Ask the Admissions Team

OP

Original post by TabulaSmaragdina

Hello, I applied to Cambridge in 2015 unsuccessfully with 4As and an 89 % average in Maths (84%) Economics(95%) English Literature and Spanish. Would it be worth re-applying in 2016 with an A in Further Maths A-level (which I did entirely this year) an A* in Maths an A* in English Literature and an A* in Economics? Thank you.

It depends a bit on which subject you're thinking of applying for but, generally speaking, if you think you can boost your grades to being equal to or above our typical offer then you should certainly think about reapplying. For reference, if you reapply to Cambridge your application is treated as brand new in theory, but in practice the people who interviewed you at your College may well remember you - this may be a good thing or a bad thing, so I'd suggest you contact the College you applied to this year and asking for feedback (if you mention that you're thinking of reapplying then they may be able to advise you on whether this is worth your while, perhaps even how close you were to getting an offer).

Reply 162

OP

Original post by Skill Twix

Does Cambridge consider people who'd be retaking A levels?
For instance,they get ABBB in AS levels and 3 B's in A levels!But then plan to retake!

We do consider all applicants carefully, nobody is simply dismissed on A levels alone. The best thing to do would be to contact the College(s) you're interested in, with details of any extenuating circumstances, if appropriate. We have, in the past, considered candidates who have repeated their entire Year 13 for reasons like: medical problems; moving country; lack of motivation in year 12 (now rectified).

Reply 163

TabulaSmaragdina

9

Thanks you for your quick response. I applied (and hopefully will be reapplying) for Economics.

Original post by Peterhouse Admissions

It depends a bit on which subject you're thinking of applying for but, generally speaking, if you think you can boost your grades to being equal to or above our typical offer then you should certainly think about reapplying. For reference, if you reapply to Cambridge your application is treated as brand new in theory, but in practice the people who interviewed you at your College may well remember you - this may be a good thing or a bad thing, so I'd suggest you contact the College you applied to this year and asking for feedback (if you mention that you're thinking of reapplying then they may be able to advise you on whether this is worth your while, perhaps even how close you were to getting an offer).

Reply 164

OP

Original post by Kadak

Posted from TSR Mobile
I'm thinking of applying for bio natsci but I did bad in my physics unit 1,my chemistry and biology should go fine since I do really well in those subjects. Maths is going well,but I'm worried I flopped in one of my units c2?

Will this likely negatively impact my application?
Would it make more sense if I resit unit 1 physics and c2 perhaps,and apply post a level with a much stronger set of results?
How would Cambridge view post applicants with higher ums at A2 than AS, will it be seen as a bad or good thing?

In the first instance we're mostly looking at your three best/most relevant AS results. In this case, that would be Biology, Chemistry and Maths, so I wouldn't worry too much about a poor performance in Physics (especially if you are dropping it after AS). If you're worried you won't achieve an A/A* in Maths because of your C2 module then you might want to think about resitting (as long as you can cope with this alongside your other modules) - it's not uncommon for people to be resitting a module or two, and when you fill in your Cambridge SAQ you can indicate which module(s) you are resitting so we can take that into account too.

So it probably isn't necessary for you to take a year out, if the only reason you're thinking of doing it is because of these results - and you can always reapply if you're unsucessful the first time around.

Reply 165

econam

11

For someone applying for Economics with Maths, F Maths, Economics and Geography. What UMS averages would be taken?

Also, is this a strong combination of A-levels for the Economics course?

Reply 166

CancerousProblem

2

Original post by Peterhouse Admissions

I'm sorry to hear your exam didn't go as you'd hoped. It really depends - if you're still excelling in your other Maths modules, and on target to get the typical offer of A*A*A in relevant subjects, then dropping a few marks in one module is fine. We don't have any quotas or cutoff points here, so I can't say anything like "if you drop below XX% then you won't be considered".

I suggest you wait and see how you did before you start panicking unnecessarily, and put that energy into doing as well as you can in your next round of exams.

I should add that I am doing STEP 1 this year as well, not just for the chance of getting a decent result, but also to put pressure on me to do more maths (This has turned into an excuse for me to do less revision for my other non maths a levels in favour of trying more step questions but I still think they went okay). How important is the result I get for that?

Reply 167

.-sophie-.

Hi,
Is it better to have 3 A levels of a high standard without a fourth or to have 3 at a high standard with a fourth slightly lower? Basically, if I decide to not drop an A level after AS, would whatever I do worst in be taken into consideration and negatively affect my chances of a successful application?
Thanks

Reply 168

PotterPhysics

6

Original post by Peterhouse Admissions

Postgraduate admissions are handled by the Departments rather than the Colleges so it would be best to speak to them directly. The entrance requirements are a first-class degree in a mathematical subject. The course is very competitive, not only in terms of admissions but also in terms of some of the more popular research topics.

