urgent cam dilemma please help :(

Ok. This is urgent so please read and answer?

1) Does anyone know just how hard the maths is in a biological natural science course at Cambridge? - it'll be Elementry maths for Biologists since I do not have maths A-Level, not even at AS and I got a B at GCSE and was amazed I got that high. Hint: I'm hopeless at maths can't even understand A2 chemistry maths.

2) Everyone, teachers, adults I respect, friends I respect and people who are not friends, have all said, with the best of intentions that I will never get into Cambridge. My tutor, who is a Cambridge graduate herself, has told me I am not the top 2% of the nation and does not hold that "spark" needed for Cambridge. I got AAAC at AS, C in chem :frown:

and am predicted AABB - Bs in chem and Eng Lit. A's in Biology and art. I don't have brilliant grades for Cambridge, neither do I have the best of subjects, and with one of my A's being art, I literally have ABB predictions since they won't be looking at art too much. So, should I apply? I need my form in by this Friday so this is urgent. What are my chances?

3) With the fact that I am not brilliant, which is true, and the fact that I cannot do maths to save my life, and also the fact that I'm downright lazy, is Cambridge even for me? :frown:

All the odds are against me. My tutor has refused to write me a Cambridge reference, cus she doesn't agree to my applying. But she is writing everyone else a reference, those whom she thinks will get in. So my chances are even lower cus Cam people are gonna wonder why, plus the evidence of my grades :frown:

4) I am applying for pharmacology for the rest - or at least, to three other uni's, so far Bath, Bristol and Liverpool, but am unsure about Bristol cus of the town. Also Birmingham for Medical Science and possibly Hull for Chem with Forensics science and Toxicology. All of em are four years apart from Birmingham and Bristol cus they're undergrad. masters. All of them mainly want B's, including a few C's for some. Now, I've written two PS, one specialising for Pharmaco, which will weaken my Cambridge application. The other caters for both NatSci and Pharmaco, but that might weaken my other five applications. Now, is Cambridge worth that risk?

Sorry this is so long-winded. Ucas is doing my head in. I'm getting too fed up to rage on about it and I really don't know why I'm applying to Cambridge anymore, apart from the fact that it's Cambridge and I know peeps there. Neither of which are brilliant reasons for going to a uni. Cus if I decide to specialise now, Cambridge does not offer the best course for pharmaco, since it doesn't offer industrial experience etc etc, while Bath, Bristol, Hull and I think Liverpool do. Well? Help.

Reply 1

spurs123

10

Apply ot cambridge if u want.

Your AS are good except chem (thats worrying for natural science even tohugh its biolgcal)

Wot erre ur gcse like. If you got aminly as /a*s then apply.

Who knows wot till happen. You have to impress at the interview

Reply 2

Hash

How on earth can your school predict u a B in english lit when u got an A at AS? Ask them to sort it out! You should apply anyway...maybe you could go for biology related subjects at oxford?

Reply 3

khil

OP

15

zip it123

Apply ot cambridge if u want.

Your AS are good except chem (thats worrying for natural science even tohugh its biolgcal)

Wot erre ur gcse like. If you got aminly as /a*s then apply.

Who knows wot till happen. You have to impress at the interview

GCSEs are: 6A* 3A 2B 1C

B's in maths and French. C in German. A's in Eng Lit, Graphics and RE. A* in double Science, Eng Lang, Chinese, Art, History.

And yeh I was gonna apply anyway - to tell the truth I'd probably end up applying. But trust me when you got literally the world - or at least everyone whom you know tell you "You'll never get in it's a waste of time" and have been saying that for the past two to three months, you do start doubting and wondering why. I've held my ground until now. Am I realistic? Like I said, my grades are not brilliant for cambridge - and the essential one being chemistry, which I got lowest in, is not good. And weakening my entire application for cambridge, which I may not even get in - is that really worth it? And tbh, even if I get in, am I gonna cope? - like I've said, I'm worried about the maths.

Reply 4

khil

OP

15

Hash

How on earth can your school predict u a B in english lit when u got an A at AS? Ask them to sort it out! You should apply anyway...maybe you could go for biology related subjects at oxford?

My eng teachers think my eng exam was all a fluke cus I never read my exam text - well I read two out of three. The one I didn't read is the close book exam, which I got full marks in. They don't think I can get an A. I'm extremely annoyed about it, but my eng teachers are my tutor, the cam graduate, and my head of sixth form, to whom negotiation is impossible.

Oxford doesn't do my course. It's either NatSci, Medical Science, pharmacology, pathology or neuroscience really, or even genetics, or biomedical science. I don't know what to specialise in yet really. But either way Oxford doesn't offer any of the above. I might give it another look I guess - I've got the prospectus upstairs.

Reply 5

spurs123

10

lol try

even if it is to piss the doubters off

Reply 6

khil

OP

15

zip it123

lol try

even if it is to piss the doubters off

lol

I guess the problem is I see their point and realistically speaking they're right - I have such a minute chance and I don't know if I'll be able to cope with the maths. Last year at AS, I sat there for two hours trying to figure out this chem question on calculating the concentration of a chemical. It's simple GCSE standard maths with changing of units from cm to dm. It took me two hours to realise I forgot to convert the units and hence why I got the wrong answer. And to this day I still don't remember fully how in the world to do percentages - I've tried so many times and I fully understand it when I look through it again. Then I go and take a break for a day, come back and I'm stuck again. Maths just never stays in my head - it's in one ear and out the other. And I've heard people say they found the maths at NatSci hard cus they didn't have further maths! Now, I don't even have AS maths!

Reply 7

recurring

11

You're obviously toying with the idea and you will lose nothing out of it... you may personally regret that you never did apply, that is if you don't :tongue:

Reply 8

spurs123

10

just try - nothnig to lose. And bcasue they interview you can impress. Other unis ont interview andso may see yuor grades an say 'no' straight away...

Grades ARE NOT everything (altohugh they do count for a fair bit!)

Reply 9

khil

OP

15

My major problem is - is there any point if it's just a waste of an application? Plus I have four courseworks going on at the same time, most of which have to be in before Christmas :eek:

I haven't done any subject-related reading yet, not to mention Cambridge reading.

And here is my ultimate problem, even if I do get in - Am I gonna be able to cope with the course? I don't wanna be dropping out half way through. It's the maths I'm worried about.

Reply 10

Fluffmonster

1

irisng

My major problem is - is there any point if it's just a waste of an application? Plus I have four courseworks going on at the same time, most of which have to be in before Christmas :eek:

I haven't done any subject-related reading yet, not to mention Cambridge reading.

And here is my ultimate problem, even if I do get in - Am I gonna be able to cope with the course? I don't wanna be dropping out half way through. It's the maths I'm worried about.

Look, if you are not suited to the course, the admissions tutors will let you know. They are the most intelligent and academically experienced people on the planet and will probably be able to tell you within five minutes of meeting you whether or not you are going to cope. I can't tell you what to do but the way I look at it is this....you may not be suited to the course but you want Cambridge to tell you that, not some poxy teacher. Something I have absolutely NO doubt about is that with your grades, if you don't apply you will still be thinking "what if?" when you're 40.
Anyways...good luck with whatever you decide. You have fantastic grades so I'm sure you will go far!
X

Reply 11

Lizard

irisng

My major problem is - is there any point if it's just a waste of an application? Plus I have four courseworks going on at the same time, most of which have to be in before Christmas :eek:

I haven't done any subject-related reading yet, not to mention Cambridge reading.

And here is my ultimate problem, even if I do get in - Am I gonna be able to cope with the course? I don't wanna be dropping out half way through. It's the maths I'm worried about.

I'll be honest, if it will seriously jeapardise the quality of the personal statement for your other courses, and take valuable time away from coursework, I wouldn't do it, because I think you might be miserable. Cambridge is very pressurised and very competitive. One of my young relatives went there, I won't be more specific in case someone reading this knows this person and mentions I was talking about them, in which case I would be executed - but this person is very bright, almost ideally suited for their course, and still found Cambridge very stressful. Someone else I know had a very bright daughterr doing biology who nearly had an emotional breakdown because of the pressure - took a year off, went back and completed successfully, but it gives you an idea of what the place is like. She said people act really friendly on the surface, but underneath it's all cut-throat competition. I have another relation at Oxford, and I get the feeling the atmosphere there is a little less intense - I'm sure there are some people like that there, but overall it's a bit more graceful. If there's a course at Oxford that would suit you, perhaps you should think of that. But if applying to either Cambridge or Oxford will mess up your application for your other choices, I'm just not sure I'd bother. Even if you got in, do you want to struggle horribly for 3-4 years, or enjoy yourself?

Reply 12

Trigger.Mortis

I agree with fluff monster here, If you want to apply just go for it and apply. Let Cambridge decide whether or not you are fit for their course. I had the same sort of dillemma last year for applying to Oxford and ended up not applying.. I was kicking my self for the rest of the year and here I am applying for 2005 entry at Oxford because the 'what if's' were driving me insane... Trust me it's only one out of five applications with a good PS and your grades the other universities won't pose too much of a problem. Just make sure that you are doing what you want to do don't let other ppl tell you 'you can't' because that's jsut BS if you want to and then work for something it is usually possible to end up doing it.

Reply 13

gringalet

12

I'm afraid I know nothing about science-y things, but I thought I'd reply anyway, since you seem so stressed :smile:

Personally, I'd go for the course you most want to do – you want to be studying something you actually want to be studying. Then comes environment: Cambridge obviously is a competitive place to be. Some people thrive on this, others don't. I think if your main reason now for applying is that it's 'Cambridge' (which really has far too much prestige in my opinion), and there are people there you know, don't bother...but are you just thinking this now because people have put you off? Really, grades are not everything – indeed, if your A in Lit was a fluke, who's to say that your C wasn't a mistake too? You have to remember that interview counts for a lot too.

Decide what course you really want to do. Don't let some teacher put you off; and if you do apply, and get in, you'll have the last, long, hearty laugh

...and then reject them and go somewhere else! :biggrin:

Reply 14

khil

OP

15

Hehe lol Gringalet :biggrin:

I'm not sure I would reject a Cambridge offer, but yes if I do get in my goodness I'd be over the moon and singing how wrong my teachers were :biggrin:

My eng teacher and head of sixth form has so far tried his best to keep me from applying. Hence I'm dropping English. Eeeek which leaves me with AAB with the A in Art for NatSci :eek:

Is that wise?

I've tweeked my personal statement quite well and it seems like I've managed to talk about science in general as well as point out one subject. A friend, the librarian, says it's a strong statement, not as strong as the specific one for pharmacology, but strong nontheless :tongue:

so I'll be using that. But I'm just a bit messed up with my options! I've got Medical Science at Leeds and Birmingham, Pathobiology at Reading, Pharmacology at Bristol, Chemistry with Forensic Science and Toxicology at Hull, and then finally NatSci at Cambridge! I'm messed up and I need to grab my CAF tomoz cus teachers haven't given me it yet and have it done by Monday :eek:

but all the courses ask for are BBB-BBC, with Hull being between BBB and CCC so I'd probably get in those. Hehe am I messed up or what?

Thanks for all the replies people :smile:

I kinda found out something last night so now I think I'm gonna apply and see what happens. If only for the interview :tongue:

And yeh, I'll let Cambridge tell me the course isn't suited to me. My goodness if they accept me I'd be driven up the wall trying to do a load of A-Level maths before the start of term! :tongue:

I still have no idea what to specialise in anyway - as you might've guessed from my uni options! - so NatSci is probably not a bad idea either way.

I hope I get in. If only to have a hearty laugh :biggrin:

They've managed to stress me out so much I've cried twice about it now :frown:

and I found out today they managed to persuade a girl in my year she'll never get in Cambridge, though she has similar grades to me, if not better, and she got really upset too and she ain't applying anymore :frown:

I'm perhaps the only one they haven't managed to put off within the circle that they consider to be "weak candidates" - it's driving them nuts :tongue:

They're trying so very very hard to put me off.

Btw teachers don't come here right.......? :eek:

Reply 15

Acaila

17

A few

But almost certainly not yours :wink:

And even if they did, you're telling them at school you want to apply so what's the difference?

Reply 16

gringalet

12

irisng

Hehe lol Gringalet :biggrin:

I'm not sure I would reject a Cambridge offer, but yes if I do get in my goodness I'd be over the moon and singing how wrong my teachers were :biggrin:

My eng teacher and head of sixth form has so far tried his best to keep me from applying. Hence I'm dropping English. Eeeek which leaves me with AAB with the A in Art for NatSci :eek:

Is that wise?

I've tweeked my personal statement quite well and it seems like I've managed to talk about science in general as well as point out one subject. A friend, the librarian, says it's a strong statement, not as strong as the specific one for pharmacology, but strong nontheless :tongue:

so I'll be using that. But I'm just a bit messed up with my options! I've got Medical Science at Leeds and Birmingham, Pathobiology at Reading, Pharmacology at Bristol, Chemistry with Forensic Science and Toxicology at Hull, and then finally NatSci at Cambridge! I'm messed up and I need to grab my CAF tomoz cus teachers haven't given me it yet and have it done by Monday :eek: