I need help with my Cambridge application project.

Hello everyone !
I'm a French student currently in Terminale S with a specialty in Mathematics and the Option Internationale.

I want to apply to the Trinity College of Cambridge University for Computer Science, and I am facing a bit of an issue... which is really two issues when I think about it.

The first one is tied to the fact that I've extensively traveled throughout my scolarity, going from the US to Saudi Arabia and back to France, as such I'm still relatively new in my Highschool, and I don't know how I should go about asking recommendation letters from teachers who've only known me for barely a year.

The second one lies in the application requirements : my grades last year didn't match the required ones at all
(16-17 is required at the back, I could only boast a 14.2 at the end of the year with a math grade as low as 12)

I know, however, that I'll meet the requirements at the Bac for this year, given the opportunity, and I can also show an extremely wide array of Ec's related to computer science and information systems.

I also took the SAT and had a score of 1350.

My problem here is that the admission bureau probably isn't going to bother inspecting my profile once they see the grades I had last year, and I don't want to waste both of our times in completing the application process if that is the case.

Should I bother making an application ? Is it not better to focus on other universities like Southampton, TCD or Edinburgh ?

Any answer, tip or advice is greatly welcome.

Thank you for taking the time to read my question, and Have a nice day.

You have already post the question on Christ's admission tutor's thread.
He is one of the most experienced tutor at Cambridge and Deputy Chair of the university's admission forum.
You won't get more reliable reply in this forum than from him,me specially in a quite complicated case of an overseas student like yours.

If you want give him more details about your profile, etc. better to do it quickly, as he's closing the thread later today. ;

Should I bother making an application ? Is it not better to focus on other universities like Southampton, TCD or Edinburgh ?

As noted by @vincrows, the CAT has already indicated that you are unlikely to be successful as things stand.

Your only realistic route, if Cambridge is your goal, would be to apply after your final grades have been achieved, assuming they meet or preferably exceed the typical offer.

Thank you very much for your answer ! I know you didn't have to write it.

I couldn't find anything about delayed applications through UCAS on the University's site, does that mean I would have to apply without using UCAS?

If so, can you indicate me a date before which I would have to apply ?
again, thank you very much for your time.

No you just apply next year AFTER you get your results. So the deadline will be 15 October 2017, not 2016. It will still be an UCAS application.

NB. You can't apply to Cambridge next year if you already hold an offer at another UK university. So you would also have to delay applying to Southampton, etc.

Alright ! I'd like to thank you for being straightforward.

I'm going to forget Cambridge for the next few years. Additionally, if you have any recommendations or tips to give me on the schools I've listed it would be of great assistance !

Out of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Southampton and TCD, what would be your personal ranking of these universities and the experiences they offer overall ? I'm curious about what you think.

Have a fantastic day !

Why have you selected those universities? Have you checked the course content in detail? At first glance I'd say a list with those 4 (plus Cambridge) is somewhat, er, random.

Also note that Glasgow and Edinburgh may have relatively high entry requirements as you are an EU but non-Scottish applicant and therefore have £0 tuition fee.

TCD is in Dublin (Ireland) so you don't apply via UCAS (UK unis only). It's a lovely university (and a fantastic city), but accommodation is apparently quite pricey.

Hi again !
I chose these because they have an excellent master's program in Computer Science.

I'm not too worried about Edinburgh's entry requirements yet, they definitely ask for high grades but these are definitely in my reach, moreover my SAT scores are over (but I could be mistaken) what they require from U.S student, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Thanks for your precious advice ! Is there anything you can add ?

???
You're applying for undergraduate course, right?
Then choose universities who offer a undergraduate course you like most.
You think about which masters course & which uni to choose after studying for at least one year of undergraduate course, and apply them in your final year.
You don't automatically progress to a master's course from their undergraduate course at one university. They are separate.
And you may change your mind on what postgraduate course you want to take (or even if you want to do PG) while you're doing your UG course. And you need to achieve high enough degree class to be accepted to any PG course anyway, even if it's a same university.

Just concentrate on getting good enough grades for undergraduate course of the universities of your choice for the time being. Anything beyond that is something you can worry about after you actually got into a uni.

Hi again !
I chose these because they have an excellent master's program in Computer Science.

I'm not too worried about Edinburgh's entry requirements yet, they definitely ask for high grades but these are definitely in my reach, moreover my SAT scores are over (but I could be mistaken) what they require from U.S student, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Thanks for your precious advice ! Is there anything you can add ?

???
You're applying for undergraduate course, right?

You should really post in the CompSci forum for opinions of those courses:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=52

And (just one example) ranking is here:
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=computer%20science