Ask an Admissions Tutor - International Applicants (Sept. 8-15)

OP

Original post by caroline brady

Hi. thanks for doing this. do answer my doubts if you can ok?

1.

whats the point of having a polished UCAS statement when the candidates past qualifications are abysmal? you mentioned earlier in the thread that the results of all candidates are compiled onto a spreadsheet. surely the admission tutors are not going to waste time reading everyone's personal statement?

they would first filter the students according to the recent grades attained and then go on to read the personal statements belonging to exceptional students who meet the pre-requisite grades, depending on the degree course? which means that students with not so good results will be dumped onto another pile which won't be looked at ever again?

2.

I have bad AS results. B grades in 3 subjects. The results were a culmination of my family and I having to relocate to Asia due to my parent's job posting and me having to settle into a new international school for expat kids and having to settle into a new country. It did take a huge toll on me but I am not using this as an excuse.

I plan to do either HSPS or law at Cambridge. I will be resitting for my AS to get my grades up and doing my A2, both of these in the June 2016 session. Should I even bother applying now to Cambridge for 2016 intake? I do not wish to take any gap years.
thanks.

Thanks Caroline for your questions. I'd respond as follows.

1) Each and every personal statement is read through by the directors of studies at the applicant's college in order to make the decision to call a student to interview. It really does tell us a lot about a student's motivations and suitability for a particular course. Even if a student is not called for interview at Cambridge, the UCAS personal statement is read by other UK universities so I would think that it worthwhile to put effort into it.

2) With 3 AS grades as B's I'm afraid there is good chance that you would be deselected for interview by the College you apply to, since as it stands it will be difficult to achieve the A*AA or A*A*A minimum offer we require.

However, you note significant teaching difficulties, so it might be worth putting in an Extenuating Circumstances Form telling us about these. If you do end up pulling up your A level grades in your A2 year, you might consider making an application post A-level for 2017 entry. Sorry to not be more encouraging.

Reply 82

Aviaaja

Hello! Thank you for doing a thread like this!

How would Cambridge assess Greenlandic qualifications?
I could not find this on the website (which, to be fair, makes sense, we're small and you probably never even had a Greenlandic applicant). Am I even eligible to apply or would I need some kind of international qualification?

I'm in second year of GUX (high school in Greenland) and my study programme is Geology and Natural Ressources. I'm looking into applying for Geography, and I have to choose my elective course for next year soon - I can choose either Maths and English at a higher level. Which would you recommend for Geography?

- Aviaaja

Reply 83

OP

Original post by Aviaaja

Hello! Thank you for doing a thread like this!

How would Cambridge assess Greenlandic qualifications?
I could not find this on the website (which, to be fair, makes sense, we're small and you probably never even had a Greenlandic applicant). Am I even eligible to apply or would I need some kind of international qualification?

I'm in second year of GUX (high school in Greenland) and my study programme is Geology and Natural Ressources. I'm looking into applying for Geography, and I have to choose my elective course for next year soon - I can choose either Maths and English at a higher level. Which would you recommend for Geography?

- Aviaaja

Thank you Aviaaja for your question. I'll admit that you've got me stumped here as I don't have any knowledge of the Greenlandic school system! I'm going to ask around at the central admissions office and get back to you.

Off the top of my head, I would think that either Maths or English would be good preparation for Geography. The course covers both human and physical geography, so I would say if your interests lie mainly in physical geography then Maths would be a good idea.

See for example:

http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/geography

Reply 84

username1865079

14

Original post by Aviaaja

Hello! Thank you for doing a thread like this!

How would Cambridge assess Greenlandic qualifications?
I could not find this on the website (which, to be fair, makes sense, we're small and you probably never even had a Greenlandic applicant). Am I even eligible to apply or would I need some kind of international qualification?

I'm in second year of GUX (high school in Greenland) and my study programme is Geology and Natural Ressources. I'm looking into applying for Geography, and I have to choose my elective course for next year soon - I can choose either Maths and English at a higher level. Which would you recommend for Geography?

- Aviaaja

Hi, sorry for butting in....

Have you set your heart firmly on Geography already?
Looking at your interest and background, I thought Earth Science via Natsci may be a good course for you, too.
http://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/admissions/requirements

Though being the famously competitive Cambridge's Natsci, you'll need high grades in 3 or more science/maths subjects to be competitive.....

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 85

danishgirl19

Original post by University of Cambridge

Hi Danishgirl19 and thanks for your question. Our standard minimum offers for students taking the Højere Forberedelseseksamen / Studentereksamen would be based on an overall score of 10 with a grade 12 in relevant subjects. Did you manage to score 12's in subjects that are relevant to HSPS? That would be helpful to your application.

If international students are also taking A-levels in addition to their home degrees, we would also hope that they are achieving at a level similar to their UK counterparts, namely A's and A*'s. In your case I would worry that your A-level in social sciences is a bit low. What was your final grade in that A-level, a B?

I took Social Science as an A-level. My final grade in Social Science was as I earlier mentioned two B's orally and written. During the exams I got a C in my written exam, but I managed to get an A orally.
The other subjects I took was Mathematics on an A-level where I scored B orally and A written. During the exams I got a B in my written exam.
I also took Natural Geography on a B-level where I got a C orally but A written.
Some of my other exams was Classical Studies and Religious Studies where I finished my oral exams with 2 A's.

Reply 86

Aviaaja

Original post by vincrows

Hi, sorry for butting in....

Have you set your heart firmly on Geography already?
Looking at your interest and background, I thought Earth Science via Natsci may be a good course for you, too.
http://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/admissions/requirements

Though being the famously competitive Cambridge's Natsci, you'll need high grades in 3 or more science/maths subjects to be competitive.....

