Panic about the SAQ here!

Reply 60

mavoury

anaerialview

I left mine blank (last admissions cycle).

SNAP

Reply 61

The West Wing

18

I believe the rhetoric is "anything else you would like us to know", which is very substantially different to "additional personal statement".

My advice would be to write what you want as long as it's not sycophantic. Also it's far better to write nothing than to write something pointless or stupid.

Reply 62

littleshambles

14

They have two boxes, one called "additional personal statement" and one called "anything else you would like us to know" :s-smilie:

Reply 63

Excalibur

15

If the additional PS on the SAQ is equivalent to the one on the CAF last year - you can write a paragraph or so if the course you're applying for at Cambridge is different to the ones you're applying for elsewhere. I applied for NatSci at Cambs and Biology at other unis, so I included a line or two about NatSci specifically - but a lot of people just left it blank.

As The West Wing said, better to write nothing than write something unnecessary and rubbish.

Reply 64

maryl

I left it blank when I applied last year... but there was only one box. Hmmm I must keep up to date with these forms!

Reply 65

vbvanc

Hi guys, this is my first post in the student room and its quite exciting!

I have an urgent question...I submitted my UCAS application around 4 days ago but then realised I had made a mistake and phoned them to cancel it. then i re-applied yesterday and sent it. However, after i had cancelled my UCAS application but before i had re-applied I received an email asking me to fill out the SAQ questionnaire. I'm an overseas student by the way (in canada).
I decided to not fill it out yet as i thought that it may have been referring to my old UCAS application (the one i had cancelled). BUT THEN....today I got an email saying 'thank you for submitting your SAQ' !!!!!! and havent even touched my SAQ thing!!!! So has someone tampered with my application?

Im really worried and was wondering if you guys could help me out.

Thank you very much :biggrin:

Reply 66

FadedJade

15

Do you still need to fill out the SAQ with your new application? If so, do it and send it back. If not, email them and tell them.

Reply 67

ashefbjhsdab

This was very informative:

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/publications/saq.pdf

:smile:

Reply 68

pm2671

I am a bit puzzled about some of the posts here! I got my SAQ by email and am filling it in on-line. I thought this is what is required. So everything has to fit in the set boxes. So, for instance there is no way to put in the 12 titles we are doing in English, nor the details of the Maths program etc. On the other hand the system takes any number of subjects you put in. Can anybody fill me in?
Right now still struggling with the additional personal statement!

Reply 69

vbvanc

Nina,

I havent yet received an email telling me about the new SAQ form....i really don't know how it 'filled itself in'. Im getting really worried now..

Reply 70

FadedJade

15

This thread was bumped. It used to be a paper form which is why there were these questions. It is now online.

vbvanc - dont worry. Computer glitches happen all the time, if you are really concerned then email them, but i wouldnt say its anything to worry about.

Reply 71

xinolisss

10

For any students sitting International Exams with Exam boards that do not give their UMS marks here is the response I got from SAQ Help:

"So that the College has as much information as possible please include all the A Levels in the qualifications section of the SAQ. However in the last question when we ask if there is anything else you would like to tell us, explain that apart from Maths and Further Maths your A Levels were taken with CIE so they are not modular so you cannot provide modular scores."

Basically enter your Exams as if they were modular AS and A2s and then in the if you have something to tell us section write about CIE or any other exam board...

And does the print version of the SAQ work for anybody? They said they were trying to find out what was wrong with it however I was wondering whether it was a general problem or was it only for me...

Reply 72

xinolisss

10

pm2671

I am a bit puzzled about some of the posts here! I got my SAQ by email and am filling it in on-line. I thought this is what is required. So everything has to fit in the set boxes. So, for instance there is no way to put in the 12 titles we are doing in English, nor the details of the Maths program etc. On the other hand the system takes any number of subjects you put in. Can anybody fill me in?
Right now still struggling with the additional personal statement!

Could you explain your problem better please? Because I have been able to fill in 12 modules for my Maths and Further Maths modules... hence meaning that you can do for your English one...

The additional personal statement gives you a chance to tell them why you chose Cambridge and what you like about that course at Cambridge. Common answers may be e.g. for engineering the flexibility of the course, the language program for engineers.... Other more general comments may be the supervision system that is probably unique in Cambridge and Oxford... those are only some ideas...

Reply 73

xinolisss

10

vbvanc

Nina,

I havent yet received an email telling me about the new SAQ form....i really don't know how it 'filled itself in'. Im getting really worried now..

I THINK that as overseas student, i.e. outside E.U. then you don't need to fill in SAQ...

The email must've been a mistake by them where they simply sent out automated emails to anybody who applied irrelevant of where they came from... however I doubt whether submitting an SAQ will be of any disadvantage for you... I mean it's simply more administrative work for them

What you NEED to do is to submit the COAF (Cambridge overseas application form) which you can find on their website and mail it to them completed. This is what you really need to do.

Reply 74

pm2671

I refer to section 5.5 (Class Sizes and topics covered); so for instance (I am doing the French Bac with international Option - basically bilingual English(US)/French) we are covering 12 texts +. These do not fit in the box. Nor all the stuff we are covering in the other subjects such as Maths and further maths. I am also at a loss how to fill section 6.2 as there is no interim grading (I suppose that is what is meant by UMS) so am leaving it empty. If they want they can ask for the details, but since I am applying for Chinese Studies (normally ab initio) (at St john's) I am not so sure such info would be of much use other than for the interview! any thoughts on this?

Reply 75

vbvanc

hi guys..i just wanted to say many thanks to those who replied (nina and xinolisss). i really appreciate it!
I sent of my COAF form yesterday and i guess ill try not to worry about the SAQ emails...and wait till they send me one properly.

so am i right to say that OVERSEAS (i live in canada) applicants dont need the SAQ???

thanks again guys

Reply 76

Napalm

^ Erm, I don't think that is quite true. Overseas applicants have to fill out the SAQ as well.

Reply 77

xinolisss

10

Napalm

^ Erm, I don't think that is quite true. Overseas applicants have to fill out the SAQ as well.

vbvanc

so am i right to say that OVERSEAS (i live in canada) applicants dont need the SAQ???

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/international/apply.html

The section doesn't mention anything about SAQ so I assume they wont require you to send the same info twice.... I mean quite obviously, I have filled in the COAF thinking I was international... since I am chinese in nationality but they told me I didn't need to send it. Nevertheless the COAF contains much the same info as the SAQ only more internationally adapted hence I don't see the point of the SAQ and the COAF.

Also international students have to make the 45 pound administrative fees pay which we don't have to. :cool:

Reply 78

FadedJade

15

There used to be the CAF and the SAQ which had asked for pretty much the same info so dont rule it out on that basis. There's also an amin fee in England too, although it isn't that high.

Reply 79

xinolisss

10

Yeah but if you remember the CAF and the SAQ asked on somewhat different things. One provided the general info other than UCAS stuff and the other SAQ asked for more specific details whilst the new SAQ now and the COAF are essentially the same thing but one's on paper and the other one is on internet...

Panic about the SAQ here!

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