Cambridge Decisions 2015 - info and FAQ

Hi guys, I'm sure this has been asked somewhere in the thread already but I'm going to ask again, how do I go about seeking feedback on my (unsuccessful) application? Should I contact the admissions secretary at the college I applied to or the one I was pooled to for another interview or somewhere else completely?

Hi guys,

I have a few rather strange questions to ask, and I'd appreciate it if anybody could help me out!
A friend of mine was rejected from Cambridge and didn't particularly want feedback. However, my school now has individual feedback regarding all of this year's applicants, even though nobody made a request for it. Our UCAS referee has claimed that Cambridge must have accidentally sent the feedback for all applicants this year - I find this highly implausible (as I'm sure it would breach some kind of data protection law? Although I don't know if it's protocol for Cambridge?) and I'm now trying to figure out if said teacher had requested feedback for all applicants (unbeknownst to us all) and is just lying about it.
As a follow up question, does anybody know if the school is allowed to obtain feedback from the university regarding a pupil even if said pupil has explicitly said that they didn't want it/not given consent for such an action? I can't remember if the Cambridge Data Protection Form specified it.


Sorry for the long and ramble post! I know that it may seem like a rather odd and trivial query, but my friend's rather upset at having such confidential information shared. Thank in advance to anybody who can help!

Hi guys,

I have a few rather strange questions to ask, and I'd appreciate it if anybody could help me out!
A friend of mine was rejected from Cambridge and didn't particularly want feedback. However, my school now has individual feedback regarding all of this year's applicants, even though nobody made a request for it. Our UCAS referee has claimed that Cambridge must have accidentally sent the feedback for all applicants this year - I find this highly implausible (as I'm sure it would breach some kind of data protection law? Although I don't know if it's protocol for Cambridge?) and I'm now trying to figure out if said teacher had requested feedback for all applicants (unbeknownst to us all) and is just lying about it.
As a follow up question, does anybody know if the school is allowed to obtain feedback from the university regarding a pupil even if said pupil has explicitly said that they didn't want it/not given consent for such an action? I can't remember if the Cambridge Data Protection Form specified it.


Sorry for the long and ramble post! I know that it may seem like a rather odd and trivial query, but my friend's rather upset at having such confidential information shared. Thank in advance to anybody who can help!

Hi people. I was rejected from Queens for Engineering this year. I am very upset and really wanted to get in. I am seriously considering taking a gap year (especially if I get rejected from Imperial). I was placed in the winter pool before rejection. I would like to seek advice from some of you.


My grade predictions were decent: 41/45 IB points. (7s in Physics, Chemistry, Maths and 6s in Economics, English and Norwegian). In the feedback, they said that I showed good interest in the course. They said that I made good progress in pure maths problems in my first interview. However, they said that I found it harder to apply knowledge to real world situations and was not fast as other candidates in tackling these types of problems. My TSA score was 65.0 (just outside the top quartile) with 82.6 in critical thinking and 54.6 in problem solving (a much lower score). In the feedback they clearly say that they had a number of candidates who were both stronger on paper and in person.


Do you guys think that if I achieve 43 or 44 IB points (which I am confident I can achieve), I should reapply?
I am participating in Physics olympiad also this year and have made it to the second round thus far. I was thinking that I should take STEP papers this year and see if I can achieve something which may bolster my application. I am going to practice my problem solving in maths and physics a lot, so I expect myself to improve a lot in that regards.


What do you guys think? Is it worth giving it another shot? I do not have any idea whatsoever about what I can do in the gap year, but I will try to figure something out. Please be honest, even if the truth is harsh. Thanks very much,

Hi guys,

I have a few rather strange questions to ask, and I'd appreciate it if anybody could help me out!
A friend of mine was rejected from Cambridge and didn't particularly want feedback. However, my school now has individual feedback regarding all of this year's applicants, even though nobody made a request for it. Our UCAS referee has claimed that Cambridge must have accidentally sent the feedback for all applicants this year - I find this highly implausible (as I'm sure it would breach some kind of data protection law? Although I don't know if it's protocol for Cambridge?) and I'm now trying to figure out if said teacher had requested feedback for all applicants (unbeknownst to us all) and is just lying about it.
As a follow up question, does anybody know if the school is allowed to obtain feedback from the university regarding a pupil even if said pupil has explicitly said that they didn't want it/not given consent for such an action? I can't remember if the Cambridge Data Protection Form specified it.


Sorry for the long and ramble post! I know that it may seem like a rather odd and trivial query, but my friend's rather upset at having such confidential information shared. Thank in advance to anybody who can help!

I didn't apply for engineering, but I'd say definitely give it another shot. It probably really depends on the course, but maybe try and get some relevant work experience so you can apply your academic knowledge to the real life situations. Try doing past papers for the TSA I guess (I have a feeling that the IB doesn't prepare you well for these kinds of tests, because I really messed up my BMAT). Ultimately it's up to you, what offers you get this year, and if you know that you really want to go to Cambridge. Good luck and I hope you get Imperial

If you do decide to reapply it is usually recommended to choose a different college from your first application. Why not choose one that doesn't require the TSA?

If you get an offer from Imperial, I'd go there. It is extremely well-known and prestigious for Engineering. You'd be taking a risk by taking a gap year. Do you think in that time you improve on what they didn't like from your application this year? If so, and you really want to go to Cambridge, then it might be the best option.

I think if you get that IB score then you have a good chance, I would also practise a lot of TSA papers and see if other people (perhaps teachers) can ask you Cambridge-style application questions.
But remember, there are other courses out there and if you feel that with a year out you wouldn't be able to improve your thinking skills then it's probably not worth taking a gap year!
Hope this helps


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Thanks very much for the advice. Did you get into Cambridge (I assume you applied for medicine)?


.

I was underpredicted in Economics and TOK/EE so I am confident I can achieve 43 points and maybe even 44 if I am lucky. Do you think an increase of 2-3 IB points and the fact that I will have achieved them instead of being predicted them will make a big difference to my application?

I will definitely practice lot during the year. I think I can improve my thinking skills this year. My biggest concern is that I live in Norway and do not speak Norwegian very well so it is difficult to find a job or some work experience relevant to Engineering which I can do in the gap year. I feel like I will be wasting a year. And if I don't get into Cambridge or Imperial while reapplying, I will be so devastated.

Thanks very much for the advice. Did you get into Cambridge (I assume you applied for medicine)?



Yes I will probably choose a college which does not require TSA (if I decide to reapply). Thanks for the advice.



If I get offer from Imperial, then I will go there. But if I don't get in there, I will either have to go to Bristol or Southampton (both of which have made offers of 38 IB points). Since I will probably exceed these requirements by around 4-5 IB points, I feel like I deserve to go to a better university. I wish there were more UK universities that were of equal standard to Imperial. But thanks for the suggestions.




I was underpredicted in Economics and TOK/EE so I am confident I can achieve 43 points and maybe even 44 if I am lucky. Do you think an increase of 2-3 IB points and the fact that I will have achieved them instead of being predicted them will make a big difference to my application?

I will definitely practice lot during the year. I think I can improve my thinking skills this year. My biggest concern is that I live in Norway and do not speak Norwegian very well so it is difficult to find a job or some work experience relevant to Engineering which I can do in the gap year. I feel like I will be wasting a year. And if I don't get into Cambridge or Imperial while reapplying, I will be so devastated.

If I get offer from Imperial, then I will go there. But if I don't get in there, I will either have to go to Bristol or Southampton (both of which have made offers of 38 IB points). Since I will probably exceed these requirements by around 4-5 IB points, I feel like I deserve to go to a better university. I wish there were more UK universities that were of equal standard to Imperial. But thanks for the suggestions.



I was underpredicted in Economics and TOK/EE so I am confident I can achieve 43 points and maybe even 44 if I am lucky. Do you think an increase of 2-3 IB points and the fact that I will have achieved them instead of being predicted them will make a big difference to my application?

I'm not up to scratch on the whole laws thing- but I know for my college (St John's), they said that only the ucas referee may request our feedback (ie we, as applicants, can't). It's probably in their T and Cs somewhere- given that we've 'asked' them to be our referee, we trust them with information regarding our application (purely speculative ). Don't know if this helps!

Its not a mistake. At the start of the process before interviews i filled out forms for feedback reply slips so that they send the feedback on my application towards my referee so that the candidates know where they went weong.


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I'm pretty sure that when we signed the data protection form we agreed to allow feedback to be sent to our referee. It seems highly unlikely that the university would have sent it as a mistake, especially as you probably all applied to different colleges.

I didn't apply for engineering, but I'd say definitely give it another shot. It probably really depends on the course, but maybe try and get some relevant work experience so you can apply your academic knowledge to the real life situations. Try doing past papers for the TSA I guess (I have a feeling that the IB doesn't prepare you well for these kinds of tests, because I really messed up my BMAT). Ultimately it's up to you, what offers you get this year, and if you know that you really want to go to Cambridge. Good luck and I hope you get Imperial

Sorry to barge in but apart from the specimen paper available online do you know where I could get the past papers for TSA or indeed the best way to prepare for the TSA? I might need it next year.

Many thanks.

Sorry to barge in but apart from the specimen paper available online do you know where I could get the past papers for TSA or indeed the best way to prepare for the TSA? I might need it next year.

Many thanks.

What I don't understand is if you don't think you can do the TSA or similar why do you think Cambridge is for you ???

Now that I really don't know. Maybe try asking some of the engineers on this thread. Or look at both the oxford or cambridge websites, they might have some hidden ones on there... sorry I can't be of much help... But good luck for next year!

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Or pick a college that doesn't require TSA