Ask an Admissions Tutor XII (22 August - 22 September)

Hello, I had asked a question regarding admissions to apply for economics at Cambridge a while ago. I study at a sixth form with limited choices for a levels and so I couldnt study economics/further math or another facilitating essay-writing subject for a level (my sixth form offered geography/history but they were in a different option block)

So i studied maths, biology, business and the epq and a previous admission tutor said that I should ideally aim for A* in math, A/A* in Biology and A in Business, and then study economics and/or further math in a gap year to stand a good chance. Fast forward to today and I got A* in math (96 ums in c3 and 94 ums in c4), A in chemistry (close to an A*) and A in business and A* in EPQ (economics based). I was the first person to get an A in biology, first to get an A* in epq and first person in 10 years to get an A* in math in my sixth form. I also qualify for contextualisation. My GCSE's are pretty below-par at 3A*s, 3As and 3Bs but again, they were the best in my sixth form.

My question is, would it be ideal to apply for Cambridge economics?

Yes, we do. I don't think so. You can apply to both for postgraduate study in law (or any other subject) but not for an undergraduate course.

Hello, EU re-applicant here! I didn't plan to take a gap year but ended up with it anyway. As it was unexpected, I have to plan my year on a short notice. I do know that I can't enroll at a UK uni and apply to Cambridge for the same course, but what's the case with unis abroad?
Thank you for doing this!


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Why would what be?

Why would the maths department be (or have any) concerned if a prospective student had a gap year before applying?

Hello and thanks for your question. You have generally good scores, with one excellent module and one weak one. I think you don't need to worry too much about the M2 score. Maths is important for Biological Natural Sciences but not the same extent as in Physical and it is only one module and we know that people can have a bad day. We will be looking at a lot of other things too so don't worry too much about it.

Thank you for your response! I also wanted to add that I'm planning on dropping Further Maths so that I am carrying on Maths, Biology and Chemistry to A2. Since I'm going to drop Further Maths, I might not retake M2. Since my M2 UMS is low, will I be disadvantaged for not retaking it? Also, to what extent will dropping Further Maths itself disadvantage me?

Thank you for your help.

Considering the low maths UMS and the fact that I do not study FM, should I still be considering Cambridge as an option?

ty for the reply

I only did the AS in maths.

I am studying Physics, Economics, French and Maths. I am predicted A* in all of them.

What do you think?

Thanks for the further questions. You certainly wouldn't be disadvantaged by choosing not to retake M2 and no one is going to mind that you aren't doing Further Maths to A2 as a Biological Natural Scientist - a combination of Maths, Chemistry and Biology (plus an AS in FM) is easily preparation enough for the course and will give you plenty of options within Part IA (the first year).

Well, the NSAA is split into several different sections. The different parts of Section 1 were each given a scaled mark between 1.0 and 9.0. The average score for each element was around 4.0.

In Section 2, candidates answered two questions, each worth 25 marks. High 20s and above were decent scores, the strongest candidates in this element were getting above 40.

I don't think there was a specific cut off point for Maths UMS in Physical natural Sciences. We were cautious about using UMS from one subject alone and one also needed to think about the number and difficulty of the modules that had been taken. I was concerned by anything below 90 but not to the extent that this alone would make me not interview/not offer to someone.

Well, the NSAA is split into several different sections. The different parts of Section 1 were each given a scaled mark between 1.0 and 9.0. The average score for each element was around 4.0.

In Section 2, candidates answered two questions, each worth 25 marks. High 20s and above were decent scores, the strongest candidates in this element were getting above 40.

I don't think there was a specific cut off point for Maths UMS in Physical natural Sciences. We were cautious about using UMS from one subject alone and one also needed to think about the number and difficulty of the modules that had been taken. I was concerned by anything below 90 but not to the extent that this alone would make me not interview/not offer to someone.

Applying for Economics at Cambridge, going into year 13, I know my UMS average is good enough but concerned by my FP1 score as i know it is an important topic for the degree.

AS Results: c1-100, c2-100, d1-98, s1-93, m1-92, fp1-85 ) mmso thats a 95 UMS average if rounded up.

GCSE grades 11 A*/ 2 A's
Predicted A*/A*/A*

Will my results hinder me on anyway or are they perfectly aversge for a successful applicant?

Thanks