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Hope you enjoyed hour holiday! :smile:
Original post by DanielSmith1999
I'm still not sure on what to apply for at uni. Originally I had planned on applying for straight history but circumstances such as a surprise D in my one module at AS and further reading into other areas such as Celtic have really made me think of other degrees to consider! I've read a few books on Celtic and am really enjoying it. Apart from a television programme on Norse settlement in Scotland and a few digs on telly about anglo-saxon culture etc I haven't explored that area a great deal yet. My AS were; Geography 93.5%Economics 86%History a C but with A in on module and D in the other (getting a remark first but will resit otherwise)English Literature which I plan on dropping I got a B at 76%. I also study Welsh Bac (which they take right?)
So overall 85% UMS. I read that Cambridge say don't bother applying with anything under 85% so.... Does this stay the same for ASNAC? How would I compare to past succesful applicants?


Hello and thank you for your questions. Obviously if your grade goes up in History that will help. We do indeed accept the Welsh Bac as the equivalent of a fourth A Level. With 85% UMS and a C overall in History and a B in English Literature, you are not going to be a hugely strong candidate on paper for ASNC which is, after all, a heavily historical and literature-based subject. That's not to say that you have no chance, just that there are likely to be significantly stronger people than you on paper and that will naturally affect your chances of acceptance.
Hi,In my As results I received 2 ‘A’s and 2 ‘B’s but these B grades were both 4 UMS marks off an A grade. I was wondering how much emphasis you are putting on As level results to see if it is worth putting these two exams in for remarking as this has become a very costly process with the reforms.Thanks in advance.
Original post by Christ's Admissions
Hello and thanks for your questions. Sorry not to have replied sooner, you snuck under the wire just before I went on holiday! :smile:

Well done on your results, they look strong. We won't be collecting raw marks (schools can't convert them into UMS as UMS is only produced across all exam boards) for reformed AS Levels but school are welcome to include them in the reference if they and you wish.

We don't weight individual parts of the application but you have clearly done well and GCSE and AS Level and, if that is replicated in the BMAT, then you will be a strong candidate on paper.


Thank you very much for your reply! I hope you had a lovely holiday. :smile:
Original post by jdizzle12345
Hi, I was wondering who makes the decision for which applicants gets an interview/offer? Is it the director of studies or the admissions tutor?

I've also been told that there are 2 interviews. What is the difference between the two? Thanks


On the interviews, there are usually two, though sometimes you will get three. If you have three then it is likely that one of these will be with the Admissions Tutor or another senior fellow of the college in a different subject to the one you applied. General academic interviews vary somewhat from college to college but will have an academic focus but with a different perspective to a straight subject interview which is conducted by subject specialists. it may be a little more discursive and perhaps focus more on your personal statement and may talk a little about your other subjects.

If you have two interviews, then it may be that they are both subject interviews or one may be subject and one may be general academic.

As for who decides who get offers, the system varies slightly from college to college but the standard template is as follows. After all the interviews in a subject, the interviewers will sit down together and discuss the candidates and decide on their list of offers, pool with tag (which mean that they can be retrieved from the pool by the college before the subject meetings which determine offers) straight pools and rejects. Then, either all together or just the DoS will meet with the Admissions Tutor and discuss their list. Between them they will agree on amendments to each of the categories and proceed from there.
Original post by Sallybo44
Thank you for providing this opportunity to see if Cambridge is a realistic choice for me.
I achieved average GCSE's, 6A's, B, 4C's and a distinction at BTEC. It's fair to say I wasn't fully invested in them.
Now I've been to see some excellent Universities I am putting in the effort and this is reflected in my work results.
I had a major elective chest surgery in August last year and for the first term of this year had to attend school on a part time basis, when I was at school I was also under the effects of the prescribed painkillers I had to take so was extremely tired.
I had support from school and did my utmost to keep up to date with the work.
At AS I achieved A (linear) - Computer Science, A - Maths, B - Physics and C - Further Maths, I will be dropping Physics or Further Maths. I feel 2A* 1A or even 3A* are realistic without the difficulties I had this year.
Could I realistically hope for an interview based on this?
I would be applying for Computer Science.


