The Official 2017 Cambridge Applicants Thread

Original post by Theawesomejem

Not to sound ignorant but is there anyway you can know if yours will be subject based or general? I like the sound of general a lot more..

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Depends on a) your subject and b) your College.

You will always have 1 or 2 subject interviews. You may also have a general interview.

Eg.
Engineering - college admissions info

http://www3.eng.cam.ac.uk/admissions/guide/table1.html

http://www3.eng.cam.ac.uk/admissions/guide/table2.html

Test & Interviews http://www3.eng.cam.ac.uk/admissions/guide/table3.html

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(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 22

Thucydides96

Original post by Theawesomejem

Not to sound ignorant but is there anyway you can know if yours will be subject based or general?

Some colleges (e.g. St John's) will specify this in their interview invitation letter. My letter (received on Nov 24 btw) contained the date, time, location and type (i.e. general/subject) of each interview as well as the names of the interviewers. It may also be advisable to look up the areas of interest of your interviewers to guess likely questions (although this is generally not precise and you should of course be prepared for everything :biggrin:

). My general interview (I applied for Classics) was conducted by my furture DoS and a mathematics professor who is responsible for all undergraduates in St John's. One of the first questions by the mathematician was whether I could explain what fascinates me about my subject and explain my favourite piece of ancient literature to her, who was completely unrelated to it. I could have guessed that when I saw that she was no Classicist in my invitation letter, but I didn't think about it and was a bit confused at first because I obviously had to provide more general background knowledge/facts that I wouldn't have told an experienced classicist :colondollar:

Reply 23

jamestg

OP

If there is something of high significance (e.g. Head Boy/Girl) or something related to your degree - it will boost your application, but won't make up for bad/not expected grades. If you apply to Cambridge and the place is between you and someone else with exactly marks, A-levels, GCSEs, the same quality personal statements and interview but one was say Head Girl - then the Head Girl would be likely to get the place. (If it works like that, even though there is a small chance of that circumstance). When I apply for universities, I'd think of the worst possible scenario and ways to get out of it - so if I want to do a Physics degree I'd go to a summer school for Physics or become Head Boy to have that slight advantage but also because I'd want to do that.

Also you won't be applying just to Cambridge - other universities want people to have extracurricular stuff, even not related to the degree from what I've been told from school. And it's not just about putting it on your CV, do stuff you enjoy!

Reply 24

TVIO

12

Original post by jamestg

If there is something of high significance (e.g. Head Boy/Girl) or something related to your degree - it will boost your application, but won't make up for bad/not expected grades. If you apply to Cambridge and the place is between you and someone else with exactly marks, A-levels, GCSEs, the same quality personal statements and interview but one was say Head Girl - then the Head Girl would be likely to get the place. (If it works like that, even though there is a small chance of that circumstance). When I apply for universities, I'd think of the worst possible scenario and ways to get out of it - so if I want to do a Physics degree I'd go to a summer school for Physics or become Head Boy to have that slight advantage but also because I'd want to do that.

Also you won't be applying just to Cambridge - other universities want people to have extracurricular stuff, even not related to the degree from what I've been told from school. And it's not just about putting it on your CV, do stuff you enjoy!

No, because there will NEVER be someone that's exactly matched, especially with something like the interview where it's difficult to quantify. A summer school for physics would be useful/relevant, but head boy/girl really wouldn't be. Most top unis don't care about your ECs and presumably your grades are good if you're applying to Cambridge so any other unis will give you an offer on the basis of your grades alone. It's such a small factor it may as well be irrelevant, so don't do it because you want to boost your application, do it because you want to do it. If you want to boost your application, do some reading on your subject, or do something related it's far more useful than anything else (apart from studying and getting better grades of course).

Reply 25

Original post by Thucydides96

My general interview (I applied for Classics)

that's amazing well done for your interview! I'm quite interested in classics because I enjoy English literature; I love reading; I love Greek mythology and I think Latin is a beautiful language. The only thing is I would want to be able to read the scriptures in their original language not their English translation and I know my language skills could never be up to par!!! :frown:

Reply 26

[QUOTE=TVIO;53935773 so don't do it because you want to boost your application, do it because you want to do it. If you want to boost your application, do some reading on your subject, or do something related it's far more useful than anything else (apart from studying and getting better grades of course).

I don't do any of my extras to boost my application I do them because I enjoy them but I have always been told to do lots of extras as Uni's like it and value them especially oxbridge. Also, my school have always put emphasis on it. Maybe extras/responsibilities are not as important as I first thought.

