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How important are AS level results to get into Cambridge?

I want to do Geography at Cambridge. I did really well in my GCSEs, I am passionate about the subject and have done (and will do) loads of 'extra' stuff to show how enthusiastic I am. But I don't think I've done that well in my AS levels (due to many reasons); apparently you need an 87% average to get into Cambridge? And I think I may have got less than that in all my exams, including Geography, though I believe they will still be all A's (80%+) or at the most one or two B's. So in a nutshell, am I screwed, or will my extra stuff be enough? What did people who are at Cambridge now get in their As levels? Thanks for reading!

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They're like the only place that asks not just for your AS grades but your UMS as well.
So I'd say very important
Extremely important.
Reply 3
Original post by lukerules1234
I want to do Geography at Cambridge. I did really well in my GCSEs, I am passionate about the subject and have done (and will do) loads of 'extra' stuff to show how enthusiastic I am. But I don't think I've done that well in my AS levels (due to many reasons); apparently you need an 87% average to get into Cambridge? And I think I may have got less than that in all my exams, including Geography, though I believe they will still be all A's (80%+) or at the most one or two B's. So in a nutshell, am I screwed, or will my extra stuff be enough? What did people who are at Cambridge now get in their As levels? Thanks for reading!


There's no minimum average UMS requirement, and these days most applicants don't have a full set of UMS anyway.

But yes ASs are a factor, and will be assessed holistically along with all the other aspects of your application. Including the GAA : http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/gaa_specification.pdf

Strengths in some areas can sometimes offset weaknesses elsewhere.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 4
Yo, I have an offer for Geog

How many of your subjects still use UMS? One B isn't the end of the world, (I got one in AS) but UMS scores are important. I had pretty poor GCSEs (for Cambridge) but I guess they "overlooked" that as my UMS in my other three subjects was pretty strong.

I'd just wait until results day tbh - there's nothing more you can do now.
Original post by lukerules1234
I want to do Geography at Cambridge. I did really well in my GCSEs, I am passionate about the subject and have done (and will do) loads of 'extra' stuff to show how enthusiastic I am. But I don't think I've done that well in my AS levels (due to many reasons); apparently you need an 87% average to get into Cambridge? And I think I may have got less than that in all my exams, including Geography, though I believe they will still be all A's (80%+) or at the most one or two B's. So in a nutshell, am I screwed, or will my extra stuff be enough? What did people who are at Cambridge now get in their As levels? Thanks for reading!


It's quite important, of course, as it's the most recent exam result you have which would be a good indication of how you are likely to do in A2 (= if you'll be able to achieve a sort of level they think you need to read your subject at Cambridge).
But as others mentioned, there's no fixed requirement for average UMS across your A-level subjects and they always look at how you did in each module in each subject, not just overall UMS for the subject, as well as all other aspects of application (PS, reference, pre-interview test, etc) and take all of them into account holistically (meaning no fixed weighting for any part).
So, if other parts of your application is strong enough to compensate your weakness in AS and/or you had some situation that explains the weakness, .it's possible they'd still invite you for interview and good performance at the interview would definitely be beneficial for your application.

I'm a bit baffled with what you said, though......
Original post by lukerules1234
?........ I believe they will still be all A's (80%+) or at the most one or two B's.

How many AS are you doing? 4? 5? Or even more?
Supposing you end up with 2 Bs (your worst case scenario), how many other subjects will you have with As?
Also, it can matter in what subjects you have in A/B if some of them are not facilitating subject. I know a few cases of Geography applicants with one of their 4 A-level subject in their mother-language in which they had top grade/prediction, Their offer condition excluded it, so they had to achieve the requirement in other 3 subjects. This can happen if one of your 4(or more) A-level subjects you apply with is so-called 'soft subject/s' or what they assume too irrelevant to the course /too easy for the applicant to achieve (like the example above) and you may have some weakness in other subjects.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by lukerules1234
I want to do Geography at Cambridge. I did really well in my GCSEs, I am passionate about the subject and have done (and will do) loads of 'extra' stuff to show how enthusiastic I am. But I don't think I've done that well in my AS levels (due to many reasons); apparently you need an 87% average to get into Cambridge? And I think I may have got less than that in all my exams, including Geography, though I believe they will still be all A's (80%+) or at the most one or two B's. So in a nutshell, am I screwed, or will my extra stuff be enough? What did people who are at Cambridge now get in their As levels? Thanks for reading!


@Doonesbury and @vincrows are spot on with this. But where are they not...?:smile:

Have you searched TSR for 'Ask an Admissions' Tutor'? This is a thread created by a Cambridge college AT to answer questions just like this - and this sort of question comes up repeatedly. That's not to suggest you're not allowed to ask it again, but maybe those threads will help you - you'll also be getting the information 'straight from the horse's mouth' so to speak.
Original post by Reality Check
@Doonesbury and @vincrows are spot on with this. But where are they not...?.
so are you. :smile:
Original post by lukerules1234
I want to do Geography at Cambridge. I did really well in my GCSEs, I am passionate about the subject and have done (and will do) loads of 'extra' stuff to show how enthusiastic I am. But I don't think I've done that well in my AS levels (due to many reasons); apparently you need an 87% average to get into Cambridge? And I think I may have got less than that in all my exams, including Geography, though I believe they will still be all A's (80%+) or at the most one or two B's. So in a nutshell, am I screwed, or will my extra stuff be enough? What did people who are at Cambridge now get in their As levels? Thanks for reading!
Forgot to mention....... It's really good you're doing a lot of supercurricular things. But please bear in mind they are not so much interested in a long list of things you've done. What they want to know is what/how you learned from the experiences, even if it's only a few things you've done. Quality is what they're looking for. Not quantity.

Also, slightly bad news for you is that if your performance at AS is not so good in spite of your good record in GCSE Geography, they may see it as a warning sign (not compensationg factor as you may be hoping) as it may be showing you're not coping as well at higher level of A-level Geography as you could in GCSE, unless you have extenuating circumstances that can explain your unsatisfactory AS performance is a temporary fluke.
The way they look at GCSE>A-levels is whether you've constantly performing well/improving or not over these period.
So upward trajectory like @Inister is good, but downward is not.......
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by vincrows
so are you. :smile: Forgot to mention....... It's really good you're doing a lot of supercurricular things. But please bear in mind they are not so much interested in a long list of things you've done. What they want to know is what/how you learned from the experiences, even if it's only a few things you've done. Quality is what they're looking for. Not quantity.

Also, slightly bad news for you is that if your performance at AS is not so good in spite of your good record in GCSE Geography, they may see it as a warning sign (not compensationg factor as you may be hoping) as it may be showing you're not coping as well at higher level of A-level Geography as you could in GCSE, unless you have extenuating circumstances that can explain your unsatisfactory AS performance is a temporary fluke.
The way they look at GCSE>A-levels is whether you've constantly performing well/improving or not over these period.
So upward trajectory like @Inister is good, but downward is not.......


@lukerules1234


As as if you needed evidence of the solidity of the advice given by both vincrows and Doonesbury regarding this sort of thing, here is a snapshot from a similar question in the 'Ask the Admissions Team' thread' I mentioned earlier:

Screen Shot 2017-05-29 at 11.09.55.png

This chimes exactly with the advice you've just been given. They are looking for progression.
Do they look at the percentage mark you got in linear subjects since there is no UMS?
Original post by vincrows
It's quite important, of course, as it's the most recent exam result you have which would be a good indication of how you are likely to do in A2 (= if you'll be able to achieve a sort of level they think you need to read your subject at Cambridge).
But as others mentioned, there's no fixed requirement for average UMS across your A-level subjects and they always look at how you did in each module in each subject, not just overall UMS for the subject, as well as all other aspects of application (PS, reference, pre-interview test, etc) and take all of them into account holistically (meaning no fixed weighting for any part).
So, if other parts of your application is strong enough to compensate your weakness in AS and/or you had some situation that explains the weakness, .it's possible they'd still invite you for interview and good performance at the interview would definitely be beneficial for your application.

I'm a bit baffled with what you said, though......

