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Interview Discussion Thread (Remember: no leaking questions!)

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10 people in this thread are complete tools lol. at least get something right before attacking people over something that is so off-topic as this is.

it's quite pathetic all this bickering over something you're all too ignorant to even get right.. sorry but it's just so typical of these student sites. :rolleyes:

it's so obvious that all of you have just wikipedia searched the definition and read the one in the philosophy context, as you're all quoting that very same definition to mock him. i had to post because i read this properly today.

this is a medicine thread so i assume most of you are medics? if so, open your copies of "anthonys textbook of anatomy and physiology" and right there on page 10 in the guidance to students section, the authors use eschatological in reference to the end of a period of study.. not the end of the world because it is perfectly acceptable to use it in this way too.

one person who is actually well read, or at least has a dad who is!!

i don't think you're right about the RS textbook. they are all using the first few lines on wikipedia lol. :rolleyes:

they should change their tact if they want admission into cambs lol. ps. which college are you at?

shut the hell up...
seriously.
how much of an opinionated, egomaniacal-narcissistic s.o.b. do you have to be, to quote 10 different people and claim they're wrong.
we're ALL entitled to our opinion (equally, so is the retard who initially used the term eschatological)
/thread

Reply 121

_veritas

Your question made me smile a bit nostalgically, because I'm a few years older than you and have done enough dozens of job interviews to have had my share of successes and abject failures - including interviews that I thought went amazingly leading to rejections, and interviews that I thought were horrendous leading to enthusiastic job/fellowship/internship/etc offers. (Disclaimer: I'm a Cambridge postgrad and have never done a Cambridge undergrad interview, so take this whole post with a large grain of salt - I'm just speaking based on my general interview experiences.)

The "nice words" you describe are absolutely standard during interviews that don't go awfully. They don't mean either that you will get an offer or you won't. (In fact, I'm thinking about an unsuccessful interview I did for postgrad funding at Cambridge - I heard most of the same things you're describing. Didn't get me even £1, at the end of the day.) And honestly, it's much nicer that they did say nice things to you than some of the other horror stories that other applicants are describing.

What you should be taking away from the interview at this point: you seem to have a good interview; you don't describe anything you think you did wrong, and you did get some positive feedback from them. And you say the rest of your application is strong. So you have a good shot. None of us can tell you anything more than that, as I think you know at some level. I know you want the reassurance, but really it would mean nothing even if people here gave it to you. Even if you got twenty responses saying yes, those sorts of comments definitely mean you'll get an offer ... it'd have absolutely nothing to do with the admissions decision being made. So try to relax, go revise and enjoy the holidays, whatever. Hopefully you get good news at the start of January. But no one in this thread can assure you that you will.

Reply 122

Cities

I genuinely rofl'd at the arguments on here. Djkg :no:

Reply 123

DJkG.1

Original post by n1r4v

I genuinely rofl'd at the arguments on here. Djkg :no:

Wut?

You're a medic, do you have a copy of 'Anthony's Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology'?

Perfect use of the word in the context I used it in there - the good man aws told me so. :wink:

Reply 124

Cities

Original post by DJkG.1

Wut?

You're a medic, do you have a copy of 'Anthony's Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology'?

Perfect use of the word in the context I used it in there - the good man aws told me so. :wink:

Nope, I never heard it outside of a theological context but even if it can, it sounded stilted and artifical :dontknow:

I only commented because I remember the last time we had a discussion (when you said that anyone who dares criticise religion disgusts you), you used some other strange words which didn't make sense in context. There was one french word / phrase you used that I couldn't even find in a dictionary. It's TSR so I expect to find verbosity willing waving contests all the time, but has to sound at least a little bit natural.

Though as you know, I wouldn't have even mentioned it if I didn't see other posts, I cba with the petty stuff anymore.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 125

DJkG.1

Original post by n1r4v

Nope, I never heard it outside of a theological context but even if it can, it sounded stilted and artifical :dontknow:

What bruuuvvv I love people who can criticise religion now.. have yogurt parties with them in Clare college the colony init lol. And yeh looks like a whole load of fools jumped on the bandwagon - I've used that so many times in D&D like others and nobody picked up on it there.

Btw, would you believe this girl is only 15:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ERGrznxTIwo/RsXKtqAOhNI/AAAAAAAAGXg/XleRFpKOHWs/s1600-h/Youngest+Miss+Teen+USA+2007+contestant+Logan+Brook+Travis.jpg

Frikin hell so pretty.. I'm in love. :blush:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 126

Cities

Original post by DJkG.1

Frikin hell so pretty.. I'm in love. :blush:

Lower your gaze, very immoral :naughty:

You're going to end up in jail dude seriously... but will you be able to talk your way out of it? :awesome:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 127

DJkG.1

Original post by n1r4v

Lower your gaze, very immoral :naughty:

You're going to end up in jail dude seriously... but will you be able to talk your way out of it? :awesome:

What? Why will I end up in jail?

