it's for MML, I'm probably the only person for this course with an open offer but the way the letter was worded seemed to suggest I probably won't be going there's though for some reason I don't think think many MML applicants will be missing their offers
In 2016 2 people were fished from the MML summer pool. Both by Girton. In 2015 1 by Churchill. In 2014 2 by Homerton. In 2013 2 by Girton, 1 by Homerton In 2012 1 by Homerton, 1 by Sidney Sussex
@jneill on the ucas offer, there is no mention of passing any practical endorsements for science subjects, yet all my other offers do. I assume that they expect us to pass them anyway, but any clue as to why it isn't an official condition...? (Does that mean I can skip all my practicals for the rest of the year? )
Yeah that must be really weird! I suppose you have a good chance of ending up at Girton (with me) but could be anywhere I guess..
did you apply directly? I don't know much about Girton except it looks pretty beautiful and the distance but apparently it doesn't offer 4th year accommodation
In 2016 2 people were fished from the MML summer pool. Both by Girton. In 2015 1 by Churchill. In 2014 2 by Homerton. In 2013 2 by Girton, 1 by Homerton In 2012 1 by Homerton, 1 by Sidney Sussex
Thanks for the stats, I assume these represent people who missed their offer for MML?
Thanks for the stats, I assume these represent people who missed their offer for MML?
Strictly speaking they only represent people who missed their offer AND weren't succesfully accepted by their offering college AND were then pooled AND fished.
Approx 10% (excludes mathmos) miss their offer. But if it's a marginal miss they *might* still be accepted, and/or pooled.
Strictly speaking they only represent people who missed their offer AND weren't succesfully accepted by their offering college AND were then pooled AND fished.
Approx 10% (excludes mathmos) miss their offer. But if it's a marginal miss they *might* still be accepted, and/or pooled.
Those stats only show the succesfull poolees.
Thank you, I know this might be a stupid question based on speculation, but do you think my being fished would be more likely if I got A*A*A* at a level as opposed to the standard offer of A*AA?
Thank you, I know this might be a stupid question based on speculation, but do you think my being fished would be more likely if I got A*A*A* at a level as opposed to the standard offer of A*AA?
Yes. But the question really is how many colleges go fishing for MML applicants - and the answer to that seems to be "very few".
If you are a strong candidate then Girton would probably want to keep you to themselves anyway. I'm not sure how the Open Offer works and if you HAVE to be pooled.
As you know, the beauty of the course is that it's nice and broad in the first year and tapers towards an 'interest' in the later parts of the tripos. All NatSci students have to do a maths paper, and which one that is depends on your prior mathematical study. Were you to chose biological NatSci, you would be doing quantitative biology or you could chose Maths IA from the mathematics tripos if you really wanted a maths overload. Chemistry is always a good choice at IA given it's so central and the Cells course is an excellent grounding in cell biology from both a theoretical and practical standpoint.
Evolution and Behaviour is a fab paper - you'd do very well to choose it. It was the favourite paper of practically everyone I knew at IA and it's rather more discursive nature makes a welcome break from the other 'bench science/maths' papers you're suggesting. You also get some fantastic supervisions out of it where the discussion can reach a fabulously high level.
Now, the academic workload. I feel this is a common misconception. As you're aware, you have a lot of 'contact hours' (to us, lectures, practical, classes and supervisions). I'm not sure on the exact number of hours, but it's significant. You will also have lectures (and probably supervisions) on Saturday mornings at least. However, please don't think that you need to be working all the hours God sends to do well. It is perfectly feasible to put in a 45-hour, 6-day week and do excellently. After all, it's not quantity but quality that counts. And you need to remember that the short terms inevitably mean that you fall behind on the extra reading and work that you'd like to do but just can't fit in - that where the long holidays come in (but make sure you have a couple of weeks completely clear of work to recharge). A lot of this depends on your study habits and efficiency, but most of the people I knew tended to do about 40-50 hour weeks maximum and we all did ok.
Cambridge is wont to bring out extremes in people, and it's entirely understandable that Freshers think that they need to be working literally 24/7 to come anywhere close to success - add to that the vast numbers of Freshers who think they were offered a place 'by mistake' or that they're somehow a fraud, and you've got a potentially toxic mix. But everyone finds a happy working schedule fairly quickly. Be quick to use your DoS for advice and guidance on how much you should be doing and when, and also get the most out of your supervisions: a good one-hour supervision can be worth three hours of self-directed, revision-based study.
Thanks for the comments on workload, made me feel a bit better - thinking about it I probably spent about 20 hours a week of contact time in college as well as about 15 at work so when you take into account the fact that I studied for at least a few hours a week it's hopefully gonna be a step up of less than 10 hours/week overall from what I did in A2 year, not too bad I guess the main change will be shifting all my efforts to academic work which should be exciting. I've done some 50+ hour weeks at work since beginning of gap year, though I was a bit of a wreck at the end lol
Some people I've seen have said that the workload becomes a bit less intense in IB and II, would you agree with that and out of curiosity what options did you choose throughout the course (IA, IB and II)?
Thanks a lot for taking the time to help me out, hope you understand this is a bit of an interesting time for me..
Yes. But the question really is how many colleges go fishing for MML applicants - and the answer to that seems to be "very few".
If you are a strong candidate then Girton would probably want to keep you to themselves anyway. I'm not sure how the Open Offer works and if you HAVE to be pooled.
Also, remember this is fishing people who haven't met their offers and have underperformed. In an Open Offer you've automatically performed better than most of the other people in the summer pool because you have met conditions.
Also, remember this is fishing people who haven't met their offers and have underperformed. In an Open Offer you've automatically performed better than most of the other people in the summer pool because you have met conditions.
Thanks for the comments on workload, made me feel a bit better...
Re workload - one thing to remember is you really aren't expect to answer all the questions on the example sheets, or worse, spend hours trying to answer them all and failing.
Re workload - one thing to remember is you really aren't expect to answer all the questions on the example sheets, or worse, spend hours trying to answer them all and failing.
Don't forget a First is 70%+ not 90%+...
(And your 1st year doesn't much matter anyway...)
jneill if I get a First at Cambridge I'll track you down and eat your broad rimmed hat...
Also, remember this is fishing people who haven't met their offers and have underperformed. In an Open Offer you've automatically performed better than most of the other people in the summer pool because you have met conditions.