cambridge and alevel marks

Hi there, I am interested in studying at Cambridge in the future and was just wondering...

When your course says 'Minimum requirement is A*AA', do they really mean it?

I often find that those who actually go to Oxbridge all have 4A* at alevel, so should one aim for perfection and give up if they only scrape the minimum requirement?

Reply 1

username1560589

Yes they do mean it-most courses have higher requirements so you should be grateful if you don't think you can achieve it.

They don't all have 4A* though a lot do. Obviously you should aim for the highest you can, but assuming you do well at AS and interview, those grades(A*AA) will be enough. If they needed higher, they would set the requirement higher.

Reply 2

Chlorophile

Original post by shezg

It's a "minimum requirement", meaning the minimum that's expected. It's definitely possible to get in with those grades but it is true that most people have grades exceeding those. If I remember correctly, the average number of A*s for science students at Cambridge is over 3. For most students, getting the offer in the first place is the hard part - once they have the offer, getting the grades would generally be seen as less challenging (apparently fewer than 10% of Oxford offer holders miss their offer). Something important to bear in mind for Cambridge is that they look at your actual percentage UMS. To have a reasonable chance of getting into Cambridge, you'd want your average UMS % to be above 90%, preferably closer to 95%. If you can get that kind of average at AS, getting an A* at A2 oughtn't be too difficult.

Reply 3

loperdoper

Your offer will probably be A*AA, but the level of attainment you need to get that offer generally requires you to have 90%+ UMS at AS, so by that stage you're likely to get straight A*'s at A2 anyway.

Reply 4

TVIO

Cambridge's website say average successful applicant has a 95% UMS average. But having one doesn't guarantee an offer and not having one doesn't guarantee a rejection. It's always worth applying. I got an offer with 91.7% UMS (though 4A* predicted) and (what I thought were) pretty bad interviews. Generally they do say if you've got 85% or below don't bother, you probably won't even be interviewed. And though the standard arts offer is A*AA, they can vary this (my computer science offer is A*A*A*A and STEP) and some have A*AB offers etc. I believe the average cambridge student has 2.5A* at A level and they do say 'most' exceed their offers.

Reply 5

Danil0u

I wouldn't get too hung up about average UMS, my average was 87% and they made me an offer, it goes on a mixture of grades, personal statement and SAQ :smile: