Cambridge Admission

Hello, I am looking to go to Cambridge uni and was wondering whether my grades will hinder my chances. At GCSE, I got 1 9, 4 8’s, 1 7, 4 6’s. Are these good enough for Econ at Cambridge given I am predicted the standard offer. I am also looking at LSE, Durham,UCL,Bristol. Thanks.

I think a lot will come down to your predicted grades. Those will be informed by GCSEs, but if you can really smash AS out of the park, that could certainly help when applications come around.

If your predicted grades for A-Level don't cut the mustard but you think you can do better than them, you could consider a gap year, so you can apply with higher secured grades (assuming you get them, anyway!)

Good luck!
Matthew (Yipiyap gap year ambassador)

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

im not 100% sure how high a weighting gcses have on the Cambridge application, but i am very certain that Cambridge weighs the entrance exam (and even more the interview) over GCSE grades (they understand that people could be very good at one area i.e., maths and weak at another subject i.e., languages) and a level predicted grades (cos alevel predicted grades can be very subjective).

regarding gcses and ur overall application, they heavily consider your contextual status (i.e., what school you go to, any extenuating circumstances etc..) when weighing your application. no one rlly knows how the Cambridge admissions process works (i am a current offer holder for physical natural sciences from a fairly good grammar school and am noncontextual btw), but people who get in tend to get gcse grades which are straight 9s or close to straight 9s. this could be a correlation, not causation thing (people who get those grades grind a lot and thus a good fit for Cambridge).

however, since you are applying for economics, which is a very heavily maths-based course, not getting a 9 in gcse maths could heavily hinder ur application (unless u have contextual circumstances explaining why u didn't get a 9 in gcse maths)

best of luck with ur application!

Reply 3

jhw1232

OP

1

Original post by Anonymous #1

im not 100% sure how high a weighting gcses have on the Cambridge application, but i am very certain that Cambridge weighs the entrance exam (and even more the interview) over GCSE grades (they understand that people could be very good at one area i.e., maths and weak at another subject i.e., languages) and a level predicted grades (cos alevel predicted grades can be very subjective).

regarding gcses and ur overall application, they heavily consider your contextual status (i.e., what school you go to, any extenuating circumstances etc..) when weighing your application. no one rlly knows how the Cambridge admissions process works (i am a current offer holder for physical natural sciences from a fairly good grammar school and am noncontextual btw), but people who get in tend to get gcse grades which are straight 9s or close to straight 9s. this could be a correlation, not causation thing (people who get those grades grind a lot and thus a good fit for Cambridge).

however, since you are applying for economics, which is a very heavily maths-based course, not getting a 9 in gcse maths could heavily hinder ur application (unless u have contextual circumstances explaining why u didn't get a 9 in gcse maths)

best of luck with ur application!

I come from a very bad/underprivileged school, didn't have an english teacher for a year, didn't have a science teacher for a period of time. I had some other things going on during GCSE period, which means I didn't achieve what I should have, does this mean I should be ok?

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

yh you are probably fine with your grades given your circumstances. take my words with a pinch of salt cos I'm not actually involved in the selection process but i know a lot of people (including myself haha) who got into oxbridge this year, so this comes from my own experience.

however to get into Cambridge, you really need to grind a lot throughout the year (in school and outside of school i.e., via supercurriculars like competitions, interships/summer schools) and be genuinely interested in your subject. basically you should be happy to spend hours of your time working on/studying your subject even if you don't need to do it for school. if u did not get a grade 9 in maths, this sounds harsh but you should ensure that you are really mathematically fluent since Cambridge econ is very heavily maths orientated compared to other universities.

try your best to score highly in your tmua to make up for it (however if you don't its not the end of the world cos a very good interview more than makes up for a low test score plus you are also contextual).

gl with your application! :biggrin:

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Cambridge Admission

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