I have looked at Earth Science, but it seems to me that the natsci course is a bit too 'hardcore', and I'm not really interested in the other papers except from maybe physics. But as I still have almost two years left of high school that might change of course!

Besides, the only A classes I have (which I assume are somewhat equivalent of British A levels) are Greenlandic and Danish (mandatory) and then my 'technic course' (Geology and Natural Ressources), and either English or Maths (I'll have to decide which one soon). My other sciences classes are only B and C classes Physics B, Chemistry B, Geography B, and Arctic Technology C.
So I don't think my science classes are of a sufficient level to be a competitive applicant for Natsci.

Reply 87

username1865079

14

Original post by Aviaaja

I have looked at Earth Science, but it seems to me that the natsci course is a bit too 'hardcore', and I'm not really interested in the other papers except from maybe physics. But as I still have almost two years left of high school that might change of course!

Besides, the only A classes I have (which I assume are somewhat equivalent of British A levels) are Greenlandic and Danish (mandatory) and then my 'technic course' (Geology and Natural Ressources), and either English or Maths (I'll have to decide which one soon). My other sciences classes are only B and C classes Physics B, Chemistry B, Geography B, and Arctic Technology C.
So I don't think my science classes are of a sufficient level to be a competitive applicant for Natsci.

OK, maybe not..... :redface:

Not sure how Cambridge will assess your GUX qualification, but in case you didn't get in for whichever course you applied to, another option may be go to a Danish university for undergraduate course (I believe there's a new support programme for Greenlandish students by Danish government?) and apply for postgrad course at Cambridge?
I just felt Cambridge's undergraduate Geography course may not offer enough papers to satisfy your interest.

Have you had a look at the postgrad Earth Science course?
http://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/research

Reply 88

UGstudent

What if it's not possible for me to fly to another country for my interview? Will a skpye interview be arranged?

I studied till 10 grade in CBSE and now I am in CISCE. How should I go about my transcript?

-student from India

Reply 89

OP

Original post by danishgirl19

I took Social Science as an A-level. My final grade in Social Science was as I earlier mentioned two B's orally and written. During the exams I got a C in my written exam, but I managed to get an A orally.
The other subjects I took was Mathematics on an A-level where I scored B orally and A written. During the exams I got a B in my written exam.
I also took Natural Geography on a B-level where I got a C orally but A written.
Some of my other exams was Classical Studies and Religious Studies where I finished my oral exams with 2 A's.

I would think that those A-level marks would be a little on the low side for an application I'm afraid. Our typical minimum offer for UK students doing A levels is A*AA, so the B's and C's would be worrying. Since you have an interesting mix of A levels and non-A-level qualifications, I would suggest contacting the admissions tutor at the College that you are thinking of applying to and ask if they might consider your application. Sorry to not be more encouraging.

Reply 90

OP

Original post by UGstudent

What if it's not possible for me to fly to another country for my interview? Will a skpye interview be arranged?

I studied till 10 grade in CBSE and now I am in CISCE. How should I go about my transcript?

-student from India

We hope to see all students face to face where possible, so would ask you either to fly to nearest interview center (Singapore) or to the UK. In some exceptional circumstances Colleges may decide to arrange a Skype interview, but these are rare (at Corpus we interviewed around 400 applicants last year and only one of these was conducted via Skype).

Students taking the CBSE/CISC are onl;y eligible to apply for Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural Sciences. To be shortlisted for interview such applicants will need to have achieved a minimum CGPA of 9.8 and grade A1 in their Class X examinations in the relevant subjects.

You would need to have your transcript translated into English and certified by your school.

Reply 91

username1972501

3

Original post by University of Cambridge

Hello everyone and welcome to the first thread using the official Cambridge University TSR account! This account will be used by different faculty and staff at Cambridge to run threads themed on a particular topic. Our first thread will be aimed at answering questions from international students looking to make an application to study at Cambridge.

For the next week the account is being managed by me, Michael Sutherland, the Admissions Tutor of Corpus Christi College. In addition to my admissions work I’m a quantum physicist at the Cavendish laboratory and a member of the international interview team that travels to Singapore and in past years Pakistan.

So, if you’re studying in the EU or overseas, or are based in the UK but not eligible for home fee status then please post your questions and I’ll do my best to answer them during the next week.

I take CIE A-Levels in the Middle-East and we haven't received neither a UMS grade nor a Percentage Uniform Mark either. I asked the examination officer about this and he said we could send admissions our raw adjusted grades, whereas CIE weren't that helpful when I emailed them. Regarding what our exam officer said, I got 85/100 (adjusted raw mark) in Economics and the grade boundary for an A was 61/100, will this be sufficient information for admissions tutors to determine whether it was a high or low A?

Thanks

Reply 92

OP

Original post by icedark_knight

I take CIE A-Levels in the Middle-East and we haven't received neither a UMS grade nor a Percentage Uniform Mark either. I asked the examination officer about this and he said we could send admissions our raw adjusted grades, whereas CIE weren't that helpful when I emailed them. Regarding what our exam officer said, I got 85/100 (adjusted raw mark) in Economics and the grade boundary for an A was 61/100, will this be sufficient information for admissions tutors to determine whether it was a high or low A?

Thanks

Thanks for the question icedark. Not every country doing CIE A-levels provides PUMs. In this case it is best to send us your raw adjusted grades, which should be on your transcript.

Admissions Tutors will be used to dealing with students in this situation so will be able to use your raw grades to determine whether to call you to interview. Any offer would be contingent on your final A level grades of course.

Reply 93

OP

Thanks to all of the international applicants who asked questions on this thread, and good luck on your applications. I'll ask the mods to lock this now, but look out for more threads from the official Cambridge University account in the future.

Reply 94

OP