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Original post by satcha
Ah, okay! Thank you for that!

Am I correct in saying that attendance, apart from if it is an extenuating circumstance or something that may have affected performance, does not factor into an application to the university?

Thanks again!


Yes!
Yay :woo: this thread is back!

Hello :smile:

I have only one question for now:

Are the CIE PUM treated differently from the normal UK UMS?
I have heard a lot of people say that due to the way the PUM is calculated it's much harder to get a higher grade comapared with UMS. For example, I read somewhere that a few years ago the top PUM for CIE A level maths in the world was 95% which is quite shocking as a good number of people doing UK A levels get 100% ums in some subjects.


Thanks :smile:
Hello,
while applying last year for Physical NatSci, I was under the impression that the minimum average grade for Danish applicants was 10 (according to my supervisor), but it seems that the minimum has been raised to 11 (See edit). I am curious as to what may have caused such a change? Also, is this minimum based on the old 13-step grading scale, or the current 7-step grading scale? In the Danish system, certain multipliers can be applied to ones average (Such as a mutiplier for having a large amount of A level subjects), and I was wondering if it would be my multiplied average or unaltered average that would be considered when I apply?

I am currently planning to take a gap year, so that I can have the chance to apply to Cambridge one last time. What effect will a gap year have on my chances of being accepted, if any? As far as I know, you do not accept students already attending a university, and I was wondering if that same restriction would apply if I were to attend single courses (such as physics) at a university here in Denmark? If taking such a course would stop me from being able to apply, are there any other extra curricular activities that I could do which would increase my chances of being accepted?

Hope I haven't asked too many questions, but my supervisor doesn't know too much about the application process.. Thanks in advance! :smile:

Edit: Just found the source for the minimum requirement being an average of 10 (http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/entrance-requirements.html#international). On the other hand, the main page for internation applications state that the minimum requirement is an average of 11 (http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/denmark).
(edited 7 years ago)
Hello ,

considering us (future) IB students won't have AS grades / UMSs will this put us at a disadvantage if applying for example for NatSciPhys ?

Sorry for the seemingly ignorant question ,

Thanks

A clueless future iB student
Original post by Calsiwm_Silicad
Hello ,

considering us (future) IB students won't have AS grades / UMSs will this put us at a disadvantage if applying for example for NatSciPhys ?

Sorry for the seemingly ignorant question ,

Thanks

A clueless future iB student


Hi, happy to help!

IB students have never had UMS and we have lots of experience in assessing them. Around 40% of applicants to Peterhouse in previous years haven't had UMS, as they are IB, pre-U or overseas qualifications candidates.

Candidates without UMS won't be, and have never been, disadvantaged.
Original post by StrawbAri
Yay :woo: this thread is back!

Hello :smile:

I have only one question for now:

Are the CIE PUM treated differently from the normal UK UMS?
I have heard a lot of people say that due to the way the PUM is calculated it's much harder to get a higher grade comapared with UMS. For example, I read somewhere that a few years ago the top PUM for CIE A level maths in the world was 95% which is quite shocking as a good number of people doing UK A levels get 100% ums in some subjects.


Thanks :smile:


Hi, good question!

Yes, they are treated differently and research has been done on the appropriate conversion factor.
Original post by Hjortlund
Hello,
while applying last year for Physical NatSci, I was under the impression that the minimum average grade for Danish applicants was 10 (according to my supervisor), but it seems that the minimum has been raised to 11 (See edit). I am curious as to what may have caused such a change? Also, is this minimum based on the old 13-step grading scale, or the current 7-step grading scale? In the Danish system, certain multipliers can be applied to ones average (Such as a mutiplier for having a large amount of A level subjects), and I was wondering if it would be my multiplied average or unaltered average that would be considered when I apply?


Hi, let's see if we can help a little.

Firstly, remember that all offers are set individually on a case-by-case basis and the websites only reflect what is typical. The typical offer for Danish students would be 11 overall (as reported on your certificates, i.e. the final, weighted average) and with grades of 12 in particular relevant subjects. This is based on the 7-step scale.

I don't know if/when any change in the offer level was made - I have had a quick look back to 2012-13 across the University and all offers to Danish students seem to have been at the current level, except some where the offer is 12 12 in two specified subjects with no overall requirement set.

