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Cambridge Re-applicants 2016

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If you need convincing you probably don't want it enough. I probably need someone to convince me not to as I'm still not sure its a good idea but still want to do it
Writing personal statement still put me off a bit... But anyway it's for Cambridge so 😊
I'm on a mobile device, so I'm having trouble directly replying to post but I'll tag the people I'm replying to: Blutooth and M8808.
M8808 - sorry, wasn't me though I did have a very similar conversation with somebody else studying the same subject toward the very end of the month. Commiserations on your rejection though.
Blutooth: I was on the Irish IMO team. It's a considerably easier thing to achieve than to get on the British one (roughly equivalent to the gap between Britain and the USA). Hence I'm not sure how much Cambridge valued it. I'm pretty sure I was rejected on the basis of my interviews - I was really nervous during them and hadn't slept at all for two nights before. My memory is a bit fuzzy but I think at one point I claimed root 2 didn't exist >.< Also I put nearly no effort into my UCAS application generally - my PS was the work of 25 minutes.
My situation is a bit odd - I'm home-educated.
Reply 123
Original post by Colmans
It may be helpful for those of you thinking of applying to realise that "to be competitive" it is usually recommended you need to have achieved A*A*A for Arts subjects and A*A*A* or better for Sciences/Economics.

Pooling used to occur only at A*A*A* (there are similar scores for Scottish & IB results).
All your UMS will count A2 & AS but your first sitting of AS will be used for ranking, not any resits after the first year of study.
Your best three subjects will be used for Arts, Best three for Sciences & maths for NatSci. Maths & FM count as one subject for a three UMS ranking but Maths/Physics is used for Engineering/Maths as an average of all module %. For Economics the Maths & FM is really important.

A UMS average of 92%+ for less competitive subjects up to 96%+ for the most competitive is the right sort of target.

It is not true that Gap years are unpopular with Cambridge or other universities. The success rate for Gap year students is almost the same as for A2 year students. There are obviously a mixture of reasons for applying-usually better results than predicted or unexpected rejection first time.
Maths is the least happy with re-applicants-you have to show you are keeping your maths up. Medicine in my experience was very common and a year spent working in a care home, in a charity or gaining more work experience was favourably looked upon. It is easier to get in as a Gap year student post-qual than it is to achieve a deferred offer in the first place.


?
:confused:

Just to clarify, are you saying that improvements in my AS UMS (via retakes) will not increase my ranked average for reapplication?!?!?

Is this true regardless of Extenuating Circumstances??? - if so, how can I improve the competitiveness of my application???:smile:
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 124
Econ here:smile::smile:

Are maths and further maths counted separately once an A2 level has been certificated? What about spare modules??? I'm so confused :/
Original post by KaddyS
Econ here:smile::smile:

Are maths and further maths counted separately once an A2 level has been certificated? What about spare modules??? I'm so confused :/


I was confused about this too... But I think they still count them together and they will include any spare modules, as when filling in copa you will put all modules together in the maths column...

I might be wrong though :/


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Original post by KaddyS
?
:confused:

Just to clarify, are you saying that improvements in my AS UMS (via retakes) will not increase my ranked average for reapplication?!?!?

Is this true regardless of Extenuating Circumstances??? - if so, how can I improve the competitiveness of my application???:smile:


Ranking is a mathematical issue-so no retakes don't count.
Application admission decisions are holistic. They don't simply take the them off the top of the ranking list till they run out of places.
So if you got 75% in a first sitting then 100% in a retake that would be noticed even without EC. Especially if your other exams were all around 93-95%. If on the other hand you had EC which had resolved but your retakes only improved your scores by 2-3% it wouldn't look good.

Nobody can give you a formula but all I can say is that the better your exams results are this summer and the more you have read around your subject & prepared for interview the better your chances. An ECF is looked at really carefully & a judgement of how this has affected past & future performance will be made as fairly as possible.
Original post by KaddyS
Econ here:smile::smile:

Are maths and further maths counted separately once an A2 level has been certificated? What about spare modules??? I'm so confused :/


For ranking All your maths & FM AS & A2 are added together to arrive at an overall % which then counts as one subject alongside two others for most applications. There are exceptions where a Maths/Physics average (weighted according to the number of modules taken) has more value-eg Maths/Engineering degrees.
However for fulfilling an offer Maths does count as two subjects. It is not uncommon though for a early completed maths A2 to be excluded from the offer, so that a further three grades are required from summer exams.
Original post by Rovensie
Thinking of Pembroke is like thinking my ex now :biggrin:

Every time I listen to love songs I'm like 'yeah I've been moving on'

I've been trying to think about other colleges, their advantages that Pembroke does not have but... I'm still making every possible connection, the arms, that chapel and the buildings, interview questions, even 'Trumpington St' and 'Tennis Court Rd'

Don't ever tell me that I was never in love with anyone, and that I don't know about love, I just broke up with Pembroke lol :wink:


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I feel you - am reapplying this year for BioNatSci, rejected despite 4A*A prediction, but it was purely down to taking the wrong subjects hahaha

I really do love Pembroke too, it just seems like THE place to study.
Original post by BioWoodenSpoon
I feel you - am reapplying this year for BioNatSci, rejected despite 4A*A prediction, but it was purely down to taking the wrong subjects hahaha

I really do love Pembroke too, it just seems like THE place to study.


What college are you applying to this year? Still Pembroke? :wink:


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Has anyone else gotten their interview feedback yet? And thanks to everyone who's commented on this thread thus far, it's great that we can help each other!


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Original post by philerus
...


