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Ask an Admissions Tutor IV, 7 July - 27 July 2014

Some colleges require the applicant to send in essays. How long should they be? Should we stick to the normal length we would write in an exam or should we be more expansive?

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OP

Original post by fnatic NateDestiel

Hi sir, for my modules for further maths, and as an applicant for economics, I intend to take M2 FP1 D1 FP2 S2 and D2, should I replace the d2 with s3 or does it not matter - thank you

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S3 would probably be of more use for you doing Economics than D2 but I wouldn't worry if you are not able to change easily.

OP

Original post by megan97

Hi there,

Does clare college still ask for applicants to sit the TSA for HSPS as it only asks for a school essay on the course page but i remember they asked for the TSA last year, and they still mention the test on their college website?

thanks

You may need to check this with Clare themselves but all colleges were required to submit information about what tests/essays etc. they required in each subject before the end of June. Information on the University site, therefore, should be taken as correct and consequently Clare shouldn't be asking candidates to sit the TSA this year in HSPS. We are not now allowed to alter the information on the University website and to introduce new tests etc. for this year's cycle.

I suspect that Clare haven't yet updated their college subject pages to reflect their changes for this year.

OP

Original post by Undisclosed 15

Some colleges require the applicant to send in essays. How long should they be? Should we stick to the normal length we would write in an exam or should we be more expansive?

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Candidates submit essays of varying lengths every year as is inevitable. Personally I like things of between roughly three and five pages of A4, anything less is too short to say anything constructive and more than five pages can be too long when one is reading dozens of essays from candidates before interviews.

This isn't a rigid diktat but perhaps a very rough rule of thumb. It isn't necessary to write anything especially for us but it should be something which you are happy with and happy to talk about further at interview.

Reply 244

Marinee

Hello! I would like to apply to the Physical Natsci course. I am a French applicant and I have already received my Baccalaureate grades : I got 20/20 in Maths and Physics/Chemistry but I got a 14 in Biology/Earth Sciences. Since Physics and Chemistry are regrouped in one subject (and I therefore only have one grade for both subjects) would my Biology grade have to be taken into account, even though I'm applying for Physical Natsci? My average at the Baccalaureate is 18,5, and I was wondering if I would be called to interview or if I would have any chances of getting in with such a low Biology grade?

Reply 245

Toxic_Legends

7

I'm (hopefully) a potential HSPS applicant and I am having troubles what to include in my PS. So, what would make my ps look better? what kind of work experience can I do related to HSPS? what kind of things would boost my application and make it different?

Reply 246

uklizzie

1

Original post by Christ's Admissions

Well we produce five different sets of averages that can be useful when assessing candidates. Maths and Further Maths are treated as one subject for the purposes of creating averages and the modules are all taken together to create one 'Maths' average.

Best three: your three best AS subjects averaged together (most useful for Arts & Humanities subjects)

Best four: your four best AS subjects averaged together

SUMS average: Your three most relevant Science subjects (or two Science subjects if you only have two) (Most useful for Nat Sci, Engineering, Comp Sci, Medicine)

Maths & Physics average: Useful for Engineering, Physical Nat Sci & Maths

Maths average: Helpful for Maths, Engineering, Economics & Physical Nat Sci.

Could I ask, by 'we' do you mean Christ's or does every college collect the same set of averages?
Thank you

OP

Original post by Marinee

Hello! I would like to apply to the Physical Natsci course. I am a French applicant and I have already received my Baccalaureate grades : I got 20/20 in Maths and Physics/Chemistry but I got a 14 in Biology/Earth Sciences. Since Physics and Chemistry are regrouped in one subject (and I therefore only have one grade for both subjects) would my Biology grade have to be taken into account, even though I'm applying for Physical Natsci? My average at the Baccalaureate is 18,5, and I was wondering if I would be called to interview or if I would have any chances of getting in with such a low Biology grade?

First of all, congratulations on your French Bac result, 18.5 is a very impressive score. Our standard offer at Cambridge is 16.0 or 17.0 overall, so you have obviously exceeded that and would therefore be in a strong position I think for an offer. The 14 in Biology is certainly something which we would take into account but if you were clearly a Physical Nat Sci in your interests then I do not think it would hold you back eccessively and it certainly should not be something that should put you off applying, assuming you think our Nat Sci course is a good one for you.

OP

Original post by Toxic_Legends

I'm (hopefully) a potential HSPS applicant and I am having troubles what to include in my PS. So, what would make my ps look better? what kind of work experience can I do related to HSPS? what kind of things would boost my application and make it different?

