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Ask Peterhouse - 2017 entry

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If I'm predicted an A grade in a subject, that I got 95ums in at AS, because I lack commitment, would this be viewed as an unfair prediction when applying, or does it make no real difference?

It's difficult to say without knowing the rest of the application but it could be no big deal and we'd hope you'd up your game to get an A* (we might decide to ask for an A* to motivate you) or it could be a huge red flag that your teacher's can't trust you to work hard and achieve your potential..

Reply 281

Peterhouse Admissions

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Original post by neyscar

Hi, looking for some advice on A-Levels.

I'm thinking of applying for English Literature and I have AAAB in my AS Levels (well actually one of those As is for the full Maths A-Levels done a year early). I've now dropped Bio and I'm studying English, Art and AS Further Maths which I've been predicted A*AA for.

These seem like decent grades but I was wondering whether I'm at any sort of disadvantage since I'm technically not studying 3 A2 courses at once in Year 13 due to my Maths being completed early. Should I be worried about this or is it irrelevant as long as I have my 3 full A-Levels achieved by the end of it?

Many thanks :smile:

Hi, that's fine - we don't require 3 A levels in year 13, we just want to see an equivalent workload with exams at the end so that you're in good habits when you start at Cambridge. All offers are set individually but given that English is the most relevant it is likely that the A* would be asked for an English with As in Art and AS FM.

Reply 282

Peterhouse Admissions

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Original post by maia.slidel

Hi - For admissions for a course in Medicine
Is it obligatory (or preferred) for students applying for Medicine to take two sciences and maths for A level, or would two sciences and an unrelated subject (e.g Art) be accepted (provided they had good results)?
Also, would you say AS/A level results are more/less/of equal importance to BMAT results?
Thanks!

Hi, thanks for asking!

For Medicine, our essential requirements are Chemistry to A level with two other science/maths subjects to AS at least. No weighting is applied to any one element so BMAT is no more and no less important than anything else, bearing in mind we're assessing individual strenths and weaknesses and how these match our course, not looking for outstanding scores in everything.

Reply 283

Peterhouse Admissions

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Original post by Rachel58

This is a weird question, but is it true about Trinity/Christs/Clare that they focus on grades much more than other colleges? It seems like even people with 4 As and great GCSEs don't want to risk applying to popular colleges, especially Trinity, though is this mainly reputation or fact?

I don't know, you'd have to ask them! We can only speak for Peterhouse.

Reply 284

Bloodbeastt

I did m3 as an extra module, got 82ums and brings my average maths plus further maths ums down from about 97 to 95. Shall I declare the module or not?? Thanks
I'm applying post a2 btw

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 285

Peterhouse Admissions

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Original post by jneill

Proportion of Home applications, offers and acceptances to Cambridge from the maintained sector by College 2015:
Peterhouse
Applicants 71.2%
Offers 64.8%
Acceptances 55.6%

University total
Applicants 69.6%
Offers 64.8%
Acceptances 62.3%

http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/undergrad_admissions_statistics_2015_cyle.pdf

Original post by Abstract_Prism

I remember reading something somewhere saying that Peterhouse accepts the greatest percentage of state school students of all the colleges, something like 70%. But I'm curious, what percentage of applicants were state school students?

2016 entry

Peterhouse
Applicants 63.1% UK students are from maintained sector schools
Offers 65.5% UK students are from maintained sector schools
Acceptances 61.2% UK students are from maintained sector school
(this reflects differences in the rate of missing offers between school types)

This is very much in line with the University-wide trends so don't read too much into this. There's also targets (internal and external) relating to various socioeconomic characteristics (the subject moderation flags) and the College has made good progress on these this year.

Bottom line: don't choose a college on statistics, whether on the composition of previous years, application statistics or exam results. A third of students leave every year so the character of the student body changes every October. Lots of people end up at Colleges they didn't choose via the Pool so the students' interests, values and beliefs and much more evenly spread across the Unviersity than is commonly assumed (and it also follows that each College is therefore heterogenous with a diversity of interests, values and beliefs at all colleges). These statistics also don't account for non-UK students. Some of these will have gone to private schools in the UK but many will have gone to state schools in their home country. When we look across our 2016 intake, just under one third of students came from independent schools.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 286

Peterhouse Admissions

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Original post by RoryRules160

Hi Peterhouse,

I am looking to apply for Engineering and am wondering whether an application to Cambridge would be worthwhile.
The entry requirements are A*A*A but I have only been predicted A*AA in Maths, FM and Physics respectively.
Some people have suggested to me that it would be a wasted application and it would get tossed out immediately, so some expert advice would be appreciated.
I really like the Cambridge course and would like to study there. My average UMS score was only 90.5 but I plan to retake at least 2 modules, ideally raising it to about 95 (hoping my A2 modules will be at that UMS score also)
My GCSE results were all A* or A, achieving A* in Maths, FM and Physics

Moreover, if Cambridge is unforgiving with the applications, is Oxford is anymore lenient?

Thanks in advance,
Regards,
Rory

Hi,

For Engineering, we would generally expect candidates to be on track for A*A*A in relevant subjects (certainly A* in Physics, possibly also FM) and wouldn't be likely to interview candidates unless they are on track for these grades. I'm sorry I cannot be more encouraging. You'd have to ask Oxford for their views, we can only speak for Peterhouse in Cambridge.

Reply 287

Peterhouse Admissions

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Original post by glimmers

hi, I have a couple of questions about studying MML (and perhaps they're applicable to other subjects):
on a personal statement, do you prefer that the majority is about what candidates have done to research/explore their subject, or that some space is reserved for extra-curricular (but maybe unrelated) activities?

also for MML would an 88% UMS average at AS have a realistic chance (there are rumours one needs at least 90%+ UMS)

what do you like to see in an MML candidate?

Thanks

Hi, thanks for asking!

You've got the right end of the stick with the PS - we're entirely interested in your academic engagement with your subject but other universities might want to hear a bit about unrelated extracurriculars. As one PS has to cover all your UCAS choices, we advise about an 80:20 mix.

Don't worry about UMS too much, the important thing is that you're on track for A*AA. The 90% thing you've heard is a lie. We might like to see 90%+ in one subject as this suggests an A* at A level but this isn't a requirement and certainly isn't expected in all subjects.

For MML we look for a strong interest in the languages, literature and cultures you're applying for as well as evidence of language ability, including the potential to learn a language quickly if you're applying for an ab initio language.

Reply 288

Peterhouse Admissions

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Original post by Bloodbeastt

I did m3 as an extra module, got 82ums and brings my average maths plus further maths ums down from about 97 to 95. Shall I declare the module or not?? Thanks
I'm applying post a2 btw

If you've done it you have to declare it. If you don't and we find out later that you didn't declare it then any offer made can be revoked without warning. We don't look at averages that much and can see that one rogue module is below the level of the rest and this wouldn't be a huge problem for you.

Reply 289

glimmers

Original post by Zacken

For Cambridge, they don't care at all about unrelated activites. It'd be a waste of your word count, but other uni's exist and some of them might like to see that sort of stuff. Do with that what you will.

No, no, no. Stop worrying about UMS and averages, they're one (small) metric, plenty get in with less UMS than 88%, plenty get in with more, worry about other things that you actually have control over. 88% is fine and you have a realistic chance.

Bit of a broad question.

thanks :~)

Reply 290

username1545603

Dear Peterhouse Admissions, my daughter is weighing up her options to study Music. She has just started Yr13 and is doing Music (Pre-U), German (A2) and English Lit (A2). Her 'data' so far includes:

GCSE - 3A*s & 7As - the A*s were in Music, Maths, German
AS - German, raw mark 176/200, i.e 88% (Speaking 53/60 and Reading/Writing/Listening 123/140)
Predicted A2 - Music - D2, German - A, English Lit. - A

She did her GCSEs at a decent local state school and her AS (and A2s to come) at a good private school in Cambridge.

In your experience, leaving aside interviews, tests, etc, how strong a candidate might she be in applying for the Music Tripos, in relation to what you normally see for these parameters?

Any viewpoints and advice would be gratefully received.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 291

Abstract_Prism

I have a couple questions about the SAQ (specifically the extra personal statement):

What makes a good SAQ personal statement? What things should and should not be included? How many characters do we get? Roughly what proportion of applicants choose not to complete it? And are you at any sort of disadvantage if you don't complete it?

I'm just wondering if it should be in the same kind of style as the main personal statement or if you're meant to take a different approach.

Thanks :h:

Reply 292

Zacken

Original post by Abstract_Prism

I have a couple questions about the SAQ (specifically the extra personal statement):

What makes a good SAQ personal statement?

Same thing as a normal Person Statement but tailored towards just academics and the specific course at Cambridge. Which is why it's specifically beneficial for courses at Cambridge that aren't offer at other uni's, like land economy, NatSci, etc...

What things should and should not be included?

Why the course at Cambridge is specific for you, what you get out of it, some more academics that tailor you to that course specifically, etc.. e.g: talking about biochemistry because you applied for bio natsci but talking about just biology in your other PS because that's what you applied for at other uni's.

Shouldn't include irrelevant EC's.

How many characters do we get?

1200.

Roughly what proportion of applicants choose not to complete it?

I dunno, but I imagine it'd be a fairly even split.

