A levels and cambridge
I did not do as well as hoped in my GCSES for various different reasons and only ended up with about 14B's rather than any a's or A*s.
if I were to get straight A's in my A levels, would I have any chance of even being considered for Cambridge or is that out of reach?!
(I heard that they are more focused on a levels unlike Oxford who dismiss immediately dependent on GCSEs; Cambridge are a bit more lenient)
if if I were to get 4 A's In AS, what would my chances be as a Cambridge candidate and is any of the above true?
if I were to get straight A's in my A levels, would I have any chance of even being considered for Cambridge or is that out of reach?!
(I heard that they are more focused on a levels unlike Oxford who dismiss immediately dependent on GCSEs; Cambridge are a bit more lenient)
if if I were to get 4 A's In AS, what would my chances be as a Cambridge candidate and is any of the above true?
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Original post by ConlanScottoc
I did not do as well as hoped in my GCSES for various different reasons and only ended up with about 14B's rather than any a's or A*s.
if I were to get straight A's in my A levels, would I have any chance of even being considered for Cambridge or is that out of reach?!
(I heard that they are more focused on a levels unlike Oxford who dismiss immediately dependent on GCSEs; Cambridge are a bit more lenient)
if if I were to get 4 A's In AS, what would my chances be as a Cambridge candidate and is any of the above true?
if I were to get straight A's in my A levels, would I have any chance of even being considered for Cambridge or is that out of reach?!
(I heard that they are more focused on a levels unlike Oxford who dismiss immediately dependent on GCSEs; Cambridge are a bit more lenient)
if if I were to get 4 A's In AS, what would my chances be as a Cambridge candidate and is any of the above true?
4As is normal for a Cambridge applicant so that alone wouldn't be enough. If you got ridiculously good UMS (like well above a 95% average) that might be enough to persuade them but to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't bet on it. 14Bs isn't a great place to be starting from.
Original post by Chlorophile
4As is normal for a Cambridge applicant so that alone wouldn't be enough. If you got ridiculously good UMS (like well above a 95% average) that might be enough to persuade them but to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't bet on it. 14Bs isn't a great place to be starting from.
Recommend re-taking GCSES during my A levels?
It is true that Oxford pay more attention to GCSEs than Cambridge. That being said, obviously Cambridge applicants tend to have strong GCSEs as well. But Cambridge do place a strong emphasis on AS ums whereby they take your average ums for your three best AS's and this generally needs to be over 90% and obviously the higher the better. Tbh with your low gcses you'd probably need to be scoring at the top end. At the end of the day, you have 5 choices and if you get high ums at AS then you may as well have a go
Original post by ConlanScottoc
Recommend re-taking GCSES during my A levels?
If you're going to have the remotest chance of getting something like 95%+ at AS, you're going to have to dedicate all of your time to your AS Levels. To be perfectly honest, I think it might be a better idea to maybe lower your ambitions a little bit, I'm sorry :/
Original post by Askaud
It is true that Oxford pay more attention to GCSEs than Cambridge. That being said, obviously Cambridge applicants tend to have strong GCSEs as well. But Cambridge do place a strong emphasis on AS ums whereby they take your average ums for your three best AS's and this generally needs to be over 90% and obviously the higher the better. At the end of the day, you have 5 choices and if you get high ums at AS then you may as well have a go
You have brought me optimism!
Original post by Chlorophile
If you're going to have the remotest chance of getting something like 95%+ at AS, you're going to have to dedicate all of your time to your AS Levels. To be perfectly honest, I think it might be a better idea to maybe lower your ambitions a little bit, I'm sorry :/
I was forecast like 12/13 A's or A*s so it's not as if I don't have the potential :/
Original post by ConlanScottoc
You have brought me optimism!
Have optimism for sure but realise that it will be a tough ask. If you don't make it then remember that Oxbridge isn't the be all and end all
Original post by ConlanScottoc
I was forecast like 12/13 A's or A*s so it's not as if I don't have the potential :/
Not to sound mean but do you really think Cambridge will care? You can't drop more than a grade across 12 or 13 subjects because of the odd bad exam, that to me (and to the university) would indicate that your predicted grades were grossly inflated.
Original post by ConlanScottoc
I was forecast like 12/13 A's or A*s so it's not as if I don't have the potential :/
Did you have any extenuating circumstances? Mentioning that could help you out a bit and if your course required an admissions test then obviously doing well in that can help offset your gcse results
Original post by Chlorophile
Not to sound mean but do you really think Cambridge will care? You can't drop more than a grade across 12 or 13 subjects because of the odd bad exam, that to me (and to the university) would indicate that your predicted grades were grossly inflated.
