Cambridge 2016 entry - is there anything you'd like to know?

Hi! I have a couple more questions.....

A few years ago I completed the first year of the two year IB Diploma Programme but couldn't go on to complete my second year because my IB school closed down due to financial and legal reasons. This was in Poland, where at the time, there were very few IB schools and so when I tried to apply to a different one in a different town they were either really far away from where I lived (too far for me to move due to financial issues) or the places for entry into the second year were already booked and full by those in their first year so there weren't any places and if there were then there was already a long waiting list. During my first year I achieved all 7's in my 6 core IB Diploma related subjects and was also allowed to take extra subjects which were counted towards IB certificates and I got all 7's for those as well. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, due to extenuating circumstances, I believe that I under performed at my Scottish Highers exams and so I am wondering how/if Cambridge (specifically Trinity College) will take my IB results into consideration? Will it count for anything? I also finished high school in America (had all AP classes with academic awards and distinctions) but due to the fact that my parents and I moved a lot in order for them to be able to find work, I have had to retake my final year or two of high school (or equivalent, several times) depending on the rules of the country that I was in at the time which is why I haven't been able to go to university sooner. Will my American qualifications also count for anything? I feel that if the qualifications are equivalent to Scottish Highers then shouldn't they somewhat compensate for my underperformance at my Scottish Highers exams considering that that was due to extenuating circumstances and that my academic record shows that I have never had any problems in school and with obtaining good grades?

I'm not sure where or how I can fully inform Cambridge of my situation and convince them that the 2 B's that I got in my Highers don't at all reflect my competence in Maths and Chemistry considering that I have had an unusual education history and journey of getting to where I am today, where I was faced with challenges like facing homelessness in Canada and Florida and other financial issues along with having an abusive father which no doubt is the reason that I had EDNOS (really it was anorexia but my PCOS prevented me from losing weight) and depression (both which I have dealt with on my own and am mentally in a much better place now with zero urges of going back to the way that I was)? I know that it seems that if I was able to deal with certain challenges in the past then why was this year different but I think that it may be because I had never experienced the death of a loved one before and had never witnessed my mother have a total mental breakdown to the point where she needed around the clock care and supervision and I had never had my dad try to hurt me when in the past he mostly just attacked my mom and on top of everything else for the first time I had to also work 3 part-time jobs while studying and keeping my volunteering responsibilities intact.....I know that others have far worse circumstances and I honestly don't mean to sound like I'm diminishing their significance and would never ever try to, but I too want to go to Cambridge for Medicine and think that it's worth noting to them that I am not some spoiled 'silver spoon fed' kid that had a stable upbringing and that wants to go to Cambridge because her whole family went there and they're all doctors or whatever.....I am the first and one and only person in my family to be going to university, to even have the desire to get a higher education. No one made me choose this profession or this uni. I didn't have any help getting to where I am today with all of the academic achievements that I have earned and the invaluable work/volunteering experience that I have acquired. It was all me and I just think that if I can get through all of that and still want to become a doctor and pursue my dream and be there for others then Cambridge should be able to look past 2 little B's (which were flukes) and see that that kind of passion and determination are qualities that they should want in a prospective applicant and exactly what they need in a student that they could then shape into a real top notch medical professional. Don't you think? (BTW if anyone feels the need to share their own troubles and/or wants to rant about something/anything then feel free to message me )

Sorry for the life story/rant and I know that I write waaayyyy too much but I'm just concerned with how everything will play out...at this point I am just hoping for an invitation for an interview, let alone an offer and a place, but I just know that if I can get that far then I will really be able to show them my potential... Thanks!

Thank you so much for replying to my message.

I also forgot to ask what would be acceptable to mention in the Extenuating Circumstances Form since in my case that only did I have the issue of my uncle's death but also the year before I started my Scottish Highers I had somewhat of a gap year since my college ran out of places for my course and so I mainly had to just work. Once my course started my parents lost their jobs which required me to work while I studied my Highers. Their relationship also fell apart and my father became violent. My mother also became unstable and a danger to herself after she heard the news of my uncle's death. A lot has happened this past year which is why I may only manage to get AAABB (the B's are in Maths and Chemistry) as my Highers results instead of the 5 A's that I was predicted for but I know that I can get 3-4 A1's in my Advanced Highers since the above problems will be resolved by the time that I start studying my Advanced Highers. So should I write everything on the form or just what I believe might have effected my exam results the most like my uncle's death?

