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Reply 800
Original post by jamiepango
Hmm I guess. I think I will put York as my insurance, even though the offer will in all likelihood go up :/ Have you decided which Cambridge college you are applying to?


I really like the look of York as well, just not sure I want to be up north.

Leaning towards Catz, you?
Original post by tateco
I really like the look of York as well, just not sure I want to be up north.

Leaning towards Catz, you?


:eek: Considering Catz as well :tongue:

If I decide to apply, most likely Downing college or Catz; but that's a very big if...
Reply 802
Original post by jamiepango
:eek: Considering Catz as well :tongue:

If I decide to apply, most likely Downing college or Catz; but that's a very big if...


Hopefully not too many from here apply, I could do without the competition :wink:

Where else are you considering now?
Original post by tateco
Hopefully not too many from here apply, I could do without the competition :wink:

Where else are you considering now?


Those are the only colleges I think, I'll be happy to go to any college to be honest :smile:

Looks like Cambridge/LSE, UCL, Bath, York and one other, although of course it depends on how results turn out... How about you?
Reply 804
Original post by jamiepango
Those are the only colleges I think, I'll be happy to go to any college to be honest :smile:

Looks like Cambridge/LSE, UCL, Bath, York and one other, although of course it depends on how results turn out... How about you?


Same as yours but Nottingham instead of York :tongue:
bath or bristol for economics?
Reply 806
Original post by alexsmith_85
bath or bristol for economics?


Bath!!!!!!! (I'm not biased at all :wink:)
Reply 807
Original post by alexsmith_85
bath or bristol for economics?


I'd say Bath, but Bristol is probably equally as good :smile:
I was just wondering what my chances of getting into lse or Cambridge for econometrics (lse) or economics (Cambridge) if I get an a* in maths this year two As in economics and geography. I have standard Gcse s 3a* 7a b c
also considering Warwick ucl and bath
With nottingham and exeter as possible insurances
Reply 809
Original post by alexsmith_85
I was just wondering what my chances of getting into lse or Cambridge for econometrics (lse) or economics (Cambridge) if I get an a* in maths this year two As in economics and geography. I have standard Gcse s 3a* 7a b c
also considering Warwick ucl and bath
With nottingham and exeter as possible insurances


For Cambridge, it depends on your interview. For LSE, it depends on your personal statement and the luck of the draw.
Reply 810
Original post by alexsmith_85
I was just wondering what my chances of getting into lse or Cambridge for econometrics (lse) or economics (Cambridge) if I get an a* in maths this year two As in economics and geography. I have standard Gcse s 3a* 7a b c
also considering Warwick ucl and bath
With nottingham and exeter as possible insurances


LSE won't like your GCSEs, and it's always a lottery even if they're good.
Cambridge might be okay, but you have no further maths so that could hold you back from both institutions (unless you have impeccable UMS scores for Maths).

UCL might be more realistic than those two but again, no further maths and low GCSEs.

Warwick is more likely than the other 3, but no guarantees as you're not a stand out candidate in terms of academics, you will probably be slightly below average.

Bath is more likely than the other 4, did you get 4 As at AS though? If not your chances from there reduce significantly.

Nottingham and Exeter might be easier to gain offers from (especially Exeter, they give many more offers than places) but it looks like they are both going to be A*AA this year so don't make a very good insurance in terms of missing your grades.

If you definitely want to go to uni and don't want a gap year, you need to swap out one of the top 4 universities for a slightly lower university (Manchester, York, Southampton) to improve your chances of getting at least one offer.
Original post by tateco
LSE won't like your GCSEs, and it's always a lottery even if they're good.
Cambridge might be okay, but you have no further maths so that could hold you back from both institutions (unless you have impeccable UMS scores for Maths).

UCL might be more realistic than those two but again, no further maths and low GCSEs.

Warwick is more likely than the other 3, but no guarantees as you're not a stand out candidate in terms of academics, you will probably be slightly below average.

Bath is more likely than the other 4, did you get 4 As at AS though? If not your chances from there reduce significantly.

Nottingham and Exeter might be easier to gain offers from (especially Exeter, they give many more offers than places) but it looks like they are both going to be A*AA this year so don't make a very good insurance in terms of missing your grades.

If you definitely want to go to uni and don't want a gap year, you need to swap out one of the top 4 universities for a slightly lower university (Manchester, York, Southampton) to improve your chances of getting at least one offer.



I m taking further maths next year and am hoping to gain an A* in maths this year, does thaty have a significant effect on my uni choices?
Reply 812
Original post by alexsmith_85
I m taking further maths next year and am hoping to gain an A* in maths this year, does thaty have a significant effect on my uni choices?


