Are my grades good enough for Cambridge?

Hi,

I am a year 12 student who is taking AS levels in mathematics, economics, Spanish and government and politics. I am currently predicted 4 A's at AS level and my GCSE grades were:

A*-Chemistry
A*-Spanish
A*-French
A*-History
A*-Geography
A-Mathematics
A-Physics
A-English language
A-RS
B-Biology
B-English literature

Are these grades and subjects suitable for a potential Cambridge student?

Reply 1

TheStudent18

Original post by Whittick

Well done on those GCSE results!

I didn't apply to Cambridge, but I think they mainly look at your UMS results of your AS-levels. The general rule is to get ~95% UMS in each subject.

Reply 2

cherryred90s

Original post by Whittick

I'd definitely say so! Those are some good grades you've got. Are you confident that you'll achieve your predicted AS grades? if so, I don't see why you won't be a suitable applicant :smile:

what are you looking to apply for?

Reply 3

Whittick

Original post by TheStudent18

Well done on those GCSE results!

I didn't apply to Cambridge, but I think they mainly look at your UMS results of your AS-levels. The general rule is to get ~95% UMS in each subject.

Thank you! Feels like so long ago now, time flies by! And so I need to be looking at getting over 90% in each module I am taking then, is that right?

Reply 4

Whittick

Original post by adriana95

I'd definitely say so! Those are some good grades you've got. Are you confident that you'll achieve your predicted AS grades? if so, I don't see why you won't be a suitable applicant :smile:

what are you looking to apply for?

If I can sort out my mechanics module then I would certainly hope so! And economics most likely, but maybe politics and international relations..

Reply 5

TheStudent18

Original post by Whittick

Thank you! Feels like so long ago now, time flies by! And so I need to be looking at getting over 90% in each module I am taking then, is that right?

Yes - your total UMS should be around 95%. So for instance, AS-level OCR Biology has a total UMS of 300. This means that in order to be competitive, you must accumulate around 285 UMS.

I'm not sure if it HAS to be over 90% in every module, or if it just has to that overall (i.e. get 80% in one test and 100% in another). Hopefully someone can clear this up better for you.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 6

meowie

Original post by Whittick

It depends on a few things. I know some people whom got all A's and A*s in their Alevels and GCSEs but still got rejected. There are some entry tests which are EXTREMELY difficult to do that you have to pass to get in (google them). Also you must have done lots of things outside of education e.g if you wanted to do law get work experiences, go talk to some lawyers anything to add in your personal statement is great. :smile:

good luck

Reply 7

loperdoper

Original post by meowie

good luck

I believe this is more an Oxford thing than Cambridge.

OP - your GCSEs aren't that important with Cambridge. Focus on getting the absolute highest UMS you can in AS.

Reply 8

meowie

Original post by loperdoper

I believe this is more an Oxford thing than Cambridge.

OP - your GCSEs aren't that important with Cambridge. Focus on getting the absolute highest UMS you can in AS.

No it's a Cambridge thing. All 4 of them applied to Cambridge Uni lol.

Reply 9

Colmans

Original post by meowie

good luck

There were 37,000 students in the UK who got A*AA or better at A2 in 2011 (second year of A*), of whom 3,274 got a place at Cambridge. Almost 5,000 of those who were rejected went on to get A*AA or better as well.
Cambridge make it clear that they discriminate between candidates on the basis of UMS, interview performance and overall record. Entrance tests are not pass/fail but another indicator of ability. They are not interested in extra-curriculars and apart from medicine do not care about work experience except as one of many ways of showing interest in your course.

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/admissions/research/docs/offa_pi_report.pdf
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/undergrad_admissions_statistics_2011_cycle.pdf