Also, are interviews for Medicine centered mainly around Biology topics or due Chemistry, Physics and Maths questions come up as well such as "How would you adjust ethanol to make it a stronger acid?" or "If the Earth has an angular diameter 3.6 times that of the Sun when viewed from the Moon, what is the ratio of densities of the Sun and the Earth?", ect.? Thank you.

Thanks, this helps a lot. Also, how do the university as a whole view getting a part-time job while studying? Is it allowed or does the intense workload mean it isn't possible?


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Hi! I have a couple more questions.....

A few years ago I completed the first year of the two year IB Diploma Programme but couldn't go on to complete my second year because my IB school closed down due to financial and legal reasons. This was in Poland, where at the time, there were very few IB schools and so when I tried to apply to a different one in a different town they were either really far away from where I lived (too far for me to move due to financial issues) or the places for entry into the second year were already booked and full by those in their first year so there weren't any places and if there were then there was already a long waiting list. During my first year I achieved all 7's in my 6 core IB Diploma related subjects and was also allowed to take extra subjects which were counted towards IB certificates and I got all 7's for those as well. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, due to extenuating circumstances, I believe that I under performed at my Scottish Highers exams and so I am wondering how/if Cambridge (specifically Trinity College) will take my IB results into consideration? Will it count for anything? I also finished high school in America (had all AP classes with academic awards and distinctions) but due to the fact that my parents and I moved a lot in order for them to be able to find work, I have had to retake my final year or two of high school (or equivalent, several times) depending on the rules of the country that I was in at the time which is why I haven't been able to go to university sooner. Will my American qualifications also count for anything? I feel that if the qualifications are equivalent to Scottish Highers then shouldn't they somewhat compensate for my underperformance at my Scottish Highers exams considering that that was due to extenuating circumstances and that my academic record shows that I have never had any problems in school and with obtaining good grades?

I'm not sure where or how I can fully inform Cambridge of my situation and convince them that the 2 B's that I got in my Highers don't at all reflect my competence in Maths and Chemistry considering that I have had an unusual education history and journey of getting to where I am today, where I was faced with challenges like facing homelessness in Canada and Florida and other financial issues along with having an abusive father which no doubt is the reason that I had EDNOS (really it was anorexia but my PCOS prevented me from losing weight) and depression (both which I have dealt with on my own and am mentally in a much better place now with zero urges of going back to the way that I was)? I know that it seems that if I was able to deal with certain challenges in the past then why was this year different but I think that it may be because I had never experienced the death of a loved one before and had never witnessed my mother have a total mental breakdown to the point where she needed around the clock care and supervision and I had never had my dad try to hurt me when in the past he mostly just attacked my mom and on top of everything else for the first time I had to also work 3 part-time jobs while studying and keeping my volunteering responsibilities intact.....I know that others have far worse circumstances and I honestly don't mean to sound like I'm diminishing their significance and would never ever try to, but I too want to go to Cambridge for Medicine and think that it's worth noting to them that I am not some spoiled 'silver spoon fed' kid that had a stable upbringing and that wants to go to Cambridge because her whole family went there and they're all doctors or whatever.....I am the first and one and only person in my family to be going to university, to even have the desire to get a higher education. No one made me choose this profession or this uni. I didn't have any help getting to where I am today with all of the academic achievements that I have earned and the invaluable work/volunteering experience that I have acquired. It was all me and I just think that if I can get through all of that and still want to become a doctor and pursue my dream and be there for others then Cambridge should be able to look past 2 little B's (which were flukes) and see that that kind of passion and determination are qualities that they should want in a prospective applicant and exactly what they need in a student that they could then shape into a real top notch medical professional. Don't you think? (BTW if anyone feels the need to share their own troubles and/or wants to rant about something/anything then feel free to message me )

Sorry for the life story/rant and I know that I write waaayyyy too much but I'm just concerned with how everything will play out...at this point I am just hoping for an invitation for an interview, let alone an offer and a place, but I just know that if I can get that far then I will really be able to show them my potential... Thanks!

Posted from TSR Mobile

Hi!

I'm an international student considering applying for undergraduate programs in the U.K and Cambridge would be my ideal university. I'm interested in your Psychological and Behavioural Sciences course and would like to know about admission opportunities.

I'm currently in the IB Diploma Programme and my average score in my first year was about 39-40 points. In my IGCSE's, I got 6 A*'s and 2 A's.

Is there any way to make my application stand out? What would you be looking for in applicants?

Any information you have would be of great help! Cambridge has always been my dream university and I do believe it would help me achieve my full potential.