Original post by Hjortlund
I am currently planning to take a gap year, so that I can have the chance to apply to Cambridge one last time. What effect will a gap year have on my chances of being accepted, if any? As far as I know, you do not accept students already attending a university, and I was wondering if that same restriction would apply if I were to attend single courses (such as physics) at a university here in Denmark? If taking such a course would stop me from being able to apply, are there any other extra curricular activities that I could do which would increase my chances of being accepted?


There is no problem taking a gap year for Natural Sciences. We'd just want to see that you're doing something to maintain and build your interest and ability in your subject during the year. Extra classes and extra reading are a great way of doing this. If you're just taking a few classes at a university and are not enrolled or committed to a longer course, then this will not be a problem.

Original post by Hjortlund

Hope I haven't asked too many questions, but my supervisor doesn't know too much about the application process.. Thanks in advance! :smile:

Edit: Just found the source for the minimum requirement being an average of 10 (http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/entrance-requirements.html#international). On the other hand, the main page for internation applications state that the minimum requirement is an average of 11 (http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/denmark).


The second link reflects what we would expect here. The Colleges are each responsible for their own admissions and can set different offers if they wish. I would certainly make contact with any Colleges you're interested in and check if they would have different expectations to the University. Another thing to ask would be what offers are actually set, not what the expectations are, as these can differ. As I mentioned above, I can't see any recent offers for a 10 overall at any College.
Thank you for your reply to my last questions! I have one more: I am taking my a level in maths this year, one year early. This has meant we have had to go really quickly to finish the syllabus in one year, as is usually the case for Further Mathematicians at my school. However we had no proper teacher for one half term - no supply teacher or anything. This has obviously meant we had to teach ourselves. Would this be considered for extenuating circumstances?
where can i find those documents, adn is there one for natural sciences?
Original post by jneill
Just to add to what Peterhouse commented, each course has a PDF of it's assessment specification on their Entry Requirements page. E.g. History is here
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/haa_specification.pdf

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Reply 29
Original post by Kronos320
where can i find those documents, adn is there one for natural sciences?


They are included on the University Entry Requirements pages for each course.

Edit to add: e.g. NatSci
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/natural-sciences

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(edited 7 years ago)
Dear peter house admissions,

For medicine specifically:

Now UMS is gone for many students, what specifically will you look at as a large factor now? I know you look at everything holistically, but AS UMS used to be such a huge factor. Will BMAT take the weighting more? Will you look at Olympiads, GCSE's more now? Is there anything that we medic applicants can do, that you could reccomend that will help you to assess us. E.g if you think an EPQ will help you assess us then please say. I know you will probably reply with an answer that says everything is judged and looked at, but is there anything specifically that would help you guys out a bit :smile: I can't imagine how much harder admissions is going to be for you guys now !

Secondly, if we sit externally assessed exams, do you think it would be a good idea to request the raw mark and national average / top percentiles for that exam and sent it with the application.

Thank you so much for doing this, it's super super appreciated :smile: !!!
Hi!

I was wondering which schools fall under your flagging criteria. I am still at the same school I sat my GCSEs at, and they have never sent anybody to Oxbridge, and have a pass rate well below the national average (for GCSE). Is there any way for me to find out which flags apply to my school?

Thank you.
Original post by Jasaron
Hi!

I was wondering which schools fall under your flagging criteria. I am still at the same school I sat my GCSEs at, and they have never sent anybody to Oxbridge, and have a pass rate well below the national average (for GCSE). Is there any way for me to find out which flags apply to my school?

Thank you.


This page has some details on the admissions policy. Quote: "Therefore, we flag schools/colleges attended by fewer than five students admitted to these Universities [Oxbridge] over the past five years".
Original post by Jasaron
Hi!I was wondering which schools fall under your flagging criteria. I am still at the same school I sat my GCSEs at, and they have never sent anybody to Oxbridge, and have a pass rate well below the national average (for GCSE). Is there any way for me to find out which flags apply to my school?Thank you.
Perhaps reading this article will give you some pictures on how they assess applicants on basis of their background, including 'flags.' http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jan/10/how-cambridge-admissions-really-workNote: Not all colleges's selection procedure/style is like churchill's in the article. But the criteria they use is more or less same across colleges.
Original post by vincrows
Perhaps reading this article will give you some pictures on how they assess applicants on basis of their background, including 'flags.' http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jan/10/how-cambridge-admissions-really-workNote: Not all colleges's selection procedure/style is like churchill's in the article. But the criteria they use is more or less same across colleges.


Thanks! I've come across this one before. I particularly like "You could conduct a Biology study in his hair."

Original post by sweeneyrod
This page has some details on the admissions policy. Quote: "Therefore, we flag schools/colleges attended by fewer than five students admitted to these Universities [Oxbridge] over the past five years".


Thank you for clarifying their criteria for the low Oxbridge attendance flag. I'm still, however, unclear on what it means by "the average capped GCSE points score per pupil in the school/college", and would be grateful if anybody could let me know how to find this point score, or if it's even publicly available.
Reply 35
Original post by Jasaron
Thank you for clarifying their criteria for the low Oxbridge attendance flag. I'm still, however, unclear on what it means by "the average capped GCSE points score per pupil in the school/college", and would be grateful if anybody could let me know how to find this point score, or if it's even publicly available.


It's produced by CAO (Cambridge Admissions Office). They used to publish the method but it's behind the Raven extranet now. It only applied to English schools (other UK nations don't publish the data needed.)

Basically if your school is significantly underperforming relative to the national average then it will probably earn you a flag.
Original post by Jasaron
Thanks! I've come across this one before. I particularly like "You could conduct a Biology study in his hair."



Thank you for clarifying their criteria for the low Oxbridge attendance flag. I'm still, however, unclear on what it means by "the average capped GCSE points score per pupil in the school/college", and would be grateful if anybody could let me know how to find this point score, or if it's even publicly available.


If you scroll to the bottom, there is a footnote that explains how they calculate it (8 points for A*, 7 for A and so on). They flag you if your school has an average of below 40 points per pupil. There used to be a more detailed page, but apparently that is no longer available. I vaguely remember calculating my school's average from tables from the Department for Education, but I think they might have disappeared too. If your school is bad, I think it is likely it will be flagged -- my school was fairly good, and came below the average.
Original post by jneill
It's produced by CAO (Cambridge Admissions Office). They used to publish the method but it's behind the Raven extranet now. It only applied to English schools (other UK nations don't publish the data needed.)

Basically if your school is significantly underperforming relative to the national average then it will probably earn you a flag.


Thanks. :smile:

Original post by sweeneyrod
If you scroll to the bottom, there is a footnote that explains how they calculate it (8 points for A*, 7 for A and so on). They flag you if your school has an average of below 40 points per pupil. There used to be a more detailed page, but apparently that is no longer available. I vaguely remember calculating my school's average from tables from the Department for Education, but I think they might have disappeared too. If your school is bad, I think it is likely it will be flagged -- my school was fairly good, and came below the average.


Much appreciated. Congratulations on your offer, too!
Reply 38
Hello, I'm an Argentinian prospective Biological NatSci student. This November I take my A Level exams and I would be applying for the 2017 entry. However, my school only offers as science-maths subjects Biology and Maths, the other A Level subject is Spanish (which is compulsory and quite strange as we are native speakers). Actually I'm the only one here taking 3 A Levels, the rest takes 1 or 2 (my predictable marks are A*A*A* or A*A*A).

I'm also taking AS French, Literature, Language and Art and Design, being my possible marks AABB 😭respectively.

Why do we take 4 AS Levels instead of a 4th or 5th A Level? It's a kind of legal thing which takes place in all the country so as to make education broader.

Finally, I could apply with Maths and Biology but also reading Chemistry before going to the UK as here we finish school this december and I would start next september. But... Chemistry reading could it not be as reliable as doing a graded exam, right?

P.S. Sorry for my language.
Original post by I can do this
Thank you for your reply to my last questions! I have one more: I am taking my a level in maths this year, one year early. This has meant we have had to go really quickly to finish the syllabus in one year, as is usually the case for Further Mathematicians at my school. However we had no proper teacher for one half term - no supply teacher or anything. This has obviously meant we had to teach ourselves. Would this be considered for extenuating circumstances?


Yes, potentially. We really don't judge extenuating circumstances - if you think you've been affected you can ask the relevant professional (usually a teacher) to submit one. As well/instead in your case, there is a section on the SAQ to mention teaching difficulties.