Should I reapply to Oxbridge after getting 3 A*s?

Hey everyone,
I applied to Cambridge last year for Geography (with deferred entry) and got rejected, so now I have a place at Manchester uni.

I just got 3 A*s in Maths, Geography, Chemistry and have nine grade 9s at GCSE and one grade 8. I am wondering if I should reapply during my gap year? I haven't done much Geography/super-curricular stuff since finishing my A-Levels which is not ideal...Would I keep the same personal statement? I don't have any specific schemes set in place for my gap year, I am working and hope to travel later on in the year.

I applied to Sidney Sussex last year so would change my college. I am happy with Manchester and like the city but part of would like to be at Cambridge and wonders whether Manchester will be good enough?
Any advice? Thank you

Reply 1

lalexm

16

Original post by amybryant143

Hey everyone,
I applied to Cambridge last year for Geography (with deferred entry) and got rejected, so now I have a place at Manchester uni.

I just got 3 A*s in Maths, Geography, Chemistry and have nine grade 9s at GCSE and one grade 8. I am wondering if I should reapply during my gap year? I haven't done much Geography/super-curricular stuff since finishing my A-Levels which is not ideal...Would I keep the same personal statement? I don't have any specific schemes set in place for my gap year, I am working and hope to travel later on in the year.

I applied to Sidney Sussex last year so would change my college. I am happy with Manchester and like the city but part of would like to be at Cambridge and wonders whether Manchester will be good enough?
Any advice? Thank you

You could give it a shot BUT
- it will mean giving up your Manchester spot
- you would need to go through the whole application process again and would need to do a lot of extra super curriculars to be competitive, as you can't rely on what you did over a year ago, so PS will need to be substantially reworked
- given that you are on a gap year, Cambridge will expect a little more from you in terms of supers, and your A-level knowledge at interview etc
- you will probably be rejected, as most applicants are

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Original post by lalexm

You could give it a shot BUT
- it will mean giving up your Manchester spot
- you would need to go through the whole application process again and would not to do a lot of extra super curriculars to be competitive, as you can't rely on what you did over a year ago, so PS will need to be substantially reworked
- given that that you are a gap year, Oxford will expect a little more from you in terms of supers, and you A-level knowledge at interview etc
- you will probably be rejected, as most applicants are

she’s got 3A*s, I’m sure securing another manchester offer would be relatively easy to achieve again, so she can always fall back on that/ another uni. I don’t understand the overwhelmingly pessimistic tone of this reply, “you’ll probably get rejected” - sounds like you ended up in a similar situation. I’m sure after previously been rejected she’s aware there is no guarantee and that it’s a risk, but if she’s learnt from last year then I think it’s worth it

Reply 3

amybryant143

OP

7

Original post by Anonymous

she’s got 3A*s, I’m sure securing another manchester offer would be relatively easy to achieve again, so she can always fall back on that/ another uni. I don’t understand the overwhelmingly pessimistic tone of this reply, “you’ll probably get rejected” - sounds like you ended up in a similar situation. I’m sure after previously been rejected she’s aware there is no guarantee and that it’s a risk, but if she’s learnt from last year then I think it’s worth it

thank you!! yeah it was a bit pessimistic :s-smilie:

I am kind of scared of being rejected for the second time though...

Reply 4

amybryant143

OP

7

Original post by lalexm

You could give it a shot BUT
- it will mean giving up your Manchester spot
- you would need to go through the whole application process again and would need to do a lot of extra super curriculars to be competitive, as you can't rely on what you did over a year ago, so PS will need to be substantially reworked
- given that you are on a gap year, Cambridge will expect a little more from you in terms of supers, and your A-level knowledge at interview etc
- you will probably be rejected, as most applicants are

encouraging thanks

Reply 5

lalexm

16

Original post by Anonymous

she’s got 3A*s, I’m sure securing another manchester offer would be relatively easy to achieve again, so she can always fall back on that/ another uni. I don’t understand the overwhelmingly pessimistic tone of this reply, “you’ll probably get rejected” - sounds like you ended up in a similar situation. I’m sure after previously been rejected she’s aware there is no guarantee and that it’s a risk, but if she’s learnt from last year then I think it’s worth it

They will have no issue at securing a place a Manchester or a similar uni, but I was just making the point that they would need to reject that place, and go through the whole process again.

There are 5 applicants for every place for Geography, so yes, they will "probably" get rejected again. That is a statistical fact.

They should 100% go for it if they want to, but I was just trying to inform them of the realities, so they can make an informed decision.

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 6

Paralove

21

Original post by amybryant143

Hey everyone,
I applied to Cambridge last year for Geography (with deferred entry) and got rejected, so now I have a place at Manchester uni.

I just got 3 A*s in Maths, Geography, Chemistry and have nine grade 9s at GCSE and one grade 8. I am wondering if I should reapply during my gap year? I haven't done much Geography/super-curricular stuff since finishing my A-Levels which is not ideal...Would I keep the same personal statement? I don't have any specific schemes set in place for my gap year, I am working and hope to travel later on in the year.

