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Hi,

I have done AS Maths a year early, with reasonable UMS and will be doing AS Physics, Further Maths, Computing, D&T 3D Product Design as well as Maths A2 next year.
I was wondering which A levels other than FM and Physics would be recommended to take on to A2 for engineering?
Also if all five were carried on to A2 which three would be looked at, as they are all at least somewhat relevant to engineering?

Thanks for doing these, they're unbelievably helpful. :smile:

Hi there and thank you for your question. Chemistry would be the obvious extra AS/A Level that you could take and I would substitute it for one of computing, D&T and 3D Product Design (probably the latter as the former two are probably of more use for Engineering at Cambridge).

If you take the five you are currently planning on, then we would pay most attention to Maths (including FM) and Physics and would prefer that you maximised your ahcnes of doing well in these subjects.

Reply 241

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Original post by shamika

Hi again, a few more questions from me :smile:

Apart from the first question all relate to Maths.

1) I've not been able to follow what changes are being made to the winter pool. Am I right in thinking that the first news they'll hear from Cambridge is acceptance, rejection or pool interview? (If so, then I definitely welcome this, because winter pool was stressful for a lot of people!)

2) Over the last two years, there seems to be an increase in the numbers of people applying post A-levels. For Maths, is there a standard post A-level STEP offer? (I ask because nearly everyone in this situation that I am aware of got a S, 1 offer in II and III).

3) If someone has already done STEP II and III and achieved 1, 1, is it feasible that they get an unconditional offer? What if they achieved S, 2?

4) If someone is post A-level and have a STEP offer, is there any advice on what type of university level maths they can read up on? In the summer I always get asked what types of things people should read, and this year is no exception! (Happy to direct this to a Director of Study if you can't answer directly)

5) In the summer pool, is any weight given to a STEP I result if they've narrowly missed out due a STEP II or III result? What about AEA? What about MAT (taken by applicants who also apply to Imperial)?

6) Are the number of people making their STEP offers increasing? I ask because the percentage of people achieving each grade is steadily decreasing, and I assume because more and more people are taking the exams.

7) Apart from practising for STEP, are there any other resources for maths interviews? I'm aware of NRICH, some sample admissions papers from colleges such as Trinity and a video from Emmanuel, but there isn't a huge amount of guidance about how hard the interview questions can get for maths.

Thanks for your help as always, this should help the maths lot over the next year or so!

Hi again, I now have a reply from my DoS in Maths with is as follows:

2. I hadn’t noticed this myself. Anyway, there is no standard post A-level STEP offer, though I’d expect most Colleges to use the same offer as for pre A-level.

3. Yes, it is certainly feasible with 1,1. If a candidate got S,2 then it is possible but the College would be likely to ask them to take STEP III again and get a 1.

4. Well, the Maths Faculty’s reading list at http://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/undergrad/admissions/readinglist.pdf contains lots of good suggestions: it starts off with historical books “for the general reader” and ends up with University-level texts.

5. Weight might be given to STEP I, but it really isn’t going to feature greatly. Perhaps a top S grade in STEP I might make up for a couple of marks in STEP II… The AEA is of little relevance compared to STEP, and we don’t even receive MAT results.

6. I’m not 100% sure of the answer to this. I think that the number of people making STEP is roughly constant. It is certainly true that more people are taking the exams.

7. No, that’s about it. STEP questions are in fact a very good guide in themselves to how hard our interview questions might get – we wouldn’t ask something substantially harder than a STEP question.

I hope this is helpful. :smile:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 242

tim_123

How do mature students with different qualifications tend to get on?

I'm currently doing the first year of a comp sci degree with the OU, and looking at applying to various unis at first year in September

Reply 243

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Original post by The Clockwork Apple

Hello. I will be looking to apply for CompSci.
My IGCSE grades were 7 A*s 2 As and 1 B.
My AS level grades were AAAAB (B sent off for remark) in Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Applied ICT and English. The average of top 3 is around 88% and 87% for most relevant. I will be self-teaching AS FM over the next year, and if my principal allows me to, I'll self-teach the A2 too (school does not offer it). What are my chances of admission? Given my predicted grade for Further Maths is an A* (my highest % was Maths of all my AS exams this year) at A2, does Cambridge treat this predicted A* the same as it would treat a predicted A* to someone who has already achieved an A at AS? How does Cambridge look upon those whose school does not offer FM?

Hi there, we are aware that a lot of schools are not able to offer FM and are conscious of that when assessing applicants who have had to self-teach modules and we have a box in the SAQ for you to tell us this. I think we treat all predicted grades the same, with sensible caution.

Comp Sci tends to have a slightly lower UMS average for applicants and acceptances than some of the other Science courses but 87% will not put you among the strongest candidates on paper. Without seeing everything else, I can't really say more than that.

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Original post by hahazzya

Hello, just one question, does science subjects for SUMS include maths/further maths?
Thanks in advance

Yes. All Maths modules are counted as one subject.

Reply 245

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Original post by mcmillanr

Hi again. Is there a similar graph to the one above but for natural sciences?

Posted from TSR Mobile

No, sorry. It would look quite similar to the Engineering one though but perhaps just a touch higher.

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Original post by colourtheory

Hi there,

I have just received my A2 results and achieved A*A*A in History, History of Art and English Literature (with the latter most 1 mark from an A*). My UMS average is 90.8% and I got 2A*'s (in History and English Lit), 6A's and 2B's (in Maths and stats) at GCSE. Bearing this in mind, do you think I could make a competitive application to study History or History of Art? And do you think it would be worth submitting my English exam for a remark with a view to pushing my grade up to an A*? I realise this is a highly personal question but your opinion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

P.S I'm not sure if it makes a difference but I also have an A grade in EPQ which is based upon an Art Historical topic. Thanks again!

Hello and congratulaions on your A Levels results. With 2 A*s (and a A* in the EPQ) you would certainly be a competitive candidate Post A Level. I would certainly try and get the English remarked as it could give you three A*s and that would qualify you for compulsory pooling. What you now need to do is decide whtether History or HoA is the better course for you, and by that I mean which one you think you would enjoy the most and do best in rather than the one which is 'easier' to get in for. Good luck and I am happy to answer more questions if you have them.

Reply 247

Alistair12

Thanks for doing this thread!
Could you perhaps give me an indication on my chances of reading Economics at Cambridge?

GCSEs 10 A* and A in FSMQ

Strong 'super curricular' - Summer Schools, Work Experience
Strong Extra Curricular - World Challenge, Vice Captain
(I know these aren't really considered, but it is to help with overall picture! :smile:

)

AS:
C1: 100
C2 :97
C3: 95
FP1: 93
M1: 96
S1: 91

Eco Unit 1: 86
Eco Unit 2: 100

History Unit 1: 100
History Unit 2: 75 ( :frown:

Will apply for remark, felt this exam went much better)

Thanks

Reply 248

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Original post by chloe--

Hi,

What do you reckon my chances are for Physical Natural Sciences?
10 A*s and 1 A at GCSE
AAAA at AS in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry
Average of 92.5% overall, 94% in Physics, 93% in Chemistry, and 91.5% across Maths and Further Maths
C1 - 97, C2 - 100, S1 - 90
FP1 - 94, D1 - 88, D2 - 80 (I plan on resitting this)
Chem 1 - 94/100, 2 - 132/140, EMPA - 50/60
Physics 1 - 72/90, 2 - 150/150, Controlled Assessment - 60/60
Predicted 4 A*s at A2

As I have said to others, I can't give precise answers to what people's chances are. With your GCSE grades and AS marks, however, I would expect you to be a competitive candidate on paper along with a lot of other candidates. I hope that is helpful and sorry not to be more precise.

Reply 249

Alistair12

Oh,
I will continue with Maths, FM, Eco and History at A2

Reply 250

Soraia

Hello,
Now that all medics will stay in Cambridge for years 4, 5 and 6 will colleges still provide accommodation or will students have to turn to privately rented houses?

Reply 251

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Original post by Ana12345

Thank you very much for all your feed back it is really appreciated! May I also ask are the UMS and BMAT scores only used to call people for interview, then after interview do you make the final decision based on interview and things such as personal statements and predicted grades/school reference?
Additionally what BMAT score would stand me in a competitive position?
Thanks for all your help and time !
Ana

You are very welcome. To answer your questions, UMS and BMAt are very much used in decision making as well as performance at interview and other things. We use them both to decide who to call to interview and in making decisions.

Regarding what is a good BMAt score, it sort of depends on what the rest of the application looks like. A high score in BMAT might help compensate for a lowish UMS average, whereas a mediocre score in BMAT might not matter that much compared to very strong UMS, if you see what I mean.

In general, however, anything over 5.0 in Sections 1 and 2 is a decent score, over 6.0 is strong and over 7.0 very strong indeed. Our offer holders at Christ's over the past five years have averaged just over 6.0 in Section 1 & 2.

I hope that is helpful.

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Original post by GCSEmoron

Hi there, just wondering: if my GCSE results are strong, but my AS UMS are on average just below 90%, would I be better off applying to Oxford? Or would I have a chance at being accepted by Cambridge?

Thank you very much for your time,

Freddie

I think that your application to Cambridge for Medicine would be relatively marginal with an average just below 90% but that is only one aspect of your application and I haven't seen your GCSE scores, your PS, school reference, contextual data and, obviously, your BMAT yet so I cannot say for certain. We have taken people at Christ's with a UMS average similar to your for Medicine but not very many.

In the end the decision between Oxford and Cambridge is one you have to make and I don;t want to steer you too far in one direction or another.

With BMAT, see my answer above, 5.0 good, 6.0 very good, 7.0 excellent (roughly).

Good luck with whatever you decide and am happy to answer more questions if you have them.

Reply 253

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Original post by TheWarwicko

I know you must be rather tired of answering UMS questions, so I apologise in advance. Would Cambridge consider my grades competitive to read English?

History:

Unit 1: 100/100, 100% - A
Unit 2: 71/100, 71% - B
Overall: 171/200, 85.5% - A.

Economics:

Unit 1: 82/100, 82% - A
Unit 2: 93/100, 93% - A
Overall: 174/200, 87.0% - A.

Philosophy:

Unit 1: 93/100, 93% - A
Unit 2: 98/100, 98% - A
Overall: 191/200, 95.5% - A.

Literature:

Unit 1: 120/120, 100% - A
Unit 2: 74/80, 92.5% - A
Overall: 194/200, 97.0% - A.

These give me a UMS average of 93% in my best subjects.

Thank you.

No problem, everybody is asking them but, as I have said, I can't give a precise answer without a full application in front of me. A 93% average, however, qualifies you for compulsory pooling so you will be a competitive applicant.

Reply 254

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Original post by Undisclosed 15

Will I put my UMS score for each Economics paper on the SAQ? I know that normally I would but I am not sure how it would work with CIE as I do not know what UMS I achieved in each paper. I only know the raw mark I achieved in each paper and the overall UMS.

I want to include my individual scores as in one paper I did very well while the other let me down.

Posted from TSR Mobile

With CIE you just provide the overall UMS for each subject in the SAQ as they do not give individual UMS for each module (unfortunately). You can mention your individual scores elsewhere in the SAQ if you wish (there is a box for you to tell us anything else you wish us to know).

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Original post by newblood

Ok so unless my interview was a disaster I would most likely receive an offer? And would it be unconditional? If it helps my A-levels are 4 A*s in Maths, Further Maths, Additional Further Maths and Physics with As in AS-level Chemistry and Physics. And GCSEs are 9A*s 4As. And the STEP scores are 90 in STEP II and 70 in STEP III.

Also do you know if your college's view on STEP having more emphasis than interviews being university wide or would it vary somewhat between colleges. I don't have a lot of preferences with regards to colleges other than accomodation for all 3 years and being somewhat central (location-wise), so other than that, if im being honest, I just want to maximise my chances.

Finally, if my interviews did go badly and you decided you did not want to make me an offer would i be winter pooled?

Thank you for your replies - very useful.

I think that is very likely though I cannot say for certain until one sees everybody else.

As I have said in another reply, I can't see into the inner processes of other colleges but I have no reason to think otherwise - STEP is the best predictor of any measure for any subject that we have.

Yes, I cannot forsee circumstances where you would not be Pooled though with the caveat that I can't tell you exactly what other collges might do.

In terms of centrality, Christ's is very central and guarantees accomodation on site (or one street away in the 2nd year) for all three years. I think all colleges guarantee accomodation for all three years though it will not always be on the main college site.

Your email has been forwarded to our DoS in Maths and he will hopefully reply soon (hopefully not contradicting anything I have just said! :smile:

Reply 256

14Merton

Hi, thanks so much for posting on the forum – a great opportunity forstudents to access specific ‘next steps’ advice.

I have a student who got As in Physics, Maths, Chemistry and FurtherMaths. His Chemistry grade was a low A and he is worried about continuing thisnext year. He is looking to study Maths with Physics at Cambridge and wonderedif continuing with Maths, Further Maths and Physics would disadvantage hisapplication. He has completed additional work in Physics working with theInstitute of Physics and achieve the Gold Crest award which he plans to buildon this year. I am just concerned about him taking a fourth A Level – in thepast the sixth form team has always been advised to encourage students to takejust the three A Levels and focus on depth, not breadth of knowledge. However,I have never had a student choose Further Maths as the third A Level. Anyadvice would be appreciated.

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Original post by M1llward

For Engineering, some colleges have a general academic interview. What does this entail? - Also, I've heard Christ's sometimes ask for STEP in Engineering offers. How often is this the case and under what circumstances is it required? Thanks for answering all our questions!

Usually, a general academic interview will be an interview conducted by a non-subject specialist but perhaps from a related subject and will be academic in focus but not subject specific.

Christ's has asked for STEP in Engineering for the past two years for all candidates and we are settling on the right level. This year we asked for students to achieve a 1 in STEP I and I expect that will be the offer next year. As we are using STEP it does mean that, as in Maths, we will be making rather more offers than is usual in this subject.

We, and our students, have found that simply preparing for and taking STEP has helped them with the independent study and Maths capabilities that is necessary for doing well in Engineering at Cambridge. It is therefore as much a preparation tool as an admissions one. I hope that explains our thinking a bit, happy to answer more questions on it.