The Student Room Group

HSPS Cambridge 2019 applicants thread

Anybody considering applying this year?
If so, please post your GCSE grades, AS grades and Predicted Grades, as well as perhaps your relevant work experience. Also, how is everyone going to prepare for the admission test/interview?
Lets help each other out!

GCSE: 5A* 4A 1C (not good enough I know)
AS: AAA + a in Critical Thinking
Predicted grades: A* A* A* A

Relevant work experience: Attended lecture on foreign policy, volunteered, write for my school newspaper and pretty much it but I will try to add something before october. Do you guys reckon I stand a chance? My issue is that I know nobody who can help me prepare for admission tests or interviews.....

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Original post by TL272001
I'm thinking about applying - but have left it really last minute as I was always going to apply for a different course instead.

GCSEs: 8 A* 2A
A level predictions: A*A*A (A* in EPQ too)

But haven't done much reading or work experience relevant to the subject. Also really worried about the admissions test and how to prepare for this. What courses are you applying to for ur other unis??


Work experience is neither required nor expected.

Posted from TSR Mobile
GCSEs: 10 A* 1A
A level predictions: A*A*A (got another predicted A* in Economics but decided to drop).
Did work experience with an MP for a week, entered Cambridge prize essay (RA Butler), and did some magazine writing for school.
Reply 3
Hi, I’m applying this year too after a gap year during which I’m working for Scottish Government. I got 10A* in my GCSE’s and 4 A* in my A levels (politics, maths, economics, geography) and an A* in my EPQ.

I also want to know how everyone is preparing for the tests, especially the essay... does anyone want to do some and swap or anything?
GCSEs: 5A*s ( including a 9 ing English Lit and 8 in Maths) 4As (including 7 in English Language) 1B
A level Predicitons: A* (Sociology) A* (Politics) A (English Literature)
Work Experience: nothing really academic tbh - worked at Pret, for a week (learning customer service, engaging with different people; it was for my own personal development), 2 summer schools, a couple of lectures, did a scheme at Cambridge and visited it a couple of times afterwards (courtesy of programmes I’m on called The Social Mobility Foundation and Target Oxbridge)

I know I’m a month late into this conversation but since it’s relevant to me I thought it would be good to share my thoughts about preparation, and engage in other people’s. Plus there’s still a bit of time before the deadline.

Personally, I recently did a mock interview and test for HSPS, thanks to Target Oxbridge, Which was a real eye opener into the process, I would definitely recommend it. [Mod edited: please don't advertise commercial companies]

- for the test, there’s quite a bit of reading and I definitely had to read things more than a few times to answer the multiple choice questions
- the mock interview was not at all what I expected. I was given an article about fashion being a wasteful industry😢 Got very useful feedback though
- one piece of advice I got was to look into schools of thought to do with politics, sociology and social anthropology, which is especially useful as HSPS is multidisciplinary
- I was also told to get to know the first year of the course, so it’s like you already belong there. If you go on the website, you can see the papers on offer, they haven’t seemed to change from last year and look at what theorists come up eg Durkheim, Weber
- Also, one thing I want to work on is holding my argument strongly and not being too agreeable. Luckily, my parents and I tend to have discussions about political/ social issues (but I definetley need to become more confident in sharing my opinions). So, maybe in this forum one could pose political, sociological or anthropolical questions and we all approach it in different ways and share our thoughts???

Writing this I realise it may sound like I go to a private school, but honeslty I’m just a fortunate state school student who goes to a sixth form where teachers have a lot of contacts and opportunities.

Sorry for the long messageπŸ’”
(edited 5 years ago)
GCSE: A*A*AABBCC D* (English Lit + Lang, History, Media, Sciences, Maths, Spanish, Performing Arts)
AS: AABC (Politics, Film, English Lit, History)
A-Levels: A* (Politics) A* (English Literature, best result in year group) A* (Film Studies)

Relevant work experience: BBC placement, freelance politics blogger, work-in-progress political filmmaker, went to free LSE lectures p regularly when I lived in London.

