advice for a Y11 who wants to go to Cambridge

hey! i'm currently in y11 and it's always been my dream to go to cambridge. i'm a pretty clever kid, i got excellent results on my exams last year (the french equivalent of the GCSEs) with a 92% overall without working very much, and while i'm aware that's insufficient for cambridge i know they won't judge me harshly or at all on these grades (because i was younger and they are less familiar with french qualifications). i'm not worried about IGCSEs, which i'm taking this year, and on which i expect all As and A*s. i know what subjects i'm taking next year and they align with the literature course i want to take; i'm also confident about my future BAC (french equivalent of the A-levels) results, especially in language and writing-based subjects. i'm passionate about what i want to do and i know i'm good at it.

but i know a lot of people will have similarly strong (and stronger) applications and equal resolve. please can anyone suggest anything i can do to stand out (positively ofc T-T), both right now (supercurriculars, extra reading) and in my application (personal statement etc)? i've really got my heart set on this for many many reasons. so yeah i'd be really grateful for any advice!! ty in advance :3

You would need:

thank you so much!! i'm planning to apply to the english course.

English:
If it's language, there's a lot of creative writing in there so maybe enter some essay competitions, do some subject spotlights, etc.
Literature, see if you can get some work experience in local publishing companies/in schools, again do some subject spotlights, mini courses.

O, summer schools are good - insight into university life while doing taster sessions for the course you're thinking of doing at degree-level

hey! i'm currently in y11 and it's always been my dream to go to cambridge. i'm a pretty clever kid, i got excellent results on my exams last year (the french equivalent of the GCSEs) with a 92% overall without working very much, and while i'm aware that's insufficient for cambridge i know they won't judge me harshly or at all on these grades (because i was younger and they are less familiar with french qualifications). i'm not worried about IGCSEs, which i'm taking this year, and on which i expect all As and A*s. i know what subjects i'm taking next year and they align with the literature course i want to take; i'm also confident about my future BAC (french equivalent of the A-levels) results, especially in language and writing-based subjects. i'm passionate about what i want to do and i know i'm good at it.

but i know a lot of people will have similarly strong (and stronger) applications and equal resolve. please can anyone suggest anything i can do to stand out (positively ofc T-T), both right now (supercurriculars, extra reading) and in my application (personal statement etc)? i've really got my heart set on this for many many reasons. so yeah i'd be really grateful for any advice!! ty in advance :3

hey! i'm currently in y11 and it's always been my dream to go to cambridge. i'm a pretty clever kid, i got excellent results on my exams last year (the french equivalent of the GCSEs) with a 92% overall without working very much, and while i'm aware that's insufficient for cambridge i know they won't judge me harshly or at all on these grades (because i was younger and they are less familiar with french qualifications). i'm not worried about IGCSEs, which i'm taking this year, and on which i expect all As and A*s. i know what subjects i'm taking next year and they align with the literature course i want to take; i'm also confident about my future BAC (french equivalent of the A-levels) results, especially in language and writing-based subjects. i'm passionate about what i want to do and i know i'm good at it.

but i know a lot of people will have similarly strong (and stronger) applications and equal resolve. please can anyone suggest anything i can do to stand out (positively ofc T-T), both right now (supercurriculars, extra reading) and in my application (personal statement etc)? i've really got my heart set on this for many many reasons. so yeah i'd be really grateful for any advice!! ty in advance :3

in year 11 too and aiming for Cambridge and I have heard that Cambridge doesn't look at GCSEs very much and prefer A-Levels (and equivalent)

The main thing will be getting top results in your course and reading widely, and practicing your close reading/practical criticism regularly on different literary texts and genres. Practice narrating this as well, as you will need to be explaining your analysis in the interview so getting used to orally presenting your literary analysis would be good practice.

Work experience isn't necessary or relevant for English lit at Cambridge. Essay competitions on literary topics would be a relevant way to practice your skills and demonstrate engagement with your subject area outside of the curriculum, but are not essential (also non-literary essay competitions in e.g. philosophy, history, or other topics would also be good experience). Really the important thing is probably to just read beyond your literature curriculum and also to engage with the critical/literary theory.

