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Cambridge Decisions 2015 - info and FAQ

I don't have a hope in hell in getting an offer, low UMS, okay interviews but a terrible written assessment. I don't think there is any point in even opening the letter but oh well! Good luck guys

same mate. my ums is below avergae/ average one good interview and one terrible one. no chance.

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Reply 1581

chazz1234

Original post by fluteflute

That document is for 2014 - it's now 2015 :smile:

Here's the 2015 one :smile:

http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/publications/docs/winterpool_2015.pdf

Reply 1582

username1042689

21

Original post by suzanamarieXD

People have been saying they think they got a score out of 10 but I don't know how they're figuring it out hahaha

Nobody has a clue, they're just speculating. You'll get the same thing with pooled people being certain they're autopooled. But there's no particular evidence for it. Don't worry. :smile:

Reply 1583

SaltedPeanuts

3

I don't think it works like that. When my son received his offer from Christ's 3 years ago it was a thin A5 sized envelope. Will see what my daughter's response looks like, hopefully on Saturday!

Reply 1584

cameron245

Original post by suzanamarieXD

Is there an actual rank/criteria for what constitutes what score? Like a mark scheme, essentially hahaha?

Story time involving these scores. I ... gasp ... applied to Oxford* last year, and when I asked for feedback they did send me scores for both my interview and my written work (English applicant). Oh, and the admissions exam (ELAT), but I think that's an Oxford thing only.

For reference, my interview score last year was a 4/10, which is obviously well below offer. I had a Skype interview**, and it was absolutely awful. Not that it was any scarier than normal - though I don't like Skype as much as natural conversation - but it felt rushed and we spent 5-10 minutes dealing with technical issues.

They gave me a little bit of reasoning to my low interview score, basically saying I wasn't good at analyzing the poem they gave me (absolutely right, I'd barely touched poetry before, especially not in school) and that I didn't have enough knowledge on the books I'd mentioned in my personal statement (also true, I did absolutely no revision). I, for instance, had not touched Moby Dick for over a year before the interview, but I had written a sentence about reading it in my statement, and that took up a whole third of the interview!

They also said I was inflexible and not well read enough (both true, but fingers crossed that I fixed those problems this time around).

So, if you were able to bring up a few points and work through the questions with some sort of method during the interview, even if you were nervous or said some daft things, chances are you did better than me last year, which means more than a 4.

Just goes to show that no matter how much you prepare, you can never really "prepare" for an Oxbridge interview!

*Oxford have (technically) lower requirements for American students - 3 AP 5's instead of 5 - so I thought Oxford would have been "easier" to get into; wrong of course. This year I did Cambridge instead so I could try and pull off a bit of a David Mitchell :biggrin:

. It was really a whim decision though; my gap year is totally unrelated to reapplying and I decided to try at Cambridge just for the heck of it. I'm not expecting to get in, but I'm of course hoping. I definitely felt ten times as prepared and confident this year, even if I wasn't asked about the specific things I'd prepared on.

**I'm English but I lived in America during my high school years, and didn't have a way to come back for the interview. Skype was the only option, but it was a pretty bad option. I'd have been rejected either way, but I feel with the 20 or so minute Skype chat I wasn't given as much time as I could've used.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1585

username1162972

18

Original post by Elcor

Is it basically a very difficult maths exam? What's the grading system?

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S,1,2,3,U. Very difficult exams around double offers then places are given.

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Reply 1586

username1042689

21

Original post by Elcor

Is it basically a very difficult maths exam? What's the grading system?

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S is the best grade, followed by 1, 2, 3, U. 1, 1 is the standard STEP offer and it's ridiculously hard to get. Trinity College even give out S, 1 offers sometimes.

Reply 1587

newblood

19

Original post by ClickItBack

Gotta say while I have sympathy for all you peeps waiting, I'm gonna reserve the most for the mathmos.

They can't even truly celebrate or say 'yup, I'm going to Cambridge' until something like 8 months from now . . . STEP is basically like being reinterviewed in June and waiting 2 months for a reply :frown:

.

Any sympathy for me bro :frown:

Reply 1588

ClickItBack

18

Original post by Elcor

Is it basically a very difficult maths exam? What's the grading system?

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Yup, it's pretty difficult - only around 50% of those who are made an offer get in (so probably under 50% actually meet the required grades because they do let in people who miss slightly sometimes).

