University of Cambridge Foundation Year 2024

Hello

I was just wondering if anyone else was applying for the Arts and Humanities Foundation Year at Cambridge? If so, it would be lovely to form a bit of an online community; that way we can support each other through this arduous process.

I'll start the thread with a few details about myself.

I'm a mature student (cue the existential crisis) and I'm wanting to apply to Wolfson College, with the aim of progressing to History BA. I've actually been the recipient of numerous offers to study history at Oxford (gahh, I'm so sorry, I was young lol), but due to ill health- Crohn's disease, to be precise- I've been unable to complete my A-levels and have, therefore, been unable to fulfil any uni offers. Two years ago, I was lucky enough to be given a second chance. Thanks to the lovely surgeons at my local hospital, I have since been well enough to re-engage with my studies. I'm currently studying an access course in Humanities at my local college and have been really enjoying it thus far. I suppose I want to apply to the Foundation Year because, due to my time out from mainstream education, I don't feel like I've fully actualised my intellectual recovery. I also loved the Foundation Year team at the open day and I believe I'd really thrive, both academically and socially, with others who have also experienced hardship.

I haven't sent off my UCAS yet but, aside from Camb, I'm also looking at applying to: Edinburgh, St Andrews, UCL and Warwick. I've been lucky enough to have received offers from these unis in the past but, back then, I was applying with predicted A2 grades so I'm a little anxious about how they will receive the access course qualification.

Anyway, enough of my blabbing! Feel free to share your story in this thread and, if anything, I hope our stories will encourage future Foundation Year applicants to take a shot in the dark

It is great news that you persevered!!! 😀 I hope you get an offer for History at Cambridge University!!! 😉

Does this mean you have a Distinction predicted or achieved in your Access course? 😧 If so, you are a strong applicant.

For a bit of structure, perhaps we could all follow this template?

College choice:
Preferred subject:
Academic History:
Reasons for choosing the FY over October admissions:
Other uni choices:

Applying to Gonville and Cauis with the hopes to study law. I achieved A*AB at A levels (I was half mark off of an A🙄) I spent a year in hospital due to tuberculosis and I was unfortunately recently diagnosed with ADHD. The reason I'm applying to the foundation year is because last year I was rejected by every university due to a miscommunication in my reference regarding the GCSEs that I didn't sit due to TB, and therefore didn't meet the requirements necessary to apply. The appeal for my B grade failed so I've resorted to the foundation year as a firm choice. There were other faults of my school, such as not having teachers for two of my subjects, which I responded by learning the entirety of AS politics in the summer holiday between year 12 and year 13 and achieving an A in a special mock exam they held for me in order to join the politics class and abandon the failing law class. I'm also applying to UCL, KCL, and LSE, 5th choice is undecided but I qualify for contextual offers due to my FSM status and living in the top 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in the country.

I'm glad that someone has started a thread for the foundation year in 2024

I am applying to Downing College with the aspiration of pursuing a degree in Classics with modern languages. Currently enrolled in SQA Advanced Highers in English, Latin, and Philosophy & Religion, my academic journey has been marked by challenges, particularly during my Highers year, where I fell short of the predicted 5 A's for various reasons.

The impact of mental health struggles during lockdown led to a disengagement that spanned about three years of my schooling. Despite these difficulties, I managed to excel in the National 5's I undertook, prompting my decision to tackle the full set of 5 Highers in my fifth year. In my prelims, I achieved 4 A's and 1 B. However, midway through the academic year, my mental health took a downturn, causing a temporary disengagement. Determined to overcome these obstacles, I sought help once again, resulting in a gradual recovery. Unfortunately, a few months prior to my final exams, a family bereavement occurred, profoundly affecting me, and I ended up with AACCC.

Despite this setback, I am determined to improve and am aiming for 3 A's this year. I have also applied to Durham, St. Andrews, UCL, and have already received an offer from Bristol (AB). Despite initial doubts from some teachers due to my 'bad' higher grades, I recognise that many of the universities I am applying to, especially English ones, place less emphasis on Highers. Originally intending to apply for the regular Cambridge degree, I chose this course as a better fit for me, considering the potential challenges of diving straight into a degree program.

While the majority of my education took place at a state school, I moved to an independent school for sixth form. This decision was prompted by the unavailability of the subjects essential for my chosen degree at my former school. Though the course does consider applicants from private education backgrounds, I find myself harbouring concerns that this may make me a less appealing candidate.

Hey, I was starting to think I was the only applicant 😅 sounds like you've had a rough ride! Fingers crossed everything works out for you. How do you think you'll prepare for the interviews? From what I've read, the interviews are based around the 4 streams.

In all fairness, it doesn't say that the FY is exclusively the preserve of state school students. I would imagine, however, that being privately educated does make it harder to achieve the threshold of eligibility (I think you need to fulfil at least 2/3 areas of eligibility). That said, it might be worth popping them an email as you did complete your GCSEs and your first set of highers at a state school.

I'm really sorry for your loss, but good on you for not letting it hold you back. Fingers crossed it all works out for you 🙂

The interviews mimic a real life tutoring session so I'm gonna watch a few of those, as well as previous interviews involving source analysis. Btw there's a student support webinar today at 4:30-5:30 that you can ask questions, gain information/support for the foundation year etc. You can find out more about it on the website, also I'm not quite sure what the "4 streams" you refer too are

Tbh going from getting offers from Oxford to applying to a foundation year is a huge L

Thanks for the heads up! I have signed up to their mailing list several times yet I'm still to receive a single email. The four streams are: working with material sources, working with textual sources, working with languages, and working with data. From what I've gleaned by reading previous threads, there are usually two interviews, each based on a stream of your choice.

Oh right, yeah you're correct, sorry for the misunderstanding. I don't think it would be on the general mailing list, but on the foundation year website, there's an option to view events and dates of significance, where you should be able to find the student support programme and sign up

Oh right, yeah you're correct, sorry for the misunderstanding. I don't think it would be on the general mailing list, but on the foundation year website, there's an option to view events and dates of significance, where you should be able to find the student support programme and sign up

Ah, amazing! Are you up to much on your gap year btw?

I've already made a list of questions, one in particular I'm curious about is how they take an applicants grades into consideration, more specifically if an applicant with 4 A*s (which would normally be more competitive) would actually considered to be less competitive as they could just apply to the normal course

That's an interesting point. I imagine they view applications holistically and, as such, previous grades only form a small part in their decision making. I imagine the interview and admission test performance will be of far greater weight

In all fairness, it doesn't say that the FY is exclusively the preserve of state school students. I would imagine, however, that being privately educated does make it harder to achieve the threshold of eligibility (I think you need to fulfil at least 2/3 areas of eligibility). That said, it might be worth popping them an email as you did complete your GCSEs and your first set of highers at a state school.

I'm really sorry for your loss, but good on you for not letting it hold you back. Fingers crossed it all works out for you 🙂

True, but the whole point of the year is for students that have had their education so negatively effected that they were unable to achieve the grades necessary to apply to the best institutions normally, you are likely correct in the sense that those assessments hold the most weight, I'm just curious whether the admissions team would consider someone who clearly hasn't been that negatively effected by their extenuating circumstances over someone who clearly has.

I meet all three criteria and have thoroughly confirmed my eligibility. While I am confident in meeting the requirements, I couldn't help but consider that the admissions team may see someone educated in a state school as more deserving of a place.