I'd note you shouldn't bank on Cambridge being "less familiar" with French qualifications - they get very well qualified applicants from dozens if not hundreds of countries every year, and French students I imagine, at least before Brexit, were not that uncommon. They will be familiar with the French system and how it's graded and be able to make educated comparisons with those students they have admitted before.

oh, thank you! i already do a lot of those things and enjoy them too, but i'll look more closely at essay competitions and work on my speaking skills. as for last year's exams, i've looked everywhere online for information on whether they require applicants to list their grades in foreign exams taken earlier than GCSEs, and haven't found it. however, i'm hoping if i have to submit them, seeing the difference between those and IGCSEs+BAC will illustrate to cambridge my progress and commitment. have a great day!

Usually Cambridge view an "upwards trajectory" in grades favourably. That said if these are pre-GCSE qualifications they won't consider those (and you don't need to declare them in your UCAS - only things from age 14-18 as far as I'm aware).

i was 14 when i took the exams, but given i was only in (the equivalent of) y10 do you think they'll still take them into account?

You would need:

You don't need work experience for English. Not at all.

hey! i'm currently in y11 and it's always been my dream to go to cambridge. i'm a pretty clever kid, i got excellent results on my exams last year (the french equivalent of the GCSEs) with a 92% overall without working very much, and while i'm aware that's insufficient for cambridge i know they won't judge me harshly or at all on these grades (because i was younger and they are less familiar with french qualifications). i'm not worried about IGCSEs, which i'm taking this year, and on which i expect all As and A*s. i know what subjects i'm taking next year and they align with the literature course i want to take; i'm also confident about my future BAC (french equivalent of the A-levels) results, especially in language and writing-based subjects. i'm passionate about what i want to do and i know i'm good at it.

but i know a lot of people will have similarly strong (and stronger) applications and equal resolve. please can anyone suggest anything i can do to stand out (positively ofc T-T), both right now (supercurriculars, extra reading) and in my application (personal statement etc)? i've really got my heart set on this for many many reasons. so yeah i'd be really grateful for any advice!! ty in advance :3

Hello,
I'd say reading and thinking critically would be useful. I also had my heart set on English lit at Cambridge. I chose to prepare in fun ways like by writing poetry and seeing plays. It was nice to link the poetry I read with the work I was creating. I also attended book clubs etc at school and entered a French poetry translation competition - which presumably would be something you'd find a bit more straightforward than I did!

To be honest, I don't think my super curricular reading was anything very impressive, but I did try to make sure it was books that I enjoyed talking about and only one book on my personal statement was from my A Level course, and that was just a skim reference in the Shakespeare paragraph. (I like Shakespeare!!)

Obviously you'd also be well-prepared if you practised writing essays. Like most English lit students, I've written essays all my secondary school life but I started prep for the Elat in September before my exam.

I guess other than that all I can say is bonne chance

hi, i have an offer for english at cam rn my advice to you is definitely to obiously focus on school, because you'll need at least a*aa equivalent depending on any of your extenuating circumstances. other people have also given some really good advice, but mostly i second the supercurricular thing. essay competitions are really great and cambridge has some good ones, like the trinity essay prize. in terms of reading, i recommend developing areas of interest rather than reading kind of widely and sporadically. this would really help you when it comes to your personal statement. finding different things you enjoy the most and exploring them particularly deeply. for me this was postcolonial lit and it meant i had a lot to say on it in my ps and interviews.

also make sure you focus on different forms. i know you mentioned you enjoy poetry which is good, but challenge yourself to tackle essays, plays, short stories, etc. with as much depth and enthusiasm. they seem to like students who branch out like that. as others have also said, critical theory is important too. i'm not sure if it's just my college or the whole course but we will be doing criticism from plato and aristotle to more modern theorists, so getting your hands on maybe an anthology guide to criticism would also be very helpful. also, read lots of pre-19th century texts, especially medieval if you can get to grips with the language. there are some reading lists online that would be helpful to, i think there's one published by downing that's pretty good.

overall, goodluck!! you have lots of time and you seem to be in a solid place already, so i have no doubt you'll make a very good candidate