Reply 1589

newblood

19

Original post by paradoxicalme

S is the best grade, followed by 1, 2, 3, U. 1, 1 is the standard STEP offer and it's ridiculously hard to get. Trinity College even give out S, 1 offers sometimes.

Trinity and Churchill did give a handful of S,S offers last year. Though Kings also give one or two 1,2s and Girton give a fair amount of 1,2s.

Though yes, by far, most offers seem to be 1,1

Reply 1590

ClickItBack

18

Original post by newblood

Any sympathy for me bro :frown:

Hah, you've got something like S, 1 already right? No sympathy for you if you get an unconditional . . . much sympathy if they force you to retake :wink:

.

Reply 1591

CluffyUno

6

Original post by ClickItBack

Gotta say while I have sympathy for all you peeps waiting, I'm gonna reserve the most for the mathmos.

They can't even truly celebrate or say 'yup, I'm going to Cambridge' until something like 8 months from now . . . STEP is basically like being reinterviewed in June and waiting 2 months for a reply :frown:

.

Right now I really just want the opportunity to give it a go with "a place at Cambridge" as my motivation.

Reply 1592

Minerva

OP

17

Original post by mwatters

If you're rejected from your chosen college on the Saturday, but you've then also been given a straight out offer from another college through the pool, will you find both that information out in the Saturday letter?

Not in the same letter, no. The letter from your preference college will tell you that another college has picked you up, but my understanding is that you won't know which college until you hear directly from them, and that might not be on Saturday.

Original post by marsbms

Yes, you will for sure.

But I haven't quite understood if you will receive both a letter from your chosen college and the one that fished you, or if you will hear from your chosen college saying that you've been pooled and fished and later on a letter from the new college with the official offer.

See above

Reply 1593

username1162972

18

Original post by paradoxicalme

S is the best grade, followed by 1, 2, 3, U. 1, 1 is the standard STEP offer and it's ridiculously hard to get. Trinity College even give out S, 1 offers sometimes.

i heard someone who got a SSS A*A*A* offer 2 years ago. he didnt get it but got picked by another college.

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Reply 1594

IDGE

Original post by GenericUser2

I've heard that you can tell if you have been accepted/rejected based off the type of letter you receive.

For example: An A4 envelope which feels thick would suggest an acceptance vs an A5 envelope which feels relatively empty, suggesting rejection.

Does this have any validity?

P.S. I know it might seem relatively pointless, but it's annoying me for some reason.

Not valid in all cases - for example, a girl from my school received a small letter from Clare and she presumed it was a rejection (and nearly didn't open it). Turns out they sent her the single sheet stating her offer in the small envelope followed by another latter with all of the other admin stuff.

I think in general that an A4 letter suggests an offer, but I can't be too sure. I wouldn't try to overthink it if i were you - once you see the letter you'll only be a second away from opening it and finding out yourself so there doesn't much point stressing about it :smile:

Reply 1595

suzanamarieXD

Original post by DCMed96

Anyone expecting a sneaky rejection?

I'm hoping for more of a cheeky rejection, myself.

Reply 1596

username1162972

18

Original post by newblood

Trinity and Churchill did give a handful of S,S offers last year. Though Kings also give one or two 1,2s and Girton give a fair amount of 1,2s.

Though yes, by far, most offers seem to be 1,1

1,2s ???? whatttt. that aint fair to people who narrowly miss SS offers and dont get accepted though.

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Reply 1597

suzanamarieXD

Original post by IDGE

Not valid in all cases - for example, a girl from my school received a small letter from Clare and she presumed it was a rejection (and nearly didn't open it). Turns out they sent her the single sheet stating her offer in the small envelope followed by another latter with all of the other admin stuff.

I think in general that an A4 letter suggests an offer, but I can't be too sure. I wouldn't try to overthink it if i were you - once you see the letter you'll only be a second away from opening it and finding out yourself so there doesn't much point stressing about it :smile:

Thank God! I was really curious about this but didn't want to ask/someone else to ask because I was scared of the answer lol - good to know it can go either way!!

Reply 1598

newblood

19

Original post by physicsmaths

1,2s ???? whatttt. that aint fair to people who narrowly miss SS offers and dont get accepted though.

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I very much doubt anyone who just missed an SS offer doesnt get accepted to another college. Though i obviously cant confirm this

Reply 1599

marsbms

5

What's the meaning of this sentence "154 pooled applicants received offers from the College that pooled them " ?

Could your college "take you back" ?

Cambridge Decisions 2015 - info and FAQ

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