That's not a nice thing to say bro. :s-smilie:

PS. On the 'lower your gaze' - it is a sight of love and admiration, not mere lust. I am in the green. :wink:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 128

metjush

Alright, had an interview at Peterhouse for economics on Wednesday... Truth be told, it went completely differently than I had expected - it started with some general discussion about IB, my PS and so on, and then everything we talked about concerning economics was about my essay I had sent in (and some of the questions were really strange and I really did not get why I was asked them...). I was super nervous, my level of English fell by 50 per cent as a consequence... I tried not to be nervous and not to stress out, but I guess it just cannot be completely supressed... And there was no math on the interview, I was quite surprised about it... (I had only interview + TSA - that went quite ok, much better than the interview I guess :P) And the interviewers were not really "nice and smiley and stuff", as they sometimes are... Glad it is over :biggrin:

(Just btw, Peterhouse is really nice, porters were very friendly, tasty food, amazing library, premises from-a-different-world :P)

Reply 129

kashiya

Original post by Miramis

Sup guys I got a subject interview in 30 mins. Wish me good luck plz. Been going great so far :smile:

Got nothing better to do than to hang here atm :biggrin:

How did it go? Did you stay at college?

Reply 130

Niwdog

Original post by aws

they should change their tact if they want admission into cambs lol. ps. which college are you at?

I didn't wiki search it lol. I did Philosophy of Religion. Forgot about it being "ends". But your point is fair enough anyway - you're absolutely right.

Reply 131

ZuzaMagda

Original post by Felix101

Also most of what you're application is highly subjective - what constitutes a good reference, ps.

OK, this is a good point and I have no intention of arguing with that. On the other hand, all I wanted to say was that I feel relatively confident about those components of my application to give you the general picture more than anything else.

whilst your predicted grades are good, they are just that

Sorry, I don't agree. Favouring actual results over predicted results would be a) unfair, as having or not having had one's exams is neither a vice nor a virtue; b) potentially bad for the universities as it might mean rejecting good candidates on dubious grounds. Remember that predicted grades are grades, too - they are awarded by teachers as the assessment of the student's performance in the past two or three years.

One other thing, whenever you say (top score) after talking about your 45 points (...)

Rememeber that some people on this forum may not be familiar with the IB system of assessment :wink:

Once more, I was only trying to give you the overall picture to get some constructive feedback. One thing I don't understand is why people on this forum seem so unfriendly to those who write about their results, etc.; after all, a) none of you knows who I am and b) it is not difficult to see that I generally don't post on this forum too much except when I have some specific concern, so I think it should be clear that when I write about my results or anything else, I want a clear answer to a clearly stated question rather than praise or acclaim. If I did want acclaim, I would probably be posting lies about having been made an unconditional offer from Oxbridge or something along those lines. It is really sad to see how full of unjustified resentment and aggression some people are.

Reply 132

Felix101

Original post by ZuzaMagda

Fair enough, but I hope no one would think their personal statement was rubbish :tongue:

. (We don't get to see our references)

Original post by ZuzaMagda

Well, let's be honest, it will happen. Particularly at Cambridge, when you give your achieved marks on the SAQ, predicted grades I believe are relatively ignored in favour of what Cambridge believe people are capable of - based on past experience.

Original post by ZuzaMagda

Rememeber that some people on this forum may not be familiar with the IB system of assessment :wink:

Hey chill! I wasn't getting at you at all. I was just mentioning that what I was reminded of whenever you wrote that, after all some others on here might have seen the linked video - and it is quite amusing in my opinion to hear this voiceover when I read that. If you look objectively we are giving constructive feedback. I think what most people are saying is try not to read too much into it - I imagine (and have found in my interview) that they will try to be encouraging to try and allow you to reach your full potential. It doesn't really mean anything. Were just trying to say that every year people with top grades get rejected, and not to get too hopeful until the letter comes. (Also I would contest on this student forum that most people are familiar with the IB system.)

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 133

ZuzaMagda

Original post by Felix101

Particularly at Cambridge, when you give your achieved marks on the SAQ, predicted grades I believe are relatively ignored in favour of what Cambridge believe people are capable of - based on past experience.

I didn't put my achieved grades on the SAQ because, being a Polish student, I didn't sit the same tests as you did (GCSE, etc.). Instead, I was requested to submit a list of my final grades from previous years (a "high school transcript") that all non-UK EU applicants are required to send in.

So, let me ask you one question: is the distinction you are making specifically one between predicted final exam results and actual final exam results rather than predicted final exam results and the grades that I - being a non-UK applicant - received at the end of last academic year?

I am asking because something I do find paradoxical is that my grades from the previous years were awarded by exactly the same teachers who made decisions on our predicted grades! Both of those were, of course, a matter of the teachers' subjective decision. For those reasons I cannot imagine how a university could possibly favour one over the other.