I applied to Sidney Sussex last year so would change my college. I am happy with Manchester and like the city but part of would like to be at Cambridge and wonders whether Manchester will be good enough?
Any advice? Thank you

Honestly if you weren't pooled in January after interview I wouldn't risk the Manchester place unless you think you would have a some significant change in your application/interviews... interviews are certainly not be all and end all but the reality is that straight A*s isn't all that unusual for Cambridge, though certainly helpful especially for a post-qualification application.

Unless the course at Cambridge (and not the idea of Cambridge itself) is really above and beyond Manchester then I'd probably recommend to go and thrive at Manchester and consider Cambridge post-grad. But as someone above said - if you try you have to be prepared for the possibility of being rejected again and even the possibility of not gaining an offer from Manchester. Though your grades make this unlikely (but not impossible), it's something you need to consider.

Reply 7

Anonymous #2

Original post by amybryant143

Hey everyone,
I applied to Cambridge last year for Geography (with deferred entry) and got rejected, so now I have a place at Manchester uni.

I just got 3 A*s in Maths, Geography, Chemistry and have nine grade 9s at GCSE and one grade 8. I am wondering if I should reapply during my gap year? I haven't done much Geography/super-curricular stuff since finishing my A-Levels which is not ideal...Would I keep the same personal statement? I don't have any specific schemes set in place for my gap year, I am working and hope to travel later on in the year.

I applied to Sidney Sussex last year so would change my college. I am happy with Manchester and like the city but part of would like to be at Cambridge and wonders whether Manchester will be good enough?
Any advice? Thank you

I was in a similar situation, got rejected first time around, took a gap year (for unrelated reasons) and decided I might as well give it another shot. And got in second time round. It's definitely possible and having your grades already is always a positive. However I'm not sure if it's the best idea to take a gap year for the sake of reapplying. If you didn't make, it you might end up feeling as though you've wasted a year of your life. I'd only say it's a good idea if you have some ideas of stuff to do, whether that be working, improving yourself, or travelling, so that you come out the other side of your gap year feeling happy with your decision, whether you get in next time or not! And it's definitely a good idea to have some geography related things planned that you could talk about in an interview or personal statement.

Side note, my insurance choice uni, UCL, which I was going to attend if I didn't take a gap year and which offered me a place the first time I applied, actually ended up rejecting me when I reapplied. So if I hadn't got into Cambridge, by God's grace, I wouldn't have had that to fall back on. I think that you probably would get into manc again if you reapplied, especially with 3A*a, but it's always a small possibility that you may not get your insurance second time round!

Reply 8

Sarah O

1

Original post by Anonymous #2

I was in a similar situation, got rejected first time around, took a gap year (for unrelated reasons) and decided I might as well give it another shot. And got in second time round. It's definitely possible and having your grades already is always a positive. However I'm not sure if it's the best idea to take a gap year for the sake of reapplying. If you didn't make, it you might end up feeling as though you've wasted a year of your life. I'd only say it's a good idea if you have some ideas of stuff to do, whether that be working, improving yourself, or travelling, so that you come out the other side of your gap year feeling happy with your decision, whether you get in next time or not! And it's definitely a good idea to have some geography related things planned that you could talk about in an interview or personal statement.

Side note, my insurance choice uni, UCL, which I was going to attend if I didn't take a gap year and which offered me a place the first time I applied, actually ended up rejecting me when I reapplied. So if I hadn't got into Cambridge, by God's grace, I wouldn't have had that to fall back on. I think that you probably would get into manc again if you reapplied, especially with 3A*a, but it's always a small possibility that you may not get your insurance second time round!

What can one do to boost their application during a gap year? Did you get a job related to the degree you wanted to pursue/ more work experience?

Reply 9

thegeek888

18

Original post by amybryant143

Hey everyone,
I applied to Cambridge last year for Geography (with deferred entry) and got rejected, so now I have a place at Manchester uni.

I just got 3 A*s in Maths, Geography, Chemistry and have nine grade 9s at GCSE and one grade 8. I am wondering if I should reapply during my gap year? I haven't done much Geography/super-curricular stuff since finishing my A-Levels which is not ideal...Would I keep the same personal statement? I don't have any specific schemes set in place for my gap year, I am working and hope to travel later on in the year.

I applied to Sidney Sussex last year so would change my college. I am happy with Manchester and like the city but part of would like to be at Cambridge and wonders whether Manchester will be good enough?
Any advice? Thank you

Re-apply to perhaps St.Catharine's, Jesus or even Girton? 😀 lol

You need to be familiar with the first year papers, and if you write about those interests, it will be discussed at your interviews.

Also, there are just 5 applicants per place at Cambridge University for Geography, which is much less than other subjects.

Also, write a new UCAS Personal Statement and especially use the MyCambridge Application form Personal Statement section to really demonstrate your passion and enthusiasm for the Geography course at Cambridge University!!! 😉

Reply 10

Anonymous #2

Original post by Sarah O

What can one do to boost their application during a gap year? Did you get a job related to the degree you wanted to pursue/ more work experience?

It was semi related but they definitely didn't ask about that in my interview even though I mentioned it in my personal statement but I guess it depends on your subject. Good luck anyways

Should I reapply to Oxbridge after getting 3 A*s?

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