Ask an Admissions Tutor - International Applicants (Sept. 8-15)

I haven't been yet! I leave with the rest of the team on Oct. 15, and I'm very much looking forward to it as it will be my first time in the country. I hope to take a day off to do some sightseeing during my visit.

Hello everyone and welcome to the first thread using the official Cambridge University TSR account! This account will be used by different faculty and staff at Cambridge to run threads themed on a particular topic. Our first thread will be aimed at answering questions from international students looking to make an application to study at Cambridge.

For the next week the account is being managed by me, Michael Sutherland, the Admissions Tutor of Corpus Christi College. In addition to my admissions work I’m a quantum physicist at the Cavendish laboratory and a member of the international interview team that travels to Singapore and in past years Pakistan.




So, if you’re studying in the EU or overseas, or are based in the UK but not eligible for home fee status then please post your questions and I’ll do my best to answer them during the next week.

Hello! I am also applying this year for the Natural Sciences Tripos and have some questions.

1) How are Greek applicants, studying only for the Apolytirion (including Pan-hellenic examinations) regarded against other international or home applicants? (Asking mainly to see how the apolytirion ranks against other qualifications and whether Greece's economic state influences admissions).

2) What is the chance that a Greek applicant with 20/20 (100% including examinations) in all science subjects, including Further Mathematics, to be called for interview?

3) How much weight is placed on the interview, seeing that no interview=no offer, while an interview doesn't necessarily lead to an offer?

Thank you in advance, and good luck to all applicants!

Good evening, As a parent I am trying to understand the Cambridge admission process. My daughter ( EU) will take a gap year and apply to Cambridge with IB 43 points and 776 in HL. She hopes to read Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. I read on other threads that for UK applicants, UMS, quintiles, which school etc. help to assess if he or she is Cambridge material. Since this is not an option for non UK students, does this mean the interview is far more important for international applicants ? Thank you for your reply.

Hi there!

I'm currently doing CIE A-Levels in Malaysia, and am done in a few months. I've received my AS scores; got a D for Biology, straight As otherwise. With a forecast of 3A*s, and by retaking AS Biology (dropped it at A2), would it be a wise decision to apply this year? Or should I apply post-A2, as I intend on doing A2 Government and Politics next May as well.

Oh, and I intend on reading AMES.

Thanks!

I think this is a question where you might get different responses from different Admissions Tutors. I'll give you my opinion though!

I think the D in AS Biology is worrying, however it is probably not so relevant for the course you wish to apply for and so might not spell the end of your application. What are your other CIE A-levels? If they are relevant A-levels for AMES and your grades are high, I would be minded to overlook the Biology score.

Thanks for the questions, I'll do my best to answer them in turn.

1) Greek applicants (or any other international applicant) are treated in just the same way as home applicants. We don't have quotas for international students in any subject except for medicine, which is regulated but the government.

Typical offers for Greek students applicants taking the Apolytirion would be based on an overall score of 18-19 together with a high performance in the Pan Hellenic examinations. There are currently around 25 Greek undergraduates and 80 Greek postgraduate students at Cambridge.

2) It would be up to the AT at the College you are applying to to decide based on your whole application, but I would look at someone with those marks very favorably and would think there is a strong chance you'd be called to interview.

3) Interviews are just one of the many things we use to assess applicants. In addition we look at your school exam performance, the letter of reference, your personal statement and performance on admissions tests, which some Colleges will ask you to write. Admissions decisions are based on taking all this information together and the weighting may vary from applicant to applicant. We typically call around 85% of applicants to interview. In Natural Sciences last year we received 3038 applications for 719 offers to give you an idea of the field.

I'm aiming to apply for the maths course. I've been put on an accelerated course whereby I'll be studying and sitting the IAL's over one year instead of the usual two - this means that I'll have nothing except predicted grades, excellent CIE IGCSE grades, favourable teacher recommendations that describe how I'm usually top of the year in mathematics, physics and economics - as well as an early 2 in STEP I (which I sat in the last year of my GCSE's) - how detrimental would this be to my application given the 2 in STEP I (which I plan to resit) and not having AS grades as I'll be sitting for the IAL's in one go?

Secondly, I won't be able to submit a transcript through COPA/SAQ as I will only be studying over a one year, so the only formal transcript I have are my IGCSE grades, is this acceptable? It usually says that "no transcripts should be provided for (I)GCSE's and modular/CIE A-Levels"

Thirdly, can I put all my qualifications under "A Level" in the COPA given that there is no option in the dropdown for (IAL)? I've clarified in the "Anything you'd like to let us know?" box that all the "A-Levels" are actually "IAL's" - is this sufficient?

Thank you very much!

Hi!

I'm planning on applying to medicine.

Considering that almost all colleges can only make one offer to an international student thus making the competition even fiercer, how does the university make sure that international applicants to A100 medicine are not affected by their college choice?

Hello, and thanks for the support you are offering!
I'll number my questions so it will (hopefully) be easier to answer them:
1) I checked each and every website regarding cambridge, and I read in the international page for undergraduate applicants that the standard offer would be 98% at the maturitá. The thing is: I am sure I can manage to get much more, but we don't have the as level system, so I can't have an official prediction of my final exam grades, only a ball park figure by the teachers who will write my reference. Would it be taken into account if sent?
2) We do have a year by year grading system (an official one, although it reports the year's achievements, and it doesn't say anything about the maturitá grades), is there some space in the saq where to write the results?
Would it be taken into consideration?
3) The grading system is a 0-10 scale, with 10 as the highest achievable and 0 as the lowest, and no decimals (ex. 9.4 is 9).
Often it is approximated to the lower mark when a teacher is in doubt. Should I write this in the extenuating circumstances form?
Thank you very much in advance!!!

Thanks for the swift reply! Yes, I understand the concern.

I did English Literature and English Language, and I have an A* forecast in Divinity and Edexcel Politics (we do not have many choices here).

Hence, I was wondering whether applying after finishing Government and Politics and retaking Biology would bolster my application in any manner? Am also finishing B2 German and Basic Arabic next year.

Hi Sketches, thanks for the question. We are limited in the number of overseas fee paying medics we can take across the University. Currently this sits at 22, which is fixed by the government.

Each College is set a quota for the total number of medics it takes (At Corpus we take 6), but we are not told how many of these must be international students. What happens is that there is a meeting between the admissions tutors, directors of studies and the subject convenor in medicine in December. We discuss all of the international medics Colleges want to make offers to and make sure they add up to no more than 22. If the total numbers of international offers on the table exceeds 22 there will be a careful review of the files to make sure that only the 22 best are taken.

In practice this means many Colleges will only get 1 international medic in a given year, however in an outstanding year a College might be awarded more places for international medics if their applicants are the strongest across the university.

So, to make a long story short, your chances of getting an offer won't really be affected by College choice.

Hello, and thanks for the support you are offering!
I'll number my questions so it will (hopefully) be easier to answer them:
1) I checked each and every website regarding cambridge, and I read in the international page for undergraduate applicants that the standard offer would be 98% at the maturitá. The thing is: I am sure I can manage to get much more, but we don't have the as level system, so I can't have an official prediction of my final exam grades, only a ball park figure by the teachers who will write my reference. Would it be taken into account if sent?
2) We do have a year by year grading system (an official one, although it reports the year's achievements, and it doesn't say anything about the maturitá grades), is there some space in the saq where to write the results?
Would it be taken into consideration?
3) The grading system is a 0-10 scale, with 10 as the highest achievable and 0 as the lowest, and no decimals (ex. 9.4 is 9).
Often it is approximated to the lower mark when a teacher is in doubt. Should I write this in the extenuating circumstances form?
Thank you very much in advance!!!