Post Assessments - Pre-interview Ask an Admissions Tutor

OP

Original post by themight

Is it actually possible to learn a new language at the university? My brother studied Economics and he was able to learn Spanish!

Yes. The university language centre provides courses in a huge variety of languages. It costs money but many colleges will pay for some/all of the costs.

Reply 121

Student1256

13

Original post by Murray Edwards Admissions

If students are doing modular A Levels (Wales, NI and international) then the old compulsory pooling criteria remain - 93% best three UMS average for Humanities and 93% best three Maths/Science UMS average for Sciences (apart from Maths and Medicine).

For linear AS Levels there are no compulsory pooling criteria and Maths UMS in not used on its own as a compulsory pooling criterion.

Is the post qualifications pooling criteria still in effect? So are students with 3A*'s at A-level still guaranteed a place in the pool?

Reply 122

OP

Original post by Neko猫

Hi! I'm new on this app/forum , but I've been reading the posts for a while now
I did a really bad nsaa mostly because I have miss calculated my timing for section 1 and because of that I was really panicked when I started section 2 ( the idea is that I have found out that section 1 is calculated by a computer and then send to colleges. Should I email them about it before they assume that I have got all of my questions wrong for one of my section one options? )
Also is there any chance that they might change their mind if you request feedback and eventually try to explain ( Could you still have a chance to get invited to an interview )
BTW I'm an EU international so I can't say that I have a strong application ( I do have maximum grades in 3 sciences and strong predictions but that doesn't compare to GSE and A level ( which BTW is amazing I have went through it this summer and I loved it , especially the Biology one ) . If that makes my application better I would seriously consider taking it this summer .

Thanks for your question. If there was a malfunction in your assessment then you should notify the college immediately. I am afraid that if you got the timings wrong then that is an error on your part and I doubt that an email to the college is going to make much difference to them.

It is possible to request that colleges think again about de-selection, if you feel that they have made an error in assessing your application. This is best done through your school/referee. In the past I have changed my mind a few times but it's not something that happens very often.

Best of luck with the application.

Reply 123

OP

Original post by ZizouAli

Hello,

I am a mature international student. I have applied to read Engineering at Trinity.

I have A* in Arabic (irrelevant subject) and I'm predicted to get A* Maths, A* Physics and A for Further Maths. I am sitting these 3 A-Levels in one year and preparing for them independently. However, I performed very poorly on my ENGAA due to poor time management in section 1 (lost track of time thinking I had an extra hour when I, barely, had 15 minutes left), which resulted in complete shock during section 2 and the week following the exam.

Will that hurt my chances of getting invited for an interview?

Doing poorly on the assessments is likely to hurt your chances of getting an interview but plenty of people who do relatively poorly on the assessments will get interviews because the rest of the application looks quite strong. If students do poorly on the assessments and the rest of the application doesn't look strong then they are unlikely to get an interview.

Not being able to see your whole application, I can't comment on how Trinity will view either your EGAA score or your application as a whole. Sorry!

Reply 124

OP

Original post by thewall

Hi, really appreciate you doing this.

In the interview are the only topics that could come up the ones that we put on our SAQ?(applying for engineering)

No. There wouldn't be much point only in asking you about things you've already done. Some of the interview will undoubtedly deal wth things you've not come across before. In the context of Engineering, however, you should be able to apply at least some of the knowledge that you already have from your A Level (or equivalent) studies to this new problem and we will help fill in the gaps for you and see how well you respond to our help.

Reply 125

OP

Original post by Neko猫

Hi! I apologise for my long post the other day
May I ask when Murray Edwards will give out interview invitations for Biological Natural sciences?
And also if requesting feedback in the case of a rejection before the interview can change their decision
Thank you

No problem! :smile:

I am meeting the DoS in NSB tomorrow morning to discuss selection for interviews. We will send invites probably on Monday but definitely by Wednesday.

Simply requesting feedback won;t change an interview decision. if there are strong reasons for us to reconsider then it is best coming from the school/referee and we can then re-assess. Normally, however, the decision remains in place. Detailed feedback, if requested, will be sent from January onwards.

Reply 126

OP

Original post by 6764

Hi,

I applied for education and was wondering about the at- interview assessment.

Are they marked by the college or centrally?
As they have only been going a year will they be a major factor in decision making / will good interview scores and grades outweigh a poorer performance?

