Cambridge: does getting an interview mean the academic side is over?

Does getting an interview from Cambridge mean that the academic side of the application is over - meaning that you don't have to worry about whether your grades are good enough, you have to just perform really well in the interview?

Reply 1

Chief Wiggum

20

Original post by Da Di Doo

Does getting an interview from Cambridge mean that the academic side of the application is over - meaning that you don't have to worry about whether your grades are good enough, you have to just perform really well in the interview?

No, the whole application is considered after the interview.

Reply 2

Illiberal Liberal

2

No, you still need to meet your offer (in the event that you get one).

Reply 3

Mindless Behavior

11

Nope. I know someone who was rejected after interview because their AS UMS average and GCSE grades were poor

Reply 4

Da Di Doo

OP

19

Original post by Law-Hopeful

No, you still need to meet your offer (in the event that you get one).

Well yes, that is obvious. But getting the offer is the hard part here.

After the interview do you have to worry if your academics are good enough? Imo I think you don't because they won't waste money interviewing people they believe aren't good enough (academically).

Original post by Chief Wiggum

No, the whole application is considered after the interview.

But on the website it says they interview anyone with a realistic chance. If they interview you that means they are saying you have a realistic chance?

Reply 5

Da Di Doo

OP

19

Original post by Mindless Behavior

Nope. I know someone who was rejected after interview because their AS UMS average and GCSE grades were poor

Oh ok... But why were they offered an interview then? On the website it says they interview everyone with a realistic chance...

Reply 6

somemightsay888

20

Original post by Da Di Doo

But on the website it says they interview anyone with a realistic chance. If they interview you that means they are saying you have a realistic chance?

Jesus Christ...

Reply 7

Chief Wiggum

20

Original post by Da Di Doo

After the interview do you have to worry if your academics are good enough? Imo I think you don't because they won't waste money interviewing people they believe aren't good enough (academically).

Well I'd have said that a candidate with 99% UMS is stronger than one with 90% UMS, even though it's likely both would get interviewed.

The whole application is definitely considered when deciding who to give offers to. They do not only consider interview performance post-interview.

Reply 8

Illiberal Liberal

2

Original post by Da Di Doo

After the interview do you have to worry if your academics are good enough? Imo I think you don't because they won't waste money interviewing people they believe aren't good enough (academically).
Everyone is different.

I would expect almost everyone to have some fear of results day and the possibility of them missing their offer, I know I was extremely anxious of getting the grades I needed - but I think that's natural.

Either way, I don't really understand how this helps you in your application...

Reply 9

Da Di Doo

OP

19

Original post by Chief Wiggum

Well I'd have said that a candidate with 99% UMS is stronger than one with 90% UMS, even though it's likely both would get interviewed.

The whole application is definitely considered when deciding who to give offers to. They do not only consider interview performance post-interview.

Yeah that's a fair point

Reply 10

Da Di Doo

OP

19

Original post by Law-Hopeful

Everyone is different.

I would expect almost everyone to have some fear of results day and the possibility of them missing their offer, I know I was extremely anxious of getting the grades I needed - but I think that's natural.

Either way, I don't really understand how this helps you in your application...

It helps me because I am so worried that I'm not good enough for Cambridge but am planning to apply anyways (after I get my results though). I just wanted to know that if I did manage to get an interview then would I be 'safe' - pass the academic side.

I know it's just wishful thinking but I thought I'd ask anyways lol.

Hell naw.

Original post by Da Di Doo

Does getting an interview from Cambridge mean that the academic side of the application is over - meaning that you don't have to worry about whether your grades are good enough, you have to just perform really well in the interview?

Getting the offer is the most important hoop to jump through, to be sure. Of those who make it to the interview, more than 70% do not get offers I have been told.

To meet the requirements of conditional acceptance, they can set a very high bar - one that 5% or so miss.

My d got an offer with specific requirements, to score in about the 98th percentile on her French BAC, but higher in maths and other subjects. As such, she worked under great stress right up to the end. No coasting.

Best of luck.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 13

ClickItBack

18

Original post by Da Di Doo

Does getting an interview from Cambridge mean that the academic side of the application is over - meaning that you don't have to worry about whether your grades are good enough, you have to just perform really well in the interview?

No. Interviews are an additional data point to your grades. When decisions are made, all data points are taken into consideration.

We don't know quite how Cambridge weights the interview vs the grades, but it is clear that the latter are still highly significant in the process even after the interview. Their own research shows that AS UMS correlate significantly with Tripos performance in the majority of degree subjects; it would therefore be foolish to ignore that information on applicants.

Also, having a 'realistic chance' doesn't mean that everyone has the same chance. A candidate with 99% UMS may only need an interview score of 7 to reassure the DoS that she is Oxbridge-standard; a candidate with 86% may need to put in a significantly better performance and score 9 or 10 to get an offer.

(numbers above are made up but illustrate the general idea)

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 14

Stickman

19

No I still got rejected due to poor UMS even though my interview couldn't have gotten any better

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 15

alow

19

Original post by Stickman

No I still got rejected due to poor UMS even though my interview couldn't have gotten any better

Posted from TSR Mobile

Your interview could have gone better. They wouldn't have interviewed you if you didn't have a chance.

Reply 16

Stickman

19

Original post by alow

Your interview could have gone better. They wouldn't have interviewed you if you didn't have a chance.

Well the feedback should've said that rather than telling me my UMS isn't good enough but my interview was fine.

Reply 17

BJack

19

Original post by Stickman

Well the feedback should've said that rather than telling me my UMS isn't good enough but my interview was fine.

"Fine" is not the same as "couldn't be better".

Reply 18

Stickman

19

Original post by BJack

"Fine" is not the same as "couldn't be better".

Well no - I paraphrased. They specifically said that I did not get rejected due to my interview. Obviously no interview is perfect. It was only my UMS bringing me down.

Reply 19

Colmans

11

Original post by alow

Your interview could have gone better. They wouldn't have interviewed you if you didn't have a chance.

Not necessarily true. Cambridge admission is not a hurdle but a first past the post system. There is no "good enough" interview or "good enough UMS grade" or total application. You have to beat the competition. So you might score 10 on the interview but lose a space to somebody else who got 10 but scored higher on the written aspects.

Whether or not you have a chance depends on the strength of the field. There may be people who could do quite badly on the interview and still get a place ahead of you because of the strength of their application. There will be other people who are marginally stronger than you on paper, but where if their interview is weak you would be the one that got the offer.

In truth most strong on paper candidates are also strong at interview.

The quote I am looking for seems now to be hidden from public view behind a raven code, but the admissions handbook interviewers advice used to say that the interview should not be given excessive weight in the overall score.

Cambridge: does getting an interview mean the academic side is over?

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