getting in cambridge- how confident are you???

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My teachers are quite frighteningly confident that I'll get in, which I'm completely not, but then there are other unis and it's not the end of the world if I don't. I have to keep telling myself that if I get in then great, if not it's not for me. Good luck to everyone else. :smile:

Reply 61

Zarathustra

niff524

i've applied for philosophy at trinity hall, but my confidence of getting in is melting away as time goes by, till now i'm virtually left with very little/no hope! :frown:

so i just wonder if anyone at all feels kind of hopeless too?? sorry if this post seems pointless and unnecessarily pessimistic, but i really want to see if all cambridge applicants are really confident and sure of getting in :redface:

actually i've been reading *a lot* (well at least to me!) on philosophy but i seriously doubt if i can talk about philosophy comfortably with world-experts in the field (plus i'm not a native english speaker :frown:

) and i just don't think i've got enough support from my school in preparing for the interview. i haven't done philosophy a-level (quite a lot of applicants have, as i know...) and the ones i'm doing (i'm only doing 3 and a half... :eek:

)seem to be a bit limited in a way- english literature, classical civilisation, art and art history (AS only). maybe i should have done at least maths or one science... i just feel so disadvantaged and incompetent compared to other applicants!! ><

sorry been waffling too much :rolleyes:

! so what do you ppl feel about interviews and stuff??? i'd be a bit relieved if anyone shared my anxiety :biggrin:

Yo Niff524 (wtf?!)!

I wouldn't worry too much about your lack of preparedness for interview - I'm in just as much of a state. One practise interview so far in which I "fell apart" and was sent away to "work on" my "self-esteem issues" :rolleyes:

...and that one I had to arrange specially.

Seriously though, I think it'd be very rare for anyone to actually be confident about getting into Cam - it's just way too difficult, and so many fantastic candidates get turned away every year.

Also, I haven't done philosophy A-level either (RS is the closest I could get at my school), and all of my subjects are arts and social sciences, too (dropped biology after AS...never even dreamed of taking maths as I didn't realise I'd actually miss it!). So chill! Or, at least, remember that other philsophy applicants are panicking too!

What have you been reading?

ZarathustraX

Reply 62

blissy

I totally understand how everyone is feeling - every time I got a letter from Cambridge I shook and ripped it open to find out what it had to say.

When I had my interview my stomach was so knotted I couldn't eat all day and I woke up every 20 minutes or so all through the night before (I stayed over at the college) and I felt ill throughout my interviews. You will be OK though! Please relax, I know it's difficult but I wouldn't want anyone to feel like I did!

Reply 63

Zarathustra

Mhm. Got all excited then, but a quick log-in to tracker reveals nothing :mad:

Oh, why must York neglect me so...?

Congratulations though, what's your offer? (& where else have ya heard from?)

ZarathustraX

EDIT: PS: Totally know what you mean about performing better when just thrown into a situation! I'm using my mock interviews as a way of practising talking to people in that kind of setting - I have an overwhelming tendency to panic - but I won't be saying any of the crap I've been churning out in my "real" interview...
...
...unless my mind happens to go completely blank, that is...
:redface:

Reply 64

crazydaveuk

Zarathustra

...and that one I had to arrange specially.

That sounds traumatic! :eek:

My self esteem is ok, I'm too laid back to have a breakdown... :cool:

...with women however, I could stand some improvement, lol :redface:

Reply 65

niff524

zarathustra:
hiya! i've been reading some introductory books, then bertrand russell's "problems of philosophy" (it was last year... i seriously don't remember a thing about it!!), descartes' "meditations" (the first 3 or 4), hume's "dialogues concerning natural religion" (the name could be wrong =P), plato's "meno" and right now ayer's "language truth and logic"+some random philsophy essays. that might sound quite a lot but trust me, i honestly feel very very ignorant and i really can't talk about them at all!!! >___< i had a practice interview too a few days back and it was a completely, utterly traumatic experience, and i'm *not* being modest whatever. in 2 hours i'll have a mock interview with the headmistress, i literally want to cry.

i know almost for sure that i have no chance of getting in cambridge and i'm not even worried anymore 'cuz i'm prepared for the worst (namely, 6 rejections?!!). please i just don't want to go to the interview, i don't want to go to cambridge anymore!!! >___< it has got to that stage that whenever i hear the name cambridge i feel sick. this whole application and preparation process will be THE most traumatic experience in my whole life if i get rejected (and i certainly will).

Reply 66

androidkiller

Hi guys

I know it seems really hard so I'll take you through what happened to me.

At first I was OK with it, not worried, quite looking forward to it all.
Then I got my letter and started getting nervous.
Going to my interview I reached a peak of nervousness. This wasn't helped by me meeting just after the interview a guy who was in Germany's Physics Olympiad Team and had been in the winning team of the International Young Physicist's Tournament. Although the fact that I had a similar number of answers in the test was a bit re-assuring.Then I realised I hadn't answered a question I could have.

Over Christmas my confidence dipped and I began to think I would be going to Durham (had an offer there). When the letter hadn't come on the 29th December I decided it would come after New Year and relaxed.

New Years Eve - I get woken up by my parents as the letter has arrived. I can't open it at first, then my Dad reminds me I have to sometime.
I tear it open and read the first line
"We are pleased to infrom you ..."
Didn't really get any further, just started bouncing around the bedroom, then checked and it really was an offer.

But that wasn't the end of the trauma. I managed to convince myself that I had screwed up my exams in June, despite needing really low marks for As due to good early module results. I was so pleased when I got the results, although I then got nervous about leaving home.

I came through it all and I am now having a great time studying Nat Sci at Trinity. So everything you're feeling is normal. Just go for it!

Mike

Reply 67

Camford

androidkiller

But that wasn't the end of the trauma. I managed to convince myself that I had screwed up my exams in June, despite needing really low marks for As due to good early module results. I was so pleased when I got the results, although I then got nervous about leaving home.

I wrote a mock suicide note just before the results came out... But, after writing it, I felt much happier. It could have been worse...

As far as interview goes, if you think your interview has gone well, then you would feel happy for a short period of time, probably 5 hours. When you get home and have some more time to think about it, you will almost definitely think that you'll be rejected. Then you will be mildly depressed for maybe 2 weeks. It gets slightly better just before Chritmas. When the letter arrives on New Year's Eve, provided that your postman loves his job, then.... I can't really comment on that one. Either you are in, in which case you'll reach what Larry Paulson (google him) would call a "success state"... or... else you'll be down for sometime. If you are those who are expected to get an offer, then expect this to last for quite a long time.