Cambridge have a specific policy of not snatching students enrolled at other universities. There is no such policy at Oxford, though some tutors- but not all-look down on it.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Blutooth
Cambridge have a specific policy of not snatching students enrolled at other universities. There is no such policy at Oxford, though some tutors- but not all-look down on it.


I would probably take a shot with Oxford once again then. It seems as if it does really depend on individual tutors, and from the university-wide and college specific admissions depts I have contacted there seems to be no agreed opinion as to what they think of this matter, at least from what I can tell by their response.
Original post by Blutooth
You have good grades, and assuming you made an application next year with just as good A2s or better Id probably give you a 50:50 chance of getting in. Even at Oxford those who go on to get A*A*A* or betetr at A-level have a 50% success rate. I imagine those who obtained similar rates would have a similar success rate. If you have applied for an unpopular course, the success rate is probably better.

If you want to keep your place at LSE, you'd have to find a tutor who didnt mind reapplications and reapply there. If you gve it up and went on a gap year, I'd rate your chances with Cambridge as being higher than with Oxford due to your UMS. However, you are applying for competitive courses. ...


You pinpointed a key issue right there: finding a tutor who would support me. Term at LSE starts in October, and the Oxbridge deadline is October 15th. That is hardly enough time to get to know a tutor, let alone enough time to build a relationship solid enough to ask for such favours and then write the reference itself.
You pinpointed a key issue right there: finding a tutor who would support me. Term at LSE starts in October, and the Oxbridge deadline is October 15th. That is hardly enough time to get to know a tutor, let alone enough time to build a relationship solid enough to ask for such favours and then write the reference itself.


Sorry, by tutor I meant one from Oxford. A lot of tutors have undergraduate degrees from other institutions and so would frown on what you are doing. You'd need to find a college that wouldn't raise an eyebrow at what you are doing- and that could be tricky.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Blutooth
Sorry, by tutor I meant one from Oxford. A lot of tutors have undergraduate degrees from other institutions and so would frown on what you are doing. You'd need to find a college that wouldn't raise an eyebrow at what you are doing- and that could be tricky.


Yes, that makes perfect sense. Quite a few are also bound to think me a fool for applying out not just any uni, bur the LSE. I suppose that, since I would still maintain my place at the LSE even if I apply to Oxford, the only risk I would be facing was annoying the department by asking them to send the letter of support in the beginning. If I get rejected, I would still have my place at LSE.

As a starting point, however, I have contacted quite a few colleges in order to gauge their responses. I will see where I can go from there. I would think myself an idiot from their position as well, it is just that, unofrunately, a gap year is simply not a viable option for me and, since I had felt myself to be so close to getting an offer, it simply does not feel right to let it go now. Especially seing as I would like to take advantage of those grades while they still matter, before they become meaningless with time.

Thank you very much for your valuable advice, however.
]Yes, that makes perfect sense. Quite a few are also bound to think me a fool for applying out not just any uni, bur the LSE. I suppose that, since I would still maintain my place at the LSE even if I apply to Oxford, the only risk I would be facing was annoying the department by asking them to send the letter of support in the beginning. If I get rejected, I would still have my place at LSE.

As a starting point, however, I have contacted quite a few colleges in order to gauge their responses. I will see where I can go from there. I would think myself an idiot from their position as well, it is just that, unofrunately, a gap year is simply not a viable option for me and, since I had felt myself to be so close to getting an offer, it simply does not feel right to let it go now. Especially seing as I would like to take advantage of those grades while they still matter, before they become meaningless with time.

Thank you very much for your valuable advice, however.


It also may be a better idea to get a reference from your school as LSE will know nextto nothing about you ...unless you want to send an email from a DOS explaining the situation. I dunno..food for thought.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Blutooth
It also may be a better idea to get a reference from your school as LSE will know nextto nothing about you ...unless you want to send an email from a DOS explaining the situation. I dunno..food for thought.


Yeah, that was what I was planning on doing but, both unis would require official acknowledgement by the uni at hand,which complicates things, as I am reluctant to believe that LSE would support such an application. I should not be causing myself this problem in the first place, but, you know, its Oxford...
Reply 138
Original post by philerus
Yeah, that was what I was planning on doing but, both unis would require official acknowledgement by the uni at hand,which complicates things, as I am reluctant to believe that LSE would support such an application. I should not be causing myself this problem in the first place, but, you know, its Oxford...

What's so good about Oxbridge? LSE is an amazing place, you'll likely be equally if not more successful in your career with a degree from there.
Original post by philerus
This year, I have been rejected post-interview by the university of Oxford for PPE, and am now thinking about reapplying to Cambridge for Economics/HSPS.

My best 3 AS UMS average is
95.78%,


I am now considering reapplying. However, Cambridge may seem to be a better option now than Oxford. I have an offer from the LSE I was hoping to reapply after having accepted the LSE offer, but I now fear that my application be looked down upon due to me being a reapplicant and a student at an institution such as the LSE, from which Cambridge would understandably be reluctant to "snatch" candidates..


My question can be summed up as follows: on the basis of these grades and academic achievements, and assuming that I am able to meet or narrowly miss my predicitons, would it be worth applying to Cambridge for Economics or HSPS, most likely from the LSE?

Thank you very much for reading and considering these queries and I eagerly accept any help that you could give me, as I am kind of upset over the Oxford response and having given Cambridge due attention.


I really wouldn't advise applying to Cambridge. Firstly I think your application will break poaching rules. Secondly for Cambridge you don't have FM. 90% of Economics offers go to those with FM and good though your maths is you will be competing with students who have scored nearer to 100% and have FM. 6AS are unusual. Are these AS equivalents or is the Russian a native language?

Edited at request of OP.
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(edited 9 years ago)

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