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Cambridge Maths bad gcse ? ahhhhhhh

hiya, I want to do maths at uni and i have crucially got my eyes on Cambridge.

The thing which is really eating at me is whether few of my poor Gcses will vitally affect my chance of getting in. my situation is that

My predicted grades are
Maths:A*,
Futher maths: A*
,Economics:,A*,
History:,A
and my gcse's are
History: 9
Maths: 8
Bio chem phsyics : 7,7,7
Enlgish lit and lang : 6,6
PE: 5
Computer science: 4
Spanish :u: (ahhhh)

Im really worried that i wont have a good chance of getting in because of my gcse grades no matter how good my predicted and personal statement are, i do love the subject so much talking about how i do so much futher reading and so many Step papers i do etc
But im jus wondering how bad my gcses will affect my application and if so what more can i do to overide that bad side with strengths e.g in my personal statement, Like one side of internet say that maths admissions barley care ab personal statement and gcses just predcited grades then the other side say every thing is equally as important and jus causes me stress as im not sure i can have a good chance of getting in or not and even for the other unis im applying to

Warwick, UCL , Bath , Loughborough ( all for maths)

so yes thankn you to anyone who bothered reading this and ya :smile:.
Reply 1
haha idk why it came through as an Emoji but i got a U in spanish lol
Original post by tovestyre
hiya, I want to do maths at uni and i have crucially got my eyes on Cambridge.

The thing which is really eating at me is whether few of my poor Gcses will vitally affect my chance of getting in. my situation is that

My predicted grades are
Maths:A*,
Futher maths: A*
,Economics:,A*,
History:,A
and my gcse's are
History: 9
Maths: 8
Bio chem phsyics : 7,7,7
Enlgish lit and lang : 6,6
PE: 5
Computer science: 4
Spanish :u: (ahhhh)

Im really worried that i wont have a good chance of getting in because of my gcse grades no matter how good my predicted and personal statement are, i do love the subject so much talking about how i do so much futher reading and so many Step papers i do etc
But im jus wondering how bad my gcses will affect my application and if so what more can i do to overide that bad side with strengths e.g in my personal statement, Like one side of internet say that maths admissions barley care ab personal statement and gcses just predcited grades then the other side say every thing is equally as important and jus causes me stress as im not sure i can have a good chance of getting in or not and even for the other unis im applying to

Warwick, UCL , Bath , Loughborough ( all for maths)

so yes thankn you to anyone who bothered reading this and ya :smile:.


i think you have a chance as from my knowledge, cambridge doesnt really consider all gcses. i think they do have a requirement for maths and english. cambridge applicants feel free to correct me!
Reply 3
Original post by hhhhu09-ioju90
i think you have a chance as from my knowledge, cambridge doesnt really consider all gcses. i think they do have a requirement for maths and english. cambridge applicants feel free to correct me!


Thank you so much for your response , Do you think the "poor" gcses will also vitally effect my chances of recieving offers from the other top unis im applying to like warwick and ucl
Original post by tovestyre
hiya, I want to do maths at uni and i have crucially got my eyes on Cambridge.

The thing which is really eating at me is whether few of my poor Gcses will vitally affect my chance of getting in. my situation is that

My predicted grades are
Maths:A*,
Futher maths: A*
,Economics:,A*,
History:,A
and my gcse's are
History: 9
Maths: 8
Bio chem phsyics : 7,7,7
Enlgish lit and lang : 6,6
PE: 5
Computer science: 4
Spanish :u: (ahhhh)

Im really worried that i wont have a good chance of getting in because of my gcse grades no matter how good my predicted and personal statement are, i do love the subject so much talking about how i do so much futher reading and so many Step papers i do etc
But im jus wondering how bad my gcses will affect my application and if so what more can i do to overide that bad side with strengths e.g in my personal statement, Like one side of internet say that maths admissions barley care ab personal statement and gcses just predcited grades then the other side say every thing is equally as important and jus causes me stress as im not sure i can have a good chance of getting in or not and even for the other unis im applying to

Warwick, UCL , Bath , Loughborough ( all for maths)

so yes thankn you to anyone who bothered reading this and ya :smile:.

Hi @tovestyre,

Great to hear your considering studying at Loughborough!

I would recommend taking a look at the maths course page here as the GCSE requirements are listed. If you want more information you can also contact admissions.

I've just finished my second year at Loughborough, if you have any questions about student life or any general questions please get in touch :smile:

Alex
Reply 5
Original post by tovestyre
Thank you so much for your response , Do you think the "poor" gcses will also vitally effect my chances of recieving offers from the other top unis im applying to like warwick and ucl


Have you done UKMT challenges? What else have you got beyond grades?

UCL?! London is a very different experience to the others on your list [which do seem sensible]

I would be more concerned to note that 50% of Cambridge Maths offers are missed because of STEP.
Reply 6
Original post by Muttley79
Have you done UKMT challenges? What else have you got beyond grades?

UCL?! London is a very different experience to the others on your list [which do seem sensible]

I would be more concerned to note that 50% of Cambridge Maths offers are missed because of STEP.


Thanks for your response and yes i have taken the UKMT and am very aware of the challenge STEP poses.

and to answer your question yes in my peronsal satement a bulk of it is describinh how i adore the harder style questions seen in papers like the STEP and the UKMT and how i have been preparing for them a year in advance
Reply 7
Original post by tovestyre
Thanks for your response and yes i have taken the UKMT and am very aware of the challenge STEP poses.

and to answer your question yes in my peronsal satement a bulk of it is describinh how i adore the harder style questions seen in papers like the STEP and the UKMT and how i have been preparing for them a year in advance


What Maths have you down beyond the school curriculum? Books, lectures, etc
Reply 8
Original post by Muttley79
What Maths have you down beyond the school curriculum? Books, lectures, etc


i watched and talked about lectures involving laplacea and fourier transforms and their applications and process and also talked about books i read such as story of mathematics by Mankiewicz and preparing for uni maths book by siklos and geometry snack by ed southall and how they have all affected me and my mathematical attitude
(edited 6 months ago)
Reply 9
Original post by tovestyre
i watched and talked about lectures involving laplacea and fourier transforms and their applications and process and also talked about books i read such as story of mathematics by Mankiewicz and preparing for uni maths book by siklos and geometry snack by ed southall and how they have all affected me and my mathematical attitude


Laplace ... check you have the correct spelling ...

You have as good a chance as anyone else .. A levels predictions are more important for Cambridge.
Reply 10
Original post by Muttley79
Laplace ... check you have the correct spelling ...

You have as good a chance as anyone else .. A levels predictions are more important for Cambridge.


yes sorry that is just my awful typing.
Thank you for replying !
Original post by tovestyre
yes sorry that is just my awful typing.
Thank you for replying !

You are welcome - I've certainly had a student with lower GCSEs than yours get in :smile:

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