How many AS are you doing? 4? 5? Or even more?
Supposing you end up with 2 Bs (your worst case scenario), how many other subjects will you have with As?
Also, it can matter in what subjects you have in A/B if some of them are not facilitating subject. I know a few cases of Geography applicants with one of their 4 A-level subject in their mother-language in which they had top grade/prediction, Their offer condition excluded it, so they had to achieve the requirement in other 3 subjects. This can happen if one of your 4(or more) A-level subjects you apply with is so-called 'soft subject/s' or what they assume too irrelevant to the course /too easy for the applicant to achieve (like the example above) and you may have some weakness in other subjects.


I'm doing 4. I've read that for humanities you can exclude your worst AS level from your UMS average. Honestly I'm expecting low As for all 4 i.e below or around the Cambridge threshold of 85%. So I suppose my question is if you're not miles away from this threshold, and everything else on your UCAS form will be good, is my position not as catastrophic as I think it is?
Original post by vincrows
so are you. :smile: Forgot to mention....... It's really good you're doing a lot of supercurricular things. But please bear in mind they are not so much interested in a long list of things you've done. What they want to know is what/how you learned from the experiences, even if it's only a few things you've done. Quality is what they're looking for. Not quantity.

Also, slightly bad news for you is that if your performance at AS is not so good in spite of your good record in GCSE Geography, they may see it as a warning sign (not compensationg factor as you may be hoping) as it may be showing you're not coping as well at higher level of A-level Geography as you could in GCSE, unless you have extenuating circumstances that can explain your unsatisfactory AS performance is a temporary fluke.
The way they look at GCSE>A-levels is whether you've constantly performing well/improving or not over these period.
So upward trajectory like @Inister is good, but downward is not.......


Yeah that makes 100% sense :frown: Ah well. Tbh this year has been a write-off for me; I know I have it in me to do well at A levels next year but I suppose you can't just promise to them that at the interview!
Original post by Reality Check
@lukerules1234


As as if you needed evidence of the solidity of the advice given by both vincrows and Doonesbury regarding this sort of thing, here is a snapshot from a similar question in the 'Ask the Admissions Team' thread' I mentioned earlier:

Screen Shot 2017-05-29 at 11.09.55.png

This chimes exactly with the advice you've just been given. They are looking for progression.


Very useful link, thanks
Original post by lukerules1234
I'm doing 4. I've read that for humanities you can exclude your worst AS level from your UMS average. Honestly I'm expecting low As for all 4 i.e below or around the Cambridge threshold of 85%. So I suppose my question is if you're not miles away from this threshold, and everything else on your UCAS form will be good, is my position not as catastrophic as I think it is?


Original post by lukerules1234
Yeah that makes 100% sense :frown: Ah well. Tbh this year has been a write-off for me; I know I have it in me to do well at A levels next year but I suppose you can't just promise to them that at the interview!


Forget about UMS average. That's not what Cambridge uses in their selection process, nor have they 'threshold'. Please be careful about lots of heresays about Cambridge admission you get from internet and other sources, sometimes even your school.

The big question, still, is if there a particular reason why you are not doing as well as you hoped in AS? Was it just because of exam nerves, for example, or any extenuating circumstances that hindered your exam performance? Or have you found AS Geography itself quite challenging thus far.

They look at all the available info about a candidate to see if they will be able to cope with their demanding course. So what they're looking for is the candidates' potential, and the past records is one element of info they use to estimate it.
They need to be assured that a candidate is capable of achieveing A-level studies at satisfactory standard as what you'll be doing at university level (at any top uni, including Cambridge) is much, much more demanding than what you're doing at A-levels which makes A-level looks like a tiny weeny piece of cake.

I hope your exam results will be better than what you're anticipationg, but in case they're not, there's always a possibility of applying post A-levels with solid results.
Also, it's very important to remember Cambridge is NOT the only good uni to read Geography. I happen to know several people who read Geography at Cambridge and also at a few other unis. They're all different in many ways which does not mean one uni is better than others in all aspects, esp. because geography is very broad and fast-evolving subject. Please look through all the details of Geography courses at many universities very carefully. You may find other unis offer a course that's actually better for you.

