The Official Cambridge Offer Holders Thread 2017 Entry

@physicsmaths@Zacken do you guys use calculators much at Cambridge or is it kinda like once you get to a stage where you would use a calculator the problem is done'?

Mathmos aren't allowed calculators... we don't use them ever. I presume natscis/engineers do.

Yeah natscis are allowed calculators and I bet engineers are as well. I can't believe you're not allowed, you'll be brilliant at mental maths after 3 years then (I'm sure you're pretty good as it is but..)

No, I'm actually horrible with mental maths. We're not allowed calculators because we don't need them, the only numbers we deal with are usually small numbers. Otherwise we're dealing with algebraic or analytical objects in the abstract. Nothing you can use calculators for.

Mathmos aren't allowed calculators... we don't use them ever. I presume natscis/engineers do.

Yeah natscis are allowed calculators and I bet engineers are as well. I can't believe you're not allowed, you'll be brilliant at mental maths after 3 years then (I'm sure you're pretty good as it is but..)

Yup they are but only a very limited range of approved calculators:
CASIO fx 991 (any version)
CASIO fx 115 (any version)
CASIO fx 570 (any version)

Oh and @Xphoenix for exams here's another use of the ID card

"You should take with you into the exam room:
your University photo ID card to identify yourself: you will be required to place this on the desk alongside your name ticket;"

I think it's the same for natscis (about the calcs you are allowed) luckily for me I resisted my teachers pressure to get a graphing calculator for free marks in A level maths and stuck with the fx 991 lol

Yup they are but only a very limited range of approved calculators:
CASIO fx 991 (any version)
CASIO fx 115 (any version)
CASIO fx 570 (any version)

Oh and @Xphoenix for exams here's another use of the ID card

"You should take with you into the exam room:
your University photo ID card to identify yourself: you will be required to place this on the desk alongside your name ticket;"

Next thing they're gonna drop on me which I'll find out is that they'll use the photos for matriculation or graduation or something...

Looks like I'm just going to have to change my identity...


Next thing they're gonna drop on me which I'll find out is that they'll use the photos for matriculation or graduation or something...

Nah, they don't do that. But they do have it alongside your name plate outside your room.

Do you have the original certificates?

Yes, I have the certificates printed and sent by the exam boards.

My old school is in a different country from where I live now.

What would a solicitor know about my certificates?

What is the point of exam boards giving us certificates if they aren't trusted? What kind of world are we living in?

Surely Cambridge trusts their offer holders more than this.

Maybe I'll just take my certificates in person to Cambridge. 👿

No no no.

Send the originals if you want to - the risk is they get lost. All Cambridge (and many other universities do this too) is asking that the COPY is confirmed to be a fair copy of an original document. Solicitors frequently do this for other official documents - hence my suggestion for this situation.
cf. Notary Public

Or follow my original suggestion and ask your college to confirm what they want you to do.

Not everything needs to be some kind of conspiracy against you...

Why is there no trust in the world?

Why would anyone send a copy which wasn't a true copy? Obviously it would be found out when they arrive.

Why is there always more fuss and complication than necessary?

Because not everyone is honest. And other universities also ask Offer Holders to get copies signed/stamped, including Oxford.

Great, so just copy them and ask your old school to sign them. But if that's not convenient check back with your college - they may say it's ok to get them signed by someone else (e.g. a solicitor).