Will anything offset my 2.2 for a Cambridge application?

Hi all,

I graduated from Imperial in 2019 with a 2.2 BEng (~55%) and am intending to apply to Cambridge for the MPhil in Manufacturing. Before dismissing me as delusional please hear me out:

I have a letter from my tutor outlining the fact that I had quite severe medical issues during my degree. Without going into too much detail I underwent a 3 hour long open bone reconstruction surgery on my writing shoulder in March, my arm was immobilised for 2 months after and I had a lengthy prescription of morphine that I ended up not taking as exams approached. Oh and this happened in both my 2nd and 3rd year so suffice to say I did not do (or feel) too well.

Also, since graduating I have been working at one of the top engineering companies internationally as a Manufacturing Engineer, I actually applied on the graduate scheme but was offered entry straight into a professional role following the Assessment Day. I am a member of the IET and am working towards professional registration, I have taken professional project management training and have had significant work experience in big budget manufacturing projects.

I have really tried to put my grades behind me, but I'm worried about how (if?) it'll affect my application. I intend to put all of the above in my application when I make it.

So to summarise, does anyone have any advice/experience on:

How much Cambridge will take into account medical circumstances affecting grades?

How much Cambridge will take into account relevant work experience (much more relevant to the Masters than my degree was fwiw) to offset bad grades?

Thanks for reading this spiel,

justanotherbloke

you can't get a double adjustment, ie at undergrad and again by Cam.

You're assuming that mit circs are perfectly off-set by university support, which is rarely the case. Most universities will just let you resit without a cap, and are often terrible when it comes to mental health aspects of surgery. Even when they do make direct adjustments to your grade, e.g. rounding you up to the next classification, this may still not be an accurate reflection of what you could have achieved if healthy. Suppose you finish with 55% and they bump you to 60% but you would have achieved 65% or even 70% if healthy then clearly a 'double adjustment' is in order.

OP, I would definitely mention your health issues in your application. However, threeportdrift is correct that you are best getting more experience. I would email or phone Cambridge and ask this exact question; they will give you specific advice.

I didn't assume anything about the fairness of the mitigation. I told the OP what is a universal rational policy. Institution B will not consider mitigation for events that occurred at Institution A. The mitigation has to be applied at the institution at which the circumstances were in play. If the mitigation was not fair or reasonable in someone's opinion, then that has to be taken up with institution A at the time, and negotiated there, where the facts happened and the academic standards are set. No institution in a B situation is going to make a retrospective re-adjustment on the say-so of the beneficiary of that adjustment.

You're assuming that mit circs are perfectly off-set by university support, which is rarely the case. Most universities will just let you resit without a cap, and are often terrible when it comes to mental health aspects of surgery. Even when they do make direct adjustments to your grade, e.g. rounding you up to the next classification, this may still not be an accurate reflection of what you could have achieved if healthy. Suppose you finish with 55% and they bump you to 60% but you would have achieved 65% or even 70% if healthy then clearly a 'double adjustment' is in order.

OP, I would definitely mention your health issues in your application. However, threeportdrift is correct that you are best getting more experience. I would email or phone Cambridge and ask this exact question; they will give you specific advice.

I didn't assume anything about the fairness of the mitigation. I told the OP what is a universal rational policy. Institution B will not consider mitigation for events that occurred at Institution A. The mitigation has to be applied at the institution at which the circumstances were in play. If the mitigation was not fair or reasonable in someone's opinion, then that has to be taken up with institution A at the time, and negotiated there, where the facts happened and the academic standards are set. No institution in a B situation is going to make a retrospective re-adjustment on the say-so of the beneficiary of that adjustment.

I wasn't going to mention the actual mitigation as it is all in the past now but yes, it is as you say, basically an uncapped resit and allowing me the option of retaking the year, with missed coursework being marked as 0 without penalty (oh the generosity right?).


My bold, not to be picky but it is a formal letter written by my tutor outlining my issues. Not sure if that makes any difference.