Good luck with the results.:smile:


Btw, no need to start multiple threads with a same question. :wink:
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by vincrows
Forget about UMS average. That's not what Cambridge uses in their selection process, nor have they 'threshold'. Please be careful about lots of heresays about Cambridge admission you get from internet and other sources, sometimes even your school.

The big question, still, is if there a particular reason why you are not doing as well as you hoped in AS? Was it just because of exam nerves, for example, or any extenuating circumstances that hindered your exam performance? Or have you found AS Geography itself quite challenging thus far.

They look at all the available info about a candidate to see if they will be able to cope with their demanding course. So what they're looking for is the candidates' potential, and the past records is one element of info they use to estimate it.
They need to be assured that a candidate is capable of achieveing A-level studies at satisfactory standard as what you'll be doing at university level (at any top uni, including Cambridge) is much, much more demanding than what you're doing at A-levels which makes A-level looks like a tiny weeny piece of cake.

I hope your exam results will be better than what you're anticipationg, but in case they're not, there's always a possibility of applying post A-levels with solid results.
Also, it's very important to remember Cambridge is NOT the only good uni to read Geography. I happen to know several people who read Geography at Cambridge and also at a few other unis. They're all different in many ways which does not mean one uni is better than others in all aspects, esp. because geography is very broad and fast-evolving subject. Please look through all the details of Geography courses at many universities very carefully. You may find other unis offer a course that's actually better for you.

Good luck with the results.:smile:


Btw, no need to start multiple threads with a same question. :wink:


Aha sorry I thought no one would read when I put it in the Cambridge forum!

I didn't do as well as I would have liked purely down to lack of revision. I don't really find any of my subjects challenging, just the flame of motivation to revise was heavily dampened by depression, purposelessness, exam nerves etc. etc. It's been the same throughout this year, so I don't really have any exam evidence from this year to show that I have the capability to get A*s at A level (even though I know I can). Ah well. Bristol it is!

p.s thanks for your replies, they've been very useful :beerglass:
Reply 15
How about Linear Subjects

They don't use UMS?
Reply 16
Original post by AGBF
How about Linear Subjects

They don't use UMS?


Linear subjects don't have UMS. So no they don't use it.

Some colleges do collect raw marks, if you have them, but they aren't used in the same way as UMS (for one thing, they aren't directly comparable).
Reply 17
Original post by lukerules1234
I'm doing 4. I've read that for humanities you can exclude your worst AS level from your UMS average. Honestly I'm expecting low As for all 4 i.e below or around the Cambridge threshold of 85%. So I suppose my question is if you're not miles away from this threshold, and everything else on your UCAS form will be good, is my position not as catastrophic as I think it is?


Again, there is *no* threshold. It just so happens that most applicants will exceed 85, but it's not a requirement. Strengths elsewhere *might* make up for some weaknesses in your AS.

Cambridge would be 1 out of your 5 UCAS choices. I suggest you still apply and let the Cambridge admissions professionals assess your application holistically rather than ruling yourself out based on hearsay and potentially incorrect information.
Original post by Doonesbury
Again, there is *no* threshold. It just so happens that most applicants will exceed 85, but it's not a requirement. Strengths elsewhere *might* make up for some weaknesses in your AS.

Cambridge would be 1 out of your 5 UCAS choices. I suggest you still apply and let the Cambridge admissions professionals assess your application holistically rather than ruling yourself out based on hearsay and potentially incorrect information.


Thanks for that. The only reason I'm worried is that my teacher told my year that if you don't get an 87% average at AS level then say goodbye to Cambridge. I go to a very good school, one of the best in the country, so does that play a part in higher expectations maybe?
Reply 19
Original post by lukerules1234
Thanks for that. The only reason I'm worried is that my teacher told my year that if you don't get an 87% average at AS level then say goodbye to Cambridge. I go to a very good school, one of the best in the country, so does that play a part in higher expectations maybe?


To an extent yes it does, but my previous comment still applies. Leave it to the professionals to do their job :smile:

Edit: also you don't even have your marks yet so there's little point worrying about them at this stage. Also, which exam board(s) are you sitting?
(edited 6 years ago)

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