The Student Room Group
Original post by jfdal20430
I was wondering how likely you would be to get an offer from Cambridge if you were predicted 4*s at a level, specifically on a course where the typical offer is A*A*A? Would it be highly likely providing you have a decent personal statement and do well in assessments and interviews?

No. In no sense would it be 'highly likely'. Note, too, that the majority of students who are predicted four A* grades do not achieve four A* grades.

Having higher than the minimum entry requirement is one step along the path - but it doesn't, in and of itself, make receiving an offer 'highly likely'.
Reply 2
i think if you do well on assessment and interviews your grades don't matter as much bc some ppl will be predicted higher/ lower depending on how their schools predict. Although, ppl who are predicted 4a*s are probably more likely to do well at interview and assessment bc they are probably better anyway - but correlation doesn't equal causation haha
Original post by _gcx
In 2020, people predicted A*A*A* or higher made up 41% of the applications, two thirds of the offers and 69% of the acceptances. This corresponds to about half of people predicted A*A*A* for humanities getting an offer, and about 40% for the sciences. Over half of all applicants getting rejected is still quite a lot, not really "highly likely". Also bear in mind that it's more so the case that people predicted well over the entry requirement are generally going to be "better", not necessarily that having predictions well over the requirements helps in itself. (though it certainly doesn't hurt)

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/ug_admissions_statistics_2020_cycle.pdf#page=9

These refer to grades achieved at the end of the application cycle, not predicted grades at the time of applying. Although you could argue that in 2020 achieved grades and predicted grades were basically the same thing, anyway!
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by Forecast
These refer to grades achieved at the end of the application cycle, not predicted grades at the time of applying. Although you could argue that in 2020 achieved grades and predicted grades were basically the same thing, anyway!

Oh I see, thanks for pointing that out. Didn't realise they'd look back at the A-level profile of people they rejected.
Who knows? Some get into Oxford instead.
Just because someone had 4 A levels and got into Cambridge, you cannot assume that that is the reason they were accepted.
There is a difference between correlation and causation - https://plebeianscience.wordpress.com/2017/06/18/why-ice-cream-isnt-deadly-correlation-vs-causation
Original post by Reality Check
No. In no sense would it be 'highly likely'. Note, too, that the majority of students who are predicted four A* grades do not achieve four A* grades.

Having higher than the minimum entry requirement is one step along the path - but it doesn't, in and of itself, make receiving an offer 'highly likely'.

My daughter got 4* in 2023 and was rejected after interview for Cambridge in December 2022.
She was predicted 4A* and was part of the less than 1% who achieved it.
She was also rejected from St Andrews.
In both instances she had applied for natural sciences and had relevant work experience too.
Her problem appears to be that she didn’t perform well enough in the interview for Cambridge and was at an independent school.

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