[Official] Cambridge English Applicants 2020

Hello!

I'm an EU student reapplying to Jesus College, Cambridge to read English. Where are you from? How do you feel about the upcoming interviews?

Looking forward to chatting with some fellow bookworms :smile:

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Reply 1

lizzieirwin

Hi! I’m a home student from Essex also going for Jesus! :biggrin:

My fav writers are Voltaire and Nabokov. The prospect of interviews terrifies me but at the end of the day it’s just a nice conversation with some of the most intelligent people in the world.. no pressure, right?

Reply 2

koi koy

Original post by lizzieirwin

Hi! I’m a home student from Essex also going for Jesus! :biggrin:

Hey, don't stress about the interview! I've just started at Cambridge and you quickly come to realise that the main thing that sets academics apart is an intense love of literature and how they have worked hard and read intensely. This is stuff that I'm sure you have as well (just with less years of study under your belt). Enjoy it as much as you can! My interview was an intensely satisfying experience. Best of luck!

Reply 3

beeboff

Original post by lizzieirwin

Hi! I’m a home student from Essex also going for Jesus! :biggrin:

As a reapplicant, my biggest tip for you is to at least try to enjoy the experience. If you are really passionate about the subject, the time just flies by and before you know it, it's over. The academics know that we are nervous, which is perfectly normal! One thing that I regret about the interviews I had last year is that I didn't push myself to develop my arguments further because I thought that I was rambling. They don't expect interviewees to have all the answers, and will sometimes change the subject if they feel that you are too familiar with the topic you are discussing. They want to assess your ability to think on your feet, and unfortunately there's not much you can do to prepare other than knowing your personal statement back to front. As an added bonus, the Jesus English fellows are all very nice and welcoming, so don't worry about encountering somebody whose sole mission is to tear students down, as this couldn't be further from the truth.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 4

katcleland

Hi, I am a home student from Edinburgh, feeling really nervous about the interview but so excited to stay in Cambridge! :redface:

Reply 5

Calliso

Hi there!

I'm a home student from Essex; I'll be staying in Cambridge for two nights (12/12/19-14/12/19), so I'm really excited to make the most of the experience.

I'm a perpetual Milton reader with a deep appreciation for the rich prose of the Victorian era. I also have an affinity for the Romantics like Byron and Shelley. My personal statement focused predominantly on the notion of an 'unreliable narrator' (Alex, Humbert, etc.) which I preceded with an exploration of Swift's 'A Modest Proposal'.

I'm both nervous and excited to discuss my favourite subject with some of the leading academics in the literary realm, and I hope that I can channel my hesitancy into motivation.

Very nice to meet you all!

:smile:

- Annabelle

Reply 6

beeboff

Hey everyone, how are you all? Have you had your interviews yet? Good luck to you all! :smile:

Reply 7

katcleland

Assuming most people have had their interviews now, how did they go??

Reply 8

beeboff

Original post by katcleland

Assuming most people have had their interviews now, how did they go??

I’m quite happy with my first one but felt flustered in the second one as I couldn’t tell if the interviewers thought I was on the right track or not (if there even is such a thing). I’m dreading the 15th of Jan, and I don’t know how I’m going to get through the holidays at this point! I’m just trying to let go, but it’s difficult to stop my brain from over analysing the situation. What about yours?

Reply 9

koi koy

Original post by beeboff

Try not to worry! I felt the same after my interviews (especially after I said a character was dead who then walked down the stairs in the last line of the extract...) I'm sure you've given it your best shot and it's normal to feel a bit out of your depth in your interview. All that means is that you were stretched to your full academic potential so you'll have shown Cambridge your best even if it didn't feel like that. Best of luck and enjoy the holidays!

Reply 10

katcleland

Original post by beeboff

It sounds like we had quite similar experiences! I really enjoyed my first one as it felt like more of a discussion and I liked the poem. In the second one, I was challenged a lot more and pushed to explain everything I said. Overall, I loved staying at Jesus College and meeting the people there, and I'm just trying to put the interviews out of my mind until January!

Reply 11

katcleland

Anyone else just received their ELAT results and are unhappy with them? :s-smilie:

EDIT: turns out I was looking at the Oxford bands which seem to be much higher - now feeling okay with my score compared to the average offer holder score.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 12

beeboff

Original post by katcleland

Anyone else just received their ELAT results and are unhappy with them? :s-smilie:

EDIT: turns out I was looking at the Oxford bands which seem to be much higher - now feeling okay with my score compared to the average offer holder score.

I’ll look at them on Wednesday because I’m already feeling extremely stressed... I don’t want to get my hopes high if I’m happy with my score or get my hopes crushed if it’s not what I wanted :frown:

Reply 13

katcleland

Original post by beeboff

Honestly looking at past years they don't seem to play that huge a role – there was someone who got 30/60 in the ELAT and got an offer, and there are people who have got 50+ and haven't got an offer.

Reply 14

beeboff

Original post by katcleland

Hence why I don’t want to look until Wednesday :smile:

Reply 15

skittish

Seems I’m fairly late to this party, but it’s a pleasure to meet you :smile:

I’m applying to Christ’s. Good luck to everyone on both their ELAT scores and offers!

Reply 16

skittish

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Does anyone know if this is the distribution for oxford, Cambridge or both?

Reply 17

katcleland

Original post by skittish

Does anyone know if this is the distribution for oxford, Cambridge or both?

That is just for Oxford! Average mark for Cambridge is 44.9 I believe.

Reply 18

skittish

Original post by katcleland

That is just for Oxford! Average mark for Cambridge is 44.9 I believe.

Thank you! I'm just confused because I applied to Cambridge and this PDF was linked on the Cambridge ELAT portal (but I logged into the oxford one and it looked the same so who knows). If there any way you'd be able to send the Cambridge scores/do you know how I can find them? Where did you hear that figure, if you don't mind my asking?

Reply 19

katcleland

Original post by skittish

I found this information here, if you scroll down to English:

https://oxbridgeapplications.com/blog/good-admissions-test-score/

This specifies that Oxford uses the bands system which are in the document you sent, whereas Cambridge do not. Just from general reading it seems that either Cambridge mark more harshly, or the ELAT just holds less importance in the overall decision-making. I may be wrong, though.