Cambridge English Students and Applicants

That's not the Cambridge website. There is no required/suggested reading list for pre-offer applicants; just read widely across different periods and have something interesting to say about what you've read. And try to get around 90% UMS average in three of your subjects.



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And any advice for incoming international students? I have to admit I'm a little lost among all the paperwork, what college to choose, what books to read in preparation... anyone?

So far what I have read, the main point in applying for this course is that you have read widely and have thought about what you have read. I know that Im good in this, but are there any other things I should consider? In another thread, an applicant for English claimed that he/she was a published poet. So...do you need to be T.S.Eliot to get in?

Thank you : )

Well, doll, I'm definitely not published, and I'm starting English at Cambridge in October. Don't let the over-achievers scare you - sounds like you're doing all the right things (though reading the occasional bit of critical literature is also helpful - you could try the Very Short Introduction to Literary Theory; that was good for me. It's also worth trying JSTOR or an equivalent site for academic essays on areas you're interested in. There's also a really awesome series of 'Cambridge Companions' for everything from Virginia Woolf to the Arthurian legend which gave me some background and ideas on a lot of stuff.)

Good luck!

Ah, thank you SO much! I have read Eagleton's Literary Theory - an Introduction and found it very helpful. Ill definitely check those recommendations out : )

Its all a bit overwhelming since Im not native speaker but your advice is super helpful ^^

Hullo! This is my first post so I hope it belongs in this forum!

I have always wanted to study English at Cambridge (obviously that would be my first choice but other universities also look excellent!) but I have taken a bit of a strange route through my education/A levels.

I left school at 14 and self-taught my GCSEs (I have 9 A*s) and then I spent three years at college doing 4 A levels; french, chemistry, biology and history (I finished with ABBC). I have mental health problems and my attention was mainly focused on recovery at this point in my life. I had an offer from Oxford but I did not achieve the grades. I was not really in the best frame of mind to be taking exams.

I got a job in London in a library and I've made some really great friends. I feel a lot better about my mental health. I've also been going to evening school to study three new A levels in English literature, Spanish and Italian. I took them all in one year and I really enjoyed myself. I don't mean to boast or anything but I really am hoping for good enough grades for Cambridge this August.

So, basically, say I got A*A*A* (just 'say' I got this!), would I have a good chance at getting an offer from Cambridge if I applied this year? Or would my old A levels be used for the ums average? I've done 4 years in total of A levels but no retakes. So, which ones count? I'm so confused!

Thanks in advance for the help!

Hi,
Does anyone know how many supervisions/essays there are per week for English students in their first year? And are any lectures compulsory or are they all at each students discretion?
Thanks!

It will vary from term to term and from college to college to a small degree, but typically you'll have roughly one essay and one hour of supervision per week in whatever period paper you're doing and then on top of that maybe a weekly or fortnightly 1.5 hour college seminar on similar topics and the same for prac crit (where you will also probably be given past exam papers to answer every now and then). No lectures are compulsory but it is definitely a good idea to at least go to the ones on the Medieval and Shakespeare set texts.

Thanks! What sort of length are the essays also?

To an extent that depends on the supervisor and on what kind of essay you're writing. My prac crit exercises tend to be 1250-1750 words long, with period essays more like maybe 1750-2250 (depending on how lazy/keen I've been in a given week). In my experience they don't like having to read 2500+ word long essays because they're busy people and you're probably saying irrelevant things/using a really long-winded style at that point. My 18th century supervisor offered the option of doing one double-length period paper essay over two weeks to really get into a topic but I never did so.

So far what I have read, the main point in applying for this course is that you have read widely and have thought about what you have read. I know that Im good in this, but are there any other things I should consider? In another thread, an applicant for English claimed that he/she was a published poet. So...do you need to be T.S.Eliot to get in?

Thank you : )

x

I have an unconditional Cambridge offer for Education with French for 2015, and I worked in a bookshop for 2 years I loved Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary' (there are several English translations out there, and personally I love European literature!), also Voltaire's poetry is a good read, again there are translations available.

If you don't fancy French literature (and tbh I wouldn't blame you!) then you could try the diary of Samuel Pepys, Swift's 'Gulliver's travels' or 'Evelina' by Fanny Burney.

I agree with trying to stick with what you enjoy, though - you could maybe mention a couple of non-20th C. works in your PS but if that's your passion, then I'd advise you to make sure it comes across!

Good luck