Do take some time out to reply to this, it would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Hey, I'm not sure if you will know this but it's worth a shot. I read that you judge people on academic achievement and relevant extra experience. I'm currently completing The Brilliant Club. All you need to know about it is that it's a gifted and talented programme where I'm learning about Physics in a form of supervisions (like Cambridge.)

I would like to apply for computer science, and a good grade in Physics is seen as desirable, however the physics I'm learning in this gifted and talented programme is the universe and planets, not electricity and power which is what is useful to Computer Science. As it doesn't focus on the part of physics I would use on the course. Is it worth completing? Wil it help my application at all by mentioning it? Because I don't really want to complete it, but if it can help my application, I will put in all my effort.

Hi, it might not be a super important question, but I'd like to hear your opinion anyway:
In the personal statememt, I'm going to include a few supercurriculars I'll have done. Some are taster days, some are long term programmes. Assuming they are all equally relevant, but the tasters were at prestigious universities whilst the long term schemes weren't:
1. Does the order of inclusion in the personal statement matter?
2.Does it matter which ones I'm expanding on (should I talk more about the long term things)?
3.Also, how much time is put into reading a personal statement? Is more than one person reading it? Thank you.

Hi, sorry I have a few more questions I'm currently studying at a good grammar school, but I think it is possible that I might go to a private school for sixth-form (Charterhouse) but I'm not sure. So I'm wondering does Cambridge's selection process favor ones who are from state schools? I'm wondering as I have read articles about how less Independent school students are getting into Cambridge. And does Cambridge have preferences as to whether an applicant studies IB/Pre-U/A -Levels? Also I looked on the website and for Fitzwilliam College for the admission for PBS course there is a "College test at interview" could you explain to me what that means? Is it a test based on a particular syllabus? And would the interview still be similar to the rest of the college's or would it be shortened because of the test, or be based on the test? Also I'm slightly confused as to what "College-set study/reading at interview" means. If you could explain that would be great!! Thanks a lot!!
(The quotes are admission tests for particular colleges taken from here:http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.a...oural-sciences)

Hi Aemilia. Let me first thank you for helping us by taking time to answer these questions. It is much appreciated.
I am Ankur Sharma from Norway and I applied to Queens College this year for Engineering. Unfortunately I was rejected after being pooled. I was doing IB and was predicted 41 points.
Today I received my IB results and I got 43 points, getting 7 in Economics SL and A in both TOK and extended essay.
I was and am still very keen to study Engineering in Cambridge, and so I am really considering reapplying.

Do you think that my actual grades being better than predicted grades could have a significant positive impact on my application if i were to take a gap year and reapply or do they really not make a huge difference to my application? Also, I will probably gain some work experience during my gap year. Could this help improve my application significantly?

In feedback, I was told that I was not able to apply my knowledge to real life situations (physics) even though I was strong mathematically. They said that my problem-solving was not fast enough.
I think I may be able able to improve on this weakness during the gap year. Moreover, since the rejection I have particiapted and reached the national finals in Physics olympiad here in Norway, perhaps suggesting that I may be able to improve my problem solving skills to the required level for Cambridge.

Do you recommend me to take a gap year and reapply. What do you suggest? I do not want to take a gap year unless my chances of acceptance have improved.

Thanks very much!

Any ideas much appreciated.

Hi, it might not be a super important question, but I'd like to hear your opinion anyway:
In the personal statememt, I'm going to include a few supercurriculars I'll have done. Some are taster days, some are long term programmes. Assuming they are all equally relevant, but the tasters were at prestigious universities whilst the long term schemes weren't:
1. Does the order of inclusion in the personal statement matter?
2.Does it matter which ones I'm expanding on (should I talk more about the long term things)?
3.Also, how much time is put into reading a personal statement? Is more than one person reading it? Thank you.

Hi I got 200/200 in C12 97/100 in S1 200/200 in C34 and 100/100 in M1. Overall 597/600 A*. In further mathsm I got F1,F2,F3,S2,S3 All 100 and 92 in M2. Overall 592/600 A*. In physics AS i got 300/300 and chemistry 290/300, Economics 292/300. I want to study mathematics at cambridge. Would I be able to join cambridge

Good evening,
I'm an Italian student who wants to study in the UK. I am considering applaying to Cambridge but its repputation scares me a bit. Also I don't really have anyone to compare with because our school system is very different from the English one. I would like to know if being an international student may affect my application in some ways and if having pretty high grades but few (nearly none actually) extracurriculars will be much of a problem. Thank you