Chances of getting into Cambridge

Original post by beatrice1813

There are lots of applicants every year, but only about 1/4 gets a place. When asking about what Cambridge is looking for in potential students, I have had diverse an contrasting answers. Some teachers say AS are extremely relevant, others stress the importance of interviews. Personal statements and extracurricular activities do not seem to be as crucial but they still play a role. I am planning on applying for English, but I would like to know other students' opinions on what my chance of are of getting in (or at least being asked for an interview!) just to prepare myself and try to be as rational as possible. For my AS I got 91% History, 92% Latin, 94% Italian and 100% English Literature. I have quite a range of books I can discuss and have done all my wider reading (I pretty much read all the time) but I'm not so good when it come to extra activities - no DofE and no acting, no work experiences whatsoever, just a genuine passion for English...
Do you think the lack of qualifications when it comes to hobbies will be an issue or might a strong result at AS make up for it? Thanks for the help, when applying to Oxbridge hearing other people's thoughts on the whole process can really take the pressure off a bit...

I think you will get an interview because your As scores average of best 3 is above 93%. No one can really know about your chances of getting an offer I think. Good luck!

Reply 2

munchbunchh

1

You'll probably get in, they don't care about extra curricular that much unless they're directly related to your subject.

Reply 3

OP

Original post by ¡Muy bien!

I think you will get an interview because your As scores average of best 3 is above 93%. No one can really know about your chances of getting an offer I think. Good luck!

Okay so perhaps I didn't really express myself as clearly as I should have...
Of course an Oxbridge application is still a bit of a gamble and no can know about the chances of getting an offer. What I meant to ask was just whether solid scores at AS can make up for not really having done anything outside of school and for not being the most confident person when it comes to interviews...
Anyway thanks for your help.

Reply 4

Original post by beatrice1813

There are lots of applicants every year, but only about 1/4 gets a place. When asking about what Cambridge is looking for in potential students, I have had diverse an contrasting answers. Some teachers say AS are extremely relevant, others stress the importance of interviews. Personal statements and extracurricular activities do not seem to be as crucial but they still play a role. I am planning on applying for English, but I would like to know other students' opinions on what my chance of are of getting in (or at least being asked for an interview!) just to prepare myself and try to be as rational as possible. For my AS I got 91% History, 92% Latin, 94% Italian and 100% English Literature. I have quite a range of books I can discuss and have done all my wider reading (I pretty much read all the time) but I'm not so good when it come to extra activities - no DofE and no acting, no work experiences whatsoever, just a genuine passion for English...
Do you think the lack of qualifications when it comes to hobbies will be an issue or might a strong result at AS make up for it? Thanks for the help, when applying to Oxbridge hearing other people's thoughts on the whole process can really take the pressure off a bit...

They look at each applicant individually and every aspect of their application holistically. There's no rule or any fixed weighting on any part of your application. And they don't care what you do or don't do in extra-curricular unless it's related to your subject.
You have very good grades/UMS and you seem to have done sufficient super-curricular (extra-curricular related to your subject) . You'll definitely get an interview but it'd depend on how well you do in the interview, too, if you get an offer or not.

Reply 5

OP

Original post by vincrows

They look at each applicant individually and every aspect of their application holistically. There's no rule or any fixed weighting on any part of your application. And they don't care what you do or don't do in extra-curricular unless it's related to your subject.
You have very good grades/UMS and you seem to have done sufficient super-curricular (extra-curricular related to your subject) . You'll definitely get an interview but it'd depend on how well you do in the interview, too, if you get an offer or not.

Hmm, I guess Cambridge is just completely unpredictable. It would be wonderful to study there but at the same time one's life cant depend on that!

Reply 6

Please read this article. It'll tell give you some general idea about how invested their selection method is. It's not as simple as 'if you have X , it will make up for Y.'

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jan/10/how-cambridge-admissions-really-work

Reply 7

Original post by beatrice1813

Hmm, I guess Cambridge is just completely unpredictable. It would be wonderful to study there but at the same time one's life cant depend on that!

It's only one of five choices you can put on UCAS, tho?
And you definitely have very promising set of UMS. I think it'd be a waste if you don't give it a go.
Btw, I'm not a student, and I've seen many cases of Cambridge application for many years, so what I'm saying is not complete wild guess. :wink:

Reply 8

cathartic

12

How did you achieve 100% in English literature that is so amazing!!! Congratulations !!! Did you revise from the start?

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Reply 9

OP

Original post by vincrows

It's only one of five choices you can put on UCAS, tho?
And you definitely have very promising set of UMS. I think it'd be a waste if you don't give it a go.
Btw, I'm not a student, and I've seen many cases of Cambridge application for many years, so what I'm saying is not complete wild guess. :wink:

Exactly I love living in Cambridge and wouldn't want to move but there are other great universities out there so I'll just do my best...
Also, thank you for the article.

Reply 10

OP

Original post by cathartic

How did you achieve 100% in English literature that is so amazing!!! Congratulations !!! Did you revise from the start?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thank you, I actually started revising properly two days before the exam but I had been working hard all year so I had my notes ready and I had used the same quotations in my essays for weeks! And the authors were Dickinson and Charlotte Bronte so I would have been really ashamed if I had failed as I love them! Anyway I was shocked, too, when I saw the result.

Reply 11