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Is it possible for me to go to Cambridge?

Hey guys, I'm new here so forgive me; I just made this account a few minutes ago.

Last year I finished my A2 level but I didn't apply to university in that year but I will be applying this year for 2017 entry. If any of you are curious I had to go abroad for a while for personal reasons, so I effectively took a sort of gap year, but because of the timing I have to apply this year and enter next September.

Anyway, I want to go to Cambridge, to study either Engineering or Computer Science. For A-levels I studied Maths, Further Maths, and Physics to A2 and I done Economics AS.

Maths - A*
Further Maths - A*
Physics - A*
Economics - B (AS only)

Looking at Cambridge's entry requirements these seem fine, but the thing is I'm worried about my GCSE grades. I had a really bad time with GCSEs and retook them TWICE and even then I didn't do that well and barely got 5.

English - C
Maths - B
Physics - B
Chemistry - C
Biology - D
ICT - C

So I'm wondering if Cambridge (and other highly ranked universities) would scrutinise these GCSEs despite the fact I achieved 3 A*s at A-level? I've heard Cambridge aren't as harsh as Oxford when it comes to GCSEs but I'm still quite worried.

Imperial College would be my second choice but you see they have a minimum requirement of grade B for English GCSE so that's out of the picture...

Thanks for reading.

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Reply 1

Doones

Original post by nottherightkey

Anyway, I want to go to Cambridge, to study either Engineering or Computer Science. For A-levels I studied Maths, Further Maths, and Physics to A2 and I done Economics AS.

Maths - A*
Further Maths - A*
Physics - A*
Economics - B (AS only)

Your GCSEs are not that relevant for Cambridge, and your A-levels are MUCH more important.

A*A*A* in those subjects means you are a competitive applicant for Cambridge. And they will be impressed by your GCSE to A-level improvement.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 2

Ordo

Wow Im amazed can you please share tips with us how to ace A* in maths? Thanks :biggrin:

Reply 3

Someboady

Original post by nottherightkey

I want whatever drug you're taking dude.

Jk
But seriously damn, that's improvement of course you have a shot :smile:

Reply 4

nottherightkey

Original post by Ordo

Wow Im amazed can you please share tips with us how to ace A* in maths? Thanks :biggrin:

LOTS AND LOTS of pass papers, and start early. I started studying before the term started (i.e. in the summer holidays) so I was pretty much finished with a lot of the material before we started learning it. ExamSolutions was also a brilliant help, he explains things really well. It's all about practice for mathematics in my opinion.

As for physics, I recommend reading more than one textbook to get a better insight in to the subject as well as enabling you to see things from multiple perspectives. There are also tonnes of YouTube videos for extra bits.

Reply 5

Someboady

Original post by jneill

How much of a difference is there between the way Oxford and Cambridge look at GCSE's? What are the average number of A*'s at GCSE and how much exactly do they look at the quality of your secondary school? I think this will play a factor on which I choose to apply to.

Reply 6

nottherightkey

Original post by Someboady

I want whatever drug you're taking dude.

Jk
But seriously damn, that's improvement of course you have a shot :smile:

No drugs

just starting early and having zero social life :X
Plus, I guess being passionate about mathematics helped me a bit.

Reply 7

nottherightkey

Original post by jneill

Thank you so much for the reply. This gives me reassurance!

Reply 8

Nayzar

Original post by nottherightkey

Exam solutions is pengaleng

Reply 9

Ordo

Original post by nottherightkey

Awesome I used ExamSolutions too, and it's very good. I'm doing biology too, but I take that as advice so I better read textbook again. Best of luck in future :smile:

Reply 10

debbie394

Original post by nottherightkey

No drugs

just starting early and having zero social life :X
Plus, I guess being passionate about mathematics helped me a bit.

Sorry if I sound rude...
out of curiosity, how do you get a B in Maths GCSE but A* in A level?
I really want to do well in A level and I really hate GCSEs but I just want to know how thats possible?

Reply 11

Kaiylar

Original post by nottherightkey

Hi, do you know why you were doing so badly in your GCSEs and how you improved massively? Is it simply that you revised a lot for your A levels?

Reply 12

nottherightkey

Original post by esmeralda123

Sorry if I sound rude...
out of curiosity, how do you get a B in Maths GCSE but A* in A level?
I really want to do well in A level and I really hate GCSEs but I just want to know how thats possible?

To be honest, this will sound extremely stupid but... I found GCSE maths harder than A-level maths, relative to my age at the time of course.

The type of questions asked in the GCSE maths were just a bit harder for me back then to understand. A-level is more pure maths so I kind of connected with it more. However that's not to say I found A-level maths easy, it was still difficult. I think it's mainly because I worked much harder in my A-levels, I was more motivated and more 'mature'.

As I said further up, I had a hard time at GCSE and failed twice.

Reply 13

Siberiaan

idk the answer to the question , just wanted to say props on the huge fckin improvement. jheez you went full saitama.

Reply 14

nottherightkey

Original post by Kaiylar

Hi, do you know why you were doing so badly in your GCSEs and how you improved massively? Is it simply that you revised a lot for your A levels?

I was extremely lazy, among other things. During my GCSEs in high school I didn't study at all because I was a 'know it all' and I thought I didn't need to study. How wrong I was. When I came time for me to retake, I pretty much done the same things over and over. It wasn't until the very end, just before my 2nd retake exams I realised how much of an idiot I was being. So I said **** it and put all my time in the physics and maths to get Bs...

After that I knew I wanted to do maths at A-level so I spent the WHOLE holiday studying A-level maths. Not a fun summer holiday, but I think it was worth it in the end. So by the time September came I was already fine with AS maths, so I focused on physics. I done the exact same thing the next year with A2.

I personally like to focus on one thing at a time and essentially 'master' it, that is, feel comfortable with it, before moving on to something else.

Reply 15

nottherightkey

Original post by TSR Mustafa

idk the answer to the question , just wanted to say props on the huge fckin improvement. jheez you went full saitama.

Haha coincidentally I read some One Punch Man manga during that time!

Reply 16

Siberiaan

Original post by nottherightkey

Haha coincidentally I read some One Punch Man manga during that time!

I knew it!

you followed his routine:
100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!"

XD

Reply 17

Someboady

Original post by nottherightkey

No drugs

just starting early and having zero social life :X
Plus, I guess being passionate about mathematics helped me a bit.

Ah, are you in year 13? Haven't you already applied to university o.0?

Reply 18

nottherightkey

Original post by Someboady

Ah, are you in year 13? Haven't you already applied to university o.0?

No read further up.

I didn't apply to university at the end of my A2 levels, nor did I apply for deferred entry. I went abroad and I'm applying this year.

Reply 19

Aamna-

Wow, your grades are great; I definitely think it's worth a shot applying to Cambridge. Oh, and by any chance, did you go to a particularly low-performing high school? Because that could help your case a lot, or you could say it was special circumstances (e.g. you were going through a rough time).

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