Further maths will help for LSE, Cambridge and UCL, yes.
Reply 813
Original post by jamiepango
Don't worry, you'll be fine. Going by your theory, applying to A*AA unis should be the strategy anyway :tongue:
I guess you could decide how much risk you can take once you've found out if you've been accepted onto the placement schemes :biggrin:


I feel like a such daredevil considering applying to A*AA universities across the board. :colondollar:

Regarding insurances, if I don't make A*AA I will most likely get A*AB yet there are few which have offers of that level. :/

First draft of my personal statement is done. Fingers crossed it is well received by teachers (and TSR when I get round to posting it).
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Groat
I feel like a such daredevil considering applying to A*AA universities across the board. :colondollar:

First draft of my personal statement is done. Fingers crossed it is well received by teachers (and TSR when I get round to posting it).


Haha I think most people will be doing that anyway, seeing as most universities are increasing their offers for next year so that the majority of the top 10 are A*AA... If you are confident that you can make the grades, why not go for it? :biggrin:

I am in the process of writing mine :wink: I think it's a good idea to get several opinions on your personal statement, so I'll get my old english teacher to check for vocabulary and structuring of the writing- english was never my strong point :colondollar:
Reply 815
Original post by jamiepango
Haha I think most people will be doing that anyway, seeing as most universities are increasing their offers for next year so that the majority of the top 10 are A*AA... If you are confident that you can make the grades, why not go for it? :biggrin:

I am in the process of writing mine :wink: I think it's a good idea to get several opinions on your personal statement, so I'll get my old english teacher to check for vocabulary and structuring of the writing- english was never my strong point :colondollar:


I have the benefit of doing English Literature A-Level, so I have plenty of contact with english teachers. (I'd like to think my style is good enough, anyway).

Yeah, I think getting the offer will be more difficult than getting A*AA. I will have five subjects to get those grades with, anyway. :colone:

It's quite tricky putting everything you want in 4000 characters. How are you finding it?
Original post by Groat
I have the benefit of doing English Literature A-Level, so I have plenty of contact with english teachers. (I'd like to think my style is good enough, anyway).

Yeah, I think getting the offer will be more difficult than getting A*AA. I will have five subjects to get those grades with, anyway. :colone:

It's quite tricky putting everything you want in 4000 characters. How are you finding it?


I totally agree! :eek: Are you continuing all 5 subjects? That certainly shows you have the ability to cope with a large workload so will be seen in good light with universities when applying :biggrin:

I'm just planning the content at the moment. I think for a first draft you should aim to include all the content that you want in it before worrying about character count and such. I think I will be way over the count, but I'll worry about it later :tongue:
Reply 817
Original post by jamiepango
I totally agree! :eek: Are you continuing all 5 subjects? That certainly shows you have the ability to cope with a large workload so will be seen in good light with universities when applying :biggrin:

I'm just planning the content at the moment. I think for a first draft you should aim to include all the content that you want in it before worrying about character count and such. I think I will be way over the count, but I'll worry about it later :tongue:


If I get a B in English Literature I will be dropping that; otherwise, I will be continuing with five.

Also, if I get 90%+ in AS-Levels this year, I only need 70% in the A2 exams to get an A. :eek:

Hmm, I sort of disagree. I could talk about Economics for ages and end up writing an essay on why I want to study it. You need to get into the groove of being concise. By all means don't miss out a point if you feel it's relevant, but don't elaborate on everything. It's likely you'll go through it with a teacher and cross out a few sentences as they don't really add much.

What sections are you conforming to?
Original post by jamiepango

I'm just planning the content at the moment. I think for a first draft you should aim to include all the content that you want in it before worrying about character count and such. I think I will be way over the count, but I'll worry about it later :tongue:


If you take this approach you'll probably be so far over the character limit that you end up rewriting large parts of it because you've ruined the flow by cutting it down to the right length. 4000 characters isn't a lot of space and if you're leaving a line between paragraphs, which you should, 3600 characters is more realistic. Think carefully about what you want to include, so you don't end up with 7000 characters or something crazy :smile:
Reply 819
Original post by Potally_Tissed
If you take this approach you'll probably be so far over the character limit that you end up rewriting large parts of it because you've ruined the flow by cutting it down to the right length. 4000 characters isn't a lot of space and if you're leaving a line between paragraphs, which you should, 3600 characters is more realistic. Think carefully about what you want to include, so you don't end up with 7000 characters or something crazy :smile:


Yeah, that was the point I was trying to get across. :u:

Do you think universities want to know if you were awarded a subject prize (for best performing student in a subject) from your school, or UMS marks in a module (which I know some referees mention)?