Doing maths and physics would not hinder your chances of being accepted and the decision of whether or not to admit someone is based on information regarding the course they took at the other university rather than by entrance exam.

You may find this page from the Faculty website helpful. It has some useful pdf about the course - the Unofficial Guide is particularly useful in terms of applying and assessment.

Thanks, I found the guide very informative. As a related question, are there any statistics to suggest from which external university the students who are most successful at Part III are from?

Reply 169

OP

Original post by econam

For someone applying for Economics with Maths, F Maths, Economics and Geography. What UMS averages would be taken?

Also, is this a strong combination of A-levels for the Economics course?

For Economics, the Merit Score of most interest would be the best 3, but we can also see a maths (all maths+FM modules) average and a 4 subject average, as well as the scores for individual modules.

Reply 170

OP

Original post by .-sophie-.

Hi,
Is it better to have 3 A levels of a high standard without a fourth or to have 3 at a high standard with a fourth slightly lower? Basically, if I decide to not drop an A level after AS, would whatever I do worst in be taken into consideration and negatively affect my chances of a successful application?
Thanks

We only expect candidates to be taking 3 A levels. It is far better to excel in 3 than do less well in 4. However, if you do decide to take 4, then which 3 are looked at most closely will depend a little on which subjects you are studying and which course you are applying for.

Reply 171

OP

Original post by PotterPhysics

Thanks, I found the guide very informative. As a related question, are there any statistics to suggest from which external university the students who are most successful at Part III are from?

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that. All postgraduate admissions is handled by the Departments/Faculties in the first instance so you could try asking the Maths Faculty?

Reply 172

OP

Original post by CancerousProblem

I should add that I am doing STEP 1 this year as well, not just for the chance of getting a decent result, but also to put pressure on me to do more maths (This has turned into an excuse for me to do less revision for my other non maths a levels in favour of trying more step questions but I still think they went okay). How important is the result I get for that?

We don't expect candidates to be taking STEP before they apply. The result you get is therefore not important.

Reply 173

OP

Hi all,

Thanks for all your questions so far! Just to say that there is one more day for you to put your questions to us in this thread. For our next event, we're looking at having a maths-specific 'Ask a Mathematics interviewer' thread from the 15th-25th June.

Reply 174

OP

Original post by Angry Tomato

By not important do you mean "We don't mind you doing badly" or "We don't care even if you do well", or both?

Looking forward to math interviewer thread ^^

I'm guessing maths is quite popular on TSR?

It would be the first of the two. We don't expect you to do STEP before applying so not doing well at STEP wouldn't disadvantage you. However, poor grades at A level combined with a poor STEP grade would be a real concern - don't try to do both if you feel it would have a negative impact on your A levels as these are more important.

Reply 175

ComputerMaths97

17

Short and simple, all other things being equal, a consistently good applicant (just general all things about him/her are similar of average applicant type) or a fluctuating one (lots of outstanding parts, lots of worrying parts)?? I know as a Cambridge admissions tutor it's very rare to be amazed by anything at all, but was just wondering if there's a preference to someone that does good in everything, or someone else that does great and not so great as a mix. Hard to explain but I'm sure you get the idea! :smile:

Reply 176

ComputerMaths97

17

Original post by Angry Tomato

By not important do you mean "We don't mind you doing badly" or "We don't care even if you do well", or both?

Looking forward to math interviewer thread ^^

I'm guessing maths is quite popular on TSR?

You'd have to get an S in STEP I in Year 12 for them to be amazed, a 1 on the other hand I think is the sort of standard good grade they'd expect every one of their resultant offer holders to of been able to hit.

Reply 177

OP

Original post by joe12345marc

Short and simple, all other things being equal, a consistently good applicant (just general all things about him/her are similar of average applicant type) or a fluctuating one (lots of outstanding parts, lots of worrying parts)?? I know as a Cambridge admissions tutor it's very rare to be amazed by anything at all, but was just wondering if there's a preference to someone that does good in everything, or someone else that does great and not so great as a mix. Hard to explain but I'm sure you get the idea! :smile:

That's not really how we assess candidates I'm afraid. We are looking for someone who will excel in their subject, and for each subject that means something different. In Maths, all we really want is for you to excel in Maths, and being good at (for example) History won't make a difference to that. In subjects like English, a whole range of subjects can be helpful, so doing well in other subjects (e.g. History or Maths) can contribute to doing well in English.

Reply 178

OP