Official Cambridge 2021 Decisions [no discussion] Thread
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Decision: Rejected 🙃
Predicted Decision: I really don’t know to be honest, but probably rejected.
Course: Architecture
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Selwyn
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State
GCSE Grades: 9999999988
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it): N/A
A2 Subject & Predicted Grades: English Literature, Physics, Maths and Fine Art - A*A*AA
Other Qualifications
IB (with predicted score): N/A
Other:
Reflection
Strengths: Good gcses, I think my personal statement and at-interview assessment were decent?
Weaknesses:
I don’t think my portfolio is as strong as others’ and I don’t think my interview was particularly strong.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): Spatial awareness drawing + essay in 1 hour assessment. 6.5/10? Probably went as well as it could have.
Interview Assessment: 6/10 at most. Only had one interview. Rambled too much and didn’t really hit any of the points I was expecting to get too. Don’t think I explained myself as well as I could have. I also think that I performed poorly at a picture description task they gave me. Still, it was a great experience and the interviewers were all very supportive.
Why did you choose your college?
Has a reputation for being quite friendly and quiet - someone said it had almost ‘curl up with a book and some tea’ vibes which fit what I wanted very well. It seems sort of introverted which is also a good match. I actually like that it’s not in the city centre because I prefer the quieter atmosphere and I don’t mind walking/cycling. Also I just really like the architecture and the gardens
.
What other universities did you apply to?
Bath - waiting on decision
UCL - waiting on decision
Cardiff - offer of AAA or A*AB
Oxford Brookes - offer of 136 UCAS points
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
General Comments & Advice for others: If you’re thinking of applying/aren’t sure, just do it!! Read as many books/use as many resources as you can before going in for the interview/writing your statement - helps with pushing your thinking on the subject and allows you to give more in-depth responses to the interviewers’ questions. Architecture applicants definitely do this - it gives you more information about a subject which you (usually) haven’t yet studied. Also, practice describing a building from a plan/section view - it’s good practice anyway and they are very likely always going to ask you something about this. Make sure you know your portfolio inside out and can talk through it. Applicants in general - I would say probably practice giving impromptu answers to past questions. Don’t plan out specific answers, but have an idea of what you want to say in response to a few likely/general questions on your subject. Talk to people who have gone through the process to get a better idea of it.
Any official feedback received from your college: Received 02/03/21. Pretty brief, basically just ‘you were alright but not exceptional and worked out average relative to everyone who applied’. I didn’t expect to get much feedback at all based on what I’ve read about the feedback emails on this forum so I’m fine with that.
Good luck to everyone!!!!
Predicted Decision: I really don’t know to be honest, but probably rejected.
Course: Architecture
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Selwyn
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State
GCSE Grades: 9999999988
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it): N/A
A2 Subject & Predicted Grades: English Literature, Physics, Maths and Fine Art - A*A*AA
Other Qualifications
IB (with predicted score): N/A
Other:
Reflection
Strengths: Good gcses, I think my personal statement and at-interview assessment were decent?
Weaknesses:
I don’t think my portfolio is as strong as others’ and I don’t think my interview was particularly strong.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): Spatial awareness drawing + essay in 1 hour assessment. 6.5/10? Probably went as well as it could have.
Interview Assessment: 6/10 at most. Only had one interview. Rambled too much and didn’t really hit any of the points I was expecting to get too. Don’t think I explained myself as well as I could have. I also think that I performed poorly at a picture description task they gave me. Still, it was a great experience and the interviewers were all very supportive.
Why did you choose your college?
Has a reputation for being quite friendly and quiet - someone said it had almost ‘curl up with a book and some tea’ vibes which fit what I wanted very well. It seems sort of introverted which is also a good match. I actually like that it’s not in the city centre because I prefer the quieter atmosphere and I don’t mind walking/cycling. Also I just really like the architecture and the gardens
.What other universities did you apply to?
Bath - waiting on decision
UCL - waiting on decision
Cardiff - offer of AAA or A*AB
Oxford Brookes - offer of 136 UCAS points
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
General Comments & Advice for others: If you’re thinking of applying/aren’t sure, just do it!! Read as many books/use as many resources as you can before going in for the interview/writing your statement - helps with pushing your thinking on the subject and allows you to give more in-depth responses to the interviewers’ questions. Architecture applicants definitely do this - it gives you more information about a subject which you (usually) haven’t yet studied. Also, practice describing a building from a plan/section view - it’s good practice anyway and they are very likely always going to ask you something about this. Make sure you know your portfolio inside out and can talk through it. Applicants in general - I would say probably practice giving impromptu answers to past questions. Don’t plan out specific answers, but have an idea of what you want to say in response to a few likely/general questions on your subject. Talk to people who have gone through the process to get a better idea of it.
Any official feedback received from your college: Received 02/03/21. Pretty brief, basically just ‘you were alright but not exceptional and worked out average relative to everyone who applied’. I didn’t expect to get much feedback at all based on what I’ve read about the feedback emails on this forum so I’m fine with that.
Good luck to everyone!!!!
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision:
Predicted Decision: At least pooled (most likely to Peterhouse for my course)
Course: Mathematics (with Physics)
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Trinity
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State
GCSE Grades: A777776665555 (I think)
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : Persian, Maths, Further Maths, History (A*AAA)
Other Qualifications:
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent): N/A
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
Used the interviewer form to predict mine. Think I got grade 7 or 8 but definitely at least 7.
Why did you choose your college?
Loved the atmosphere. Visited Trinity after a physics masterclass, and it felt like home. That's the main reason - other reasons that helped me determine were its choir, backs, amount of pressure (the more the better imo), larger college.
What other universities did you apply to? Warwick, Imperial, Bath, Southampton, MIT, Harvard, Princeton
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Either Bath or Warwick. For US it's Harvard.
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? Either Bath, Warwick or Harvard.
General Comments & Advice for others:
Stay away from the 'Permanently withdraw this choice' button. You can't change the decision after.
Any official feedback received from your college:
Predicted Decision: At least pooled (most likely to Peterhouse for my course)
Course: Mathematics (with Physics)
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Trinity
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State
GCSE Grades: A777776665555 (I think)
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : Persian, Maths, Further Maths, History (A*AAA)
Other Qualifications:
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent): N/A
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
Used the interviewer form to predict mine. Think I got grade 7 or 8 but definitely at least 7.
Why did you choose your college?
Loved the atmosphere. Visited Trinity after a physics masterclass, and it felt like home. That's the main reason - other reasons that helped me determine were its choir, backs, amount of pressure (the more the better imo), larger college.
What other universities did you apply to? Warwick, Imperial, Bath, Southampton, MIT, Harvard, Princeton
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Either Bath or Warwick. For US it's Harvard.
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? Either Bath, Warwick or Harvard.
General Comments & Advice for others:
Stay away from the 'Permanently withdraw this choice' button. You can't change the decision after.
Any official feedback received from your college:
Decision: Pending
Predicted Decision: Rejected (without being pooled)
Course: Natural Sciences (Bio)
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Corpus Christi
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State
GCSE Grades: 999998766
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : A*A*A* in Bio Chem and Maths
Other Qualifications EPQ predicted A
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths: Good second interview, NSAA section 2, all A* predicteds, good personal statement
Weaknesses: Poor first interview (non recoverable poor), NSAA section 1 ran out of time, not as competitive GCSEs and only 4 A levels, personal statement didn't mention chemistry or maths
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
NSAA
Section 1 maths 6.5 maybe 7, section 1 bio 5 (ran out of time had to guess three questions), section 2 bio 8
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
The first interview went rather poorly. I answered two questions blatantly wrong (I hadn't been taught what they asked me about and I assumed that it was just expanding on further knowledge but alas, I got to the right answer immediately after. The second question I got wrong the interviewer, without giving me a second chance or further prompting, explained to me why I was wrong- I misheard the question dwelling on having to have to be asked if I knew the name of what I was describing, which I did, and rather than ask for them to repeat the question, I just improvised- bit silly really). Also it was over in 15 minutes, and I'd used 5 of those to ask my list of questions - 4
The second interview went well. Perhaps the interviewers were much more reassuring, however I didn't make any serious blunders in this one and the interviewers made some pretty positive comments. I also applied some further reading I'd done (not mentioned in PS) and seemed to impress them with the term I used. This one took 25 minutes, and I'd apparently worked very quickly through the questions. I really quite enjoyed this one - 8
Didn't get asked at all about my personal statement content or why I wanted to study my course there, purely academic with two DoS
Why did you choose your college?
