The Official 2017 Cambridge Applicants Thread [part 3]

Does that mean someone applying with 3 A*'s in Chem Physics and Maths to natsci would be disadvantaged if they said they are going to do Further Math in their gap year? since you said colleges want all qualifications in one year preferably.

Which time zone are you in?
Can you wait f few more hours?
Because it's not really normal a college hasn't sent email to international candidates yet at this time, so there's a possibility they've been having/had some technical issues and still trying to sort out or catch up. If that's so, it'd be better to leave them do whatever they have to do.
If you still don't get anything by midday uk time, try call them.
There's a lot of cheap international call sites you can search on internet, so won't cost you that much.

I live in the UK. If no letter arrives in the post today, i'll call up. I understand difficulties but i'm getting worried!

I live in the UK. If no letter arrives in the post today, i'll call up. I understand difficulties but i'm getting worried!

I see you've had the official answer, but I'm surprised at your school there. I recall exactly this coming up when I attended interviews for Churchill NatSci back in the mid 80's.

Why schools are still doing this stunt of early a-levels that (even the smallest amount of research would show) disadvantages their students amazes me.

Hello there. Offer levels aren't discussed in the poolside meetings as they are a matter for colleges to decide.

The issue of how to offer to people presenting with Maths and FM in a subject where maths is important is a tricky one because of the way that different schools handle the subject.

Some get their students to do all of Maths in Year 12 (or sometimes Year 11 as well), while others will do half of Maths and 3 modules in FM. Others still will do 5 Maths modules and maybe FP1 leaving only Core 4 to be taken.

The fairest way of dealing with this is the toughest, which is effectively to ignore the Maths result and offer on FM. There is a general sense that we want, if possible, to see the offer level achieved in a single year. This is the attitude of a lot of colleges so you shouldn't feel that you're application is being especially singled out for a tougher offer.

I hope that explains thing a bit and congratulations on the offer.

Thanks for your reply, it had made me feel a bit better.

I just feel compared to someone doing just Maths, F.Maths and Economics this year my offer is just much harder I'm doing the same amount of maths (in harder modules) and have to do a whole other subject and get at least an A in it.
Are offers negotiable at all at this stage? I would like to get in contact with the Magdalene AT and Economics DoS anyway since I was pooled there and want to ask a few questions and maybe organise a chat with the DoS in real life (would they be the best person for talking about offers)?

What I would like to suggest is that I could drop computing and instead take some further statistics modules for my f.maths... I have seen lots of posts about economics students saying S3 and S4 have been very useful. In this way I'd be taking more maths modules than someone with an offer for just maths, fmaths and econ and probably more A2 modules as well. It will benefit me as my computing project is kind of taking over all my work right now so I'll be able to focus on maths and economics. And because of the addition of S3 and S4 I think it should better prepare me for the Economics Tripos anyway. Is this a reasonable thing I could ask a DoS/AT, I completely understand that they can just say no and I'll persevere through with my offer but I feel like it benefits both sides if I did it the way I'm suggesting

Has anyone got an email or letter from Robinson College yet? (International student)

xxx.

Re UCAS, have the colleges already sent their decision file to CAO for loading to UCAS? Did the colleges send it on 11th, or later?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Depends what you mean by 'disadvantaged'. Disadvantaged compared with whom? Any candidate with 3 A*s in hand would be considered a strong candidate but any candidate applying with only one A Level left to do should expect that we would ask that A Level to be at A*.

What if a student were to take further math and sit STEP in their gap year while applying for Natural sciences? Would this make their application more competitive than a regular successful application?

Re UCAS, have the colleges already sent their decision file to CAO for loading to UCAS? Did the colleges send it on 11th, or later?

Posted from TSR Mobile

really unsure whether to accept my open offer as I've been feeling pretty devastated all day about the situation - it's been a pretty emotional day with lots of crying and feeling very down atm. perhaps feeling like I fluked my way into an offer as no one wanted me from the pool and I'm moreso feeling depresssed at the moment about my boyfriend/best friend who I love dearly being rejected. I'm aware relationships mostly don't last at this age and feelings are probably oversxaggeeated but any happiness I would've felt at getting an offer seems to have died pretty much instantly and I've found myself having to convince myself I should be pleased about getting an offer. I'm wondering whether I would be happier learning French, Spanish and Russian at Warwick instead of just French and Spanish at Cambridge. The happiest I've been all day is when I heard the pride and happiness in my family's voices on the phone. I'd love to make them proud by being the first in my family to go to university - which could be Cambridge! - but I can't really sleep and I'm having serious doubts.

Rejection from Corpus Christi. Sussex/Warwick for me then.

Is CAO different from the college's admissions office? How so?

Everything apart from pool interviewees should be with CAO now and was submitted by the 11th.

Thanks!

So I'll continue to tell posters "Track will *possibly* up date today" ...