Reply 27

Original post by jamestg

If there is something of high significance (e.g. Head Boy/Girl) or something related to your degree - it will boost your application, but won't make up for bad/not expected grades. If you apply to Cambridge and the place is between you and someone else with exactly marks, A-levels, GCSEs, the same quality personal statements and interview but one was say Head Girl - then the Head Girl would be likely to get the place. (If it works like that, even though there is a small chance of that circumstance). When I apply for universities, I'd think of the worst possible scenario and ways to get out of it - so if I want to do a Physics degree I'd go to a summer school for Physics or become Head Boy to have that slight advantage but also because I'd want to do that.

Also you won't be applying just to Cambridge - other universities want people to have extracurricular stuff, even not related to the degree from what I've been told from school. And it's not just about putting it on your CV, do stuff you enjoy!

This is my thinking too but people who have offers from there(Cambridge) are saying differently but I don't know :s

Reply 28

jamestg

OP

Original post by TVIO

No, because there will NEVER be someone that's exactly matched, especially with something like the interview where it's difficult to quantify. A summer school for physics would be useful/relevant, but head boy/girl really wouldn't be. Most top unis don't care about your ECs and presumably your grades are good if you're applying to Cambridge so any other unis will give you an offer on the basis of your grades alone. It's such a small factor it may as well be irrelevant, so don't do it because you want to boost your application, do it because you want to do it. If you want to boost your application, do some reading on your subject, or do something related it's far more useful than anything else (apart from studying and getting better grades of course).

It's not impossible for two exactly matched students, but it's improbable. Chances there will be at least two similar students though, maybe not completely exact but quite similar. Oxbridge want to attract the best students, being Head Boy/Girl and having these outstanding grades will show you are seriously at the top of your game.

All my ECs are stuff I wanted to do, although some I do regret (DofE), it has given me good memories and developed softer skills which are needed for life.

It's all very well getting A*s throughout your school career (except AS of course :wink:

) and then getting a First at Cambridge, but if you've solely dedicated your time to your exams - employers want to know if you can actually do a job and work as part of a team.

Even going to a top uni, it doesn't guarantee you a great job. People leave from Cambridge with no graduate job! People need to make sure they've at least developed some soft skills by the time they want a job. You can say you can work in a team, but they would want to know what you've actually done as part of a team.

When my dad interviews people, he rejects them if they don't have any ECs despite having exceptional degrees. He would much rather have someone who has got a degree and some form of EC and work experience, than someone with just a First from Cambridge.

Reply 29

orangeee22

10

GCSE Predictions: 10 A*s I did 2 GCSEs last year and got 2 A*s

GCSE Mocks: 7A*s and 3 As

A-Level Choices: Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or possibly French)

Courses Interested in: Medicine :colondollar:

Extra Curricular Stuff: Done Silver DOFE (doing Gold this summer), Bronze 'Arts Award' (Doing Silver currently, Gold gives UCAS points), Grade 5/6 Violin and in local youth orchestra, sailing and skiing :smile:

Reply 30

Original post by misscrouton

I'm looking to do maths and I honestly can't wait for a levels because there is so much more of it in my subjects :ahee:

I'm scared that I'll do really badly in interviews if I get them though :sigh:

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Hey! don't be so hard on yourself anyone who says they aren't scared/nervous for any interview are liars or just unbelievably confident. Just trust if Cambridge is the Uni for you it'll be a nerve-wrecking process but the best you'll ever experience, that's what I think anyway. Judging by your grades academically you'll be fine. :smile:

Reply 31

jamestg

OP

Original post by orangeee22

GCSE Predictions: 10 A*s I did 2 GCSEs last year and got 2 A*s

GCSE Mocks: 7A*s and 3 As

A-Level Choices: Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or possibly French)

Courses Interested in: Medicine :colondollar:

Extra Curricular Stuff: Done Silver DOFE (doing Gold this summer), Bronze 'Arts Award' (Doing Silver currently, Gold gives UCAS points), Grade 5/6 Violin and in local youth orchestra, sailing and skiing :smile:

Does gold get UCAS points?

Good mock results though and well done on your 2A*s! Here's to many more this summer! :biggrin:

Reply 32

ClickItBack

18

Original post by Theawesomejem

Not to sound ignorant but is there anyway you can know if yours will be subject based or general? I like the sound of general a lot more..

Posted from TSR Mobile

General interviews are nowhere near as important as subject interviews from what I've heard from various DoSes.

The point of Cambridge is that it is very much an academia focused environment. It's quite common for your DoS to actively discourage you from signing up to too many societies and extracurricular activities once you are there, so as not to distract you from the copious amount of work you'll be dealing with.

From your posts in this thread I get the general impression that you would like a well-rounded university experience. Although it's certainly possible to achieve this at Cambridge (I like to think I managed it to some extent :P) it's not the right uni to go to if that's your overriding goal imo. It is however absolutely the right uni if you are mad about your subject and are prepared to give it a lot of priority for at least 3 years of your life.

Reply 33

Doones

Original post by jamestg

Does gold get UCAS points?

no

Reply 34