It's small and the Parker Library looks gorgeous- I'm a fiend for old works too so that definitely attracted me. I like the chapel also.
What other universities did you apply to?
Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and UCL
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
Manchester
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
Manchester
General Comments & Advice for others:
Those daft interview questions you see online are a load of bologna. Everything I was asked in my interview was relatively easy stuff as long as you know your content. They just want to see the way you think and if you're teachable, so don't focus on answering the question, rather show how you approach it and how many ideas you have. Try to stay as calm as possible during the interview too- I know it's tricky- but the worst thing that can happen is you getting flustered and that being your downfall.
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Predicted Decision: Rejected (without being pooled)
Course: Natural Sciences (Bio)
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Corpus Christi
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State
GCSE Grades: 999998766
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : A*A*A* in Bio Chem and Maths
Other Qualifications EPQ predicted A
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths: Good second interview, NSAA section 2, all A* predicteds, good personal statement
Weaknesses: Poor first interview (non recoverable poor), NSAA section 1 ran out of time, not as competitive GCSEs and only 4 A levels, personal statement didn't mention chemistry or maths
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
NSAA
Section 1 maths 6.5 maybe 7, section 1 bio 5 (ran out of time had to guess three questions), section 2 bio 8
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
The first interview went rather poorly. I answered two questions blatantly wrong (I hadn't been taught what they asked me about and I assumed that it was just expanding on further knowledge but alas, I got to the right answer immediately after. The second question I got wrong the interviewer, without giving me a second chance or further prompting, explained to me why I was wrong- I misheard the question dwelling on having to have to be asked if I knew the name of what I was describing, which I did, and rather than ask for them to repeat the question, I just improvised- bit silly really). Also it was over in 15 minutes, and I'd used 5 of those to ask my list of questions - 4
The second interview went well. Perhaps the interviewers were much more reassuring, however I didn't make any serious blunders in this one and the interviewers made some pretty positive comments. I also applied some further reading I'd done (not mentioned in PS) and seemed to impress them with the term I used. This one took 25 minutes, and I'd apparently worked very quickly through the questions. I really quite enjoyed this one - 8
Didn't get asked at all about my personal statement content or why I wanted to study my course there, purely academic with two DoS
Why did you choose your college?
It's small and the Parker Library looks gorgeous- I'm a fiend for old works too so that definitely attracted me. I like the chapel also.
What other universities did you apply to?
Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and UCL
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
Manchester
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
Manchester
General Comments & Advice for others:
Those daft interview questions you see online are a load of bologna. Everything I was asked in my interview was relatively easy stuff as long as you know your content. They just want to see the way you think and if you're teachable, so don't focus on answering the question, rather show how you approach it and how many ideas you have. Try to stay as calm as possible during the interview too- I know it's tricky- but the worst thing that can happen is you getting flustered and that being your downfall.
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: Offer directly from St John's!
Predicted Decision: Accepted from pool (I have to believe in myself!)
Course: Economics
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): St John's
Offer conditions: A*A*A (A* in Maths and one of Econ/FM)
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): Email
Where were you when you heard: My room having just finished an ms teams lesson
(I filled in everything below 2 weeks before getting the decision to stop it affecting my perception of my application, but ALSO to show future applicants that you don't need to think you had the perfect interview to get in. Remember that a lot of luck is involved in the process and a rejection doesn't necessarily mean anything in regards to your ability, and neither does an acceptance to an extent. Still it is nice to get an offer :P Good luck everyone!)
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Grammar
GCSE Grades: 11 9s
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it): AAAA
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : Predicted A*A*A*A* in Maths, Econ, Physics and Further Maths
Other Qualifications : A* in EPQ subject to moderation
Reflection
Strengths: Admissions test (ECAA) went well I think. My grades are good, same as many others.
Weaknesses: Maybe interview. Maybe personal statement - I loved it when I sent it off but now I can barely read it. I think I'd prefer if Cambridge barely read it as well, particularly as my second choice puts heavy emphasis on it so I'd like to spread the risk a bit.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
8/10. First maths section 1A went almost flawlessly, for the advanced maths section 1B I had to leave out/make an educated guess on 5. Section 2 essay went fine but for some points I barely used the extract while for others I heavily relied on it so idk.
I think the general consensus this year was that the ECAA was hard. In the maths section I'm hoping I got 30+ (max 34/40).
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
7/10. I only had one interview which was a bit underwhelming. I was asked maths questions and econ questions, but there was no fusion of the two which is what I was really looking forward to. I think I answered everything ok, but nothing spectacular and the interviewers were impossible to read (plus they rarely reacted to what I said, it's like they had a generic list of questions that they were asking every candidate in that exact order no matter what). One worry is I spent far too long on an easy graph question, but I got it eventually and answered the next 2 graphs they asked fine. It was weird writing on an iPad! I also made a few silly errors when differentiating, but they pointed them out to me as soon as I made them and it didn't seem to be a big deal. It would be lovely if they put down everything that didn't go right to nerves lol.
Why did you choose your college?
I had to choose pretty early and pretty quickly. I wanted a big one because I liked the idea of having many people nearby learning the same thing, and St John's has a yearly econ cohort of 10+ people. Also has great sports facilities and is beautiful. Also didn't want to clash with anyone else in my school applying for econ (my school are fussy about that and I don't care enough about my college choice to fight for one).
Somehow I missed St John's posh reputation when looking it up, but even if the stereotypes are true, it's so big that I'm bound to find people I like being with. "We'd rather be at Oxford than St John's" is funny, but, at least in my current opinion, being comparable to Oxford is not a bad thing at all lol
What other universities did you apply to?
2. LSE
3. UCL
4. Warwick - Offer
5. Nottingham - Offer
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
General Comments & Advice for others:
Don't overthink the interview after it is done, and don't psychoanalyse yourself. I have gone on the opposite mental journey to what is typical I think, because I have gotten more optimistic about everything as time passes (even the admissions test somehow). This is probably down to me forgetting how things actually went, but I don't want to think about that.
Don't let it take over your Christmas (lockdown did that anyway!). Distract yourself with something mentally absorbing, like a book. For example I played The Last of Us 2 (what a game!) which gave me lots to think about even long after I had finished it. Like it completely took over my world for a few days. If that's not a good distraction from Cambridge idk what is.
And yes, always better to apply than to not. But be aware how early you might need to submit your personal statement.
Finally, you should prepare for the ECAA. Starting in the summer before Year 13 gives you lots of time. You can try past ECAA, NSAA and ENGAA papers (the maths questions), but be wary that Cambridge like to use the same questions in multiple admissions test each year, so you may have less practice ammunition than you think - use it wisely. TMUA and MAT questions can be used but are slightly different - harder but more time given (although imo the TMUA overall is easier than the ECAA). Remember speed is important - that is really what you should be aiming to improve. There's a website called ecaaninja with loads of questions and probably worth checking out, but it is also riddled with mistakes.
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Predicted Decision: Accepted from pool (I have to believe in myself!)
Course: Economics
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): St John's
Offer conditions: A*A*A (A* in Maths and one of Econ/FM)
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): Email
Where were you when you heard: My room having just finished an ms teams lesson
(I filled in everything below 2 weeks before getting the decision to stop it affecting my perception of my application, but ALSO to show future applicants that you don't need to think you had the perfect interview to get in. Remember that a lot of luck is involved in the process and a rejection doesn't necessarily mean anything in regards to your ability, and neither does an acceptance to an extent. Still it is nice to get an offer :P Good luck everyone!)
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Grammar
GCSE Grades: 11 9s
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it): AAAA
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : Predicted A*A*A*A* in Maths, Econ, Physics and Further Maths
Other Qualifications : A* in EPQ subject to moderation
Reflection
Strengths: Admissions test (ECAA) went well I think. My grades are good, same as many others.
Weaknesses: Maybe interview. Maybe personal statement - I loved it when I sent it off but now I can barely read it. I think I'd prefer if Cambridge barely read it as well, particularly as my second choice puts heavy emphasis on it so I'd like to spread the risk a bit.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
8/10. First maths section 1A went almost flawlessly, for the advanced maths section 1B I had to leave out/make an educated guess on 5. Section 2 essay went fine but for some points I barely used the extract while for others I heavily relied on it so idk.
I think the general consensus this year was that the ECAA was hard. In the maths section I'm hoping I got 30+ (max 34/40).
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
7/10. I only had one interview which was a bit underwhelming. I was asked maths questions and econ questions, but there was no fusion of the two which is what I was really looking forward to. I think I answered everything ok, but nothing spectacular and the interviewers were impossible to read (plus they rarely reacted to what I said, it's like they had a generic list of questions that they were asking every candidate in that exact order no matter what). One worry is I spent far too long on an easy graph question, but I got it eventually and answered the next 2 graphs they asked fine. It was weird writing on an iPad! I also made a few silly errors when differentiating, but they pointed them out to me as soon as I made them and it didn't seem to be a big deal. It would be lovely if they put down everything that didn't go right to nerves lol.
Why did you choose your college?
I had to choose pretty early and pretty quickly. I wanted a big one because I liked the idea of having many people nearby learning the same thing, and St John's has a yearly econ cohort of 10+ people. Also has great sports facilities and is beautiful. Also didn't want to clash with anyone else in my school applying for econ (my school are fussy about that and I don't care enough about my college choice to fight for one).
Somehow I missed St John's posh reputation when looking it up, but even if the stereotypes are true, it's so big that I'm bound to find people I like being with. "We'd rather be at Oxford than St John's" is funny, but, at least in my current opinion, being comparable to Oxford is not a bad thing at all lol
What other universities did you apply to?
2. LSE
3. UCL
4. Warwick - Offer
5. Nottingham - Offer
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
General Comments & Advice for others:
Don't overthink the interview after it is done, and don't psychoanalyse yourself. I have gone on the opposite mental journey to what is typical I think, because I have gotten more optimistic about everything as time passes (even the admissions test somehow). This is probably down to me forgetting how things actually went, but I don't want to think about that.
Don't let it take over your Christmas (lockdown did that anyway!). Distract yourself with something mentally absorbing, like a book. For example I played The Last of Us 2 (what a game!) which gave me lots to think about even long after I had finished it. Like it completely took over my world for a few days. If that's not a good distraction from Cambridge idk what is.
And yes, always better to apply than to not. But be aware how early you might need to submit your personal statement.
Finally, you should prepare for the ECAA. Starting in the summer before Year 13 gives you lots of time. You can try past ECAA, NSAA and ENGAA papers (the maths questions), but be wary that Cambridge like to use the same questions in multiple admissions test each year, so you may have less practice ammunition than you think - use it wisely. TMUA and MAT questions can be used but are slightly different - harder but more time given (although imo the TMUA overall is easier than the ECAA). Remember speed is important - that is really what you should be aiming to improve. There's a website called ecaaninja with loads of questions and probably worth checking out, but it is also riddled with mistakes.
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: ACCEPTED
Predicted Decision: Rejected from pool
Course: Law
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Clare
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Grammar
GCSE Grades: 999999999A*8888
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : Predicted A*A*A*A* in English, Philosophy, Geography, Philosophy
Other Qualifications :
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths: Grades and second interview especially, I was happy talking through problems and was able to justify and answer most things that they asked me.
Weaknesses: Potentially first interview and personal statement.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
7/10. My law essay was fairly well rounded and justified - I thought I used good course knowledge.
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
First: 6/10. I think that the scenario part was the biggest strength of this, but I felt like I was saying stuff which was quite basic, and afterwards I wish I had expanded on my knowledge more. I was challenged on my opinions and asked to give examples, which I thought I did okay, but compared to my first interview it probably was worse.
Second: 8/10. I really liked this style of interview and thought the scenarios they gave were great. A really cool academic experience, and something I'd love to do again.
Why did you choose your college?
Clare is really pretty, and has an exceptional reputation (as all colleges do).
What other universities did you apply to?
2. Manchester - Offer
3. Leeds - Offer
4. UCL - Offer
5. Kings - Pending
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
Leeds
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
UCL
General Comments & Advice for others:
Think of the interview as a challenge or a puzzle, and just try to enjoy it. They're looking for people they want to teach, so be prepared to change your LOA based on feedback.
Back yourself, and be prepared for submitting PS Drafts as early as August.
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Predicted Decision: Rejected from pool
Course: Law
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Clare
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Grammar
GCSE Grades: 999999999A*8888
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : Predicted A*A*A*A* in English, Philosophy, Geography, Philosophy
Other Qualifications :
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths: Grades and second interview especially, I was happy talking through problems and was able to justify and answer most things that they asked me.
Weaknesses: Potentially first interview and personal statement.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
7/10. My law essay was fairly well rounded and justified - I thought I used good course knowledge.
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
First: 6/10. I think that the scenario part was the biggest strength of this, but I felt like I was saying stuff which was quite basic, and afterwards I wish I had expanded on my knowledge more. I was challenged on my opinions and asked to give examples, which I thought I did okay, but compared to my first interview it probably was worse.
Second: 8/10. I really liked this style of interview and thought the scenarios they gave were great. A really cool academic experience, and something I'd love to do again.
Why did you choose your college?
Clare is really pretty, and has an exceptional reputation (as all colleges do).
What other universities did you apply to?
2. Manchester - Offer
3. Leeds - Offer
4. UCL - Offer
5. Kings - Pending
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
Leeds
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
UCL
General Comments & Advice for others:
Think of the interview as a challenge or a puzzle, and just try to enjoy it. They're looking for people they want to teach, so be prepared to change your LOA based on feedback.
Back yourself, and be prepared for submitting PS Drafts as early as August.
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: Accepted!!!
Predicted Decision: Rejected from pool
Course: Linguistics
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Gonville and Caius
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard: in an online lesson lol
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State
GCSE Grades: 999888887
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : English Lit (A*), RS (A*), Spanish (A*)
Other Qualifications EPQ predicted A*
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
I've done supercurriculars which I was able to put into my personal statement and I think my interviews went okay
Weaknesses:
Not sure how well the at-interview assessment went or whether my interviews were good enough
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
5 - can't really remember how it went, some of the questions were alright but I didn't finish it and I know some of my answers weren't as good as they could have been
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
Both around 6/7 - I was able to talk about things I was really interested in from my personal statement which I enjoyed, though it's possible I was just rambling about nonsense lol, and most of the academic questions were okay
Why did you choose your college?
It's really pretty, central, and the first year accommodation looks really nice. I also like the community feel of the dining requirements thing
What other universities did you apply to? UCL, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Manchester
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Edinburgh!
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
General Comments & Advice for others:
If you're passionate about your subject and believe you can get the grades, you should definitely apply! It is a very stressful experience but I've learnt so much from it and will never regret applying.
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Predicted Decision: Rejected from pool
Course: Linguistics
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Gonville and Caius
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard: in an online lesson lol
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State
GCSE Grades: 999888887
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : English Lit (A*), RS (A*), Spanish (A*)
Other Qualifications EPQ predicted A*
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
I've done supercurriculars which I was able to put into my personal statement and I think my interviews went okay
Weaknesses:
Not sure how well the at-interview assessment went or whether my interviews were good enough
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
5 - can't really remember how it went, some of the questions were alright but I didn't finish it and I know some of my answers weren't as good as they could have been
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
Both around 6/7 - I was able to talk about things I was really interested in from my personal statement which I enjoyed, though it's possible I was just rambling about nonsense lol, and most of the academic questions were okay
Why did you choose your college?
It's really pretty, central, and the first year accommodation looks really nice. I also like the community feel of the dining requirements thing
What other universities did you apply to? UCL, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Manchester
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Edinburgh!
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
General Comments & Advice for others:
If you're passionate about your subject and believe you can get the grades, you should definitely apply! It is a very stressful experience but I've learnt so much from it and will never regret applying.
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: OFFER!!!!!!
Predicted Decision: Rejection/rejection from pool
Course: Law LLB
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Queens'
Offer conditions: Haven't heard yet
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): Email
Where were you when you heard: In my room
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Private
GCSE Grades: 9998888884
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : A*AA
Reflection
Strengths: Very strong personal statement, lots of law related supercurriculars and work experience
Weaknesses: Predicted grades and GCSEs are not amazing.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment: CLT, probably somewhere around 6
Interview Assessment: 4-7
Why did you choose your college? It fits the Cambridge experience I want - it is large, but in a great place and the buildings are nice.
What other universities did you apply to? LSE, UCL, Nottingham, York
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Nottingham
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? Hopefully LSE or UCL.
General Comments & Advice for others: Honestly, in spite of what people have said in this thread, if you think that going to Cambridge would be something you enjoy then just go ahead and apply. You have absolutely nothing to lose, especially if you don't expect to get in. That said, I attend a school that is very good at preparing people for the applications process, and can't comment on how stressful etc the process can be.
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Predicted Decision: Rejection/rejection from pool
Course: Law LLB
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Queens'
Offer conditions: Haven't heard yet
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): Email
Where were you when you heard: In my room
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Private
GCSE Grades: 9998888884
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : A*AA
Reflection
Strengths: Very strong personal statement, lots of law related supercurriculars and work experience
Weaknesses: Predicted grades and GCSEs are not amazing.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment: CLT, probably somewhere around 6
Interview Assessment: 4-7
Why did you choose your college? It fits the Cambridge experience I want - it is large, but in a great place and the buildings are nice.
What other universities did you apply to? LSE, UCL, Nottingham, York
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Nottingham
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? Hopefully LSE or UCL.
General Comments & Advice for others: Honestly, in spite of what people have said in this thread, if you think that going to Cambridge would be something you enjoy then just go ahead and apply
. You have absolutely nothing to lose, especially if you don't expect to get in. That said, I attend a school that is very good at preparing people for the applications process, and can't comment on how stressful etc the process can be. Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: pending
Predicted Decision: rejected
Course: biological natural sciences
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Newnham
Offer conditions: A*A*A
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Grammar
GCSE Grades: 99999999887
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : predicted = A*A*A*
Other Qualifications
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
good past academic success, think NSAA went relatively well
Weaknesses:
average PS and gave some poor answers in the interview
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent) 6 - ran out of time which I expected and had to educatedly guess a few answers but not too bad all round
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
6 - think I showed enthusiasm and some extra knowledge but was pretty bad at thinking on my feet
Why did you choose your college?
only college I had visited, pretty with good accommodation
What other universities did you apply to? UCL, KCL, Warwick and Bath
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? UCL
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? UCL
General Comments & Advice for others: honestly once you reach this point you don't care if you've got in or not you just want to know lol
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Predicted Decision: rejected
Course: biological natural sciences
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Newnham
Offer conditions: A*A*A
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Grammar
GCSE Grades: 99999999887
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : predicted = A*A*A*
Other Qualifications
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
good past academic success, think NSAA went relatively well
Weaknesses:
average PS and gave some poor answers in the interview
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent) 6 - ran out of time which I expected and had to educatedly guess a few answers but not too bad all round
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
6 - think I showed enthusiasm and some extra knowledge but was pretty bad at thinking on my feet
Why did you choose your college?
only college I had visited, pretty with good accommodation
What other universities did you apply to? UCL, KCL, Warwick and Bath
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? UCL
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? UCL
General Comments & Advice for others: honestly once you reach this point you don't care if you've got in or not you just want to know lol
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Decision: OFFER!!
Predicted Decision: rejected from pool (i'm very pessimistic though so let's hope not)
Course: MML (French and ab initio Russian)
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): King's
Home, EU or International (Country): home (N. Ireland)
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): state grammar (we have academic selection as standard here)
GCSE Grades: equivalent to 99998888775
[b]AS Subjects
accidentally deleted half of this lmao I’ll fix it later
Predicted Decision: rejected from pool (i'm very pessimistic though so let's hope not)
Course: MML (French and ab initio Russian)
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): King's
Home, EU or International (Country): home (N. Ireland)
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): state grammar (we have academic selection as standard here)
GCSE Grades: equivalent to 99998888775
[b]AS Subjects
accidentally deleted half of this lmao I’ll fix it later
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by Zacken
Pretty sure I stole this thread format from someone too 😂
Your thread was the first to add the "optional" section, the idea appears to be from @joyie for 2013 entry (but I had to stop somewhere
)
I'm having a big problem with quoting currently and just had to rewrite and reformat this, so apologies.
Decision: pending (update: rejection)
Predicted Decision: Accepted from Pool (my recent ELAT result has made me much more confident, but the interview takes quite a lot away from this and Queens' is obviously a very popular choice)
Course: English (Q300)
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Queens' College
Offer conditions: Likely A*AA
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): N/A
Where were you when you heard: N/A
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Independent
GCSE Grades: 9999998888 (six 9s in English lit, English lang, biology, Latin, RS, and history - four 8s in maths, chemistry, physics, and business)
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades: English literature (A*), psychology (A*), and RS (A*)
Other: Predicted an A/A* in EPQ but I'm really struggling to complete this.
Reflection
Strengths:
My ELAT score was surprisingly good, and my GCSEs are probably what you'd expect. One of the interviewers complimented my interpretation of the poem I was given which was nice.
Weaknesses:
I think the interview could've been far better as I hesitated a lot and misunderstood multiple questions, as well as getting stuck on one part of the poem. Upon reflection I also think the written work I sent in could've been far better; the essay I sent was decent but I also sent in my practice ELAT as they wanted something recent, timed, and handwritten, but this turned out to be marked much lower than my actual paper. I'm hoping they see this as an improvement rather than just assuming I fluked the official one.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc):
I got 58/60 in the ELAT.
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
I'll go with an optimistic 5.
Why did you choose your college?
It's beautiful, central, and stood out when I visited in summer. It also seemed very fun and welcoming in the online open day I attended, with an eye-catching description.
What other universities did you apply to?
Durham, Lancaster, Manchester, and Nottingham. The latter 3 have all given me a conditional offer.
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
Difficult choice. I wouldn't want to cut off Durham for reasons I'll outline in the next question, but it would seem silly to choose them as the entry requirements will likely be the exact same. I would only choose them if I were very confident I'll attain the necessary grades, just so I'm not closing that door completely. If not though then I loved Lancaster when I got to visit back in 2019, and the course I applied for contains some English Language which sounds really fun, so probably there.
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
Most certainly Durham, assuming I get an offer. My nan and grandad started their married life in Durham so it's got sentimental value, and it's closer to home with it being situated in the north. Durham's course is arguably better than Cambridge's for me, and to top it all off my boyfriend would be starting the same course at the same time, due to his deferred entry. I'm actually going to be torn between the two even if Cambridge want me for these reasons, however I can't deny the fantastic opportunity presented by Cambridge, and I think the teaching methods are incredibly appealing.
General Comments & Advice for others:
I'll feel more comfortable giving this when I know more myself!
Any official feedback received from your college:
N/A
Decision: pending (update: rejection)
Predicted Decision: Accepted from Pool (my recent ELAT result has made me much more confident, but the interview takes quite a lot away from this and Queens' is obviously a very popular choice)
Course: English (Q300)
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Queens' College
Offer conditions: Likely A*AA
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): N/A
Where were you when you heard: N/A
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Independent
GCSE Grades: 9999998888 (six 9s in English lit, English lang, biology, Latin, RS, and history - four 8s in maths, chemistry, physics, and business)
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades: English literature (A*), psychology (A*), and RS (A*)
Other: Predicted an A/A* in EPQ but I'm really struggling to complete this.
Reflection
Strengths:
My ELAT score was surprisingly good, and my GCSEs are probably what you'd expect. One of the interviewers complimented my interpretation of the poem I was given which was nice.
Weaknesses:
I think the interview could've been far better as I hesitated a lot and misunderstood multiple questions, as well as getting stuck on one part of the poem. Upon reflection I also think the written work I sent in could've been far better; the essay I sent was decent but I also sent in my practice ELAT as they wanted something recent, timed, and handwritten, but this turned out to be marked much lower than my actual paper. I'm hoping they see this as an improvement rather than just assuming I fluked the official one.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc):
I got 58/60 in the ELAT.
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
I'll go with an optimistic 5.
Why did you choose your college?
It's beautiful, central, and stood out when I visited in summer. It also seemed very fun and welcoming in the online open day I attended, with an eye-catching description.
What other universities did you apply to?
Durham, Lancaster, Manchester, and Nottingham. The latter 3 have all given me a conditional offer.
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
Difficult choice. I wouldn't want to cut off Durham for reasons I'll outline in the next question, but it would seem silly to choose them as the entry requirements will likely be the exact same. I would only choose them if I were very confident I'll attain the necessary grades, just so I'm not closing that door completely. If not though then I loved Lancaster when I got to visit back in 2019, and the course I applied for contains some English Language which sounds really fun, so probably there.
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
Most certainly Durham, assuming I get an offer. My nan and grandad started their married life in Durham so it's got sentimental value, and it's closer to home with it being situated in the north. Durham's course is arguably better than Cambridge's for me, and to top it all off my boyfriend would be starting the same course at the same time, due to his deferred entry. I'm actually going to be torn between the two even if Cambridge want me for these reasons, however I can't deny the fantastic opportunity presented by Cambridge, and I think the teaching methods are incredibly appealing.
General Comments & Advice for others:
I'll feel more comfortable giving this when I know more myself!
Any official feedback received from your college:
N/A
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: UPDATED: ACCEPTED!
Predicted Decision: Rejected
Course: Bio natural sciences
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): prefer not to say (dm me if ur interested)
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State grammar
GCSE Grades: 9999998887AA
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : 4A*s in maths, biology, chemistry and physics
Other Qualifications
Other: music grades??
Reflection
Strengths: strong on paper with good GCSEs, A Level predicted grades and references. feel like second interview and 2nd section of NSAA went kind of ok?
Weaknesses: definitely the first interview, I think i knew then I probably wasn't getting an offer lol. Just super weird questions and didn't particularly vibe with the interviewers. NSAA section 1 was awful AND had a mediocre personal statement
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent) 4
Interview: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent) 6
Why did you choose your college? central and had good architecture
What other universities did you apply to? Durham, Nottingham, Bristol and UCL
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Bristol
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? UCL🙏🙏
General Comments & Advice for others: specifically for bio natural sciences: revise your chemistry as well as biology, one of my interviews had almost nothing to do with biology and I struggled badly with the chemistry related questions because it wasn't at the front of my mind !!
Any official feedback received from your college:
Predicted Decision: Rejected
Course: Bio natural sciences
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): prefer not to say (dm me if ur interested)
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State grammar
GCSE Grades: 9999998887AA
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : 4A*s in maths, biology, chemistry and physics
Other Qualifications
Other: music grades??
Reflection
Strengths: strong on paper with good GCSEs, A Level predicted grades and references. feel like second interview and 2nd section of NSAA went kind of ok?
Weaknesses: definitely the first interview, I think i knew then I probably wasn't getting an offer lol. Just super weird questions and didn't particularly vibe with the interviewers. NSAA section 1 was awful AND had a mediocre personal statement
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent) 4
Interview: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent) 6
Why did you choose your college? central and had good architecture
What other universities did you apply to? Durham, Nottingham, Bristol and UCL
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Bristol
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? UCL🙏🙏
General Comments & Advice for others: specifically for bio natural sciences: revise your chemistry as well as biology, one of my interviews had almost nothing to do with biology and I struggled badly with the chemistry related questions because it wasn't at the front of my mind !!
Any official feedback received from your college:
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: rejected without pool
Predicted Decision: Rejected without pool
Course: HSPS
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): St John's
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): email
Where were you when you heard: at home thankfully
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): International
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Private
GCSE Grades: N/A
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it): N/A
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : N/A
Other Qualifications:
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
My personal statement? I have like at least 10 drafts of it so... I liked the essays that I sent in, but they're not amazing per say just good examples of my work. My grades were also pretty decent, got top in the cohort for a relevant subject for two years. And I talked to my teacher about why I wanted to go and how I pursued my interests outside of class so I'm guessing the teacher's reference was also alright!
Weaknesses:
Definitely the interview. I personally feel like I didn't really answer the questions, and when I did I felt like it wasn't really value-adding much? My interviewer was super nice but I know at the beginning she had to kind of rephrase certain questions for me to actually get to the point
Really wish they'd kept the admissions assessment because I do better for written tests than interviews but oh wells!
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent) N/A
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent) Optimistically, maybe a 4.
Why did you choose your college?
Really liked the architecture (St John's is super pretty!! would recommend just googling images) + the college is pretty well-off so they give a lot of grants for overseas study trips and stuff (not really a thing now with COVID though). Also central (a priority as someone that can't cycle). Honestly after applying I felt like I liked Christ's more oops but I still really like St John's!! But also wouldn't mind getting pooled
What other universities did you apply to? UCL, LSE, St Andrew's, King's
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? UCL!! got an offer for a course that I find really interesting
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? UCL
General Comments & Advice for others:
Personally, I really enjoyed the application process (I like writing, so writing my personal statement was pretty fun and definitely very exciting). It's also super fun to choose a college because you can go onto all these different sites to find out more!! (and lowkey dream about & envision your future life in these colleges ngl) If your predicted grades will likely be able to get you to the interview stage at least (A*AA for arts, A*A*A for science), I'd say just apply and don't be too intimidated. Even if the end result isn't your desired one, at least you know that you tried instead of completely giving up on Cambridge as an option in the very beginning. + I personally found the interview really enjoyable and definitely very comfortable; the interviewer really tries to make it seem more like a supervision than a strict interview.
Update: got rejected without pool as expected Was expecting it but still slightly upset I suppose. Absolutely dread having to tell my family about it but life goes on
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Predicted Decision: Rejected without pool
Course: HSPS
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): St John's
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): email
Where were you when you heard: at home thankfully
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): International
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Private
GCSE Grades: N/A
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it): N/A
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : N/A
Other Qualifications:
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
My personal statement? I have like at least 10 drafts of it so... I liked the essays that I sent in, but they're not amazing per say just good examples of my work. My grades were also pretty decent, got top in the cohort for a relevant subject for two years. And I talked to my teacher about why I wanted to go and how I pursued my interests outside of class so I'm guessing the teacher's reference was also alright!
Weaknesses:
Definitely the interview. I personally feel like I didn't really answer the questions, and when I did I felt like it wasn't really value-adding much? My interviewer was super nice but I know at the beginning she had to kind of rephrase certain questions for me to actually get to the point
Really wish they'd kept the admissions assessment because I do better for written tests than interviews but oh wells! Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent) N/A
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent) Optimistically, maybe a 4.
Why did you choose your college?
Really liked the architecture (St John's is super pretty!! would recommend just googling images) + the college is pretty well-off so they give a lot of grants for overseas study trips and stuff (not really a thing now with COVID though). Also central (a priority as someone that can't cycle). Honestly after applying I felt like I liked Christ's more oops but I still really like St John's!! But also wouldn't mind getting pooled
What other universities did you apply to? UCL, LSE, St Andrew's, King's
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? UCL!! got an offer for a course that I find really interesting
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? UCL
General Comments & Advice for others:
Personally, I really enjoyed the application process (I like writing, so writing my personal statement was pretty fun and definitely very exciting). It's also super fun to choose a college because you can go onto all these different sites to find out more!! (and lowkey dream about & envision your future life in these colleges ngl) If your predicted grades will likely be able to get you to the interview stage at least (A*AA for arts, A*A*A for science), I'd say just apply and don't be too intimidated. Even if the end result isn't your desired one, at least you know that you tried instead of completely giving up on Cambridge as an option in the very beginning. + I personally found the interview really enjoyable and definitely very comfortable; the interviewer really tries to make it seem more like a supervision than a strict interview.
Update: got rejected without pool as expected
Was expecting it but still slightly upset I suppose. Absolutely dread having to tell my family about it but life goes on Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
(edited 3 years ago)
(italics written after rejection)
Decision: rejected
Predicted Decision: good chance of offer (prediction based off bmat scores from previous years but trying not to jinx it)
well i really did jinx it huh
Course: medicine
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): st catharine's
+ By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): email
Where were you when you heard: at my desk at home
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Grammar
GCSE Grades: 9998888876A*A
- AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it): A in economics
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : achieved A*A*A in chemistry, maths, and biology
Other Qualifications A in EPQ
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
achieved a solid bmat, had a lot of general knowledge which happened to come up in the interview through engaging in research homework at school, reading books etc. medicine-based interview went smoothly. also had spent a lot of time cumulatively working on my personal statement between this year and last year + doing work experience but i don't think they'll look at that much
Weaknesses:
messed up one or two questions in the science interview and section 1 bmat probably could have gone better if i revised using tsa papers instead of old bmat ones
having 2a*s and not 3 or 4; my gcse's are good but not oxford standard so maybe they played a part in cambridge's decision
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
6.2 6.9 3.5A
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
8
Why did you choose your college?
went on www.whichcambridgecollege.com , ticked hockey, gym and a couple other factors and eventually narrowed it down to catz! also went to an admissions webinar afterwards and felt i fitted with the vibe there.
What other universities did you apply to?
brighton and sussex - medicine (invited to interview)
imperial - medicine (invited to interview)
leeds - medicine (invited to interview)
king's college - neuroscience and psychology with placement year (pending)
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
as i have achieved results i'll get an unconditional offer
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
brighton or imperial unless they have a huge oversight too😭
General Comments & Advice for others:
do your best in bmat as the better your score is, the less you need to prove in interview. review your mistakes whenever doing bmat past papers and do a load of tsa papers.
don't really know what went wrong with my application i'm ngl; my stats were where they needed to be and interviews went relatively calm (2nd one felt like it went notably well actually). i guess with 25% more applicants this year (and 33% more gap year applicants like myself) to medicine, you just had to be exceptional this year to even get pooled and 6.2 6.9 3.5A isn't exceptional in these f*cked up times. so my parting words until i receive official feedback to let yall know; get an exceptional bmat score to have a competitive application, brush up on basic physical chemistry and AS maths before your interview and if you're applying with achieved grades then aim for 3 a*s not 2, although don't be discouraged as you can probably make up for it with your interview and bmat. hopefully admissions finna be less messed up next year but who knows. god bless and best of luck to whoever reads this
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Decision: rejected
Predicted Decision: good chance of offer (prediction based off bmat scores from previous years but trying not to jinx it)
well i really did jinx it huh
Course: medicine
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): st catharine's
+ By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): email
Where were you when you heard: at my desk at home
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Grammar
GCSE Grades: 9998888876A*A
- AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it): A in economics
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : achieved A*A*A in chemistry, maths, and biology
Other Qualifications A in EPQ
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
achieved a solid bmat, had a lot of general knowledge which happened to come up in the interview through engaging in research homework at school, reading books etc. medicine-based interview went smoothly. also had spent a lot of time cumulatively working on my personal statement between this year and last year + doing work experience but i don't think they'll look at that much
Weaknesses:
messed up one or two questions in the science interview and section 1 bmat probably could have gone better if i revised using tsa papers instead of old bmat ones
having 2a*s and not 3 or 4; my gcse's are good but not oxford standard so maybe they played a part in cambridge's decision
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
6.2 6.9 3.5A
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
8
Why did you choose your college?
went on www.whichcambridgecollege.com , ticked hockey, gym and a couple other factors and eventually narrowed it down to catz! also went to an admissions webinar afterwards and felt i fitted with the vibe there.
What other universities did you apply to?
brighton and sussex - medicine (invited to interview)
imperial - medicine (invited to interview)
leeds - medicine (invited to interview)
king's college - neuroscience and psychology with placement year (pending)
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice?
as i have achieved results i'll get an unconditional offer
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight?
brighton or imperial unless they have a huge oversight too😭
General Comments & Advice for others:
do your best in bmat as the better your score is, the less you need to prove in interview. review your mistakes whenever doing bmat past papers and do a load of tsa papers.
don't really know what went wrong with my application i'm ngl; my stats were where they needed to be and interviews went relatively calm (2nd one felt like it went notably well actually). i guess with 25% more applicants this year (and 33% more gap year applicants like myself) to medicine, you just had to be exceptional this year to even get pooled and 6.2 6.9 3.5A isn't exceptional in these f*cked up times. so my parting words until i receive official feedback to let yall know; get an exceptional bmat score to have a competitive application, brush up on basic physical chemistry and AS maths before your interview and if you're applying with achieved grades then aim for 3 a*s not 2, although don't be discouraged as you can probably make up for it with your interview and bmat. hopefully admissions finna be less messed up next year but who knows. god bless and best of luck to whoever reads this
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: Accepted by original college
Predicted Decision: I'm honestly neutral
Course: Mathematics
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Trinity
Offer conditions: 1S STEP II and III in any order
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): Email
Where were you when you heard: Outside
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): International
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Private
GCSE Grades: none
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it): none
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : A*A*A*
Other: Some language tests
Reflection
Strengths: My interview went very well, answering every single question that interviewers gave me. I was able to guide them through my steps and apart from some asinine mistakes (such as saying that discriminant should be less than 0 for roots to exist) nothing was wrong. I was confident in my Maths abilities before starting the interview, but did not expect to perform that well.
Weaknesses: Perhaps I was talking too much, sometimes interrupting interviewers halfway through what they had to say (I didn't do it on purpose, I was genuinely a bit stressed so sometimes my brain just got over focused on the question, so I was ignoring the surrounding, imagining how to solve the problem, and once I got the idea I simply stated proposing it without understanding that they were talking to me)
Interview Assessment: 7-8
Why did you choose your college? I just went for the best Maths college tbh.
What other universities did you apply to? Imperial, LSE, UCL, KCL
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Depends
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? Imperial/LSE
General Comments & Advice for others: There is so much I'd like to say about the application to Cambridge (or Oxbridge in general) but I won't be writing very long paragraphs in here. I will outline my experience with application, adding comment at the end.
My interview was genuinely amazing. Not because of my performance, but because of the experience itself. Interviewers were amazing men and I adored it so much when after joining the interview they were discussing some infinite series question (presumably from the previous interviewee). It was obvious they love the subject, and I could relate. What possibly made me stand out amongst other applicants is that I genuinely love maths. Funny thing is I have been working on it for the past 2 years only. Before it, I had never ever opened a Maths textbook, ever in my life. Don't advice doing it though, as I can't really count number of all-nighters I have pulled during my AS just to understand what in the **** is that straight line equation. I am very proud with what I achieved so far, and am gladly exploring Abstract Algebra and Spivak's Calculus proofs in my free time now. The trick is to be genuinely interested in the subject. Apply for it out of sheer will, and the feeling of excitement with that subject's exploration for the rest of your life. You gotta be truly ebullient. Don't pretend to feel all of it tho! (which is the reason I'm on a gap year, since that's what I did last year).
Honestly, I couldn't give less of a sh!t whether I'm accepted or not. I am also confident that Oxbridge is way overhyped and doesn't worth the hustle that is going around you. If you want to stay in academia/science world - year, Oxbridge is the best thing for you. Politics ? It's well too, but not as much. Other things - literally, almost worthless. Don't focus on going to Oxbridge since, most likely, you are overwhelmed by its status and not considering its potential usefulness to you. It's especially true in such countries as mine, where there is a cult around Oxbridge, which place those institutions up on mt. Olympus, somewhere in sight of Zeus' throne. Don't be swept by it, and trust me that in most cases, Oxbridge doesn't worth it and you will get much better education (yes, education, that's right, academically) and personal experience in literally any other uni. I know people who graduated with 1st honours from Natsci, Economics, and some other departments of Oxbridge and after leaving uni they had no idea what to do. Oxbridge provided them with a **** tone of inutile information, enhanced with tight deadlines and very advanced stuff, but they lacked what is the most important thing in the job world - ability to adapt and exist in society. At the same time, one of the guys (call him G) I know through out common friend graduated from local uni in my country, it's not even listed in QS world ranking and is sitting somewhere after 10000th place in the world. He owns a huge data centre in Switzerland, making millions in a week. Of course, this guy is a huge outlier from statistics and, on average, Oxbridge graduate would make 20x more than average graduate of that uni. Point is, to each its own. Don't go after Oxbridge just because its Oxbridge. Turn your own brain sometimes and think: "Do I need this bullsh!t for the next 4 years?". I can tell you for the fact, if G went to Oxbridge, he would never become that successful.