One thing I remember reading ages ago, can't remember where, is that universities, especially top universities, did not especially like people returning to education after years away as they had lost their academic mindset, and would struggle to get back into the rhythm of intensive lectures, essays and classes. Is there any validity to this?

Most universities are not concerned about a break in studies provided that your knowledge on the subject area remains current i.e. your work experience is directly related to your undergrad/postgrad.

Your undergrad uni should have provided mitigation - if they offered for you to resit a year and other resits without prejudice then that was your call if you refused the offer. You don't really receive contextual offers for postgrad because you're an adult now so mitigation is not a big thing in the same way it is at undergrad level - you are required to take responsibility for your grades. If I am being honest, Cambridge is massively competitive so it will be candidates with a 1st at undergrad that get places on the courses - consideration of mitigation for your circumstances would be if you have achieved a 65+ 2.1 at undergrad.

Why do you need a masters and why Cambridge?

You have no idea what you're talking about. Postgraduate admissions are far more flexible and context-sensitive than undergraduate (and indeed less competitive). Mit circs are a "big thing" no different to undergraduate -- why on earth would it be any different? Health issues can be devastating regardless of age. And do cut the self-help waffle about responsibility and being an adult. Responsibility cannot be borne for health issues outside of your control that have causal effects on your grades, nor are the latter a reflection of your true ability if you suffer from the former. This ought to be simple to grasp, but, alas, you have even failed to grasp, repeatedly, that OP's course requires a 2.1 not a 1st, hence there is no "jump of 15%". Not to mention, the opportunity cost of resitting a year is enormous -- not everyone has the privilege to forego tens of thousands in a good job to re-sit grades that ought to have been correctly adjusted in the first place. Choices are often illusory.

For anyone who comes across here via Google, as I did many times when looking for advice, just notice that the two people who have been in OP's situation (myself and pgapps2021) and received offers, are giving precisely the opposite advice of the two who have not. This ought to be telling, so don't be disheartened. If I had listened to numpties like one_two_three, I wouldn't be a Cam graduate on a funded PhD right now.

Thank you all for your opinions, they have certainly given me food for thought. However I notice they all address the fact that I may be less competitive than my fellow applicants, which I admit is a possibility. No one thus far has said or implied that I may not be up to masters level study, which I certainly feel ready for given my work experience and industry exposure. Given that applications for this course are considered on a rolling basis, would each application not be judged on it's own merit? As opposed to collecting all applications and choosing the top 50 or whatever the intake is. This is where I hope my (very relevant) work experience will overshadow my (less relevant) degree, in which a 1st would not afford me any more actual knowledge for the purposes of the MPhil.

In hindsight, I do not regret not retaking the year. If I had I would've graduated during coronavirus and aside from not having an Albert Hall graduation I would be faced with a far tougher job market and would probably not have landed the extremely lucky opportunity I am in currently, if a job at all.

If you are applying to the MPhil then you should already be speaking to the university - especially considering your circumstances. A potential supervisor is going to give you a better answer than anyone on here.

You completed an undergraduate degree which already says you are up to masters level of study. An MPhil is an academic qualification - it does not matter what undergrad you took, the skills needed for your qualification will be transferable. Your grade is not just indicative of knowledge, you can have fantastic knowledge of a subject which will work great in practical situations but you could be poor at its application in an academic setting so the grade you achieve might be lower. Work experience is great but it does not overshadow academic achievement entirely. A grade is your academic ability and knowledge combined. It is a reflection of your abilities as a whole.

I'm intending to apply in September for the 2022 entry, so early days yet. Apologies if I didn't make that clear. I was going to get in touch nearer the time anyway to ask about submitting 1 academic and 1 professional reference as opposed to the 2 academic references they ask for in light of my situation. I guess I can always explain my above issues and get their take on it. Obviously not expecting a mitigation form like with undergrad applications but hopefully they'll provide some guidance.

For an MPhil you want to have a research idea in mind and contact a potential supervisor before you put your application in. I understand that it is early to be submitting it now but soon a lot of the staff will be taking their holidays over summer. If you want to submit early in the cycle then just get that squared away as soon as you can.