Are my grades alright to apply to Cambridge?

Hi,
I was just wondering if having 6A* at GCSE in Maths, Biology, History, Business Studies, English Literature, and philosophy and ethics And 4 As in Chemistry, Physics, Textiles, and English Language would be considered at Cambridge, or if the A* definitely have to be in all the sciences and English language to really be considered?

I am studying Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Psychology at A level at the moment, as well as doing volunteer work etc.

Thanks!! :smile:

Reply 1

afterallthistime

Original post by Mezmezz

I dont pretend to be an expert on Cambridge admissions or anything, but as far as I can tell, your GCSE grades are definitely good enough for Cambridge. From what I've heard, its good to have more than 5 A*s so you'll be fine! :smile:

I think what you get for AS and A-levels etc is more important, so I wouldn't worry too much about your GCSEs! What you've got/are studying at the moment sounds great!

Good Luck!

Reply 2

nexttime

That's fine. You'll need very good UMS at AS level though (as everyone does). See this

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 3

Refrigerator

While most offer holders do have higher GCSE grades than that, yours are by no means going to rule you out. And they don't really care what the GCSE subjects are, it's more the number of A*s and As that you get. Like others have said, AS UMS is one of the most important things (as is BMAT), depending on which college you apply to.

Reply 4

Mezmezz

Original post by nexttime

That's fine. You'll need very good UMS at AS level though (as everyone does). See this

Thankyou so much!! This is really helpful! :smile:

Reply 5

Mezmezz

Original post by Refrigerator

Hi, Thank you! :smile:

Do you know which colleges weight BMAT more than AS UMS? And vice versa?

Reply 6

Refrigerator

Original post by Mezmezz

Hi, Thank you! :smile:

Do you know which colleges weight BMAT more than AS UMS? And vice versa?

It's always difficult to answer that kind of question, because colleges would never give an outright answer one way or another. They all just say "we look at everything in the application" which holds pretty true for the vast majority.

So the only information you'll get on that front is by asking students at those colleges. I've heard that Robinson college regards UMS very highly, but other than that, I can't really say. I could be wrong, but I believe Caius had something on their website/open day about how they only consider applicants with over 90% UMS - most offer holders do have over 90%, but obviously, if a college says that on their website, don't apply to it if your UMS is less than 90: go for one of the colleges that doesn't specify a number (at least in public).

With regards to choosing a college, I'd recommend having a look around and shortlisting the ones you like the look/feel of. Then you can locate students at those colleges and ask them in-depth about their experiences, what the best/worst parts are etc. "Tactically" applying to a certain college because of statistics/rumours about how heavily they weight parts of the application is something a fair few applicants do, but at least from my experience, it makes no iota of difference (assuming your UMS is high enough). If you're good enough to get into one college, chances are you're good enough to get into any of the others too, so don't agonise over the decision too much :smile: