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What to do about poor undergraduate result?

Hey. Sorry if this isn't the right place.

I've just gotten a 3rd in maths in my final year Cambridge (I received 2.2s previously).

I'm aware this'll likely sound childish but I put it largely down to the awful quality control of the exams. I worked far harder than in any previous year and was predicted 2.1s and 1s in my courses by my supervisors, but for some bizarre reason Cambridge has zero procedure for moderating the standard of the exam questions provided by lecturers, and as a result I pulled a bunch of short straws on my courses and received some absurdly abstract and/or lengthy questions.

Boring excuses over; the salient point is that I'm happy with my work ethic and level of knowledge and ability.

But I wanted a career in academia, and my current grade kills that prospect.

What are my options?

Ideally I'd like to obtain some kind of certification of competence. Are there any respectable institutions which provide somebody with a working knowledge of undergraduate mathematics the ability to take sane examinations and get a good grade to certify that knowledge (but without taking 3 years to do so)?

Any and all advice very much appreciated.
Original post by Xei
I've just gotten a 3rd in maths in my final year Cambridge (I received 2.2s previously).

But I wanted a career in academia, and my current grade kills that prospect.

What are my options?


Get a job, prove your competency professionally, then consider higher degrees in 5-10 year's time. You aren't going to get a job in academia with a 3rd form Cambridge without adding a high level of professional competency. Your future applications to higher degrees will be based on your technical or managerial skills and experience based on your profession, not your academic qualifications.
Original post by Xei
I've just gotten a 3rd


Original post by Xei
I'm happy with my work ethic and level of knowledge and ability.


Hmm, how certain are you about this ambition? I'm sure you are very intelligent and capable but those who enter academia combine high intelligence with academic achievement. Christopher Hitchens got a third class degree and you'd be mad to call him unintelligent but you'd be equally mad to call him academic.
There's no easy way out unfortunately, I can only echo threeportdrift in saying that if you're set on academia then you'll probably need a solid period of professional experience so you have something other than your undergraduate results to offer. It may also be possible to take a less prestigious (but still decent) masters course and build off a better result there, but you'll definitely be in a more secure position with a good record of additional experience elsewhere.
In another thread I read about prerequisite courses for master degrees. Maybe look into these?
Original post by Xei
Hey. Sorry if this isn't the right place.

I've just gotten a 3rd in maths in my final year Cambridge (I received 2.2s previously).

I'm aware this'll likely sound childish but I put it largely down to the awful quality control of the exams. I worked far harder than in any previous year and was predicted 2.1s and 1s in my courses by my supervisors, but for some bizarre reason Cambridge has zero procedure for moderating the standard of the exam questions provided by lecturers, and as a result I pulled a bunch of short straws on my courses and received some absurdly abstract and/or lengthy questions.

Boring excuses over; the salient point is that I'm happy with my work ethic and level of knowledge and ability.

But I wanted a career in academia, and my current grade kills that prospect.

What are my options?

Ideally I'd like to obtain some kind of certification of competence. Are there any respectable institutions which provide somebody with a working knowledge of undergraduate mathematics the ability to take sane examinations and get a good grade to certify that knowledge (but without taking 3 years to do so)?

Any and all advice very much appreciated.


Consider other countries than the UK. You don't have to wait 5-10 years until you could be able to do a Master degree, that is rediculous. Either you can do it or not, but up to 10 years out of academia won't necessarily help you, besides being older and more used to work the whole day long. A two year Master might get you the time and the experience you need to either decide against academia or use the fresh start to improve considerably.
Reply 6
Hi Xei,

I know exactly what are you talking about.

I graduated from Cambridge with a 3rd class degree in NatSci in 2009. I was good at problem solving and had good 1st and 2nd year results, but all the third year exams are concentrated on essay writing, which just killed me right away. In July, I was told that I cannot continue to the 4th year of tripos and have to graduate in the next month. I always wanted a career in academic research but all I got at that time was something like "you're not cut out for it" or "you've got no chance".

Still didn't want to give up, I started looking for job positions in academic research. I can't remember how many of my applications had been turned down but finally I got a job as a research assistant working on software development for some biochemistry stuff. I worked for 2 years and had a few second-author publications. Then I used my publications along with my poor undergrad results to apply for masters. The odds were still not good and I was rejected many many of times. In the end, I was lucky enough to be admitted by the University of Manchester in master of computational biology. From then, things started to get better. I got good marks in the masters course and now I am in my second year of PhD at Uni of Manchester.

So Xei, as long as you're sure of your competence in this area, there will be a way out. Everyone said a 3rd is impossible for academia, but I just found out myself it is possible. The fact is that exam results don't always reflect your ability. Many universities and institutes are aware of this.

I'm not sure if this can be of help. I can tell you more.

Best
Reply 7
Original post by Nathanielle
Consider other countries than the UK. You don't have to wait 5-10 years until you could be able to do a Master degree, that is rediculous. Either you can do it or not, but up to 10 years out of academia won't necessarily help you, besides being older and more used to work the whole day long. A two year Master might get you the time and the experience you need to either decide against academia or use the fresh start to improve considerably.


I agree. Many universities in Europe offer Master's degrees in English and would probably be happy to take you, and many of them are not as focused on grades as UK unis. After your MSc you'll apply to the UK university of your choice with your brand new shiny grades! You'll get a great study-abroad experience and won't have to wait 5-10 years.
Reply 8
This is totally irrelevant - I'm really sorry guys! But is there any way that I can opt out of receiving emails from the student room? If anyone does know of how I can do so, please let me know - thank you! I'm really sorry for totally messing up the thread!


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