Additionally, the predicted grades are a more recent record of my abilities, so, in one sense, they might be regarded as more representative of my present achievements. And it they are looking for a more general picture, they might actually look at any differences between my past academic record and predicted exam results as a way of measuring progress or lack thereof, which I think is also important!

(Also I would contest on this student forum that most people are familiar with the IB system.)

Sorry - cultural difference. On a Polish general student forum most people would probably need a word of explanation :wink:

Reply 134

mns1990

Original post by n1r4v

Lower your gaze, very immoral :naughty:

You're going to end up in jail dude seriously... but will you be able to talk your way out of it? :awesome:

To be fair to him the picture did say Miss Vogue USA 2007 so shes legal now

Reply 135

greebo-man

had a great time at funsbridge, not expecting to get in though, I had the worst grades there!
<3

Reply 136

kashiya

Original post by ZuzaMagda

Additionally, the predicted grades are a more recent record of my abilities, so, in one sense, they might be regarded as more representative of my present achievements. And it they are looking for a more general picture, they might actually look at any differences between my past academic record and predicted exam results as a way of measuring progress or lack thereof, which I think is also important!

ZuzaMagda, from what I have noticed predicted grades are not treated very seriously, unless you go to a school that has a long history of successful Oxbridge applicants, eg the British School Warsaw or the American School Warsaw. If you go to just any polish school with IB then most likely your predicted grades will play a minor role. Unfortunately many teachers give good predicted grades to their students in order to boon the students likelihood of getting offers from good univs. Even if you really are to get 45 points on the IB there is no way you can make this claim a credible one (unless, as noted above, your school has a long history of successful Oxbridge candidates). But that's exactly why Oxbridge has interviews - to fill that gap. So if you are really as good, and you have a lot of passion for the subject you applied for, and you match other criteria (like female-to-male ratio, foreign students ratio, etc.), and your director of studies liked you, and and and... then you might get an offer.
I can only agree with Felix101 - asking a question, like "can they reject me after having said so many nice words?" doesn't make much sense... They can anything - they are admission officers :wink:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 137

ZuzaMagda

Original post by kashiya

unless you go to a school that has a long history of successful Oxbridge applicants, eg the British School Warsaw or the American School Warsaw.

Actually, I do...

I can only agree with Felix101 - asking a question, like "can they reject me after having said so many nice words?" doesn't make much sense... They can anything - they are admission officers :wink:

Yes, I know, sorry. I wish I had formulated the question in a different way.

Let me briefly explain why I asked it in the first place.

In most oral exams, the examiners usually do not look pleased when they are not pleased. That's a natural human reaction - you actually have to make a conscious effort to keep smiling when someone is talking rubbish in front of you. I cannot imagine a Polish examiner saying "That's great" when the candidate's answer is actually as far from good as humanly possible! So, in most non-Oxbridge interviews, you would normally expect to be able to tell the difference between a happy examiner and a dissatisfied examiner :rolleyes:

HOWEVER, at the same time, I am aware Oxbridge interviews are an exceptional form of assessment and I shouldn't look at them in the same way I would look at other oral exams.

It is for this reason that I asked if any of you has the experience of being rejected even though the interviewers seemed very pleased with what you were saying.

Reply 138

kashiya

Original post by ZuzaMagda

In most oral exams, the examiners usually do not look pleased when they are not pleased. That's a natural human reaction - you actually have to make a conscious effort to keep smiling when someone is talking rubbish in front of you. I cannot imagine a Polish examiner saying "That's great" when the candidate's answer is actually as far from good as humanly possible!

Yeah, well, Polish folks are more passionate and less polite than the British.
This is a piece of advice one of my lecturers gave me for the interview: "The British will smile and try to make you feel comfy, coz that's how they are - too polite to tell you that you are talking rubbish. So be careful..." And yeah, I've heard stories of people, who were dead sure to get an offer (coz their interviewers seemed very pleased) and then were rejected in the end - your performance is assessed in relation to that of other candidates, so there is no way of telling if you will get an offer. You might have done great, but if there are 10 other candidates, who have done super-great and only 10 places then... you do the math. But Zuza don't think too much about it. You have done your best and now its no longer up to you. I know the waiting is horrible, but it's probably best if you just keep yourself busy with buying Christmas presents and studying for the IBs instead of worrying. I keep my fingers crossed for you tho! :smile:

Reply 139

ZuzaMagda

Original post by kashiya

This is a piece of advice one of my lecturers gave me for the interview: "The British will smile and try to make you feel comfy, coz that's how they are - too polite to tell you that you are talking rubbish. So be careful..."

I do wish somebody had warned me about that before I went in there. Well, I will certainly bear that in mind if I need to reapply next year, so thanks :wink: