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Would I be likely to get into Cambridge for law

Hi, current year 12 student here wanting to apply to Cambridge next year. For GCSES I got 9999998776
For A levels i'm doing Maths, History, and Politics and I've just completed an EPQ on artificial intelligence and the law, which my supervisor has said Ill most likely get an A* in. I haven't got my final predicted results but they're at A*A*A right now and this will most likely go up to A*A*A* by the time I apply.

For LNAT ive been averaging 27 on the papers i've done so far, but I am going to get arbitio over the summer to hopefully get this to around 30.

I've also done a week of work experience at a local law firm and have another week lined up for summer + I've attended a masterclass at Cambridge + read some law books.

Provided I do well in the interview, write a good personal statement, and make sure my LNAT and predicted grades are what I think they will be. Would an offer be possible? I want to apply to Homerton btw if it makes a difference

I know that my A-level grades are really good, i'm not worried about that, but am a bit nervous about my GCSEs because it seems a lot of people who apply have straight 9s.
Hi there :smile: As your main question is about your GCSE grades, here's the Cambridge position on GCSEs:

"There are no GCSE (or equivalent) requirements for entry to Cambridge. GCSE results are looked at as a performance indicator, but within the context of the performance of the school/college where they were achieved."

Every application is looked at individually, and no two applications are the same. You may perform more strongly on certain aspects compared to other students, and weaker on others, but your application will be viewed holistically and within the gathered field of the year you apply.

There's more information about "what we are looking for" here: https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/what-are-we-looking-for

Hope this helps :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by Anonymous
Hi, current year 12 student here wanting to apply to Cambridge next year. For GCSES I got 9999998776
For A levels i'm doing Maths, History, and Politics and I've just completed an EPQ on artificial intelligence and the law, which my supervisor has said Ill most likely get an A* in. I haven't got my final predicted results but they're at A*A*A right now and this will most likely go up to A*A*A* by the time I apply.

For LNAT ive been averaging 27 on the papers i've done so far, but I am going to get arbitio over the summer to hopefully get this to around 30.

I've also done a week of work experience at a local law firm and have another week lined up for summer + I've attended a masterclass at Cambridge + read some law books.

Provided I do well in the interview, write a good personal statement, and make sure my LNAT and predicted grades are what I think they will be. Would an offer be possible? I want to apply to Homerton btw if it makes a difference

I know that my A-level grades are really good, i'm not worried about that, but am a bit nervous about my GCSEs because it seems a lot of people who apply have straight 9s.

A* in Maths won't be too difficult to achieve. However, History is a 'tough' heavyweight subject and getting the exam technique perfected makes all the difference and the same for Politics.

So long as you're not applying for the Central based Colleges at Cambridge University, you should be fine. They attract those with 4 or 5 or even 6 or 7 A-Levels at A* and A grades.

The LNAT is definitely a huge factor in the admissions process and you really need to aim for 30 to 35 out of 42.

Above all, the interviews will make or break your application and determine whether you're 'pooled' to another College or rejected or even made an offer.

If all fails, you can always re-apply.

I wonder where else you're applying? LSE? UCL? KCL? QMUL? SOAS? City? RHUL? Goldsmiths? Manchester? Glasgow? Durham? Bristol? Nottingham? Warwick?
Reply 3
Original post by thegeek888
A* in Maths won't be too difficult to achieve. However, History is a 'tough' heavyweight subject and getting the exam technique perfected makes all the difference and the same for Politics.

So long as you're not applying for the Central based Colleges at Cambridge University, you should be fine. They attract those with 4 or 5 or even 6 or 7 A-Levels at A* and A grades.

The LNAT is definitely a huge factor in the admissions process and you really need to aim for 30 to 35 out of 42.

Above all, the interviews will make or break your application and determine whether you're 'pooled' to another College or rejected or even made an offer.

If all fails, you can always re-apply.

I wonder where else you're applying? LSE? UCL? KCL? QMUL? SOAS? City? RHUL? Goldsmiths? Manchester? Glasgow? Durham? Bristol? Nottingham? Warwick?


Thanks for the reply.

My top choice other than cambridge is Bristol atm. I’m also probably going to apply to Warwick and Birmingham. Not sure what my 5th choice will yet, but i know that i’ll need one with lower entry requirements as a safety. Possibly Royal Holloway.
Reply 4
Original post by thegeek888
A* in Maths won't be too difficult to achieve. However, History is a 'tough' heavyweight subject and getting the exam technique perfected makes all the difference and the same for Politics.

So long as you're not applying for the Central based Colleges at Cambridge University, you should be fine. They attract those with 4 or 5 or even 6 or 7 A-Levels at A* and A grades.

The LNAT is definitely a huge factor in the admissions process and you really need to aim for 30 to 35 out of 42.

Above all, the interviews will make or break your application and determine whether you're 'pooled' to another College or rejected or even made an offer.

If all fails, you can always re-apply.

I wonder where else you're applying? LSE? UCL? KCL? QMUL? SOAS? City? RHUL? Goldsmiths? Manchester? Glasgow? Durham? Bristol? Nottingham? Warwick?


Hi, I’m applying to cambridge from scotland (where it’s really unusual to do 4 of our equivalent to a levels). i’m wondering if you could elaborate on what you meant by not applying to the ‘central’ colleges?
Reply 5
Original post by emkelt
Hi, I’m applying to cambridge from scotland (where it’s really unusual to do 4 of our equivalent to a levels). i’m wondering if you could elaborate on what you meant by not applying to the ‘central’ colleges?

Im not who posted this reply, but I’m pretty sure they mean the somewhat ‘popular’ colleges that most competitive applicants apply to. For example Trinity and Downing tend to get far more applicants for law (and other subjects), which ‘statistically’ may make them harder to get into as those pool of applicants will have people who are predicted 4 A*s + full set of 9s at GCSE etc. Colleges that are less popular like Homerton might ‘statistically’ seem less difficult to get into as they get less applicants. Mind you, with the pooling system at Cambridge, one may argue that the college you apply to won’t matter at all.
Reply 6
Original post by Anonymous
Im not who posted this reply, but I’m pretty sure they mean the somewhat ‘popular’ colleges that most competitive applicants apply to. For example Trinity and Downing tend to get far more applicants for law (and other subjects), which ‘statistically’ may make them harder to get into as those pool of applicants will have people who are predicted 4 A*s + full set of 9s at GCSE etc. Colleges that are less popular like Homerton might ‘statistically’ seem less difficult to get into as they get less applicants. Mind you, with the pooling system at Cambridge, one may argue that the college you apply to won’t matter at all.

Yeah I'd be wary of trying to play percentages here, it can be very misleading. Some colleges get more applicants for particular courses, but then they tend to be the ones that have more places, and as you say the pooling system ensures that strong candidates aren't disadvantaged by colleges having limited spaces.

And I'd always caution people against applying to a particular college simply because they think they have a better chance of getting in. You should apply to a college which you like, based on things like accommodation standards and proximity to the faculty. The "Cambridge experience" can be very different depending on which college you're at, and too many people try to game the statistics, get into a college which they're not actually that keen on (when in reality they could probably have got into any college), and have a rubbish time.

But in any case, I think your academic record puts you in with a good shot. And as they say: if you don't apply, you won't get in.
(edited 8 months ago)
Original post by thegeek888
A* in Maths won't be too difficult to achieve. However, History is a 'tough' heavyweight subject and getting the exam technique perfected makes all the difference and the same for Politics.

So long as you're not applying for the Central based Colleges at Cambridge University, you should be fine. They attract those with 4 or 5 or even 6 or 7 A-Levels at A* and A grades.

The LNAT is definitely a huge factor in the admissions process and you really need to aim for 30 to 35 out of 42.

Above all, the interviews will make or break your application and determine whether you're 'pooled' to another College or rejected or even made an offer.

If all fails, you can always re-apply.

I wonder where else you're applying? LSE? UCL? KCL? QMUL? SOAS? City? RHUL? Goldsmiths? Manchester? Glasgow? Durham? Bristol? Nottingham? Warwick?


Hi there.

Most applicants study 3 to 4 A level subjects and our typical offers are usually based on 3 A levels taken together in Year 13. Taking 4 A levels will not normally give you an advantage. However, strong applicants for STEM courses usually study Further Mathematics as a fourth subject.

For Law, for 2017, 2018 and 2019, 62% of A Level applicants achieved at least A*A*A.

The interviews are not the be all and end all of the application. They may be the final thing that takes place but that doesn't mean they are the final hurdle. All aspects of your application will be considered together when making decisions, and if you are pooled all Colleges have access to your entire application, as your original College did. Around one in five students at Cambridge end up at a College different to the one the originally applied to.

Because of the pooling process, College choice doesn't influence your chances of getting a place. We recommend applicants apply to their preference College (if they have one). Additional guidance on choosing a College is available here: https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/colleges/choosing-a-college

Hope this helps :smile:

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