Original post by MichaellaO
GCSEs: 5A*s ( including a 9 ing English Lit and 8 in Maths) 4As (including 7 in English Language) 1B
A level Predicitons: A* (Sociology) A* (Politics) A (English Literature)
Work Experience: nothing really academic tbh - worked at Pret, for a week (learning customer service, engaging with different people; it was for my own personal development), 2 summer schools, a couple of lectures, did a scheme at Cambridge and visited it a couple of times afterwards (courtesy of programmes I’m on called The Social Mobility Foundation and Target Oxbridge)

I know I’m a month late into this conversation but since it’s relevant to me I thought it would be good to share my thoughts about preparation, and engage in other people’s. Plus there’s still a bit of time before the deadline.

Personally, I recently did a mock interview and test for HSPS, thanks to Target Oxbridge, Which was a real eye opener into the process, I would definitely recommend it. [Mod edited: please don't advertise commercial companies]

- for the test, there’s quite a bit of reading and I definitely had to read things more than a few times to answer the multiple choice questions
- the mock interview was not at all what I expected. I was given an article about fashion being a wasteful industry😢 Got very useful feedback though
- one piece of advice I got was to look into schools of thought to do with politics, sociology and social anthropology, which is especially useful as HSPS is multidisciplinary
- I was also told to get to know the first year of the course, so it’s like you already belong there. If you go on the website, you can see the papers on offer, they haven’t seemed to change from last year and look at what theorists come up eg Durkheim, Weber
- Also, one thing I want to work on is holding my argument strongly and not being too agreeable. Luckily, my parents and I tend to have discussions about political/ social issues (but I definetley need to become more confident in sharing my opinions). So, maybe in this forum one could pose political, sociological or anthropolical questions and we all approach it in different ways and share our thoughts???

Writing this I realise it may sound like I go to a private school, but honeslty I’m just a fortunate state school student who goes to a sixth form where teachers have a lot of contacts and opportunities.

Sorry for the long messageπŸ’”


Interesting feedback - I've been having a look at the papers recently, so I suppose a good thing to do would be to read the works of the key thinkers?

On essays - when practising, are you guys mimicking exam conditions and going in blind + timing or planning extensively? I have been doing the former but think I'll begin making essay plans for all the available questions.
Original post by MichaellaO
GCSEs: 5A*s ( including a 9 ing English Lit and 8 in Maths) 4As (including 7 in English Language) 1B
A level Predicitons: A* (Sociology) A* (Politics) A (English Literature)
Work Experience: nothing really academic tbh - worked at Pret, for a week (learning customer service, engaging with different people; it was for my own personal development), 2 summer schools, a couple of lectures, did a scheme at Cambridge and visited it a couple of times afterwards (courtesy of programmes I’m on called The Social Mobility Foundation and Target Oxbridge)

I know I’m a month late into this conversation but since it’s relevant to me I thought it would be good to share my thoughts about preparation, and engage in other people’s. Plus there’s still a bit of time before the deadline.

Personally, I recently did a mock interview and test for HSPS, thanks to Target Oxbridge, Which was a real eye opener into the process, I would definitely recommend it. [Mod edited: please don't advertise commercial companies]

- for the test, there’s quite a bit of reading and I definitely had to read things more than a few times to answer the multiple choice questions
- the mock interview was not at all what I expected. I was given an article about fashion being a wasteful industry😢 Got very useful feedback though
- one piece of advice I got was to look into schools of thought to do with politics, sociology and social anthropology, which is especially useful as HSPS is multidisciplinary
- I was also told to get to know the first year of the course, so it’s like you already belong there. If you go on the website, you can see the papers on offer, they haven’t seemed to change from last year and look at what theorists come up eg Durkheim, Weber
- Also, one thing I want to work on is holding my argument strongly and not being too agreeable. Luckily, my parents and I tend to have discussions about political/ social issues (but I definetley need to become more confident in sharing my opinions). So, maybe in this forum one could pose political, sociological or anthropolical questions and we all approach it in different ways and share our thoughts???

