Official Cambridge Applicants Thread 2016 Entry

Economics
Maths
Politics
History

I'd like to study Economics at Cambridge.

If you can and feel up to it, I'd recommend chucking one of Politics/History for Further Maths. Or at least doing FM AS on the side.

Wow- this is early- anyway I'm a 2014 offer holder for history so feel free to ask anything

I'm thinking of applying for History if I can get the grades, I'm currently taking A levels in history, philosophy&ethics and English literature but I do not know what to take as a 4th option. Could you recommend anything?


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I would really like to study computer science in Cambridge but I think it'll end up with maybe 2A*'s 5A's 2B's and a C and I know that I will do better at A level because im doing subjects which I believe am good at and like. So basically if I do really well at a level and get gcse's like this is it worth applying?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Yes. If you get very good AS results (90%+) then it's definitely worth applying. Cambridge place little importance on GCSEs as far as I know.

Wow- this is early- anyway I'm a 2014 offer holder for history so feel free to ask anything

Hello! I'm going to apply for history next year
I know some colleges have two interviews, are they similar to each other or rather different? Also - if you don't mind me asking, what were your GCSEs like? I'm now getting really anxious because I'm afraid it would ruin my chances if I didn't get the grades I expected (I'll be doing Pre-U and linear A-level which means I'll only have predicted grades instead of AS results by the time I apply, and I think my GCSEs would inevitably matter more as they'll be the only public exam results I have.)

Sorry about such a long paragraph. I hope that makes sense Thanks very much in advance!


Posted from TSR Mobile

Hi there , both of my interviews were similar in that both were subject-focused, and talked about history generally as well as things I'd mentioned in my PS but in more detail. Both also had some degree of source evaluation, which I think is common to most interviews you'll get. Some colleges require you to do tests (I deliberately picked one that didn't , but that's something you'll obviously have to consider, a list is here (click entry requirements then admissions tests). I would also add that some colleges have one general and one subject-focused interview, rather than 2 subject focused ones, although the subject-focused one obviously holds more weight.

I got 10A*1A at GCSE, but to be honest I don't think it matters too much, and for history probably less so. I think they would probably look more closely at your GCSEs, but they still don't see them as an overly good predictor of degree results, so I think they'd be more inclined to go on your predicted grades and it might be beneficial for your referee to expand on where you are within your class for example to give a better understanding of grades.

Hope that's helped, feel free to ask if there's anything else

Hey guys,

I help run the Cambridge Applicants 2015 thread, and I've made a comprehensive list of all the applicants and their subject/college, to make it easier to find other people applying to your subject/college.

If you want, when the time comes I can do that for you guys too

Hey guys,

I help run the Cambridge Applicants 2015 thread, and I've made a comprehensive list of all the applicants and their subject/college, to make it easier to find other people applying to your subject/college.

If you want, when the time comes I can do that for you guys too

Hi there , both of my interviews were similar in that both were subject-focused, and talked about history generally as well as things I'd mentioned in my PS but in more detail. Both also had some degree of source evaluation, which I think is common to most interviews you'll get. Some colleges require you to do tests (I deliberately picked one that didn't , but that's something you'll obviously have to consider, a list is here (click entry requirements then admissions tests). I would also add that some colleges have one general and one subject-focused interview, rather than 2 subject focused ones, although the subject-focused one obviously holds more weight.

I got 10A*1A at GCSE, but to be honest I don't think it matters too much, and for history probably less so. I think they would probably look more closely at your GCSEs, but they still don't see them as an overly good predictor of degree results, so I think they'd be more inclined to go on your predicted grades and it might be beneficial for your referee to expand on where you are within your class for example to give a better understanding of grades.

Hope that's helped, feel free to ask if there's anything else

Thanks so much! I wish I could have GCSEs like yours I could only take 9 GCSEs at my school and I'm hoping to get 7A*s 2As, but I suspect I'll end up lower than that. The thing I fear most is rejection prior to interview Maybe I'm panicking too much
May I ask what subjects you took for A-levels? I'm particularly interested in economic history so I'm going to take maths, economics, history and RS. Probably further maths as well Will that look like a good combination?

To be honest, I think so long as you get a majority of A*/As at GCSE I highly doubt think you would get deselected before interview, since they interview so many (around 80%). This is probably worth a look (scroll down to history), although it focuses on AS UMS you can see that offer holders have quite a wide range of GCSE results, so I wouldn't worry about that

I did geog, hist, eng lit and french, but I think because history is so flexible your subject choices will be fine as you have 2 essay subjects, and maths/further maths will definitely be good for economics, especially as for cambridge you have to select at least 1 paper which is British social and economic history. Your subjects are all 'traditional' as well, so I wouldn't worry

Hey guys,

I help run the Cambridge Applicants 2015 thread, and I've made a comprehensive list of all the applicants and their subject/college, to make it easier to find other people applying to your subject/college.

If you want, when the time comes I can do that for you guys too

Maths
Further Maths
Biology
Chemistry
Physics

Predicted A*s at least and I'll have a high chance of getting into Oxbridge