable to write this reference? I'm considering asking one of my old A Level teachers who I knew well and knows what I have been doing since then. I recognise it would probably be more ideal to ask someone who knows me academically from university in addition to my UCAS referee, but the way my course is structured means that I don't get to know any academic members of staff for extended periods of time.

2. How much weight is the reference given in the application as a whole?

3. Do you prefer those who have already graduated over those who are in their final year of their undergraduate degree?


There are various options for the second reference, if you don't feel you can ask a member of academic staff from your university. You can ask an individual who knows you in a professional or healthcare context, e.g. an employer, or someone who has worked with you during relevant voluntary activity, and/or shadowing. An A-level teacher would also be fine: the important thing is, that it is someone able to comment on your suitability to be a doctor.


The reference can be a deal-breaker, if the referee raises serious concerns. Otherwise, it is less significant than your academic qualifications, personal statement and healthcare experience.


We don't have a preference for those who have already graduated, and degree outcomes are only one of the elements we consider. It is true that our scoring system gives slightly more weight to grades achieved, than grades predicted - but you shouldn't let that fact deter you, if you are doing well in your final year.
Original post by Lucy Cavendish Admissions
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Thank you very much for your help! :smile:
Thanks very much for creating this thread!

Could you please clarify which pages of the CGCM application form we should send to our referee? Should it be - starting with the page with Section 1 onwards? Or should we also remove Section D?
Original post by mindlesss
Thanks very much for creating this thread!

Could you please clarify which pages of the CGCM application form we should send to our referee? Should it be - starting with the page with Section 1 onwards? Or should we also remove Section D?


Section D is the critical bit, since that's the section he/she needs to fill in and return to us. However, most referees appreciate as much information as you can give them, so I strongly recommend that you send a copy of the whole form, as you have submitted it to Cambridge, along with a copy of your UCAS personal statement.
Hi,

Considering you look at PS, reference, academic ability and work experience in order to decided the final outcome...what % or weighting is given to each criteria?
If for example you have candidates with similar academics, good reference, WE what would be the deciding factor? How important is the Personal statement?

Is the Cambridge form more important than the personal statement on UCAS? as they might not contain the same information.
For example, i have quiet a few work experience placements in healthcare which I have learned a lot from, however I won't be mentioning any in my UCAS because of lack of space, I am just going to mention them on the Cambridge Graduate forms.

Thanks
Original post by Ama2007
Hi,

Considering you look at PS, reference, academic ability and work experience in order to decided the final outcome...what % or weighting is given to each criteria?
If for example you have candidates with similar academics, good reference, WE what would be the deciding factor? How important is the Personal statement?

Is the Cambridge form more important than the personal statement on UCAS? as they might not contain the same information.
For example, i have quiet a few work experience placements in healthcare which I have learned a lot from, however I won't be mentioning any in my UCAS because of lack of space, I am just going to mention them on the Cambridge Graduate forms.

Thanks


We use and score the personal statement on the UCAS form alongside the Cambridge form, so it doesn't matter that the information contained in the two forms is different. The personal statement, healthcare experience and reflection on the healthcare experience carry roughly the same weighting each; academic qualifications carry roughly the same weighting as the three other elements combined. The reference is assessed separately.

There is no single deciding factor. If we had two strong candidates with identical profiles, the most likely outcome is that we would invite both to interview, to be honest: we have around 70 interview slots.
Reply 27
Dear Admissions,

I am a mature student at 26 and would like to ask if my postgraduate qualifications would be of any benefit to me in the application process.
I have a Public Health MPH at distinction and currently studying a MPhill in Health and Clinical Sciences.
I am applying for 2015 Graduate entry, Will my post grad Studies be used Along with my A Levels and 2:1 BSc ?

Thank you Very much.
Hi, thank you for starting this thread.

I'm hoping to apply for law as a mature student and am in the process of studying 2 A-levels through National Extension College. Could you advise how important it would be to take a 3rd A-Level? I'd be happy to do this if it would make a significant difference but due to finances and time commitments it would be a bit of a struggle.

Could you also advise whether it is appropriate for mature students to submit details of extenuating circumstances for qualifications taken 10+ years ago (in my case, fairly mediocre A-levels taken whilst I had substantial caring responsibilities for my mother)

Many thanks
Original post by esperanto
Hi, thank you for starting this thread.

I'm hoping to apply for law as a mature student and am in the process of studying 2 A-levels through National Extension College. Could you advise how important it would be to take a 3rd A-Level? I'd be happy to do this if it would make a significant difference but due to finances and time commitments it would be a bit of a struggle.

Could you also advise whether it is appropriate for mature students to submit details of extenuating circumstances for qualifications taken 10+ years ago (in my case, fairly mediocre A-levels taken whilst I had substantial caring responsibilities for my mother)

Many thanks


I'll leave the Cambridge admissions tutor to answer your questions. I just wanted to ask are you using a 24+ loan to pay for your A levels? I'm pretty sure that you can use this loan with the National Extension College, so money shouldn't be an issue if you do indeed have to do three A levels.
Hi,

I am getting my MSc in Signal Processing (Distinction) from a UK uni ranked in the top 150 Electrical Engineering Departments (that's the Department of my MSc) according to QS ranking. I have BSc in Electrical Engineering from Greek uni with mark equivalent to 2.1. I am currently doing my MSc dissertation on Insect acoustics and Biomechanics and totally fell in love with the subject, I may publish results. What do you think are my chances of getting accepted for MPhil in Biological Sciences (Zoology)? What about my chances for funding? Acceptance rate for the program was 3/9, 5/17, 1/9 and 9/12 for 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Original post by kristia
Dear Admissions,

I am a mature student at 26 and would like to ask if my postgraduate qualifications would be of any benefit to me in the application process.
I have a Public Health MPH at distinction and currently studying a MPhill in Health and Clinical Sciences.
I am applying for 2015 Graduate entry, Will my post grad Studies be used Along with my A Levels and 2:1 BSc ?

Thank you Very much.


Hi Kristia,

Assuming you are applying for Graduate Entry Medicine, then no, your postgraduate studies would not be counted as part of the academic scoring, only your A-levels and BSc. However, the skills and experience you acquired during postgraduate studies should strengthen other areas of your application.
Original post by esperanto
Hi, thank you for starting this thread.

I'm hoping to apply for law as a mature student and am in the process of studying 2 A-levels through National Extension College. Could you advise how important it would be to take a 3rd A-Level? I'd be happy to do this if it would make a significant difference but due to finances and time commitments it would be a bit of a struggle.

Could you also advise whether it is appropriate for mature students to submit details of extenuating circumstances for qualifications taken 10+ years ago (in my case, fairly mediocre A-levels taken whilst I had substantial caring responsibilities for my mother)

Many thanks


I think it would be helpful if you could study a third A-level, but not absolutely essential. Two things to bear in mind when considering your options are, firstly, that your offer is likely to be higher if it is based on two A-levels (e.g. A*A* rather than A*AA) and secondly that a mature college won't necessarily expect you to get all your A-levels in one sitting (i.e. you could do a third A-level the following year if that was more practical). Should you decide to do two A-levels, only, I'd recommend that you include a clear explanation of the circumstances that led you to make this decision, in your personal statement.

In terms of your previous qualifications, there is no harm in adding a sentence to your statement explaining why you under-performed in the past. However, an Admissions Tutor will really only be interested in your achievements in your most recent course of study - it's what you can do now that is important!
Original post by pieza kake
Hi,

I am getting my MSc in Signal Processing (Distinction) from a UK uni ranked in the top 150 Electrical Engineering Departments (that's the Department of my MSc) according to QS ranking. I have BSc in Electrical Engineering from Greek uni with mark equivalent to 2.1. I am currently doing my MSc dissertation on Insect acoustics and Biomechanics and totally fell in love with the subject, I may publish results. What do you think are my chances of getting accepted for MPhil in Biological Sciences (Zoology)? What about my chances for funding? Acceptance rate for the program was 3/9, 5/17, 1/9 and 9/12 for 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively.


Can you give me exact details of the universities where you have studied, and your mark on your Greek BSc, please?
Original post by Lucy Cavendish Admissions
Can you give me exact details of the universities where you have studied, and your mark on your Greek BSc, please?

Thank you for your reply.
My BSc mark is 6.8/10 from University of Patras and my current MSc mark from University of Strathclyde is 76%(without dissertation taken into account).
Thanks for your previous reply. :smile: :smile:

One more question:

How many applicants do you normally get for the graduate medicine course?

I believe there is only 20 places for the whole course?
I really want to apply to Lucy Cavendish but don't really understand the colleges structure or the differences. I read the website but still not sure.

for example, if one college had alot of applicants would you reject straight away or would you give to other colleges?

Thanks in advance.
Reply 36
Thank you so much for starting this thread. I'm a mature American looking into completing an undergraduate degree in the UK, and Cambridge is one of the universities I'm interested in. I still have some years before I apply and my subject is English.

I read on the Cambridge website that successful US applicants have normally taken the SAT plus five AP tests or SAT subject tests. Is this an expectation of mature Americans as well? Also, is there a preference for AP exams over SAT subject tests? I could take the SAT and SAT subject tests. However because I have already graduated high school I may or may not be able to take AP exams.

How do Cambridge admissions tutors view an associate degree as a qualification? In the States it's normally equivalent to the first two years of a university degree. I am planning to earn one in order to meet the admissions requirements for other universities, but I'm interested to know how Cambridge feels about such a degree.

Finally I have performed poorly in the past due to illness. I left university about six years ago with a cumulative 2.9 GPA. I also withdrew from many classes and this is reflected on my transcripts as "DR" and "W" grades. How much improvement will Cambridge admissions tutors expect to see? Realistically I could raise my GPA to about a 3.3/3.4, but I don't know if this would be good enough for Cambridge.

Thank you very much in advance!
Original post by Ama2007
Thanks for your previous reply. :smile: :smile:

One more question:

How many applicants do you normally get for the graduate medicine course?

I believe there is only 20 places for the whole course?
I really want to apply to Lucy Cavendish but don't really understand the colleges structure or the differences. I read the website but still not sure.

for example, if one college had alot of applicants would you reject straight away or would you give to other colleges?

Thanks in advance.


There are 22 places for the Graduate Course in Medicine, distributed more or less equally across the three admitting colleges (Lucy Cavendish, Hughes Hall, and Wolfson), and last year, we received around 25 applicants per place, in total.

The admissions process for this course is different from the admissions process for other undergraduate-level courses, in that the three colleges work together on the shortlisting, and the interviewing, to ensure that the best candidates get a place on the course, regardless of which college they have applied to. So you shouldn't worry that college choice will affect your likelihood of getting a place on the course - it really won't!

What college choice will affect is (broadly) the environment where you live, socialize and receive some of your teaching ('supervisions' or tutorials).

I hope this helps for now!
Original post by deli999
Thank you so much for starting this thread. I'm a mature American looking into completing an undergraduate degree in the UK, and Cambridge is one of the universities I'm interested in. I still have some years before I apply and my subject is English.

I read on the Cambridge website that successful US applicants have normally taken the SAT plus five AP tests or SAT subject tests. Is this an expectation of mature Americans as well? Also, is there a preference for AP exams over SAT subject tests? I could take the SAT and SAT subject tests. However because I have already graduated high school I may or may not be able to take AP exams.

How do Cambridge admissions tutors view an associate degree as a qualification? In the States it's normally equivalent to the first two years of a university degree. I am planning to earn one in order to meet the admissions requirements for other universities, but I'm interested to know how Cambridge feels about such a degree.

Finally I have performed poorly in the past due to illness. I left university about six years ago with a cumulative 2.9 GPA. I also withdrew from many classes and this is reflected on my transcripts as "DR" and "W" grades. How much improvement will Cambridge admissions tutors expect to see? Realistically I could raise my GPA to about a 3.3/3.4, but I don't know if this would be good enough for Cambridge.

Thank you very much in advance!


Cambridge colleges will differ in their requirements of mature American students, but I think most would be willing to consider qualifications other than SAT subject tests and APs. We have certainly made several offers for English Literature at Lucy Cavendish, based on Associate Degrees.

However, the level of those offers was quite high: typically, a cumulative GPA of 3.8+. So, I guess my advice would be that if you can re-start your Associate Degree, without using the credit that you earned previously, you should probably consider doing so. Otherwise, you will need to ensure that your GPA on all the courses you take from this point onward is 3.8+, and make it clear on your application that the overall GPA has been pulled down by courses that you took many years ago, not by recent underperformance.
Original post by pieza kake
Thank you for your reply.
My BSc mark is 6.8/10 from University of Patras and my current MSc mark from University of Strathclyde is 76%(without dissertation taken into account).


The usual BSc requirement for this course is 8/10 for Greek applicants, so your grade of 6.8 will diminish your chances of gaining a place on the course, unfortunately. It is possible that your MSc results could offset this, to some extent, but I would recommend that you contact the Department of Zoology directly before you submit an application.

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