Think wisely, guys and gals. Whatever your ultimate goal is, I genuinely wish you all the best achieving it. I hope the university journey will help you understand what do you want and how do you get it.
Predicted Decision: I'm honestly neutral
Course: Mathematics
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Trinity
Offer conditions: 1S STEP II and III in any order
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): Email
Where were you when you heard: Outside
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): International
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Private
GCSE Grades: none
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it): none
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : A*A*A*
Other: Some language tests
Reflection
Strengths: My interview went very well, answering every single question that interviewers gave me. I was able to guide them through my steps and apart from some asinine mistakes (such as saying that discriminant should be less than 0 for roots to exist) nothing was wrong. I was confident in my Maths abilities before starting the interview, but did not expect to perform that well.
Weaknesses: Perhaps I was talking too much, sometimes interrupting interviewers halfway through what they had to say (I didn't do it on purpose, I was genuinely a bit stressed so sometimes my brain just got over focused on the question, so I was ignoring the surrounding, imagining how to solve the problem, and once I got the idea I simply stated proposing it without understanding that they were talking to me)
Interview Assessment: 7-8
Why did you choose your college? I just went for the best Maths college tbh.
What other universities did you apply to? Imperial, LSE, UCL, KCL
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Depends
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? Imperial/LSE
General Comments & Advice for others: There is so much I'd like to say about the application to Cambridge (or Oxbridge in general) but I won't be writing very long paragraphs in here. I will outline my experience with application, adding comment at the end.
My interview was genuinely amazing. Not because of my performance, but because of the experience itself. Interviewers were amazing men and I adored it so much when after joining the interview they were discussing some infinite series question (presumably from the previous interviewee). It was obvious they love the subject, and I could relate. What possibly made me stand out amongst other applicants is that I genuinely love maths. Funny thing is I have been working on it for the past 2 years only. Before it, I had never ever opened a Maths textbook, ever in my life. Don't advice doing it though, as I can't really count number of all-nighters I have pulled during my AS just to understand what in the **** is that straight line equation. I am very proud with what I achieved so far, and am gladly exploring Abstract Algebra and Spivak's Calculus proofs in my free time now. The trick is to be genuinely interested in the subject. Apply for it out of sheer will, and the feeling of excitement with that subject's exploration for the rest of your life. You gotta be truly ebullient. Don't pretend to feel all of it tho! (which is the reason I'm on a gap year, since that's what I did last year).
Honestly, I couldn't give less of a sh!t whether I'm accepted or not. I am also confident that Oxbridge is way overhyped and doesn't worth the hustle that is going around you. If you want to stay in academia/science world - year, Oxbridge is the best thing for you. Politics ? It's well too, but not as much. Other things - literally, almost worthless. Don't focus on going to Oxbridge since, most likely, you are overwhelmed by its status and not considering its potential usefulness to you. It's especially true in such countries as mine, where there is a cult around Oxbridge, which place those institutions up on mt. Olympus, somewhere in sight of Zeus' throne. Don't be swept by it, and trust me that in most cases, Oxbridge doesn't worth it and you will get much better education (yes, education, that's right, academically) and personal experience in literally any other uni. I know people who graduated with 1st honours from Natsci, Economics, and some other departments of Oxbridge and after leaving uni they had no idea what to do. Oxbridge provided them with a **** tone of inutile information, enhanced with tight deadlines and very advanced stuff, but they lacked what is the most important thing in the job world - ability to adapt and exist in society. At the same time, one of the guys (call him G) I know through out common friend graduated from local uni in my country, it's not even listed in QS world ranking and is sitting somewhere after 10000th place in the world. He owns a huge data centre in Switzerland, making millions in a week. Of course, this guy is a huge outlier from statistics and, on average, Oxbridge graduate would make 20x more than average graduate of that uni. Point is, to each its own. Don't go after Oxbridge just because its Oxbridge. Turn your own brain sometimes and think: "Do I need this bullsh!t for the next 4 years?". I can tell you for the fact, if G went to Oxbridge, he would never become that successful.
Think wisely, guys and gals. Whatever your ultimate goal is, I genuinely wish you all the best achieving it. I hope the university journey will help you understand what do you want and how do you get it.
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: accepted!!!!
Predicted Decision: rejected/rejected from pool
Course: Geography
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): St. Catharine's
Offer conditions: A*AA
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): Email
Where were you when you heard: At home, in a Geography lesson
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Grammar and then private for sixth form
GCSE Grades: A*99999999888
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : A*A*A*A* (French, Spanish, History, Geography)
Other Qualifications
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
Academic profile and personal statement, although I don't think they count for much as I go to a high performing private school and (understandably) wouldn't be given as much credit as somebody with similar grades who hasn't been as privileged.
Weaknesses:
My interview - as the GAA was cancelled and my college didn't ask for submitted work, it was the only chance I had to prove myself and I don't think I did that at all!
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
N/A
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
Hard to tell - probably 4/5 for both of them? I came out feeling pretty underwhelmed and feel like that's probably a bad sign. In the first interview I was asked about the prereading but we didn't really get into any difficult analysis; the second interview was basically all data analysis/interpretation and again I don't think I was pushed particularly hard. I can't imagine that they didn't push me because I'd already done enough to prove myself as the questions were all pretty basic so the more I think about it the more I'm convinced I messed it all up, especially as I also said a few stupid things/missed out some (in retrospect!) obvious points and phrased some of my answers badly.
Why did you choose your college?
In the city centre, not an overly large/small community, friendly reputation, fairly high intake for Geography undergraduates
What other universities did you apply to? Durham, UCL, Bristol, York
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? UCL or Bristol
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? Durham, if they give me an offer - they haven't responded yet! If not, then UCL or Bristol.
General Comments & Advice for others:
Know what you're getting into - applying to Cambridge is stressful. I was fortunate to have lots of support from my school and teachers with plenty of experience putting students through the process; I still found the entire thing incredibly taxing, so I can't imagine what it's like for people who don't have that help or had to prepare for pre/at interview assessment on top of everything else! But if you think it might be for you, don't let the fear of failure stop you because they can only give you an offer if you apply - you have 5 choices so there's not much to lose!
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Predicted Decision: rejected/rejected from pool
Course: Geography
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): St. Catharine's
Offer conditions: A*AA
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): Email
Where were you when you heard: At home, in a Geography lesson
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): Grammar and then private for sixth form
GCSE Grades: A*99999999888
AS Subjects & Grades (include UMS if you have it):
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : A*A*A*A* (French, Spanish, History, Geography)
Other Qualifications
IB (with predicted score):
Other:
Reflection
Strengths:
Academic profile and personal statement, although I don't think they count for much as I go to a high performing private school and (understandably) wouldn't be given as much credit as somebody with similar grades who hasn't been as privileged.
Weaknesses:
My interview - as the GAA was cancelled and my college didn't ask for submitted work, it was the only chance I had to prove myself and I don't think I did that at all!
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent)
N/A
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent)
Hard to tell - probably 4/5 for both of them? I came out feeling pretty underwhelmed and feel like that's probably a bad sign. In the first interview I was asked about the prereading but we didn't really get into any difficult analysis; the second interview was basically all data analysis/interpretation and again I don't think I was pushed particularly hard. I can't imagine that they didn't push me because I'd already done enough to prove myself as the questions were all pretty basic so the more I think about it the more I'm convinced I messed it all up, especially as I also said a few stupid things/missed out some (in retrospect!) obvious points and phrased some of my answers badly.
Why did you choose your college?
