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Do I stand a good chance of being accepted to do Natural Science?

Hi everyone,

I'm currently in year 12 and am about to apply for university. I really like the look of Natural Sciences at Cambridge but I don't know whether I would stand a good chance of being accepted

In my GCSE's I got 10 A*'s and 2 A's

I do Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Further maths at my college and got an A in AS Physics and an A in AS Chemistry (no UMS as it's the reformed subjects)
I also did my Maths A level which I got an A* in with a total UMS of 599/600
(dropped 1 UMS in Core 2)
I also did 2 extra maths modules this summer:
FP1 - A (UMS 87/100) (self taught)
D2 - A (UMS 80/100)
This gives me a UMS average of 95.75% for maths

I understand there's much more to the application process than just grades but I would be grateful if you could tell me whether you thought my UMS is high enough and whether you thought I stand a good chance of being accepted. Thanks for taking the time to read this

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Original post by Newmember100
Hi everyone,

I'm currently in year 12 and am about to apply for university. I really like the look of Natural Sciences at Cambridge but I don't know whether I would stand a good chance of being accepted

In my GCSE's I got 10 A*'s and 2 A's

I do Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Further maths at my college and got an A in AS Physics and an A in AS Chemistry (no UMS as it's the reformed subjects)
I also did my Maths A level which I got an A* in with a total UMS of 599/600
(dropped 1 UMS in Core 2)
I also did 2 extra maths modules this summer:
FP1 - A (UMS 87/100) (self taught)
D2 - A (UMS 80/100)
This gives me a UMS average of 95.75% for maths

I understand there's much more to the application process than just grades but I would be grateful if you could tell me whether you thought my UMS is high enough and whether you thought I stand a good chance of being accepted. Thanks for taking the time to read this


Your UMS is very good. Most realistic applicants will have similar UMS though so don't rest on your laurels, imo the most important thing in applications is doing extra curricular stuff that you can talk about in interviews, personal statements etc. You need to show that you're genuinely into your subject and they can see right through wishy washy statements on how much you love your subject, you need to demonstrate it
Reply 2
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Newmember100
OP
Original post by D3LLI5
Your UMS is very good. Most realistic applicants will have similar UMS though so don't rest on your laurels, imo the most important thing in applications is doing extra curricular stuff that you can talk about in interviews, personal statements etc. You need to show that you're genuinely into your subject and they can see right through wishy washy statements on how much you love your subject, you need to demonstrate it

Thank you for your reply and advice :smile: do you think my UMS score of 80 in Decision 2 will affect my chances or is my total average UMS high enough for it to matter less?
Reply 3
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Doones
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Original post by Newmember100
Thank you for your reply and advice :smile: do you think my UMS score of 80 in Decision 2 will affect my chances or is my total average UMS high enough for it to matter less?


D modules are of very little interest to Cambridge.

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Newmember100
OP
Original post by jneill
D modules are of very little interest to Cambridge.

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Ok :biggrin: thank you. I'm sorry to burden you with questions but the post above was saying that extracurricular was very important for Cambridge whilst I was led to believe that the admissions tutors only really cared about your academic profile
Original post by Newmember100
Ok :biggrin: thank you. I'm sorry to burden you with questions but the post above was saying that extracurricular was very important for Cambridge whilst I was led to believe that the admissions tutors only really cared about your academic profile


Think of it like this, 700 people apply to course x and 400 of them have ~95% ums average, obviously if you have low ums you're going to find it hard to get in, but even if you have ~95% ums you're still up against 400 other people for maybe 120 places so you're going to need to go beyond your academic profile
Original post by Newmember100
Ok :biggrin: thank you. I'm sorry to burden you with questions but the post above was saying that extracurricular was very important for Cambridge whilst I was led to believe that the admissions tutors only really cared about your academic profile


Cambridge does NOT care about what/how you do in extra-curricular. Your academic prowess and potential is the only thing they're interested. So they'd want to know what & how you've been exploring the subject you're applying for beyond & outside the school's curriculum = super-curricular.
Reply 7
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Doones
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Original post by Newmember100
Ok :biggrin: thank you. I'm sorry to burden you with questions but the post above was saying that extracurricular was very important for Cambridge whilst I was led to believe that the admissions tutors only really cared about your academic profile


