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Original post by Christ's Admissions
Thank you, I'm glad it was helpful. Yes, I was at a different college then but have no taken up residence at Christ's.

Congratulations on your offer and try not to worry. The vast majority of candidate make their offer, we wouldn't make it if we didn't think you were capabale and likely to achieve it.

It is slightly more frequent for students to be acccepted to Humanities courses with no A*s than for Sciences but it does not happen often. Were you to miss, Caius would certainly take all aspects of your application into account before making their decision whether to honour your offer, reject your application or place it in the Summer Pool.

As I said above, it is vital that you get your UMS faxed over to Caius as soon as possible so they have all the information before they make their decision. The closer you are to the A* boundaries the better your chances of being accepted by Caius or by another college in the Pool. Good luck and congratulations again on your offer.

Thank you. :smile:
I am looking to apply to study Law for 2015 entry. In year 11, I took AS Maths and in year 12, I completed A2 Maths along with AS levels in Physics, Chemistry amd Economics. I am continuing the with latter 3 subjects in Year 13 so overall I will have completed 4 A levels. Will the fact that I took Maths a year early work against me as I have completed my A levels over 3 years?


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Original post by simmyneutron
Hi, I'm a leaving cert student from Ireland. I attended the Cambridge open day last Thursday and really fell in love with the both the university and the NatSci course!

I'm looking to study the physical sciences and was wondering about the interviews for Irish students, considering they ask some knowledge-based questions and one leaving cert subject is only worth 2/3 of an A-level. Will the interviewers take into account that I'm from a different system and how aware are they generally of the differences between the leaving cert and A-levels? By the way, my subjects relating to the course are biology, chemistry, physics, maths and applied maths (which is basically mechanics), and I do 4 other humanity/ language subjects too.

Also, I attended one year of secondary school in the IB MYP and in the GCSE system, will this work to my advantage in any way, seeing as I know the leaving cert has a reputation for being too focused on rote learning?

Thanks for the thread, I'm a bit shy in person so when I went up to ask these questions I chickened out and ended up only asking one!


Hi there, glad you liked Cambridge and the Nat Sci course, the latter being most important of course.

In general, we are quite used to dealing with Irish Leaving Certificate (ILC) candidates, we have three of our own at Christ's this year with offers. Epsecially in the Sciences, interviewers will usually come across a couple of ILC students a year and, of course, plenty of other candidates who are not doing A Levels.

The sort of knowledge that we expect candidates to use at interview would usually be things that would be covered in any 16-18-year-old scientific qualification. If, however, we do end up asking you something that you haven't covered, then tell the interviewers and they will either help you through it a little more or move on to discuss something else.

I don't think you need to worry about how we percieve the ILC, it's a strong qualifcation.
Original post by Undisclosed 15
I am looking to apply to study Law for 2015 entry. In year 11, I took AS Maths and in year 12, I completed A2 Maths along with AS levels in Physics, Chemistry amd Economics. I am continuing the with latter 3 subjects in Year 13 so overall I will have completed 4 A levels. Will the fact that I took Maths a year early work against me as I have completed my A levels over 3 years?


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Lots of schools do Maths in Years 11 & 12 so we are used to that and you won't be disadvantaged when being considered for an offer. Were you to receive an offer, however, it is down to the individual college taking into account the circumstances of individual students to decide whether the Maths A level completed in Year 12 would count as part of the A*AA offer for Law or whether they would still require A*AA achieved in Year 13. As I say, this is done on a case-by-case basis and one needs to see the whole application before one can decide what to do.
Christ's Admissions, how hot are the girls at Cambridge?
How important is personal statements and extra circular activities, when viewing the application? what kind of things would you recommend we include?
I would like to apply for computer science at Cambridge however this year at AS i have only completed 2 modules in Further Maths (M1 and FP1, missing out on FP2). I was wondering if that would leave me at a great disadvantage even though when applying for the subject maths/further maths are considered the same thing and an average is drawn from all the modules.
Original post by Christ's Admissions
Lots of schools do Maths in Years 11 & 12 so we are used to that and you won't be disadvantaged when being considered for an offer. Were you to receive an offer, however, it is down to the individual college taking into account the circumstances of individual students to decide whether the Maths A level completed in Year 12 would count as part of the A*AA offer for Law or whether they would still require A*AA achieved in Year 13. As I say, this is done on a case-by-case basis and one needs to see the whole application before one can decide what to do.


Thanks for the quick response.

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Original post by Toxic_Legends
How important is personal statements and extra circular activities, when viewing the application? what kind of things would you recommend we include?


The personal statement is a useful part of the application and, though we use it less heavily than universities that do not interview, it will very often be used as a starting point during the interview to lead into a discussion about something on it. You should, therefore, be prepared to talk about anything you mention on your personal statement.

Extra curriculars that are not related to your chosen subject will not form part of our decision making and it is unlikely that you will be asked about them at interview in anything other than an academic contest (so, for instance, the mechanics of musical instruments if you are applying for Engineering or Nat Sci Physical, or what sport may tell us about international relations if you are applying for HSPS, that sort of thing). You should mention them in your PS, however, as some universities do bear these in mind when making decisions.

As to what you should mention, anything that shows how you have taken forward your interest in your chosen subject outside the classroom is always interesting and there are many diverse ways of doing that.

