Ask Peterhouse!

Oh I agree it seems like a great way to further differentiate between applicants from an outside view, just from a student's view it's just a "Oh no another test I have to do really well in" especially since it seems there's no real way to prepare for it, other than STEP maybe. It's both a chance to show off our ability and a chance to mess up our chances at the same time, maybe I just get stressed more than most people :P

with such statements that you seem to be insisting on, it sounds like you're doing a good job at that for yourself already ...

if they say it's an extra chance to shine besides the interview and a more suitable test than the previous tests they had, then stating that you it's different is not helping anyone, least of all yourself.

Yes, I will take all 6 physics modules in a year
Unfortunately my school doesn't offer further maths
I'd ike to take the NatSci route

I once read that Cambridge rejected someone for having a math UMS of 84%
Considering that my math UMS is just 86%, is there really a chance for me to get in to Cambridge?
How much actually does the UMS thingy affect my application?

Would you need to be on grade 8 on your main instrument?

would i be at a disadvantage to people with more historically-based subjects?

Hi
How would it be viewed if i were to apply for physical natsci with IB higher levels of maths,physics and economics? Would the lack of two sciences be a major problem?
Thanks

Thank you so much for your reply and clarification & detailed explanation. Greatly appreciated.
It's very assuring and a relief to know what we, the voluntary helpers in this forum, hadn't been giving wrong advices to potential applicants to Cambridge. *phew*

It may be a weird question, but can I please ask who I'm speaking with now?
I noticed Martin (I think...) was back to this thread earlier today but with a different username/avatar, but now the old Peterhouse Admissions username/avatar is back again....
Because the role of SLO and that of Admission Tutors are not exactly the same, I do understand the perspective/approach of each can be slightly different which can be reflected in how it's replied. I think it'd help us (or at least me!) if we know who's speaking from what perspective to understand better and avoid misinterpretation of what's being said.

thank you so much!

should I mention my all my AS grades OR just the 3 A2 level grades and my one AS grade that I dropped.

for example: if I got AABB at AS level and dropped one of the B's would that B be the only AS grade I mention whilst I only specify my A2 grades for my continued three subjects?

thanks again

Hello! I have a couple of questions about personal statements for an English application.

1) How would you view a personal statement in which the majority of books mentioned are modern?
2) Is it okay to talk about foreign works (for example French works in translation, or American works) in your personal statement, or should the focus be purely on works by English writers?

Thank you in advance for your time!

Hello, and thank you for this thread!

I will be applying for history this year as a student who has already finished my A2s. My A2 grades were: A* Maths (92%), A* Physics (94%), and an A in History (94% over the whole A level, but I missed out on the A* due to a shock A2 module result and will be retaking!). I also got 87% (A) in my Politics AS. I was 'commended' in the Peterhouse History essay competition, which I hope makes up a little for my History grade, but I am concerned the A will weaken my application. Would my A grade in History be considered a serious problem?

Many thanks for your time.

Answers posted are written by a number of people (Admissions Tutors/Directors of Studies as appropriate), but generally edited and entered by Kathy and Martin (the Admissions Coordinator/Assistant) as this helps ensure a consistent tone. Essentially the posts we make on here are exactly the same answers and from the same people as you would get if you phoned or emailed the admissions office.

Do applicants receiving a Computer Science w/Maths offer ever be required to get an A* in Physics? I know the typical offer is A*A*A 1,1 in Maths, Further Maths, Physics, STEP II and III respectively but in what situation would you want an A* in all three, the third being in Physics?

I only ask because applying for a course with no Physics in at all, I wouldn't expect to need the A* in it.

Leading me onto my second question - If a (Computer Science with Maths) offer holder where to narrowly miss their STEP grades but hit/ surpass A level grades, is it technically a possibility that they get offered a place for either of the other Computer Science options - the ones lighter on Maths?

Thanks in advance!

Hey I'm going to be applying for pg study this year, in particular the MASt in Applied Maths. Is there any scholarships/funding help from peterhouse for this course? (i'm a home/uk student)

Also I was wondering how close the pg accommodation is to the college? Do pg's eat very often at the college? Just trying to get an idea of whether the pg community is integrated with the college or a bit more independent, and do you think that's common amongst other colleges? Thanks a lot in advance!

Hi, thanks for the reply! I'm currently intending to do anywhere between 8 to 11 maths modules as well as Physics and Economics A2 this year. Would that be equivalent of doing 3 or 4 subjects?

That's a pretty heavy workload, make sure you're not overburdening yourself!

Would you say UMS is more of a guideline, used to see that quality of an applicant, so it becomes more of a "pass or fail" aspect or do you truly consider an applicant with say 1% UMS more than the next a considerably better applicant?

This may seem like a very vauge and weirdly worded question I feel haha. I mean, is UMS primarily used as a benchmark (i.e. if you get over x% UMS you have as much chance of getting a place as everyone with higher UMS and the exact scores are only considered when comparing various very similar applicants) or is it looked into in much more detail where applicants with higher UMS are considered a much better applicant when looking at only test scores, even if only a couple UMS?

For example, if an applicant got something random like 93.4 UMS, would you just refer to it as within a group such as 90-95 UMS until you need to compare them to a very similar applicant, or is this applicant automatically a much better one than someone with 92 UMS for instance, or would you say these two are too alike to pick one based off of UMS scores to that much detail? The question is basically how much weighting does the exact UMS score actually have, I have a feeling people obsess over them to much and as long as you're comfortably getting >90 UMS you can consider yourself a strong applicant since there's so many aspects of an application to consider.

If I'm correct, does this also mean the teacher reference also has a just as big weighting, as a typical "Best in School" student is a strong applicant almost always.

Hi,

I'm planning on applying for medicine at Cambridge and am wondering how useful doing an EPQ on a biologically related topic is. I know that it is something that is looked favourably upon but could you please expand on how it is looked at to help me decide whether the additional hours I would allocate to it would be better off doing something else, such as reading scientific journals and books.

Also, I know that for medicine applications you look at SUMS, mine is 91.7. It would be 92.7 if my further maths modules weren't taken into account. I'm doing further maths AS over two years. As I'm in year 13 now I'll be finishing it this academic year. Will the fact that I'm doing more maths modules make up for one of the further maths modules lowering my SUMS?

Thank you very much,
Amin

How important would you say knowledge around the subject an applicant wishes to apply for is?

For example, are all Computer Science applicants expected to know loads of coding etc (will there be a whole interview simply focused on Computer Science) or are applicants allowed to just want to study it instead of already doing so?

Hi Peterhouse admission, I am an international student applying from China, and I have some questions about the admission of the mathematics with physics course.


1. COPA asks if the candidate is planning to transfer to other departments after first year. What is the purpose of it and will one's application be disadvantaged by a positive response?

2. Is 1,S on STEP 2,3 a competitive result for maths with physics? How competitive is the admission of the course at Peterhouse?

3. If a student studying maths with physics transfers, after finishing part IA maths, to natural science department, does he/she need to study other subjects like chemistry, or just physics and advanced mathematics in the second year?

4. What is your college's travelling grants (for physics projects) based on?


Thanks