Ask an Admissions Tutor XV 16 July - 2 August

hello x i have another question , for the personal statement would you have to define the things you learnt e.g optimisim bias or would it be ok to assume the tutor knows what the term means?

(This could potentially apply to people applying for undergrad too)
But if I was potentially on track to get a 2:1 (60-64% average) would that put me out of the running for a Postgraduate place?
Even with some modules and assignments proving to be high 70s marks?

What else goes into the consideration of applying for a postgraduate course?

Hi,
I was looking at some stats on the cambridge website and I noticed that some of the colleges get a lot of applicants. I'm aspiring to study medicine at Cambridge university but I'm currently unsure of which college I want to go to. But I was just wondering, are my chances of getting into cambridge reduced if I apply to a more competitive college, for example King's college.

Your A levels are perfectly fine for Economics at Cambridge and for either of the two economics routes at Oxford. You'll have to ask Oxford about what they think of subject choices at GCSE, for us, they aren't terribly important.

We consider AS Levels for those who have them and they are an important piece of information as we have a lot of historic data on A level performance and its relevance for Cambridge. If you do well in them it will be a big plus, if you do poorly it will be a disadvantage. All data is treated holistically, however, and if you do well in the Assessment, then that will help to mitigate or reinforce performance in AS Levels.

Philosophy is a small subject which admits fewer than 50 students a year, thus not many Colleges are going to admit more than two philosophers a year. Your chances of getting into Cambridge are not materially affected by which College you choose thanks to the Pool system. The strength and size of the application fields at each College may well be different but thanks to moderation, each College can judge the strength of its own field against the gathered field of applicants and adjust its offer-making accordingly.

Should there be any evidence of extra curricular activity in the personal statement or should it be purely 100% academic?

please can you tell me what do you mean by your likely strengths and weaknesses?

do you think studying A level English literature, sociology, and law is a good idea if id like to apply to Cambridge to do a law degree?

Hola Presence, Hola Murray Edwards!

We concurr. Beyond the compulsory subjects, GCSE choices are best determined by dicsussions with your teachers. We recognise that the basket of GCSEs will reflect what can be timetabled at a particular school as well as reflecting the interests/skills of individual students.

Brasenose Admissions

What if you do poorly in one AS level but your teachers still predicts you A* A A.

When considering missed offers, do you also consider how difficult the subject is in which the offer was missed? E.g. in the IB there are some subjects which are irrelevant to the course of study, but have to be taken, so if it was an irrelevant course, do you consider this?

Hey there I'm studying Finance at the Coventry University London and I'm in my first year. It'd be really helpful if you could let me know the exact criteria of admissions into Cambridge for MPhil Finance or MSc Finance.

Is there any advantage to carrying on with 4 A-Levels if the fourth is completely irrelevant to the course I want to apply for (In my case taking History to apply for Computer Science) if all my other subjects are suitable, or is my time best spent elsewhere ?

@Murray Edwards Admissions I’m a year 12 student considering taking 4 A levels next year rather than dropping one at AS would my offer still be made for three A Levels or for four

Hi! Thank you for doing this

How strongly do you value an A1 over an A2 in a Scottish Higher?

Also, are N5 bands required on the SAQ?

Hi there,
I am currently in Year 12 hoping to apply for Medicine. I am currently taking 5 subjects (Triple Science, Maths, Further Maths) but and predicted A* in all. If I was to get an offer, would I be asked for A*s in all or just an offer based on 3 or 4. I honestly don't know which subject I would drop if taking 5 was to put me at a disadvantage (aside from the additional work).

Hi

My son was rejected from Cambridge after an interview and being pooled but I have been told that Cambridge may be offering places to students who exceeded their predicted grades as part of clearing. If this is the case how do people who already had the highest predicted grades fair as my son is predicted 4 A*'s so therefore cant achieve higher than predicted. Is he therefore at a disadvantage and does that mean that student with lower grades can potentially take a place on the course he applied for? many thanks