Ask an Admissions Tutor IX, 4th August - 2nd September

Thank you for your replies, it's nice to know someone else understands.

I worked so hard to get through the interview then waited over Christmas (and my birthday) to find out whether I had an offer and when I did get the offer it was definitely the best day of my life.

I really thought there was absolutely no way that I would not get the grades; I told my family that it was not something to even consider.

Now not only have I missed the offer, I am so far off the grades that I wasn't even pooled and despite my wishes that there would be some flexibility, I never heard from my college again.

The worst part is that I put in SOO much work, I covered everything truly believing I would never let it slip through my fingers - I got 10A*s from a state school and I know that whenever I put my mind to anything I can do it. I just can't believe this has happened and I can't get out of this constant state of anxiety, my heart pounding and a lump in my throat and wondering why everyone else was able to do it and I wasn't.

I have had two remarks back now the B is 1 mark off an A (but apparently a lost cause) and one of the A's remains miles off an A*. Everyone is telling me I have to move on and forget it but I can't - that course at that college is everything to me and I just can't let all the hard work I have put in over the last 4 years result in AAB (very average grades to me).

Hi,

I recently took part in a Critical Thinking study that was a collaboration between Macat and Cambridge University. I was wondering if it was worth putting something in my Personal Statement about it, as I ranked in the 99th percentile overall and the 100th percentile for two of the six skills listed. However I'm not sure how seriously it would be taken by any university, let alone Cambridge, as it is not exactly related to the subject area I wish to apply for (French and Italian).

Thanks again!

Hi, I am an aspiring medic who achieved 10A*, 1A and 1B at GCSE but I was under the impression that AS results would not be considered so I did not try my best and ended up with 2A's and 2D's. However, my predictions for A2 are A*A*A, so would I have a hence of getting an interview at Oxford or Cambridge if I also had a very successful personal statement?

Thanks a lot.

Hi, a quick question relating to the getting an offer process.

Will the pre-interview test be used to choose who gets an interview or not? Or is it used in combination with interview performance to see who gets an offer?

would you accept an applicant for HSPS whose a level choices were psychology, sociology, religious studies and geography???

Hello and thanks for your question. I'm sorry to hear that you didn't perform as well as you would have liked at AS - if you don;t mind my saying it's a shame that, as a potential medic and given the intensity of competition for that subject anywhere in the UK, it wasn't brought to your attention that universities would be interested in your AS results.

Your chances partly depend on what subjects the Ds were in but my feeling is that you will need to do very well at BMAT to give yourself a chance of an interview and an offer.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply, would it help my case if the majority of my year group at school didn't do particularly well either, as the class average for chemistry was an E and for biology an E/U. Also, do you think it is worth me still applying to either Oxford or Cambridge still?

Hi I'm thinking of applying for medicine this year, I got my AS level results in only maths and geography. Will you be looking at my Geography UMS too?

Hello and thanks for your question. Your offer would be on Math, Chemistry and Computing, we wouldn;t be interested i the English. Just concentrate on doing as well in the relevant Advanced Highers as possible. Your Highers are fine, not among the very best, but certainly enough to apply with.

It does take a lot of work but it's only a few times a year and I really enjoy it. I learn a lot from it for my job so that's really helpful. It's good for the university and college in showing that we are available to help students with their queries plus it is, I hope, genuinely useful for them. Answering the same question or type of question again and again isn't much fun but one always has to remind yourself that while it might be the hundredth time you've answered that question, it's the first time they've asked it. People invest a lot of time and emotion into a Cambridge application, so the least I can do is take their question and concerns seriously.

Thanks for the quick reply! So would you recommend I drop English?

It is so difficult when you have had the prospect of Cambridge in front of you with an offer in your hands for months and then to see it all disappear. There's not much that one can say and it will probably take some time to get over.

It's easy for me to say this, of course, but there are other universities out there and other courses that are very good. You will be able to pursue your subject elsewhere to a very high level and, if you do well, then Cambridge (and your college) will still be here for postgraduate work.

From my own experience, I had my heart set on Cambridge and was devastated when it didn't work out (I didn't even get pooled in the winter let alone get an offer!). I determined, however, that I would do the best I could at university and, if I still wanted to go to Cambridge, I'd go as a postgraduate. While Cambridge might seem the be-all-and-end-all now, there are other roads to take to success and happiness and I really hope that you are able to find them soon.

Only tangentially I think. We care about your Science subjects not really your Humanities ones. We'd be interested to see how you do but it's not going to be a major focus of decision making.

Thank you for your reply! I got As in both Geography and Maths but I did not get very high UMS. C1 95, C2 93 and S1 88. Geography unit 1 140/140 and 47/60. GCSEs 10A*s and 2As and predicted 3 A*s. Would my maths UMS let me down as it averages 92? What are my chances of getting an interview? Would you say I will need to do very well in the BMAT in order to get an interview? Thanks again in advance!

The pre-interview assessments will be used in conjunction with other elements of the paper application to decide on who gets interviews. It can also be used as part of the overall assessment for who gets places.

Are the other elements of the paper application the personal statement, reference and grades?

It might do if it were clear that there were teaching problems or marking problems but the fact remains that AADD is well below what one expect a potential medic to achieve I am afraid. In the end, the decision of whether it's worth applying is up to you. I've said above what I think you would need to do to be potentially viable and it's up to you whether you think that is a realistic goal and whether you feel Cambridge or, indeed, Oxford is worth it.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply again, but I am still confused as to why I was misled by the Cambridge admissions tutors when I went to he open day and genetics masterclass, as they said they would not be considering as results because many people are not taking them? So does this mean they definitely are now? Sorry if I sound rude but I'm just a little confused.

Thanks again.