Thanks

I'm sorry, but as we don't offer Education at Murray Edwards, I don't know about marking arrangements in Education and I'm at home now and unable to access that information. As with all aspects of the application, however, the assessment will be treated holistically and won't be a reason on its own to sway a decision one way or the other. A strong performance in multiple parts of the application gives candidates a very good chance of an offer, even if they've underperformed in one area.

Reply 127

OP

Original post by Talk213456

Hello,
I was wondering for medicine could we be asked any physics if we study it and if so, could interviewers stretch the discussion by introducing advanced a2 physics?

They could ask you about Physics if you have studied it. I would say it's unlikely but it's not unrealistic, especially given that most Medics find the physical science parts of the course the most difficult.

Reply 128

OP

Original post by Student1256

Is the post qualifications pooling criteria still in effect? So are students with 3A*'s at A-level still guaranteed a place in the pool?

Yes. 3 A*s for Humanities students; 3 A*s in Maths/Science subjects for Scientists (except Maths and Medicine).

Reply 129

themight

8

Original post by Murray Edwards Admissions

Yes. The university language centre provides courses in a huge variety of languages. It costs money but many colleges will pay for some/all of the costs.

That is nice. How much would it cost?

Reply 130

OP

Original post by themight

That is nice. How much would it cost?

This year it costs £265.

Reply 131

Neko猫

9

Hi! Thank you for your reply
I won't email the college about nsaa ( there isn't much difference between getting them wrong and not reading them at all )
But if I add new exams ( like at least 2 A levels even though I didn't mention anything about it up until now ) is that a good enough reason for reconsidering my application ( I will take them along with my country 's qualifications )
In my system you can only choose 1 science while math and .......language literature are compulsory subjects ( I intend to take A level Chemistry and Biology if that can help )

Reply 132

Talk213456

Original post by Murray Edwards Admissions

They could ask you about Physics if you have studied it. I would say it's unlikely but it's not unrealistic, especially given that most Medics find the physical science parts of the course the most difficult.

Thank you for the response. I was also wondering, why does compulsory pooling not exist if a medicine reapplicant achieves say 4*s at A2? Does he have the same chance as someone predicted 4*s and will AT favour his application provided BMAT and interview are decent as he has proven himself? Thank you.

Reply 133

intlagra

1

Hi, thanks for this thread! I've applied to Murray Edwards and was just wondering how much doing poorly on one section (Section 2) of my HSPSAA exam would hurt my chances of interview. I received top marks on my other exams (IB/AP, I'm an international applicant) and am really hoping that one weaker essay doesn't undermine all of that hard work. Thanks again for all of your help!

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 134

IcedArizona

Hi again

I am still waiting for Selwyn however I think their invites for phys NatSci will only come next week. Anyhow, if I do get an invite I was wondering if interviews may sometimes contain other subjects than the usual combination of physics/maths/chemistry. I mentioned interest for earth sciences as I did study some at school, would it be unusual if I ended up getting some problems relating earth sciences?
I am aware this is college specific but do you know if in general this may happen?

Reply 135

coraesther

1

Hi there - just wondering when Medwards will send out HSPS interview invitations? I'm sure it's difficult to know with much certainty but an estimate would be wonderful. Thank you!
(Edit - I realise this is particularly irritating having just seen your prior post about the delays that asking about invites creates! Completely appreciate that patience is key here)

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 136

Leon Ngiam

5

When will Wolfson college (Cambridge) start rolling out interview invitations? I need to book my flights and apply for leave😅

Reply 137

PuffyPenguin

13

Hi - I have applied to study natural sciences (biological) and although I haven't heard about an interview invitation/ rejection yet, I had to email the college a topic which interests me off a list a while ago, for discussion in interview.
I really wasn't sure which topic to choose and in the end I submitted a topic but still wasn't really happy with my choice. I know this doesn't seem like a big deal but I am really nervous about the interviews. I was wondering what you think about emailing them to try and change topic - or would this reflect badly on me?Bear in mind the deadline was a few weeks ago.

Reply 138

GovernmentEarner

14

Hello,

For my written work (History essay for History and Politics) my college specified that it needed teachers comments, will I be asked about these or is it just used to observe how my teachers mark/give feedback?
Also, do applicants predominantly get asked about the argument of their written work?

Thanks in advance 🙂

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 139

OP