Sometimes you have reasons why you don't perform up to scratch, a pre-judgement Is unnecessary.
For sure, from the outside, your views are correct.
Original post by ConlanScottoc
Sometimes you have reasons why you don't perform up to scratch, a pre-judgement Is unnecessary.
For sure, from the outside, your views are correct.
For sure, from the outside, your views are correct.
Dropping multiple grades across every single subject? If the OP proves us wrong by totally nailing his AS Levels then great, but I find it difficult to understand what could cause such a catastrophic underachievement.
Cambridge looks at the applicant in the eyes of improvement. For example, they want to see candidates that have developed during their education experience, unlike Oxford who wants to see students at a constant high. Cambridge want students to have a slope of progress, so if you did get 4 A's with high UMS and something that made you stand out, you would have a high chance.
Original post by ConlanScottoc
Recommend re-taking GCSES during my A levels?
No.
Get solid UMS and have a shot. You should be getting around 90% on average at least. Beyond that, if you interview well, submit good work, do well in any tests etc there's no reason you shouldn't be in with a shot.
Original post by matt1012
Cambridge looks at the applicant in the eyes of improvement. For example, they want to see candidates that have developed during their education experience, unlike Oxford who wants to see students at a constant high. Cambridge want students to have a slope of progress, so if you did get 4 A's with high UMS and something that made you stand out, you would have a high chance.
I heard this somewhere. But others ^^ seam to believe otherwise! How sure are you on that?
Original post by matt1012
Cambridge looks at the applicant in the eyes of improvement. For example, they want to see candidates that have developed during their education experience, unlike Oxford who wants to see students at a constant high. Cambridge want students to have a slope of progress, so if you did get 4 A's with high UMS and something that made you stand out, you would have a high chance.
Original post by ConlanScottoc
I heard this somewhere. But others ^^ seam to believe otherwise! How sure are you on that?
I think it's that they consider recent improvement more. They're just as, if not more, likely to take someone with excellent AS grades and excellent GCSE grades than someone with good ASs and (relatively) average GCSEs.
Original post by ConlanScottoc
I did not do as well as hoped in my GCSES for various different reasons and only ended up with about 14B's rather than any a's or A*s.
if I were to get straight A's in my A levels, would I have any chance of even being considered for Cambridge or is that out of reach?!
(I heard that they are more focused on a levels unlike Oxford who dismiss immediately dependent on GCSEs; Cambridge are a bit more lenient)
if if I were to get 4 A's In AS, what would my chances be as a Cambridge candidate and is any of the above true?
if I were to get straight A's in my A levels, would I have any chance of even being considered for Cambridge or is that out of reach?!
(I heard that they are more focused on a levels unlike Oxford who dismiss immediately dependent on GCSEs; Cambridge are a bit more lenient)
if if I were to get 4 A's In AS, what would my chances be as a Cambridge candidate and is any of the above true?
also, a clear improvement in AS levels as compared to GCSEs tends to be interpreted as a very positive indication
"With the exception of those for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (grade C or above in GCSE Double Award Science and Mathematics), there are no GCSE requirements for entry to Cambridge, and there is no minimum number of A* grades required for any of our courses.
Our research shows that post-16 examination performance is a much better predictor of degree success at Cambridge. While GCSE results are looked at as a performance indicator, this is within the context of the school/college performance and strong performance in Years 12 and 13 can make up for a less stellar performance at GCSE".
have a look here http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/apply/requirements/thefacts.html
I am relieved to know that I almost get another chance at it!
Original post by ConlanScottoc
I am relieved to know that I almost get another chance at it!
For sure, never give up and whilst you can still do something about it then do it. At the end of the day, only the cambridge tutors can know what chance you have and if they think you're good enough for cambridge, then they'll have you. As I said, you get 5 choices so you may as well go for it if you perfom at AS.
Good luck
I think people are taking Cambridge's admissions information a little bit too literally. Whilst Cambridge definitely do take AS results a lot more seriously, it doesn't change the fact that most candidates will have a long string of A*s at GCSE... You are without a doubt going to have to perform higher at AS Level than the normal kind of threshold admissions tutors would expect for someone with better GCSEs to make yourself a safe bet. Which is going to be extremely challenging given the high regular threshold in the first place. It's definitely possible and of course you should try your hardest, but it's still not likely.
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