I hope this is helpful.
Original post by AwesomeSauce#1
I would like to apply for computer science at Cambridge however this year at AS i have only completed 2 modules in Further Maths (M1 and FP1, missing out on FP2). I was wondering if that would leave me at a great disadvantage even though when applying for the subject maths/further maths are considered the same thing and an average is drawn from all the modules.


No, you wouldn't be at a great disadvantage at all. Schools handle the timing of modules for Maths and FM differently and interviewers are well aware of this. If they do happen to ask you something that uses material from a module that you haven't done, just tell them and they will adapt.
Reply 30
Does a home schooled American with no qualifications of any sort have a chance to get an offer to read maths? Assume excellent (but undocumented) math skills including the ability to do very well on STEP.

Would any particular college be more likely? Presumably being very impressive in the interview(s) would be essential, but for that there would have to be an interview.
I just added Cambridge (Christs) onto my UCAS! (All choices done now :eek:)

It said I might have to sit the TSA? When would I know about that and how would I prepare if it is something to prepare for?
Original post by IGU
Does a home schooled American with no qualifications of any sort have a chance to get an offer to read maths? Assume excellent (but undocumented) math skills including the ability to do very well on STEP.

Would any particular college be more likely? Presumably being very impressive in the interview(s) would be essential, but for that there would have to be an interview.


I can't speak for all colleges, but it would be very unlikely for someone with no qualifications to get an interview. Without any public examination record, it is difficult for us to form a judgment beyond the interview and we try hard to avoid placing too much emphasis on this part of the application. I'm sorry not to be more encouraging.
Original post by L'Evil Fish
I just added Cambridge (Christs) onto my UCAS! (All choices done now :eek:)

It said I might have to sit the TSA? When would I know about that and how would I prepare if it is something to prepare for?


Some colleges ask for the TSA in Nat Sci but we don't at Christ's so there is no need to worry about it. For those who do have to take the TSA, they will sit it at the time of interview and the best preparation is to do a fewpractice papers.
Original post by Christ's Admissions
Some colleges ask for the TSA in Nat Sci but we don't at Christ's so there is no need to worry about it. For those who do have to take the TSA, they will sit it at the time of interview and the best preparation is to do a fewpractice papers.


Oh there we go then. If I were to be pooled for example, to a college which did require it, would I still need to do it?
Original post by Christ's Admissions
As promised, here is the fourth instalment of my 'Ask an Admissions Tutor' threads. If you went to the Cambridge University Open Days last week and forgot to ask a crucial question or if you weren't able to go but have questions you would like to ask, or, indeed, if you just have questions about Cambridge Admissions, please ask it here and I will answer as soon as I can. This thread will run for three weeks and then a further thread will run after the A Level and AS Level results come out.


Thank you very much for creating this thread, I was just about to email the Mathematics department. I wanted to ask if there is any chance I could be invited for an interview or be made a standard offer given my circumstances. I am doing the whole 18 Units for Mathematics so that would give me 3 A-Levels in Mathematics and I am also doing A2 Economics. I shall also be sitting STEP 2 and 3.

I am a private candidate and was set to sit exams for AS Mathematics, AS Further Mathematics and AS Economics earlier this year during the summer exams but unfortunately my health took a turn for the worst and I only managed to sit 3 out of my 8 exams. Out of those 3 only one was for Mathematics - Core 1. I am very disappointed not to have been able to sit those exams as I was certain that I'd do well. I would understand if not having enough proof of my abilities is a good enough reason not to be considered but given a letter from my G.P who is well aware of my condition as well as a letter from a private tutor who knows me very well as a student and knows of my ability in Mathematics would I have a chance of being considered?

I look forward to hearing from you.
Reply 36
I've been on a lot of engineering courses ( ie headstart courses) but I recently decided I'd prefer natsci over engineering. Would there be any point mentioning the courses in my personal statement?


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Original post by Christ's Admissions
The personal statement is a useful part of the application and, though we use it less heavily than universities that do not interview, it will very often be used as a starting point during the interview to lead into a discussion about something on it. You should, therefore, be prepared to talk about anything you mention on your personal statement.

Extra curriculars that are not related to your chosen subject will not form part of our decision making and it is unlikely that you will be asked about them at interview in anything other than an academic contest (so, for instance, the mechanics of musical instruments if you are applying for Engineering or Nat Sci Physical, or what sport may tell us about international relations if you are applying for HSPS, that sort of thing). You should mention them in your PS, however, as some universities do bear these in mind when making decisions.

As to what you should mention, anything that shows how you have taken forward your interest in your chosen subject outside the classroom is always interesting and there are many diverse ways of doing that.

I hope this is helpful.


Thank you- this has been helpful!

Sorry to bombard you with questions! but what does an admissions tutor look for in a student who is applying for say Economics or HSPS? and what would make an application stand out (apart from grades lol) for these chosen subjects. Thanks :smile:
Original post by Osc10
I've been on a lot of engineering courses ( ie headstart courses) but I recently decided I'd prefer natsci over engineering. Would there be any point mentioning the courses in my personal statement?


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Hi there, I don't think there is any problem with mentioning these in your PS, we know that those interested in Engineering are also potentially interested in Natural Sciences and vice versa. They show engagement outside the classroom and that is good.
Original post by L'Evil Fish
Oh there we go then. If I were to be pooled for example, to a college which did require it, would I still need to do it?


You only might be asked to do this if you were called for a interview at another college from the Pool. Colleges who ask for the TSA or do their own test, will often get candidates to sit them before Pool interviews.

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