I don't have figures on this directly but my strong impression is that most successful post A level applicants will have exceeded rather Han simply met the offer. That said, I've admitted people who have applied having results that just meet the offer.

so do I basically have to do really well in the admissions test & at interview to have a chance of getting in? I got A*A*A in my A levels and want to apply for biological natsci

Reply 1205

isabella1999

Original post by Christ's Admissions

Hi there and thank for your additional question. UMS in one subject is not going to be looked at in the same way as it was previously when we had UMS for three or four subjects. There's no reason you can't apply with 90 in Maths and still be competitive. It won't be the best Maths score but there are plenty of other elements in which you can do well. Don't be put off by this one mark.

Okay thank you, you have literally been so helpful I bet so many people wouldn't apply based on false Info and rumours if it wasn't for you :h:

Reply 1206

Chittesh14

Original post by jneill

Scroll down this page to get to the Official Reps (or search the page)
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showgroups.php

This is Imperial :
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/member.php?u=1811773
- but looks like they aren't active :frown:

Thanks

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Reply 1207

Josh.Lyman

Original post by Christ's Admissions

Hello and thanks for the questions (nice username btw, The West Wing is possibly my favourite programme ever!).

You can certainly put your grades in the personal statement or SAQ if you wish and can't on UCAS form.

I don't think you need to talk about plans for first year beyond doing Part I in Economics - there's plenty there to get your teeth into.

Jneil has provided links for UCAS referees for which I think him!

Thanks

. West Wing is like a second addiction for me, after econ of course; it doesnt hurt that Barltlet is a noble-prize economist :smile:

. If i may pose a follow-up question: should international applicants include a sentence or two on why they want to study overseas? The UCAS website said that we should, but i just dont have the space (already 1,500 characters over). Also, would it be okay to not include any extracurriculars like Model UN and Track & Field in my Personal Statement? In the examples i have read, most have included a paragraph on this. But, again, i dont have the room since 95% of my statement is academic--is this unhealthy?
Thank you for taking the time to respond to all of our questions!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1208

username1865079

Original post by Josh.Lyman

Original post by Christ's Admissions

Thanks

. West Wing is like a second addiction for me, after econ of course; it doesnt hurt that Barltlet is a noble economist :smile:

Cambridge are not interested in extra-curricular that's not related to the course you're applying, but other universities you're applying to may.
PS is read by all 5 unis you apply to, so you need to think of them, too. And Cambridge knows that, so that's fine.

If you want to mention something specific you think Cambridge would be interested, you can use SAQ for that purpose.

Reply 1209

Doones

Original post by Josh.Lyman

Thanks

. West Wing is like a second addiction for me, after econ of course; it doesnt hurt that Barltlet is a noble-prize economist :smile:

Model UN is probably relevant. And general guidance is a PS can be up to 25% non-academic. And other universities may put more emphasis on non-subject extracurriculars than Cambridge (eg Durham) so there's no harm mentioning Track&Field.

As Vincrows points out, you can expand on Cambridge specific aspects in the SAQ.

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Reply 1210

Josh.Lyman

Original post by vincrows

If i am only applying to Cambridge and LSE--since I'll be applying to schools in the states also--will it be okay if my personal statement is 90% academic? Or would this arrangement be disadvantageous?

Reply 1211

Doones

Original post by Josh.Lyman

Cambridge can be entirely academic.
LSE says this: http://www.lse.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/howToApply/makingAnApplication/personalStatement/whatMakesAGoodPersonalStatement.aspx

Reply 1212

bagginses

Hi again sorry to keep asking questions, I noticed that for History at Cambridge there are about 3 applicants for every place whereas at Oxford its about 4 - does this mean its quite a bit less competitive at Cambridge and therefore might be worth applying there since in terms of course and city I can't choose between them, or am I reading too much into the stats? Also I was looking at the Themes and Sources options and I noticed Sacred Histories looks really fascinating, will those options that are in the website definitely be available for 2017 entry and is there a chance that my choice will be limited by my college or something? Finally do you have to do the same time period for the British Political paper and the British Social/Economic paper, and is it common for people to do different time periods? Thank you!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1213

crabstick

What are my chances of getting an offer for HSPS? I did average on my gcse's A*A*AAAABBB (on one of the Bs physics i continued for As and got 90% UMS) I got AAAC economics (96%), physics (90%), maths and drama respectively. the reason for my gcse's is that i was a professional athlete and had no time to study. i got injured so focused on my studies. Also would it be advisable for me to drop drama seeing as i did badly on it ?

Reply 1214

username1865079

Original post by Josh.Lyman

Cambridge and LSE were on my daughter's UCAS list when she applied, along with UCL which had the same entry requirement/criteria as LSE. She liked all three of them very much for different reasons and didn't mind which one she'd end up at, but definitely wanted to go one of them, rather than other two that was her safety nets.
Her school's advice on PS was academic : non-academic = 80 : 20. She got offers from all 5 unis she applied.
Don't think how/what she wrote in PS was a definite deciding factor in her getting offers, but her school send a large majority of their students to good RG units (inc. Oxbridge), so I think their advice would be a good benchmark.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1215

Christ's Admissions

Official Rep

Original post by anonmouse221

Hello!

I am from Singapore and would like to ask the admissions tutors what is Cambridge's official stance on applying for a 2 year deferment?

Being a male citizen in Singapore I've got to serve my national service and that lasts a minimum of 2 years .I was wondering would that make it harder for me to apply to Cambridge? Specifically Computer Science at Churchill College since most people apply when they are 18.

Also I am self teaching CIE Further Maths in addition to my 4H2 subjects (Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Economics) since my school doesn't offer Further Maths. How will you view my application in lieu of the fact that I am taking exams from 2 different exam boards? (Singapore-Cambridge and CIE)

Finally, will taking a University Maths module (Linear Algebra at the National University of Singapore) strengthen my application? I haven't undertaken many opportunities to take part in Math Olympiads etc when I was younger and I am hoping that this might be a possible chance for me to shine with regard to my mathematical abilities.

Thanks!

Cambridge deals with a lot of applications from Singapore each year so we are entirely used to the idea of two-year deferrals due to national service. I've had about three this year at my college alone. You don't need to worry about this.

It's not unusual for people to be taking two sets of qualifications and we'll look at it all & make an overall judgement.

If your university module has helped improved your maths then it will be of benefit. Nobody needs to do the Olympiad in order to be competitive.

Reply 1216

Christ's Admissions

Official Rep

Original post by ArafatQ

Hi Christ's Admissions Tutor,

I would like to apply for Computer Science this year and I received mediocre results. I take Maths, Further Maths, Physics, and Classics.

This year I took exams for 3 subjects: Maths, Further Maths, and Classics.
I averaged 90.3% UMS for Maths and Further Maths and 71% UMS for Classics.

How much weight will be given to my Classics examination?

Also, I completed a mock for my Physics in which I was the best in my school scoring 95%. Will this mark be counted if mentioned in the teacher reference?

Thank you for your time and patience.

Edit- Another question popped into mind: What score would by examination results be given according to the interviewer mark sheet?

Hello and thank you for your questions. Classics will not be of much interest to a Comp Sci application.

We will take notice of what teachers say about internal performance but naturally it's not going to be the same as public exams.

Your results don't get given a mark on the interviewer report sheet - there is an overall pre-interview mark but this for the whole file, not just AS results.

Reply 1217

username1865079

Good morning!
Sorry to interrupt. (Again!!)

Just one quick question...
How long will this thread stay open?
The title of this thread says it's until Sep 2. Are you extending the period?

Reply 1218

Christ's Admissions

Official Rep

Original post by metrize

Does it look bad if you did maths a level in the first year (along with chemistry and physics as levels) and then do physics a2 and further maths a2 (for engineering)

Not particularly but it might be a good idea to take Chemistry through to A2 as it is good preparation for engineering.

Reply 1219

Christ's Admissions

Official Rep

Original post by rosemondtan

Hello, I have a few questions about medicine:

1. What is the average BMAT score of successful applicants at christ's? 2015 or 2016 statistics will be fine
2. Which sections in the BMAT is the college more concerned with? (1, 2 or 3?)
3. Even though UKCAT is not specified Cambridge, will the candidate's scores be looked at during assessment of the candidate's aptitude?
4. Will a student be at a disadvantage if he/she has less work experience than another student? Are 2 shadowing stints considered sufficient as long as a student has significant takeaways from the experience?
5. What is the number of International students studying Medicine at Christ's?

Thank you!

Hello and thank you for your questions. I'll do my best to answer them.

1) 6.0 & 6.0 over the past five years in sections 1 & 2.

2) sections 1 & 2 are the most important.

3) personally I don't take in the UKCAT score as I don't know the marking scale because we use BMAT. Others more familiar with UKCAT might take notice of it but it won't be as important as BMAT.

4) what you have is quite sufficient. We are not expecting students I have loads of work experience because it's very difficult to get for some people.

5) we take two a year normally.

I hope that helps, best of luck!