Economics at Cambridge!??

As long as your a levels are really good (90+ for an interview) they dont care about your gcses. not having further maths is a major disadvantage though so take it to AS at least!

Reply 2

OP

Ohh alright thankss!! :smile:

what are you studying at the moment?
are you currently doing your a levels?

Reply 3

No problem haha :smile:

GCSEs: 10A*s
I'm doing my a levels (year 12). I do maths, further maths , economics, physics and critical thinking and i'm hoping to apply to cambridge for economics if I can get good ums scores that is haha.. :colondollar:

Reply 4

OP

WOW!
you have an amazing set of GCSE's to start off with!
Congratulations for those! :smile:

& I'm sure you'll ace your a levels and get into cambridge! All the best!! :biggrin:

& are you sure my gcse's wont let me down if i apply to a university like cambridge? :frown:

also, what else do cambridge give importance to apart from AS UMS scores?

Reply 5

Haha thanks a lot!! Trust me they do not care about your gcses at all. A dude from Cambridge even gave a talk at our school telling us they don't look at gcses. They will look at your personal statement and any tests that you've sat depending on what college you're applying to as some have entrance exams etc

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Reply 6

dragonkeeper999

17

Cambridge primarily looks at your AS UMS scores (that's the actual scores you get - not just the grade) and your interview, as well as your personal statement and any additional tests you sit, when deciding who to make offers too. GCSEs are probably not looked at nearly so closely, so even though yours are definitely not the strongest set of GCSE grades I really wouldn't let that put you off applying.

UMS-wise, most successful applicants have at least 90%+ UMS scores, often 95%+, so if you are getting AS results with these kinds of scores (or even a bit below - e.g. 85%+) Cambridge could be within reach. Some colleges/ courses also set tests, such as the TSA test - there are usually sample papers online for you to try, so make sure you do this if you will need to sit a test!

Remember that the interview is also very important - revise all your relevant AS subjects beforehand and make sure you have some examples of economics-related extracurriculars to discuss in case they ask. They may also look at your personal statement, so be prepared to answer questions linked to that too.

Reply 7

OP

That's certainly a relief for me!!
Thank you so much for the information and help, I really appreciate it!!

Reply 8

OP

Are you currently studying for your A levels?
If so, what have you taken?

Reply 9

dragonkeeper999

17

Original post by Vish_06

Are you currently studying for your A levels?
If so, what have you taken?

No, I completed my A levels a couple of years ago and am currently studying Natural Sciences at Cambridge.

I took Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry + general studies at A level, a biology related EPQ, and AS Biology, French and Critical Thinking.

p.s. if you want people to answer, click "reply" - I only happened to see your question because I came across the thread again, but if you click "reply" I'll be sent a notification.

Reply 10

Looking at his profile it looks like he goes to cambridge already!! :smug:

Reply 11

Oops my TSR app is clearly lagging behind haha :redface:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 12

OP

Original post by dragonkeeper999

No, I completed my A levels a couple of years ago and am currently studying Natural Sciences at Cambridge.

I took Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry + general studies at A level, a biology related EPQ, and AS Biology, French and Critical Thinking.

p.s. if you want people to answer, click "reply" - I only happened to see your question because I came across the thread again, but if you click "reply" I'll be sent a notification.

ohhh congratulations!!!! :biggrin:

sorry i didn't know!
also, did the epq really make you stand out as an applicant?
as in, do you think its worth doing?
I'm thinking of doing EPQ, but it seems like a lot of effort and I don't know whether to do it or just focus on my a levels.

Reply 13

OP

Original post by hopefulecon12

Oops I'm my TSR app is clearly lagging behind haha :redface:

haha it certainly is!! :biggrin:

btw have you done any work experience yet??

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 14

Nope not yet. I'm going to do some work experience at a hedge fund in July though and another bit of work experience at an investment bank. That's all though. I'm gonna concentrate my summer mainly on reading around the subject etc :smile:

how about yourself?

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(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 15

OP

Original post by hopefulecon12

Nope not yet. I'm going to do some work experience at a hedge fund in July though and another bit of work experience at an investment bank. That's all though. I'm gonna concentrate my summer mainly on reading around the subject etc :smile:

how about yourself?

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Ooh that sounds good!
I've done a week's work experience in a bank but that's it. I'm currently looking for some more work experience to do over the summer! :smile:

Reply 16

dragonkeeper999

17

Original post by Vish_06

ohhh congratulations!!!! :biggrin:

sorry i didn't know!
also, did the epq really make you stand out as an applicant?
as in, do you think its worth doing?
I'm thinking of doing EPQ, but it seems like a lot of effort and I don't know whether to do it or just focus on my a levels.

Thanks

No problem - I just like to remind people, otherwise I'll miss their reply which would be sad :frown:

Hmmm, I did mention my EPQ in my interview - although I was interviewed for Physical NatSci so not sure how bothered they were about it. It does show that you are interested in the subject, can write long essays/ reports, can plan and carry out experiments (in my case, as it was a practical based EPQ), can use your own initiative, have spare time to pursue your interest in your subject to a high level outside of your A levels, etc. so I would say that it definitely didn't harm my application, and hopefully helped a bit :smile:

I would say do it! It was a fair amount of effort, but quite a few people managed to get most of the work done over the summer holidays if they were organised and you should have plenty of spare time outside of your A levels to get it done - loads of people manage just fine :smile:

Obviously your A levels are going to be the most important thing - but remember that you are highly unlikely to be given an offer conditional upon your EPQ result, so if you do find yourself struggling with the workload you don't have to stress too much about getting an A*/A.

This all being said, if you had to pick between EPQ and taking up AS Further Maths definitely go for the Further Maths - it will be SO much more helpful at uni. Although you could probably fit both into your timetable without too many problems...

Reply 17

Chief Wiggum

20

Original post by hopefulecon12

Haha thanks a lot!! Trust me they do not care about your gcses at all. A dude from Cambridge even gave a talk at our school telling us they don't look at gcses. They will look at your personal statement and any tests that you've sat depending on what college you're applying to as some have entrance exams etc

Posted from TSR Mobile

Cambridge's website and the Admissions Tutor on TSR say otherwise.

It's confusing for applicants if different people say different things. So someone from Cambridge at your school said they don't look at GCSEs, whereas the admissions tutor on TSR said that Cambridge does look at GCSEs.

Reply 18

It depends. If you have d's in english and maths then yh they will care I suppose. If you have 2 a stars rest as some bs and get in the 90s for a levels u ll be invited for an interview..

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Reply 19