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Ask an Admissions Tutor X: 20 September - 21 October

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Original post by stens
Great, thanks. A question about the high school transcript: Should it include all grades in the subjects that I have taken so far, or just the final grades? For example, should I include my grade in history from last year which is only temporary, and will be replaced by a final grade in history this year?


No problem. You should include all recent marks (so, the last two years).
Original post by champ_mc99
Yeah I understand that. So what's a good indicator to decide whether my raw marks actually are good enough to be put on my reference if not percentages?

So in raw marks, if an A was 65% of total marks and I achieved 75%, is it advantageous to state it (or even disadvantageous)?


It's impossible to say at the moment as we haven't seen the sorts of raw marks that people are getting. The scenario you suggest, however, seems like it would be good to mention.
Original post by Lemuelc14
Dear Dr. Spencer

I am interested in the Cambridge engineering course however it states that Further Maths is helpful and even required by some colleges I achieved 2 A*s in maths at GCSE and am now undertaking AS level Maths Mechanics is this suitable and will the lack of FM put me at a disadvantage? Also to compensate for my lack of further maths would you recommend participating in the senior maths challenge for example?

Furthermore is there any thing you could recommend to make my application successful such as work experience and wider reading?

Thank you


Posted from TSR Mobile


Hello and thanks for your question. I'm not quite clear from it what you are studying at the moment. Am I correct in thinking that you are doing A Level Maths but also doing some extra Mechanics modules? If so, then that will help compensate for the lack of Further Maths.

Work experience isn't necessary, though if you do some what we are interested in is what you learn from it. This website will help with some of the mathematical and physics problems that you might encounter.
Original post by el.cee
Thanks so much for starting this thread! I'm from Canada in my final year of high school and applying for admission to Chemical Engineering via Natural Sciences with the following related courses and grades:

Chemistry 11 95%
Physics 11 96%
Functions 11 94%

This year I'm taking Physics12, and Advanced Functions/Calculus/Vectors and working towards similar grades.

1. I took Chemistry 12 last year to get it out of the way and only finished with 90%. I know I can do better. Should I take it again to get a better mark?

2. If I achieve a Level 5 in my Chemistry AP will that offset the 90% Chem 12 grade?

3. I'm not very interested in Biology and chose not to take the courses (grades 11 &12 ) as the trajectory of my career goals since I decided to become a Chemical Engineer a few years ago specifically headed towards chemistry and physics. Instead, I decided to study other interests (languages & music) which are actually more closely related to the turn of mind for chemistry/physics/math than biology. Will these choices adversely affect being considered for the Natural Sciences course?

Really appreciate any input from you. As an aside, I hope you can confirm that Admissions Tutors have a sense of humour as I sent an email to my college of choice using a non-derogatory slang term (1 word out of an otherwise completely respectful, proper, literate and factual message) to describe why I was drawn to the college. It was absolutely complimentary, but having done it, I'm a little worried it might be misconstrued. I mean you guys do laugh, don't you?!?

Thanks, Dr. Spencer.


Hello and thanks for your questions. Don't worry about the email - we understand that they are a less formal means of communication. the vast majority of email is dealt with by the Admissions Co-ordinator who is not involved in the decisions about candidates.

Your AP grades are going to be more important than your High School grades, so a 5 in AP Chemistry will offset the high school score. As long as you have chemistry, maths and physics to a high level then your other choices are immaterial - we don't need you to study biology.
Original post by Overses
Would that be five 5s in any APs or relevant APs? I am studying CS but there is not enough "relevant" APs.


We want 5s in as many relevant subjects as possible but appreciate that that's not always possible to have five 5s in relevant subjects.
Original post by 10ishrat
Hi,
I was wondering how much Cambridge will be looking at UMS marks this year seeing as not all schools will have done the AS?
Thank You


We will still look at UMS where it is available in unreformed subjects. Just because not all schools or candidates will not have done AS Levels, it doesn't mean we won't look at what candidates have achieved. For reformed subjects at AS, we will get the grade from UCAS but candidates can encourage their teachers to include raw marks in the school reference.
Reply 246
Avatar for Crifly1
Crifly1
Thanks for creating this thread. I'm looking to apply to natural sciences (physical) with an emphasis on physics in my personal statement. I'm on a gap year and my A Level results were: Physics-A* (96%), Chemistry- A* (93%), Biology- A* (98%) and Maths- A* (98%). I have I few questions that I hope you can help me answer.

1. Are gap years frowned upon as part of an application? Is there anything you particularly look for in a prospective student's gap year?
2. How strong would my application be relative to other candidates, based off of UMS?
3. Am I at a disadvantage for not taking further maths? The only mechanics module I took was M1 if that is of relevance.
4. Should I be reading into the statistics when choosing a college. For example Kings has around 7 applications per place, significantly more than other less known colleges. Should I therefore avoid applying here?

Many thanks in advance!
Original post by Crifly1
Thanks for creating this thread. I'm looking to apply to natural sciences (physical) with an emphasis on physics in my personal statement. I'm on a gap year and my A Level results were: Physics-A* (96%), Chemistry- A* (93%), Biology- A* (98%) and Maths- A* (98%). I have I few questions that I hope you can help me answer.

1. Are gap years frowned upon as part of an application? Is there anything you particularly look for in a prospective student's gap year?
2. How strong would my application be relative to other candidates, based off of UMS?
3. Am I at a disadvantage for not taking further maths? The only mechanics module I took was M1 if that is of relevance.
4. Should I be reading into the statistics when choosing a college. For example Kings has around 7 applications per place, significantly more than other less known colleges. Should I therefore avoid applying here?

