Applying again after a rejection?

What's Cambridge's attitude to re-applying? I know some unis who actually like it when a student applies more than once, as it shows dedication to the uni, or does Cambridge not care and just see the grades.

Also, if you were to attain the entry requirements, would you be more preferred over someone who was predicted higher grades than you?

EDIT: Would it be silly re-applying considering I didn't even get an interview before?

Will I ask for feedback?

(edited 8 years ago)

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Reply 1

Doones

Original post by urkadee

Cambridge welcomes reapplications but recommends you apply to a different college.

It pays little attention to predicted grades.

You might like this thread:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3076241
Cambridge Re-applicants 2016

Reply 2

urkadee

Original post by jneill

Thank you! Why apply to a different college?

I suppose I had applied to the one with the most rejections, lol go me.

Reply 3

Doones

Original post by urkadee

Thank you! Why apply to a different college?

I suppose I had applied to the one with the most rejections, lol go me.

It avoids a potentially awkward, oh you again, moment at interview.... :wink:

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Reply 4

urkadee

Original post by jneill

It avoids a potentially awkward, oh you again, moment at interview.... :wink:

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I hadn't even got an interview :frown:

Reply 5

Doones

Original post by urkadee

I hadn't even got an interview :frown:

Ah - but still probably best for a fresh start at a different college.

Good luck!

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Reply 6

Colmans

Original post by urkadee

Thank you! Why apply to a different college?

I suppose I had applied to the one with the most rejections, lol go me.

Although your overall chances of getting in should not be affected it is difficult not to believe that at the margins colleges differ in how they value things. So for Economics (which I know most about) some might value Maths UMS above all else, others might actively like to see English or History. Some may be very background blind , others may feel they particularly want to give somebody from a disadvantaged situation a bit more benefit of the doubt. It's a system run by humans after all.
Admissions tutors come and go so this may vary from year to year but if you happened not to gel with one interviewer it would be an awful shame to get them again. Likewise if you had been strong on paper but made a real mess of the interview they may just remember.

You should be aware that almost everybody exceeds their offer, so that you should regard A*A*A as about right post-qual for Arts applicants and you need A*A*A* for a competitive application for NatSci/Economics/Medicine

Reply 7

Doones

Oh, and A*A*A* guarantees an interview except Maths/Medicine).

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Reply 8

Doones

Another point: some colleges, for some courses, take a dimmer view of gap years. Some encourage or are neutral about them.

Might be worth taking that into account.

Eg Queens' for Maths.

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Reply 9

urkadee

Original post by jneill

That's true, but surely the excuse of not getting in the year before would be valid enough? I applied to Kings for maths the year before.

I know that they want 3 A*, but I feel they favour applicants that study like 6. I study 4 but even then I feel at a disadvantage.

Reply 10

urkadee

Original post by Colmans

Yeah, as kings asked me to send my UMS. Thanks for your detailed response!

Reply 11

Doones

Original post by urkadee

No they don't favour 6. Very few applicants have 6. Many with "only" 3 get offers.

They would normally want to see that you are doing something "constructive" to your subject during your gap year.

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I'm reapplying too!

I think you should also bear in mind that reapplying will also mean that you will have to consider a Gap Year, and most universities will probably also want to see that you have a genuine purpose for taking a year out. If your heart is set on Cambridge, then I wouldn't tell you to NOT reapply, but you should consider other universities as well. If you have missed out at Cambridge, chances are that you will still get another offer from a top 10 university and you may find that you have a marginally less stressful university experience. I took a Gap Year in order to reapply to universities, which in some ways helped because I already had my A level results. However, I was still rejected from Cambridge, but I really think that they made the best decision in doing that. I don't respond well to stress and it is likely that I wouldn't have thrived in the Cambridge environment- one also has to respect that one is probably rejected for a reason. We all have our talents, but at the end of the day we need to be in a place that can nurture and develop them so that we can grow as individuals.

Reply 14

bored565

^Screw that, it's Cambridge. Get decent results (3 A*s with a 93 average, min) and reapply.

I was rejected from Balliol, Oxford for PPE but reapplied to Trinity, Cambridge and got in for law. LSE gave me an unconditional within four weeks when their average response time is something like eight and KCL offered me a £27k scholarship. I ended up rejecting Durham and UCL before they could respond, but I'm pretty sure I would have got offers from them too.

So long as you're not one of those ridiculous people who thinks they're God's gift to their subject but only scrapes A*AA or something you'll be fine.

Reply 15

jazhiggs1997

Original post by urkadee

Hi.

Mostly likely, yes, they would prefer someone with higher grades. It's extremely competitive and just scraping the requirements isn't often enough. As someone who was rejected from Oxford without interview, even with very good references and grades (predicted A*A*AA for a AAA course), I personally wouldn't apply again to Oxford.
Cambridge is a different university, yes, but I don't think re-applying is a good idea. Here's what my head of sixth form said about re-applying (my friend wanted to re-apply for Cam. She got 11 A*s at GCSE and is predicted A*A*A* at A-Level but she messed up her interview):

1) Yes, Cam welcome people who are applying again. However, there are other universities in the UK that are excellent. By putting blinkers on and wanting to re-apply, you're ignoring other opportunities that are coming your way this year (unless you haven't got any offer at all- in that case, stop reading and apply again!). There are not many universities that are similar to Cambridge in terms of prestige aesthetic style. However the 'feel' of Cambridge and Oxford can be found at Edinburgh (think city university, ancient university, tradition, pretty grass etc), Durham and Nottingham (halls of residence feel like Oxf colleges) and at other places, and though it's not the complete package, all of these universities are excellent.

2) Not getting in is not the end of the world, and there are some positives. I have some friends at Cambridge and they all say that the work load is immense, the pressure is awful, and though they're having the time of their lives, so are all of my other friends at other universities; I'm sure you can handle pressure (otherwise you wouldn't have applied first time round) but think to yourself... do you really want to be extremely stressed for 3/4 years?

3) Not going to Cambridge doesn't mean that you'll be disadvantaged as long as you're a good student and person, and work hard.
Take, for example, Edinburgh university. English Lit graduates at Edinburgh earn more than at Oxford, even though the courses are actually very similar (I've firmed Ed after a rejection from Oxf). They also score higher on course satisfaction (according to the 'which' website, so take it or leave it).

4) you were rejected for a reason. Everyone is. The university has a shocking acceptance rate (as do other russell group universities- Bath, Exeter, Edinburgh, Bristol, UCL but not nearly as bad!) and if you did not get an interview first time round it is unlikely that you would get one a second time round. They might not have liked your personal statement or how you did in the test... whatever it was, they rejected you for a reason.

But, then again, there's no harm in trying again. Why not go for it?
Hope I wasn't too harsh. Best wishes.

Reply 16

bored565

^my head of sixth form said everything above too (bar the Edinburgh point) but then I found out it was because she was being really arsey and didn't want to have to rewrite my reference.

There may have been a reason for your rejection, but it's entirely feasible that that reason could have been unfair. Balliol rejected me because I messed up the entrance test - every other part of my application was decent, but they just weren't having me because in that particular day I was under-performing.

There are other good universities, don't get me wrong, but Oxford and Cambridge are a cut above the rest. Nowhere else teaches in such an intense fashion, and that's a massive reason why Oxbridge graduates are so employable. Of course, that might not be your cup of tea, but as mentioned above if this is a case of reapplying it's something you've thought about somewhat carefully.

Bear in mind too that a productive gap year will have massive benefits in the long-term. I've built up eight months' experience of working in Westminster politics, and I've got an interview next week for an internship with a former cabinet minister; I'm also self-teaching a level maths and started learning Mandarin Chinese a couple of months ago. While my friends are doing internships and stuff in their holidays next year when I start at uni, I'll be able to chill, do some revision and perhaps a bit of travelling because I've already got a tonne of experience.

If you got offers from other universities this year there's no reason to presume they won't give you offers again, particularly with the decent results you'll need if you're going to reapply to Cambridge. You have nothing to lose from reapplying, and everything to gain.

Reply 17

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

Original post by jneill

Oh, and A*A*A* guarantees an interview except Maths/Medicine).

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I think I might step in and issue a subtle correction as this rumour seems to be doing the rounds. Nothing guarantees an interview. There are criteria (such as A*A*A* post-A level or 93% in best 3/3 most relevant which require candidates to be pooled, but there is no requirement that these candidates must be interviewed before this. It is extremely unlikely that such candidates would be made an offer without having been interviewed.

We aim to interview all candidates who have a realistic chance of admission but there are circumstances in which candidates who meet compulsory pool criteria may not be invited for interview.

Reply 18

Colmans

Original post by Peterhouse Admissions

In fairness to jneill it was the Christ's admissions tutor last year who implied that because you had to be pooled with those criteria you would have to be interviewed so that the information was complete. However I think we all assumed that you would still not be pooled if you hadn't met other basic criteria such as the essential subjects, eg: 3A* in languages but applying for NatSci as an extreme example.
It would seem tough to pool somebody who had absolutely no chance of an offer although I guess nowadays there is no delay associated with being pooled so the "political" or pr value of pooling to assuage a school or parent has diminished.

Reply 19

dragonkeeper999

Original post by Colmans

Case study:

One of my friends at sixth form was applying to medicine, had exceeded the 93% autopooling criteria, but put as her 5th choice NatSci at Cambridge. Obviously her personal statement was all about medicine. Therefore, despite meeting the autopooling criteria she wasn't even invited to interview since she clearly wasn't that interested in the course.