Extracurriculars are of no interest to Cambridge. Supercurriculars, though, can be helpful. ie. things directly related to your course rather than DofE or being Captain of Sports

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Original post by jneill
Extracurriculars are of no interest to Cambridge. Supercurriculars, though, can be helpful. ie. things directly related to your course rather than DofE or being Captain of Sports

Posted from TSR Mobile


Snap! :biggrin:
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Original post by vincrows
Snap! :biggrin:


Good to have you (temporarily?) back :smile:

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Reply 10
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Original post by D3LLI5
Think of it like this, 700 people apply to course x and 400 of them have ~95% ums average, obviously if you have low ums you're going to find it hard to get in, but even if you have ~95% ums you're still up against 400 other people for maybe 120 places so you're going to need to go beyond your academic profile


400 do not have >95% average. And anyway averages of averages are not an important factor for Cambridge. They never were, but especially not now when most applicants do not have a complete UMS portfolio.

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Original post by jneill
Good to have you (temporarily?) back :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thanks! :biggrin:
Definitely temporary. Ready to retire from TSR properly when my sons & daughters of 2016 lots are off to their new world. :wink:
Original post by jneill
Extracurriculars are of no interest to Cambridge. Supercurriculars, though, can be helpful. ie. things directly related to your course rather than DofE or being Captain of Sports

Posted from TSR Mobile


Yeah sorry if I was ambiguous, by extracurricular I meant stuff directly related to your subject but outside the realms of school
Thank you all for your helpful advice! I know a standard offer for Nat Sci is A*A*A. Do you know if my A* in maths A level this summer can be part of that offer so that I'd only need to get A*A next summer?
Original post by jneill
400 do not have >95% average. And anyway averages of averages are not an important factor for Cambridge. They never were, but especially not now when most applicants do not have a complete UMS portfolio.

Posted from TSR Mobile


Precisely:biggrin: I think some people overestimate the UMS scores of the 'average' applicant with regards to maths. The majority of people with only 100 or 99 UMS scores in maths will be applying (logically) for maths.

Especially this year with the new linear A levels I think Cambridge will be much more lenient on low(er) maths UMS scores. I don't think they'd want to immediately turrn away someone with say 265/300 UMS in maths but they got full marks in their chemistry, physics or biology exams.
Original post by Newmember100
Thank you all for your helpful advice! I know a standard offer for Nat Sci is A*A*A. Do you know if my A* in maths A level this summer can be part of that offer so that I'd only need to get A*A next summer?


Yes it can be, as it is a full A level
Original post by Newmember100
Thank you all for your helpful advice! I know a standard offer for Nat Sci is A*A*A. Do you know if my A* in maths A level this summer can be part of that offer so that I'd only need to get A*A next summer?

Possibly, but they also want to know you can cope with workloads of 3 A-level subjects in one year as their course is really intense and demanding. They need to make sure you're up for it.
Do you guys think I stand a good chance of getting to interview (and maybe getting an offer) with these grades?
(I understand a large part of the offer depends on how I perform at interview and in the entrance exam but in terms of my grades am I a strong candidate?)
Original post by Newmember100
Do you guys think I stand a good chance of getting to interview (and maybe getting an offer) with these grades?
(I understand a large part of the offer depends on how I perform at interview and in the entrance exam but in terms of my grades am I a strong candidate?)


Will you be doing 3 A-levels next year? If so, you'll probably get interview but anything beyond that is nobody's guess because the grades are only one part of application and a large number of applicants apply with grades that exceed the minimum requirement. And they look at UMS of each module and scrutinise your strength and weakness, not only grades.
Also there are many applicants with lower grades than others who are accepted because their application in other aspects are strong.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Newmember100
Do you guys think I stand a good chance of getting to interview (and maybe getting an offer) with these grades?
(I understand a large part of the offer depends on how I perform at interview and in the entrance exam but in terms of my grades am I a strong candidate?)


You've received some very good advice regarding your chances already :tongue:

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