The Student Room Group

why don't people get accepted for an interview at cambridge

I have been wandering why applicants who have sent in their application with the right predicted grades don't get invited for an interview?
Reply 1
Probably because they are already oversubscribed, at least for some courses, with candidates with the right predictions so then move on to select on the basis of personal statement information.
Reply 2
Original post by Zarek
Probably because they are already oversubscribed, at least for some courses, with candidates with the right predictions so then move on to select on the basis of personal statement information.


I don't understand, is it because they pick applicants who have the correct predictions at the end of year 13 or just based on how well they have written in their personal statements. I hoping to apply for compsci at cambridge next year so I was just wandering.
Grades are just part of your application. They're an important part, but they're also looking for a good SAQ and personal statement. Additionally, they contextualise your grades: if two candidates got the same grades but one went to a bad school and the other went to a good school, they'd be far more likely to offer to the candidate from the bad school because they've significantly over-performed given their context (or alternatively the person from the good school has significantly under-performed given how good their school is). Here's a Freedom of Information request from Pembroke for engineering a few years ago: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/324447/response/801665/attach/2/FOI%20Aivaras%20T.pdf You can see that Applicant 84 is rejected without interview despite having 11A*s at GCSE and an average science UMS of 97.3. Perhaps this applicant under-performed given their context, despite being a hugely impressive applicant (or maybe there's some other reason they didn't make it, I'm just speculating). Similarly, you can see that Applicant 47 was made a firm offer despite having similar interview scores/grades to comparable candidates; presumably their background made them an outstanding applicant.
Original post by Parliament
Grades are just part of your application. They're an important part, but they're also looking for a good SAQ and personal statement. Additionally, they contextualise your grades: if two candidates got the same grades but one went to a bad school and the other went to a good school, they'd be far more likely to offer to the candidate from the bad school because they've significantly over-performed given their context (or alternatively the person from the good school has significantly under-performed given how good their school is). Here's a Freedom of Information request from Pembroke for engineering a few years ago: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/324447/response/801665/attach/2/FOI%20Aivaras%20T.pdf You can see that Applicant 84 is rejected without interview despite having 11A*s at GCSE and an average science UMS of 97.3. Perhaps this applicant under-performed given their context, despite being a hugely impressive applicant (or maybe there's some other reason they didn't make it, I'm just speculating). Similarly, you can see that Applicant 47 was made a firm offer despite having similar interview scores/grades to comparable candidates; presumably their background made them an outstanding applicant.


Having looked at the data, i'm really spooked, does this mean any candidate with a B in a subject at AS should forget about an interview invite?
Reply 5
Original post by Oruese
Having looked at the data, i'm really spooked, does this mean any candidate with a B in a subject at AS should forget about an interview invite?


Exactly people with 7 A* at GCSEs and high UMS scores are getting rejected from an interview. An Interview!

I only have one A* which is in Maths, that's it everything else just Bs.
Original post by Oruese
Having looked at the data, i'm really spooked, does this mean any candidate with a B in a subject at AS should forget about an interview invite?


No- they typically take either your top 3 subjects or your three most relevant subjects and average those. Even if you have a B at AS you should still feel confident about being interviewed - a guy from my school is doing Law at Oxford with two Bs at AS! It's so contextual and based on your entire application that to give up hope on the basis of one poor grade would be daft.
admissions test performance also has an influence (if course requires one)
Original post by Parliament
No- they typically take either your top 3 subjects or your three most relevant subjects and average those. Even if you have a B at AS you should still feel confident about being interviewed - a guy from my school is doing Law at Oxford with two Bs at AS! It's so contextual and based on your entire application that to give up hope on the basis of one poor grade would be daft.


phew..... erm that's a relief i literally broke a sweat, i'll start preparing for interviews, hopefully i get invited, if i don't, well never hurts to learn something anyways.

Thanks so much, this is eyeopening
Reply 9
Original post by Oruese
phew..... erm that's a relief i literally broke a sweat, i'll start preparing for interviews, hopefully i get invited, if i don't, well never hurts to learn something anyways.

Thanks so much, this is eyeopening


What course have you applied for?
Original post by CashBlack
What course have you applied for?


ChemEng you?
Reply 11
Original post by Oruese
ChemEng you?


I am in Year 12, I am going to be applying for CompSci hopefully next year. What subjects are you taking?
Original post by CashBlack
I am in Year 12, I am going to be applying for CompSci hopefully next year. What subjects are you taking?


ayeee...prime time to be exposed to all this mate! I had no A*s at IGCSE (2A's3B's4C'sand an E) but worked hard in year 12 and got AAB. I'm taking Chemistry, Physics and Maths, got the results in that order as well.
Reply 13
Original post by Oruese
ayeee...prime time to be exposed to all this mate! I had no A*s at IGCSE (2A's3B's4C'sand an E) but worked hard in year 12 and got AAB. I'm taking Chemistry, Physics and Maths, got the results in that order as well.


LOL

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