Writing this I realise it may sound like I go to a private school, but honeslty I’m just a fortunate state school student who goes to a sixth form where teachers have a lot of contacts and opportunities.

Sorry for the long messageπŸ’”


Hi is this service available by payment or only at your school? Yes this sounds like a very good idea!! Omg I really can’t imagine getting an article about fashion being a wasteful industry...although I am thinking it may connect to something about sociology ? Not that I know since I am focusing on politics. Also, have you been preparing for the test? How have you been doing on the multiple choice section?
Original post by WebHitchhiker
GCSE: A*A*AABBCC D* (English Lit + Lang, History, Media, Sciences, Maths, Spanish, Performing Arts)
AS: AABC (Politics, Film, English Lit, History)
A-Levels: A* (Politics) A* (English Literature, best result in year group) A* (Film Studies)

Relevant work experience: BBC placement, freelance politics blogger, work-in-progress political filmmaker, went to free LSE lectures p regularly when I lived in London.

Interesting feedback - I've been having a look at the papers recently, so I suppose a good thing to do would be to read the works of the key thinkers?

On essays - when practising, are you guys mimicking exam conditions and going in blind + timing or planning extensively? I have been doing the former but think I'll begin making essay plans for all the available questions.



Tbh I feel clueless about the essay... how much do you think we should write? Also anything may come up and I am afraid I will be unable to anwser any question
Original post by richardsmith
Hi is this service available by payment or only at your school? Yes this sounds like a very good idea!! Omg I really can’t imagine getting an article about fashion being a wasteful industry...although I am thinking it may connect to something about sociology ? Not that I know since I am focusing on politics. Also, have you been preparing for the test? How have you been doing on the multiple choice section?

Hi, well the programme I’m on left those contacts on my feedback sheet. You can’t apply for the programme anymore if your applying this year, and I assume it’s free but I have not used it myself, so maybe email them and find out.

yeah that threw me off compeltelyπŸ˜‚I wasn’t even asked about my statement but my mock interviewer studied theology at Oxford so🀷🏾*♀️

Since last sat week I haven’t done another practice test; today is my day for interview/ uni preparation but I haven’t done one yet. Based on what I did last week I am definitely doing more reading, so I can learn to read much faster, but I also need to fully understand the texts. I’ll get my results soon so I’ll share that later.
Original post by richardsmith
Tbh I feel clueless about the essay... how much do you think we should write? Also anything may come up and I am afraid I will be unable to anwser any question

I’ve always been told never to focus on how much to write. I think what they asses is how well you hold your argument, whatever he question.
Im sure you’ll be able to answer one question. When I did my mock, I immediately eliminated the ones I knew I would not answer and chose between ones I thought were more interesting
Original post by richardsmith
Tbh I feel clueless about the essay... how much do you think we should write? Also anything may come up and I am afraid I will be unable to anwser any question


I've written 3 essays so far (of varying quality) and they all end up around 1.5 pages (note: I type). Ngl it's proving tricky for me too. You have to include relevant evidence to support your arguments, which would be fine if you some idea of what arguments you have to be researching. I do lots of wider reading and follow current affairs, but what if I can't apply any of it to the question? :|

Original post by MichaellaO
Hi, well the programme I’m on left those contacts on my feedback sheet. You can’t apply for the programme anymore if your applying this year, and I assume it’s free but I have not used it myself, so maybe email them and find out.

yeah that threw me off compeltelyπŸ˜‚I wasn’t even asked about my statement but my mock interviewer studied theology at Oxford so🀷🏾*♀️

Since last sat week I haven’t done another practice test; today is my day for interview/ uni preparation but I haven’t done one yet. Based on what I did last week I am definitely doing more reading, so I can learn to read much faster, but I also need to fully understand the texts. I’ll get my results soon so I’ll share that later.


