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Poor academic record.

Hi,
Today i got to read my Cambridge rejection letter and although i was pooled it mentioned that one reason i was not made an offer was due to a poor academic record.

I simply dont understand it.

GCSE:
4A*s 3A's 2B's

I know they aren't that special but they aint that bad.
I was also predicted AAAB with 100% in my Psychology.

The only thing it may be is that i was on the special needs register for behaviour when i was younger and at my previous school (before i began 6th form at my new school) i was told i was not allowed to continue there due to consistent disruptive behaviour (I was in with the wrong crowd). This was in the past though and this was at two OLD schools. At the moment this is all i think it could be. I'm not bitter or anything, I'm looking forward to Bristol now but i would like to know what exactly 'poor academic record' means.

Any ideas?

Cheers guys,
S

Reply 1

mobbdeeprob

Did they bluntly state that you had a "poor academic record"?

Which course where you applying for and at which college?

As for the behaviour issue from ages ago which you mention - I would sincerely doubt that any teacher would mention it on a reference. At my school, people who recently joined (in Lower VI) have a completely fresh slate in terms of misdemeanours, the rest of us have our records routinely wiped every three years. I have known people do some very bad things at school and the school have said off-the-record, that would not seek to mention it on a personal reference. I am almost certain that Cambridge wouldn't know about this.

Reply 2

shiny

12

You might have been unlucky this year and went up against a load of people with galaxies for GCSEs and 50 billion As at A2? Dunno?

Reply 3

S@sha

7

Could the "poor academic record" just be an excuse. It is very easy to reject you on some personal grounds (tutor's opinion) and then bring it down to the academic record, so that you don't feel too bad about your interview or whatever.

Reply 4

shiny

12

I wouldn't worry about it. It's our loss if we ended up turning down someone really good. Make sure you go to Bristol and make us regret it :wink:

Power to Perdurabo :cool:

Reply 5

babyballerina

What were the B's in? I had a B at GCSE Business studies which was irrelevant for natsci, but if it had been in science I am sure it would have been a problem!

Unfortunately, when working with such small numbers you might just have been unlucky. Everyone who applied to that college might have had better GCSEs/AS levels just by chance.

Reply 6

J.S.

7

shiny

I wouldn't worry about it. It's our loss if we ended up turning down someone really good. Make sure you go to Bristol and make us regret it :wink:

Power to Perdurabo :cool:

Ahh what an excellent attitude, that's just what I'd suggest, and that's just what we need more of, rather than sulking Oxbridge rejects.

Reply 7

Perdurabo

OP

1

The B's were in German and Maths (although i re-took it while doing AS and got an A).
I dunno, yeah there was 30 other applicants so maybe that was the only reason they could give.

I was just kinda worried they contacted my old school and they dished the dirt on me.

Oh well, I suppose there's always postgrad.

Cheers all,
S

Reply 8

AT82

I got rejected from a job a large electrical components shop due to discrimation I won't go into all the details here. It was a £3.60 an hour job, they rejected me saying they found somebody better qualified. Erm, I have a GCSE in Electronics, AB(and AS B) at levels and I am undergraduate.

I think they discriminated against me because my dyspraxia although they could not legaly say that.

Even if your results aren't good enough for them, there is no way thats a poor academic record. They need to wake up and see the real world, 50% of people don't even manage 5 C's at GCSE.

Reply 9

serendipity

9

amazingtrade

I got rejected from a job a large electrical components shop due to discrimation I won't go into all the details here. It was a £3.60 an hour job, they rejected me saying they found somebody better qualified. Erm, I have a GCSE in Electronics, AB(and AS B) at levels and I am undergraduate.

I think they discriminated against me because my dyspraxia although they could not legaly say that.

Even if your results aren't good enough for them, there is no way thats a poor academic record. They need to wake up and see the real world, 50% of people don't even manage 5 C's at GCSE.

Could they have found someone with a degree in electronics? (IS there a degree in electronics?)

Reply 10

AT82

serendipity

Could they have found someone with a degree in electronics? (IS there a degree in electronics?)

Threre are several degrees in electronics in several areas of it. My course covers quite a bit of electronics, in an exam last year I had to draw a block diagram of al the components inside a television system and explain what they do.

I would feel very sorry for any electronics graduate earning just £3.60 an hour though.Although it would be more than due to miniumum wage. I know a lot more about electronics than half the monkeys in there, they wouldn't know what an op amp was if their life depended on it.

Reply 11

Logarithm

Did you have a chance to check out the calibre of the other people applying for the job?

Reply 12

AT82

Logarithm

Did you have a chance to check out the calibre of the other people applying for the job?

All I know the interview was going very well, he seemeed very keen, then I mentioned by dyspraxia and it all went down hill.

I just got that sense it was discrimation its hard to explain, I have never had that feeling in an interview now. Oh well that shop can stick their job, I have a job earning twice as much now part time and the work is much easier physicaly :tongue:

Reply 13

Spider

What did you get for your AS levels?
They *may* haev judged you on that, or on your UMS marks. I'm just taking a wild guess here anyway.

Reply 14

GorgeousGeorge

Well, my boyfriend applied for vet science at Liverpool last year, and no offence to the course you are doing but it's probably harder to get into vet sci/med than it is to get in to Cambridge at all. He was rejected after interview and was told when he wrote and asked why he was rejected that it was because "we do not feel you are suited to a veterinary degree..."
He re-applied again this year, regardless, and no prizes for guessing where he's going with an unconditional offer. (Liverpool)
I think they just say these things to everyone because they have no real reason to reject people, they just HAVE to. And as bad as it may make you feel you shouldn't take it personally.

Poor academic record.

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