Many thanks in advance!


Hello and thanks for your questions. Congratulations on your A Level results.

1) No, Gap years are fine and plenty of people are successful in Nat Sci having taken them. We want to see some evidence that you are continuing your exploration of your subject but there is no specific way that we want you to do this.

2) Most candidates this year won;t have UMS but, historically, your profile is very strong in terms of post A Level UMS.

3) You will be at a slight disadvantage not having done FM as most candidates will have done this. It is not insurmountable, however, by any means.

4) Numbers do vary from year to year between colleges and quality varies much more. Pure numbers will not be able to tell you how strong an application field at any college actually is. The pool acts as essential moderation to even out the fact some some colleges are better known and get more applicants.
What has the average MUMS been as an estimate for candidates (with further maths) for physical natural sciences over the past few years?

Thanks
Original post by qwertyuiop1998
What has the average MUMS been as an estimate for candidates (with further maths) for physical natural sciences over the past few years?

Thanks


Last year it was 91.7% for all Physical Science applicants doing Maths modules (can't tell you without a lot of work whether they were doing FM or not). Among the top 40% of A Level candidates (i.e. the most competitive), it was 96.2%.
Hello! A few quick questions about the COPA (international applicant for History):

1. Education section - What should I list as the main topics on AP History exams? The syllabus is quite general and doesn't focus on specific topics.
2. Qualifications section - Should I enter both AP World and European History exams as 'History', or as 'Other' and then specify which History exams they were?
3. Should I list SAT I scores in qualifications completed, or just in the SAT results section?

Thanks and sorry for the rather mundane questions!
Original post by Murray Edwards Admissions
Last year it was 91.7% for all Physical Science applicants doing Maths modules (can't tell you without a lot of work whether they were doing FM or not). Among the top 40% of A Level candidates (i.e. the most competitive), it was 96.2%.


Would you happen to have any statistics on IB scores for post qualification applicants and successful candidates?
Original post by Hamartia
Would you happen to have any statistics on IB scores for post qualification applicants and successful candidates?


No, sorry I don't.
Original post by pompilius
Hello! A few quick questions about the COPA (international applicant for History):

1. Education section - What should I list as the main topics on AP History exams? The syllabus is quite general and doesn't focus on specific topics.
2. Qualifications section - Should I enter both AP World and European History exams as 'History', or as 'Other' and then specify which History exams they were?
3. Should I list SAT I scores in qualifications completed, or just in the SAT results section?

Thanks and sorry for the rather mundane questions!


Hello and thanks for your questions. 1) You can put any tpics that you did in there, especially ones you found interesting.

2) Enter them both as History.

3) In the SAT results section only.
Original post by Murray Edwards Admissions
Hello and thanks for your question. I'm not quite clear from it what you are studying at the moment. Am I correct in thinking that you are doing A Level Maths but also doing some extra Mechanics modules? If so, then that will help compensate for the lack of Further Maths.

Work experience isn't necessary, though if you do some what we are interested in is what you learn from it. This website will help with some of the mathematical and physics problems that you might encounter.


Sorry for the confusion. I am doing A Level Maths but my school calls it Maths Mechanics in which we do C1, 2, 3 & 4 alongside M1 and M2 would this be okay?


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Lemuelc14
Sorry for the confusion. I am doing A Level Maths but my school calls it Maths Mechanics in which we do C1, 2, 3 & 4 alongside M1 and M2 would this be okay?


Posted from TSR Mobile


Thank you for the clarification. It's good that you have both M1 and M2 in the Maths A Level and I think that this will allay some fears about your level of preparedness but it is still true that most successful Engineering applicants have FM as well as Maths. Of those with just Maths, however, I would think that many would have both M1 and M2 like you.
Original post by Murray Edwards Admissions
Last year it was 91.7% for all Physical Science applicants doing Maths modules (can't tell you without a lot of work whether they were doing FM or not). Among the top 40% of A Level candidates (i.e. the most competitive), it was 96.2%.


Thanks and do you also approximately know an estimate of what the average SUMS has been?
Original post by qwertyuiop1998
Thanks and do you also approximately know an estimate of what the average SUMS has been?


Don't stress about UMS :wink:

(I should get a t-shirt made - shame it will be even more irrelevant after this year... ;( )
Original post by qwertyuiop1998
Thanks and do you also approximately know an estimate of what the average SUMS has been?


The average SUMS was 90.5% but that's not relevant for most students now as they won't have a SUMS.
Reply 259
Avatar for Ypw
Ypw
Original post by Murray Edwards Admissions
Hello again TSR. My name is Dr Andrew Spencer and I am the Admissions Tutor at Murray Edwards College in Cambridge. Welcome to my tenth Ask an Admissions Tutor thread, this time in my new guise as Murray Edwards Admissions. The @Christ's Admissions profile, which I ran for the last three years, will continue under my successor but for the next month before the application deadline for Cambridge, I'll be answering your questions here so please fire away.


Dear Dr Spencer,
Many thanks for running this thread. I have a query about the extenuating circumstances form. During Year 12, I had anorexia which had a significant impact on my studies. I still did well in my AS levels but my UMS probably suffered a bit. I am considering submitting an extenuating circumstances form but I'm a bit worried that declaring my illness might count against me in my application, if the admissions team took this as evidence of unfitness to undertake the course. I'm actually well on the road to recovery although not quite there yet. I'll be applying for deferred entry so fully expect to be fit and healthy by then which I appreciate is very important given how intense the Cambridge course is.

My other question is whether it is OK for my medical specialist to complete the form instead of school as they know much more about it than school.

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