Hello and thank you for you question. You AS results are a little mixed and it's a shame that you got a C in Further Maths and are planning to drop either Further Maths or Physics at A Level as both would be helpful for Computer Science (although less so if you apply for the 75% option). Your GCSE results don't help ameliorate the inconsistencies in your AS results so my feeling is that, at this stage, you would be a marginal candidate for interview, though it's not impossible.

You would be in a much strong position applying with 2 or 3 A*s in hand post-A Level.
Reply 966
Hi. Thank you for taking so much time to help. I have received my AS results which were as follows: Archaeology 80/80 and 120/120 = 100% UMS; Classics 82/100 and 98/100 = 90%; Politics 100/100 and 67/100 = 83.5%. I am also taking History A level but my sixth form only used internal mocks so I have no raw scores or UMS for this subject. I have two queries. I am hoping to study History at university and wondered if my UMS scores would be good enough for an application ( I have no idea what happened in the second politics paper to make it such a low mark). I have 9A*, 3 As and a B in GCSEs from a standard state school. Also, I am going to drop either archaeology or politics but wondered what advice you would have about which one to drop. My historical interests are rooted in ancient history in particular, hence my strong interest in archaeology.
Original post by Arya150
Hello,

Thank you so much for creating this forum. My predicted GCSE grades were 8A*s and 3As but unfortunately I had some problems with depression due to family issues and I only managed to achieve 4A*s and 7As. I had problems with depression when I was little and am now seeing a psychologist after a GP referal. I'm no longer having any of the problems I was and the psychologist has told me I've made a lot of progress. I was wondering how this would impact my application if I was to apply to medicine at Cambridge? I haven't got my A levels yet but hypothetically if I were to get 4A*s or 3A*s and an A and had a high BMAT score would I be able to get in? Will my circumstances make admission tutors cautious of me in terms of them thinking I might get worse? Is there anything I can do to put them at ease? Would a letter from my psychologist suffice? Is there any evidence is need to provide of my circumstances? Would it be worth doing a language GCSE in addition to my A levels to strengthen my application? Do you look at the exam boards people took their A levels and GCSEs in (as some are notoriously harder than others)? Can that affect how competitive your application is?

I'm sorry to bombard you with questions. I'm just very worried about how my circumstances will hinder me.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.


Hello and thank you for your questions.

I am sorry to hear about your issues with depression and glad to hear that you are improving. Your school or doctor can submit and ECF (extenuating circumstances form) and it is good for them to go into detail about the nature of the problem and the current prognosis. It is helpful for us to know about issues so that we can contextualise a candidate's performance and, importantly, prepare support for them before they arrive in Cambridge if they receive an offer. it will not negatively affect your application.

If you get 3 or 4 A*s at A Level and do well in BMAT then you would certainly be a strong candidate and potentially get an offer.

Don't do an extra GCSE in a language (or indeed any subject) - it's a waste of time at this stage. Focus on your A Levels, look forward not backwards.

We do not distinguish between domestic exam boards and it will make no difference to your competitiveness.

I hope that this helps and best of luck.
Hello! Welcome back, hope you had a nice holiday :smile:

I'm the person from Scotland who will be starting Medicine at Glasgow in 2 weeks but wish to apply to Cambridge for entry to 2017. I was just emailing some colleges and some of them said that I would need to have a reference from my admissions tutor and have extruniating cicumstances?

I was wondering if for my reference, my pastoral care teacher from school last year would be able to do the reference instead? She has known me for many years and knows me much better (she wrote the reference for UCAS last year too).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thank you so much for this form.
Original post by Christ's Admissions
They are your A Levels and in the end you need to do what you want to do. Art would not normally form part of your offer for Comp Sci if you are doing three more related subjects, which you are. Taking up FM will certainly be of help in preparation for you.



So if I was given an offer, would it be that a college could stipulate that only Maths/Computer Science/Physics could be used towards it?As for example: If I were to get A*A*AA, with the A* in Mathematics, A* in Art, A in Computer Science and an A in Physics, would this mean I would not meet the offer?

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I also found that the interview will also take place after the CSAT test. Will there only be a single interview or multiple interviews for Computer Science all within a single day?

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Also, does the CSAT test just require knowledge of C1 and C2? (not including other modules such as M1, S1 etc)


Thanks,
Original post by boomin
Hi,

I was wondering how admissions viewed the Cambridge Pre-U qualification, teachers at my school would consistently say that is was more difficult than 'normal' A-Levels but is it held in this higher regard by the admissions staff when assessing an application?

Also what is the view towards the D1 grade? I have thought that it may be seen as unfair by admissions to hold it as above an A* at A-Level (which is said to be equivalent to a D2) as A-Level candidates simply do not have the opportunity to be given this grade or is it seen as an A** and held in higher regard than an A* at A-Level. Is it more important to have "maxed out" grades instead (getting the top possible grades from the qualification you have taken), for example I have D1 D1 D2 A* in 3 Pre-Us (maths, physics & further maths) and A-Level Chemistry but would the application be stronger if I were to have got 4 A*s as I have attained the best possible?

Thanks


Given that the Pre-U was created by Cambridge, we obviously hold it in regard as a qualification. I wouldn't say that we value it more than A Levels, however.

D1s are pretty rare in my experience and so when a student achieves them then that is a very good sign. We recognise that getting a D1 is harder than getting an A*. Up to now, of course, we've always been able to see how good an A* someone has got so that has helped us. With your grades you'll be very strong on paper.
You must have answered some variant of this question so many times already, so thank you very, very much for taking the time out of your day to help us.I'm a post A-level candidate and I exceeded the standard offer for the subject I want to apply for (History) -I got A*A*AA. Though my UMS in English literature and History is fairly high, otherwise it's a bit all over the place and I'm worried this will harm my application from the start. I'm assuming for post-A2 applicants you'll look at their UMS in similar ways as in past years?
-History: AS 100%, A2 92%, overall 384/400 and A*
-English: AS 96%, A2 96% with 120/120 in my final exam. Overall 380/400 and A*
-Economics: AS 83%, overall 322/400 and A. I will be getting one A2 module remarked as it was very low and I think I did do better than that.
-German: AS B 73%, I resat the module I got a b in and got 92% (I know Cambridge does not recognise resits). Overall 322/400 and A. My question is, would my uneven UMS hamper my chances? I realise I have over the standard Arts offer but I'm worried my UMS may harm my chances of even getting an interview. My GCSES were 7A* 2As 2Bs. Would you say I would need to have a stellar performance in the pre interview test and then interview to have a chance at an offer? Thanks! Sorry for the massive post.
Original post by qwertyuiop1998
Hi,

I want to apply for physical nat sci at either Homerton or Gonville & Caius. I have 7A* and 4A at GCSE but went to an underperforming high school and it was contextually the best. My maths/ further maths UMS at AS is 92 but was pulled down by one bad module. I wanted to ask if I performed well/ average in the pre-interview assessment would this have more weighting when offers are given than my UMS that is available?

Moreover, if it does, with a good result in the admissions assessment, how likely is it to gain an offer?

Thanks


Hello and thank you for your question. Given the information you have provided, there's no reason why you wouldn't be a decent candidate on paper. There's no weighting for the assessment versus UMS or, indeed, anything else. We will look at the performance in the assessment in context of the rest of the application - there's no particular mark or grade anyone needs to receive.
Original post by Christ's Admissions
Hello everyone and welcome to a new Ask an Admissions Tutor thread, back for its fourth year.

I will be here for the next month to answer your questions about admissions to Cambridge, especially if you are planning to apply this year but also to help those already holding an offer for this year and waiting for your results.

Do please fire away and I'll answer them as well and as quickly as I can.


Hello!
I will be applying to Cambridge this year, and I was wondering if I would be able to graduate with a joint degree in Law and Economics.
Thank you for doing this!
Original post by Eden00
Hey after receiving my GCSE's I wanted to ask you if it still worth aspiring to Cambridge to study history.
I received 1A*,8A's,2B's with the A* in history.
I know that's below average but I just wanted to know if it's a possibility still.

Also, My uncle is a bit of a historian and he gave me a load of ancient history books to read (what I enjoy), but he also said it might be beneficial to self teach Latin, so would it actually be favourable for my application if I had some knowledge in writing Latin? Thanks for any answers you can give me


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It is certainly still a possibility. Most successful historians will have more A*s than that at GCSE but providing we see improvement in the sixth form then your GCSEs will not prevent you from getting an offer.

Languages are a useful skill for any historian though not essential at this stage. Latin is very useful for ancient, medieval and early modern historians but becomes less so as we approach the modern period. if you want to learn Latin then go ahead but don't feel you need to or let it affect your A Level studies.
Original post by SnowLeopard27
Hi,

I was wondering what Cambridge views are on resits of AS modules. I have very strong GCSE grades, and 2 of my A Levels were legacy subjects, so I have 2 AS grades, neither of which were essay subjects (I am applying for History).
In French I got 89.5%, but in maths 83.7%. In one module I got a much lower UMS than anticipated (not disastrous, but lower): would it be perceived as negative if I were to retake this?

Thanks so much!


Resitting modules is fine though in most cases unnecessary. In both French and Maths you have achieved an A grade so the A grade at least should not be in doubt providing that you perform according to your expectation in Year 13. Any offer you receive will depend principally on Year 13 performance so I would focus my attention on these if I were you. In the end, however, they are your A levels and you need to do what you wish with them.
Reply 976
Original post by Christ's Admissions
It is certainly still a possibility. Most successful historians will have more A*s than that at GCSE but providing we see improvement in the sixth form then your GCSEs will not prevent you from getting an offer.


So it won't be a factor that stops a successful application? That is very relieving to hear!

Original post by Christ's Admissions
Languages are a useful skill for any historian though not essential at this stage. Latin is very useful for ancient, medieval and early modern historians but becomes less so as we approach the modern period. if you want to learn Latin then go ahead but don't feel you need to or let it affect your A Level studies.


Yeah, it is a very interesting language to me, so I might try it!

Also, would maths/further maths UMS be important in an application? So say for example I got 4A's with very high UMS in maths/Further maths (my only two modular subjects) would that be good for a history application? Or not have an effect
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by sleepylemonlemon
Hello, :smile:Do you have any tips for the personal statement? Should I be the one bragging about my achievements in my PS, or should I leave that for my teacher to say in the teacher reference?In addition, how important would you say is the teacher's writing ability? I am able to choose my referee, but should I choose a teacher that I feel I have the best relationship with, but not as articulate in his writing, or a teacher who is a very skilled writer (we get along very well, but she doesn't teach the subject I am applying for)?Thank you in advance


Hello and thanks for your questions. My main tip for the PS is to bear two questions in mind: 1) Why am I writing this? 2) Who is going to be reading it? With those two questions in your head you should be focusing your PS on why you want to do the subject you have chosen and what will make you a good student. Show us rather than tell us that you have an interest in the subject and are able to think about it analytically.

If there are things you are proud of then by all means mention them. I can't say I'm hugely bothered by the writing skills of a referee. If you have a choice over who does it, then someone who has taught you is likely to be able to write ore authentically about you than someone who has not. It shouldn't make too much difference, however, as references nearly always include comments from people other than the author who have taught you.
Original post by Zacken
Hope you enjoyed hour holiday! :smile:


I did thank you. Cornwall in the sun, the best! :smile:
Original post by CRJohnston
Hi,In my As results I received 2 ‘A’s and 2 ‘B’s but these B grades were both 4 UMS marks off an A grade. I was wondering how much emphasis you are putting on As level results to see if it is worth putting these two exams in for remarking as this has become a very costly process with the reforms.Thanks in advance.


AS results, where they are available, will remain an important part of the process.

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