And are you at any sort of disadvantage if you don't complete it?

No. You won't be disadvantaged.

Have you read this? http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/saq.pdf

Reply 293

anonymousguy24

Hello, I do not have gcse or anything before my AS level because all my exams were internal, would I be disadvantaged if I just left the UCAS form blank? Would a good AS score be enough? Thank you.

Reply 294

profileradian

Hello Peterhouse,

I am an international student studying in the UK and planning to apply for Economics in Cambridge.

I did a full A-level mathematics (C1-4,S1,M1) and got UMS 98%, Economics UMS 93%, Chemistry 95%. I will be taking the whole Further Maths module, A2 Economics and Chemistry this year. My teachers said my UMS is sufficient for obtaining an interview, but I am rather worried.

This is because I am from China and my English is not too fluent (IELTS score 7.5) , as I do not think I will perform particularly well in the essay session of the Economics Admission Assessment and the interview (if I got one). It is always frustrating when I couldn't express myself in a second language. May I know how important is the admission assessment and the interview will count towards my application? Will I be at a huge disadvantaged concerning the language barriers?

Thank you very much for replying.

Reply 295

hapoomyi

Hello,

I'm applying for English Literature.
For AS I studied English lit, History, Philosophy & Ethics, and Psychology.
I got 4As, with UMS in only Philosophy & Ethics where I got 93 in Philosophy and 100 in Ethics.
I dropped Psychology and received the predicted grades for the three I'm carrying on with, and I got A*A*A.
However, I did not get an A* prediction in English Lit, because of a huge lapse in marking where I got 60/60 on one paper but then 45/60 on the other.
Because my total mark's right on the grade boundary for an A I don't want to risk getting it marked down to a B just to get an A* prediction, but if an A prediction will be detrimental to my application, I think I might have to take the risk.
So basically- will an A prediction in English lit prove detrimental to my application?

Reply 296

Person3816

Hello,

I'm looking to study Physics, so will be applying for Physical Natural Sciences at Cambridge. Just curious as to how strongly my ability in a second science (i.e. chemistry) is viewed? And also, whether I can choose to only be interviewed in physics and maths for the 2 interviews? Or will one of the interviews have to include chemistry? As I would likely perform much better with maths/physics interview questions then chemistry ones. Assuming one interview will involve chemistry, to what extent would a weaker performance there damage my chances of an offer (also assuming my maths and physics abilities are good enough)?

AS grades:
Maths - A (C1 - 93, C2 - 95, S1 - 100)
Physics - A (Raw mark = 110/160 ... 19 above A boundary)
Chemistry - A (Raw mark = 111/160 ... 8 above A boundary)
Biology - A (Raw mark = 94/160 ... 3 above A boundary)

(Would you suggest disclosing all my raw marks? Would they be considered good? i.e. will they advantage or disadvantage me? )

I've dropped Biology this year and picked up Further Maths AS. My predicted grades are A*A*A in Maths, Physics and Chemistry respectively. Again, would an A prediction for chemistry instead of an A* show that I can't hold a consistent standard across all the sciences?

Also, would an acceptable reason for not taking A2 further maths be that I wanted to study every science in year 12? Obviously I realised I needed to take up AS this year, and am doing an extra module (M3) above the 3 I need for the AS, in order to compensate.

Finally...
What kind of score would a strong competitive candidate with a good shot of getting an offer be achieving in the NSAA? I scored 50% in the sample paper which was released, but am assuming I'll need to improve on that if I want a good chance of receiving an offer?

Thanks :smile:

(and sorry for the amount of questions!)

Reply 297

Djangy

Hi,

Just wondering if Cambridge try to balance gender numbers at all in deciding whom to accept? I.e. is someone applying for a course with a very skewed male:female ratio going to have slightly improved chance of getting an offer if they're in the minority? (For example, a girl applying for computer science.)

Thanks in advance!

Reply 298

sweeneyrod

Original post by Djangy

I'm fairly sure that's illegal.

Reply 299

danielhx

Hi i have a question but first i would like to give you guys a bit of background into my situation. As a singaporean, i will be enlisting in the National Service for 2 years this December and it will be full time. I want to apply to do mathematics in university hopefully at Cambridge/Oxford so i'm stuck in a bit of a dilemma. I do have the slight inclination to want to study at Cambridge as i feel like MAT is not really my thing and i would do better in STEP. That being said, i feel like since i will be in National Service i won't have the time to meet the standard STEP offers given by Cambridge. So i was just wondering, with my results

Spoiler

will i still be looking at a very standard 1,1 STEP offer? Does Cambridge always give out a STEP offer? What is the most lenient? Thank you so much for reading this and any help will be appreciated!!