Ask An(other) Admissions Tutor 25/07/2017-08/08/2017

Nope, I am applying for Economics.

It's just that I am unsure if I should ask a new teacher (who taught me a subject that is unrelated to Economics) to submit a new reference for me, or to approach the same teacher (who taught me Economics) who wrote my reference last year, and ask him to submit a new reference for me (which I am afraid would disadvantage me as there would be two different references coming from the same teacher).

Actually, we destroy and/or anonymise all data relating to unsuccessful applications at the end of each cycle, so technically the University doesn't have any way of checking your past references, or past referees.

If you feel the teacher who wrote the reference last year is the person best placed to comment on your ability and potential, then there is no reason you should not ask him to submit an updated reference.

As I am applying for Economics , would it be recommended to ask my Economics teacher to write my reference, or my form teacher?

As I am applying for Economics , would it be recommended to ask my Economics teacher to write my reference, or my form teacher?

You asked me about the "standard offer", i.e. the offer given to most successful applicants in that subject.

However, as I noted in my first post, all colleges can and often do modify that offer in individual cases, i.e. make one or two "non-standard" offers, e.g. by tying the A* to a particular subject, or (more rarely) asking for an additional A* - usually when an applicant is strong on paper but has performed poorly or inconsistently in their interviews and/or assessment.

One thing to flag about the 2017 Decisions thread, incidentally, is that there was a measure of exaggeration on it - I saw some (fairly easily identifiable) Christ's offer-holders claiming to have much stiffer offers than they actually did!

Do you get to choose? In my school I was told that we get a mentor that writes the reference but they get mini reports from each of our subject teachers which they include in the reference.

That's helpful.. I am less confused now! i wasn't being facetious earlier. it just seems like there is so much "information" out there.. It is hard to keep up, from a parent's perspective anyway. Many thanks.

Hi I am a prospective post A level applicant and have 2 questions for the mathematics G100 course

1) Will it be fine for me to take STEP 2 and 3 during my gap year (having not done them in year 13), or should I have taken them in year 13?

2) Will retakes of units be included in the UMS average?

They do, yes.

I just looked at St Edmund's College website (I'll be considered a mature student when applying), it said CompSci with maths will likely have an offer of STEP I. Is this an anomaly or the offer is a stringent grade 1 in STEP II and III across the university?

Sort of like Churchill recommending prospective law students to "strongly encourage" to take four A-levels?

Do you get to choose? In my school I was told that we get a mentor that writes the reference but they get mini reports from each of our subject teachers which they include in the reference.

Different colleges have different views on this, but from a Christ's perspective, we're fine with you taking STEP 2 and 3 during your gap year.

Where the UMS average is concerned, our spreadsheet adds everything together (including re-takes), but when we look at your file, we'd disaggregate the different scores and look at the improved ones. If you get in touch with your precise UMS when you have your results, I'd be happy to advise further.

Thank you for the reply, I have found a document which states each colleges´ views on taking a gap year for Maths, would it be correct to assume that the colleges which do not mind gap years would also not mind me taking STEP during the year off?

Also, would it be taken into account that my UMS average will also be in further maths modules? My modules included M3 and FP3 which are much harder than single maths modules. For example my Single Maths A level UMS is 99 percent whereas overall my UMS will be around 90 percent because of one bad performance in a module. Finally, how will one module with a lower score affect my application?

I think the flagging system is far from perfect, and some of the flags are to my mind more useful than others, with criteria (ii) and (iii) being the two that probably carry least weight, in many individual application decisions. However, these criteria are linked to the targets that the University of Cambridge has agreed with the Office of Fair Access, on the grounds that postcode offers a reasonable - if not foolproof - proxy for educational disadvantage, (all such proxies are crude, in my view) - and that is why we see "flags" for them on our application spreadsheet, and why we track them, at a high level, across the gathered field.

That said, it should be stressed that the existence of flags does not mean that we do not take account of the kind of granular, "un-flagged" detail that you mention in your second example, if we are told about it on an application (and we are usually told about parental educational level, and employment status).

Assuming you mean undergraduate students, rather than postgraduates, all colleges offer British and EU students with an annual household income of £42,620 or less the Cambridge Bursary:

http://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/cambridgebursary

Some colleges offer additional support to British and EU students in financial need (at Christ's, for example, we offer substantial rent rebates to Cambridge Bursary holders and those with an annual household income just above the £42,620 threshold, as well as additional funding for EU medics), and we're looking at ways to present this information on a central University website in the near future - at the moment, you have to look on individual college websites to find out what they provide.

Where international students are concerned, the Cambridge Trust is the principal provider of part-cost scholarships (there are no full-cost Cambridge Trust scholarships) and these are available to students at any college; see https://www.cambridgetrust.org/scholarships/.

Some colleges also offer additional funding for outstanding international students, and this usually takes the form of awards that can be held on their own or in conjunction with other scholarships and/or bursaries.(Christ's is about to launch awards worth around £5000 per annum, with the first £1000 awarded solely on merit, rather than need, and we will in exceptional cases provide more extensive support.) Again, we're looking at ways to present this information centrally in the near future, but again, you have to look on individual college websites for details at the moment.

All colleges provide modest "scholarships" to students who perform at an exceptionally high level in the course of their degree, though the value of these scholarships is primarily their prestige.

Hi everyone, I'm the Admissions Tutor at Christ's College, and I'm here to answer any questions you might have about applications or admissions to the University of Cambridge, or to Christ's College specifically, until August 08. So please fire away!

"Most UK students do not need to apply separately for the Cambridge Bursary, you will be automatically assessed by the Student Loans Company as part of your application for student Finance from the UK Government."

So, does this mean if I do not apply to Student Finance I will not be eligible for this bursary? Thank you in advance.

Long story short I made a mess or yr12 by moving to another school and then ending up doing courses which I didn't enjoy and was way below my potential. I finished yr12 doing double BTEC Business (which I hated and was so super easy) and A level Psychology ( I loved this am going to carry it on next year and got an A in my end of yr12 exam which was the same as the previous years AS). I am dropping the business and picking up History and English Lit as these were my top two subjects at GCSE and also my favourite (why I didn't just do them I don't know) I've lso decided to move back to my old school as I'll get a better education and will feel happy there. The reason I've made these decisions is because I want to enjoy sixth form by doing subjects I love and I also want better uni chances. I am considering History at uni as it's always been my favourite subject. I'm also interested in applying to Oxford or Cambridge but I was wondering if they would turn me down just because of this? Especially being in sixth form for 3 years. It would be great if you could help