I've done the spec paper and last year's; for Section 1 I got 23/36 and 28/36 respectively. Doing the 2016 paper today so hoping for at least 30/36.

In these mocks did you find out any info on how the essay is graded? Camb says the average applicant will get 50% on the HSPSAA, with the best getting upwards of 80%. However, there's no indication as to how many available marks there are for Section 2.

Let's assume that Section 2 is also 36 marks, making a total of 72. If I get 28/36 again in the actual exam then my essay would only need to earn a measly 8-9 marks to make me an average candidate - and vice versa (not that an 8/36 essay would be desirable). Without knowing the raw figures it makes it slightly tricky to know how well I'm doing!
Original post by WebHitchhiker
I've done the spec paper and last year's; for Section 1 I got 23/36 and 28/36 respectively. Doing the 2016 paper today so hoping for at least 30/36.

In these mocks did you find out any info on how the essay is graded? Camb says the average applicant will get 50% on the HSPSAA, with the best getting upwards of 80%. However, there's no indication as to how many available marks there are for Section 2.

Let's assume that Section 2 is also 36 marks, making a total of 72. If I get 28/36 again in the actual exam then my essay would only need to earn a measly 8-9 marks to make me an average candidate - and vice versa (not that an 8/36 essay would be desirable). Without knowing the raw figures it makes it slightly tricky to know how well I'm doing!


Tbh I’m not sure about what Cambridge said about the average applicant getting 50%. At least for section 1 I’ve seen most people here getting around 28/30. Also when they said that the first paper had not actually been tried so I think they underestimated us.
I think (not sure) that each section is 50%, so it would follow that the essay is out of 36 but idk...
But yeah I wouldn’t rely to much on their saying that 50% is what the average candidate gets
Original post by richardsmith
Tbh I’m not sure about what Cambridge said about the average applicant getting 50%. At least for section 1 I’ve seen most people here getting around 28/30. Also when they said that the first paper had not actually been tried so I think they underestimated us.
I think (not sure) that each section is 50%, so it would follow that the essay is out of 36 but idk...
But yeah I wouldn’t rely to much on their saying that 50% is what the average candidate gets


This is a good point... which makes it even more difficult to know how well I'm doing!!

I've just written the 'is meritocracy a good thing' essay under timed conditions if anyone would be interested in reading?
Original post by WebHitchhiker
This is a good point... which makes it even more difficult to know how well I'm doing!!

I've just written the 'is meritocracy a good thing' essay under timed conditions if anyone would be interested in reading?

Yes I’d be interested to read.
The comment about having to use evidence in the essays - thanks for that point because to be honest I didn’t really think about that when doing the essay, but it obviously makes sense. Keeping up with current affairs is very difficult. I have to do so for politics and sociology, but the world is always changing, and what I find is that with all the knowledge of the current world you may acquire, there’s a chance it won’t be useful in the essays, so I see where you’re coming from
Original post by MichaellaO
Yes I’d be interested to read.


PM me!
Original post by fb12345
Alevel predictions: Politics (A*) Maths (A*) Geography (A*) Economics (A) but I think I'm going to try and drop the Economics this week
GCSEs: 7A*s 3As
Relevant work experience: Work experience at the times, Campaigned with the local Labour Party in 2015 and in 2016 for the referendum, entered the RA Butler essay prize, entered the Economist open futures essay competition.

In terms of prep for the HSPSAA I've been making essay plans for the available ones online. [Mod edited : please don't advertise :smile: ]

What college is everyone applying for?


I submitted to the Open Futures competition too! What topic was yours on?

I've applied to St John's.
I’ve applied to St Catherine’s
I’m deciding between Christ, Corpus Christi and Emmanuel
I am finding the essay part really daunting tbh

Quick Reply

Latest