In the city centre, not an overly large/small community, friendly reputation, fairly high intake for Geography undergraduates
What other universities did you apply to? Durham, UCL, Bristol, York
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? UCL or Bristol
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? Durham, if they give me an offer - they haven't responded yet! If not, then UCL or Bristol.
General Comments & Advice for others:
Know what you're getting into - applying to Cambridge is stressful. I was fortunate to have lots of support from my school and teachers with plenty of experience putting students through the process; I still found the entire thing incredibly taxing, so I can't imagine what it's like for people who don't have that help or had to prepare for pre/at interview assessment on top of everything else! But if you think it might be for you, don't let the fear of failure stop you because they can only give you an offer if you apply - you have 5 choices so there's not much to lose!
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
(edited 3 years ago)
Placeholder
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: Rejected from Pool (guess I was too confident in myself)
Predicted Decision: Accepted from Pool
Course: Medicine
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Downing
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International: Home
School Type: Private
GCSE Grades: 99999998A (8 in Music and A in English Language)
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades: A*A*A* in Maths, Biology, Chemistry
Reflection
Strengths: My BMAT is relatively strong. A-level predictions are solid.
Weaknesses: GCSEs are below average for an offer holder (in terms of no. of A*s, which is all that Cambridge cares about I think). I don't think I performed amazingly at interview, but not bad either.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment: BMAT, 5.9 8.1 3.0A. I have a great S2 score - I hope it makes up for the other sections.
Why did you choose your college? Location is perfect as it is central and right next to lectures. Accommodation is the best of any college. I love the modern, but classical look - like an American college.
What other universities did you apply to? Imperial, Newcastle, Sheffield, Warwick (Chemistry)
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Imperial
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? Imperial (if I get an offer)
General Comments & Advice for others: The competition at my college is crazy high this year - around 9 applicants for 1 offer. That's why I think if I am at all accepted, it will be through the pool from an undersubscribed college. But tbh, I am about 50/50 in terms of accepted or rejected - I really don't know what to think anymore. My biggest advice is to not worry about the application process after your last interview. At that point, it is out of your hand and it won't benefit you at all wasting time over it.
Any official feedback received from your college:
Predicted Decision: Accepted from Pool
Course: Medicine
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): Downing
Offer conditions:
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl):
Where were you when you heard:
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International: Home
School Type: Private
GCSE Grades: 99999998A (8 in Music and A in English Language)
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades: A*A*A* in Maths, Biology, Chemistry
Reflection
Strengths: My BMAT is relatively strong. A-level predictions are solid.
Weaknesses: GCSEs are below average for an offer holder (in terms of no. of A*s, which is all that Cambridge cares about I think). I don't think I performed amazingly at interview, but not bad either.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment: BMAT, 5.9 8.1 3.0A. I have a great S2 score - I hope it makes up for the other sections.
Why did you choose your college? Location is perfect as it is central and right next to lectures. Accommodation is the best of any college. I love the modern, but classical look - like an American college.
What other universities did you apply to? Imperial, Newcastle, Sheffield, Warwick (Chemistry)
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? Imperial
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? Imperial (if I get an offer)
General Comments & Advice for others: The competition at my college is crazy high this year - around 9 applicants for 1 offer. That's why I think if I am at all accepted, it will be through the pool from an undersubscribed college. But tbh, I am about 50/50 in terms of accepted or rejected - I really don't know what to think anymore. My biggest advice is to not worry about the application process after your last interview. At that point, it is out of your hand and it won't benefit you at all wasting time over it.
Any official feedback received from your college:
(edited 3 years ago)
Decision: ACCEPTED !
Predicted Decision: Rejected from Pool
Course: Geography <3
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): <3 Fitzwilliam <3
Offer conditions: Presumably A*AA
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): Email
Where were you when you heard: Legit fresh out the shower
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State
GCSE Grades: 9998887775 D*
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : Geography(A*), Maths(A), English(A)
Other Qualifications: EPQ (Achieved A*)
Reflection
Strengths: I think considering the fact I'm state school no matter the outcome I worked hard and I do love my subject. Engaging with supercurricular activities is also a strength. It's weird because I wouldn't have applied without attending a range of programs (i.e CUSU Shadowing Scheme where I got to spend time at Fitz), if it wasn't for that intuition to find and explore and apply to summer schools I wouldn't have applied which is a crazy thought.
Weaknesses: Doubting myself, I overthink, stress and worry too much. And I'm a procrastinator so whilst I should be working as I wait for the 25th, I am procrastinating like mad.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent):
N/A Didn't sit one
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent):
6. They went okay, I came out of them quite confidently as I didn't think they went too bad but the more I've thought about them since they happened the more I doubt myself and pick up on the stupid things I said. (e.g I came up with an analogy for islands as either car parks where people are locked in and are trapped so they would work together to get out, but then if you were at a school and opened the gates the kids would come flooding out (that's gonna haunt me forever)). Despite that, I had a good rapport with all of my interviewers so I hope that works in my favour !!!
Why did you choose your college?:
Fitz is the college I shadowed a student at on my CUSU SS. It was such a friendly place, someone bought me a slice of vegan cake at the cafe, the kitchens and accom are great and it feels quite homely as it's not too grand.
What other universities did you apply to? LSE, UCL, Manchester, Lancaster (I have offers from the last 3 atm)
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? It's a choice between UCL and LSE I'm not too sure atm
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? If I get an offer from LSE I think I'd firm that and use UCL as insurance purely because LSE has higher requirements.
General Comments & Advice for others: Give it your best shot, talk to other people going through the same experience and enjoy it !!!
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
Predicted Decision: Rejected from Pool
Course: Geography <3
College (original college, plus fishing college if pooled): <3 Fitzwilliam <3
Offer conditions: Presumably A*AA
By what method did you hear (Email/Letter/UCAS/owl): Email
Where were you when you heard: Legit fresh out the shower
Optional (but preferable!)
Home, EU or International (Country): Home
School Type (Private/State/Grammar/Other): State
GCSE Grades: 9998887775 D*
A2 Subjects & Predicted Grades : Geography(A*), Maths(A), English(A)
Other Qualifications: EPQ (Achieved A*)
Reflection
Strengths: I think considering the fact I'm state school no matter the outcome I worked hard and I do love my subject. Engaging with supercurricular activities is also a strength. It's weird because I wouldn't have applied without attending a range of programs (i.e CUSU Shadowing Scheme where I got to spend time at Fitz), if it wasn't for that intuition to find and explore and apply to summer schools I wouldn't have applied which is a crazy thought.
Weaknesses: Doubting myself, I overthink, stress and worry too much. And I'm a procrastinator so whilst I should be working as I wait for the 25th, I am procrastinating like mad.
Pre- or At-Interview Admissions Assessment (e.g. NSAA, CSAT, ELAT, ENGAA, BMAT, etc): (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 9=excellent):
N/A Didn't sit one
Interview Assessment: (include what you think you scored: 1=bad, 10=excellent):
6. They went okay, I came out of them quite confidently as I didn't think they went too bad but the more I've thought about them since they happened the more I doubt myself and pick up on the stupid things I said. (e.g I came up with an analogy for islands as either car parks where people are locked in and are trapped so they would work together to get out, but then if you were at a school and opened the gates the kids would come flooding out (that's gonna haunt me forever)). Despite that, I had a good rapport with all of my interviewers so I hope that works in my favour !!!
Why did you choose your college?:
Fitz is the college I shadowed a student at on my CUSU SS. It was such a friendly place, someone bought me a slice of vegan cake at the cafe, the kitchens and accom are great and it feels quite homely as it's not too grand.
What other universities did you apply to? LSE, UCL, Manchester, Lancaster (I have offers from the last 3 atm)
If you were accepted, what is going to be your Insurance choice? It's a choice between UCL and LSE I'm not too sure atm
If you were rejected, which university is benefiting from Cambridge’s huge oversight? If I get an offer from LSE I think I'd firm that and use UCL as insurance purely because LSE has higher requirements.
General Comments & Advice for others: Give it your best shot, talk to other people going through the same experience and enjoy it !!!
Any official feedback received from your college:
(If you have not received it yet, it would be most helpful and appreciated if you could come back to this post and edit in the feedback you receive)
(edited 3 years ago)
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