Well, first of all, your UCAS PS should not be aimed at HSPS unless this is the only course you are applying for. Your UCAS PS should focus on the subject/s for which you are applying at other universities. You can write more about HSPS in the Cambridge specific PS in the SAQ form.

Work experience is not important for HSPS and what it could be varies depending on what aspect of HSPS you have particular interests in, so work experience for Archaeology, for instance, is likely to be different from that for Politics.

If you do happen to do some work experience, and I stress that it is absolutely not necessary, then try and tell us what you got out of it rather than just telling us that you did it.

The most impressive personal statements are those where the candidate has given thought to the subject and to the varying things he or she has done to demonstrate interest in that subject.

There are lots of ways to do this, hence there are lots of ways to write good personal statements - there is not one thing that universities are looking for.

OP

Original post by uklizzie

Could I ask, by 'we' do you mean Christ's or does every college collect the same set of averages?
Thank you

This information is collated by the central Cambridge Admissions Office (CAO) from the SAQ form and then is sent to all colleges as part of the subject moderation spreadsheets that are sent to all colleges about all candidates in all subjects in early November. We then get the chance to digest that information before the interviews in December and then use it in decision making in combination with the interview report and the rest of the paper application.

Reply 250

SimplyInfernal

Hi, I would like to ask if it is possible to graduate from the Chemical Engineering course in 3 years (With a BA degree) instead of an MEng degree after 4 years.

OP

Original post by SimplyInfernal

Hi, I would like to ask if it is possible to graduate from the Chemical Engineering course in 3 years (With a BA degree) instead of an MEng degree after 4 years.

It is possible to do this, as the website makes clear, but the vast majority of students do 4 years (3 years of Chem Eng plus a first year of Engineering or Nat Sci).

Reply 252

suzywithaZY

18

Hi, I have a few questions:

1) Is it obvious when somebody had no real passion for the subject that they are applying for?
2) If I was thinking of applying to phys natsci, what kind of things would strengthen my personal statement? Work experience etc.? I'm not entirely sure what I could do in terms of work experience for phys natsci
3) In a phys natsci interview, would I be tested on chemistry, physics and maths questions? Or would it just be chemistry, as that is what I am hoping to specialise in?

OP

Original post by thechemistress

Hi, I have a few questions:

1) Is it obvious when somebody had no real passion for the subject that they are applying for?
2) If I was thinking of applying to phys natsci, what kind of things would strengthen my personal statement? Work experience etc.? I'm not entirely sure what I could do in terms of work experience for phys natsci
3) In a phys natsci interview, would I be tested on chemistry, physics and maths questions? Or would it just be chemistry, as that is what I am hoping to specialise in?

Hi there, thanks for your questions.

1) Sometimes but not always. Sometimes it obvious from the PS and that is borne out in the interview but at other times one reads quite dull personal statements and the candidate is much more engaged in the interview. The opposite is true too. We are pretty good at working out who is really interested in their subject but not infallible. Ultimately 'passion' or interest is not enough on its own - you also need to be very good at it.

2) I don't think you need to worry about work experience for Physical Nat Sci, just concentrate on what you enjoy about Chemistry and how you have further that interest at school and outside.

3) Pracctice varies at diffeent colleges as to how they handle Nat Sci interviews. Some will ask you to identify an interest in either Physics or Chemistry and will tailor your interview accordingly with a bit more Chemistry or Physics depending on your preference. Some will do the same and then aranged for you to be interviewed by Chemists or Physicists while others won't ask and will interview everyone the same. Without asking all the colleges their practice, there is no way of being sure what they will do.

At Christ's, we ask students if they have an interest in a particular area of Physical Nat Sci and will ensure that they get a bit more Physics or Chemistry accordingly but, unless they have done no Chemistry, they will always get some sort of combination of Maths, Physics and Chemistry.

Reply 254

Daniel.Daniel

I am an international student.

I obtained the overall average (95%) required by the Cambridge college that made me an offer.
The 2 subject requirements being 98%, I exceeded one (getting 100%), but I narrowly missed the other one (getting 95%).

Even so, the standards set for the students of my nationality are extremely high and my lowest grade (95%) is still higher than the A* grade boundary in any relevant subject (I checked the 2013 - and the pre-2013 - A levels grade boundaries, raw marks and UMS, and I converted them in percentages; they will not be much different in 2014, I suppose).

I am not discussing the university policy, since I have no right to even think about doing something like that. It's just I need a little help to figure out what might be in store for me.

I would be just grateful to know whether Cambridge admissions boards are willing to consider failures like mine in a larger context, giving another chance to international students with very good results, immediately below the requirements specific to them, but still above the A* level boundary in the UK. Or, perhaps, their big chance to study at the University of Cambridge is already gone?

At the moment, I only know there is going to be a very small summer pool, that only a few British students have a chance of being "fished" from. :frown:

OP

Original post by Daniel.Daniel

I am an international student.

I obtained the overall average (95%) required by the Cambridge college that made me an offer.
The 2 subject requirements being 98%, I exceeded one (getting 100%), but I narrowly missed the other one (getting 95%).

Even so, the standards set for the students of my nationality are extremely high and my lowest grade (95%) is still higher than the A* grade boundary in any relevant subject (I checked the 2013 - and the pre-2013 - A levels grade boundaries, raw marks and UMS, and I converted them in percentages; they will not be much different in 2014, I suppose).

I am not discussing the university policy, since I have no right to even think about doing something like that. It's just I need a little help to figure out what might be in store for me.

I would be just grateful to know whether Cambridge admissions boards are willing to consider failures like mine in a larger context, giving another chance to international students with very good results, immediately below the requirements specific to them, but still above the A* level boundary in the UK. Or, perhaps, their big chance to study at the University of Cambridge is already gone?

At the moment, I only know there is going to be a very small summer pool, that only a few British students have a chance of being "fished" from. :frown:

Hi there, I am sorry to hear that you didn't quite make all the terms of your offer. It is now up the college who made you your offer to make their decision as to what to do. They probably won't be able to do this until they have the A Level results in August as they will need to have all the information available to them about whether other people have missed in your subject and others before they make final decisions on 'near misses'.

The Summer Pool is not just for British students and if your application ends up there you may have a reasonably good chance of being picked out as you do not seem to have missed by very much.

Good luck with your situation and don't give up yet.

Reply 256

Daniel.Daniel

Dear Sir/Madam from Christ's Admissions,

Thank you so much for the encouragement and for explaining me the bigger picture. Knowing the things you told me is definitely better than not knowing anything at all and making all sorts of (gloomy) scenarios. The odds are what they are. I will wait then for a decision to be made.

(edited 9 years ago)

Dear Admissions Tutor,

I just wondered what sort of support/advice is given to applicants with Asperger's Syndrome, as I will make my university choices with this in mind.

Any advice would be brilliant, but I would like to know if, because I am good at subjects I enjoy, and not others, this will be taken into account when looking at examination results.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Edminzodo.

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Reply 258

christina___21

Hello, I am a soon to be IB student from Cairns Australia.
I have a dream, a big one I suppose. To study Law at Cambridge!!!
I am so glad I can send this to you.
I have to choose my subjects very soon and I know that it is a crucial aspect.
Hope you could please give me some advice.

Would this look good on the application?

Italian ab SL
Maths SL
Business SL or
Chemistry/Physics SL (Would doing Business be better or a second science? I have heard business isn't very preferred but I do enjoy it)

English HL
Biology HL
Geography HL (My school doesn't offer History unfortunately or Economics)

I really want to study in Cambridge so much and I hope you can give me advice.
Any suggestions on this subject choice??

OP

Original post by Edminzodo

Dear Admissions Tutor,

I just wondered what sort of support/advice is given to applicants with Asperger's Syndrome, as I will make my university choices with this in mind.

Any advice would be brilliant, but I would like to know if, because I am good at subjects I enjoy, and not others, this will be taken into account when looking at examination results.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Edminzodo.

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Hi there, thanks for yourr message. The University is committed to helping students with disabilities of all kinds during application and throughout their time in Cambridge. The Disability Resource Centre (DRC) is dedicated to this and also to helping advise colleges and department about how they can ensure the needs of disabled students are catered for.

When you apply, there is a form you can fill in to inform us of any disabilities that we need to be aware of both in terms of ensuring that interview arrangements are satisfactory but also to help us contextuallise the appplication.

We are aware that applicants with Asperger's are more likely to have uneven results and that is something that we can bear in mind when we consider their application.

The University undertook a big project on Asperger's between 2009 and 2012 to ensure that we are doing all we can to support students with this condition.

I hope that is helpful in giving you some information.

Ask an Admissions Tutor IV, 7 July - 27 July 2014

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