Cambridge extenuating circumstances
I’m currently in year 12 looking to apply to cambridge for psychology and behavioral sciences to girton college in october. I plan to do deferred entry to start in 2026.
I achieved 8777777666 in my gcses however I had extraneous circumstances of having camhs treatment. I am currently predicted A*AB so will need to get these grades up a bit before applying but considering that i plan to apply to a slightly less competitive college and take a gap year, are these gcses with extenuating circumstances good enough to apply ? do i have any chance of getting in ?
thanks !
I achieved 8777777666 in my gcses however I had extraneous circumstances of having camhs treatment. I am currently predicted A*AB so will need to get these grades up a bit before applying but considering that i plan to apply to a slightly less competitive college and take a gap year, are these gcses with extenuating circumstances good enough to apply ? do i have any chance of getting in ?
thanks !
i also am applicable for contextual offers at other unis if that helps to give some more context on my situation although i do go to a high performing state grammar school (i know that cambridge doesn’t do contextual offers)
and i did gcse psychology and got a 6, will this hold me back too ? considering i’d want to do a psychology degree. (in fairness we had 6 teachers over the course of the two years and i missed a few lessons due to my treatment)
I would certainly recommend giving it a try; from my personal experience they take extenuating circumstances quite seriously, and especially if you get your predicted grades up to par with standard offer should be enough to show under normal circumstances you'd achieve well.
Original post by Anonymous #1
I’m currently in year 12 looking to apply to cambridge for psychology and behavioral sciences to girton college in october. I plan to do deferred entry to start in 2026.
I achieved 8777777666 in my gcses however I had extraneous circumstances of having camhs treatment. I am currently predicted A*AB so will need to get these grades up a bit before applying but considering that i plan to apply to a slightly less competitive college and take a gap year, are these gcses with extenuating circumstances good enough to apply ? do i have any chance of getting in ?
thanks !
I achieved 8777777666 in my gcses however I had extraneous circumstances of having camhs treatment. I am currently predicted A*AB so will need to get these grades up a bit before applying but considering that i plan to apply to a slightly less competitive college and take a gap year, are these gcses with extenuating circumstances good enough to apply ? do i have any chance of getting in ?
thanks !
Original post by Anonymous #1
I’m currently in year 12 looking to apply to cambridge for psychology and behavioral sciences to girton college in october. I plan to do deferred entry to start in 2026.
I achieved 8777777666 in my gcses however I had extraneous circumstances of having camhs treatment. I am currently predicted A*AB so will need to get these grades up a bit before applying but considering that i plan to apply to a slightly less competitive college and take a gap year, are these gcses with extenuating circumstances good enough to apply ? do i have any chance of getting in ?
thanks !
I achieved 8777777666 in my gcses however I had extraneous circumstances of having camhs treatment. I am currently predicted A*AB so will need to get these grades up a bit before applying but considering that i plan to apply to a slightly less competitive college and take a gap year, are these gcses with extenuating circumstances good enough to apply ? do i have any chance of getting in ?
thanks !
It seems to be geared towards people who've experienced extenuating circumstances and significant disruption to their studies. They will likely take lower grades at A Levels into account if you are still affected by any issues 🙂 I hope things are going well for you now ❤️
Original post by AnaaaElec
Have you thought of considering this? Foundation Year | University of Cambridge
It seems to be geared towards people who've experienced extenuating circumstances and significant disruption to their studies. They will likely take lower grades at A Levels into account if you are still affected by any issues 🙂 I hope things are going well for you now ❤️
It seems to be geared towards people who've experienced extenuating circumstances and significant disruption to their studies. They will likely take lower grades at A Levels into account if you are still affected by any issues 🙂 I hope things are going well for you now ❤️
Original post by melancollege
Just as a note, the competitiveness of a college shouldn't affect your overall chances of getting into the university. They are well aware of people trying to game the system. It's true that Girton takes a disproportionately higher number of people from the pool but that doesn't mean that they have lower standards for direct applicants.
Original post by AnaaaElec
Have you thought of considering this? Foundation Year | University of Cambridge
It seems to be geared towards people who've experienced extenuating circumstances and significant disruption to their studies. They will likely take lower grades at A Levels into account if you are still affected by any issues 🙂 I hope things are going well for you now ❤️
It seems to be geared towards people who've experienced extenuating circumstances and significant disruption to their studies. They will likely take lower grades at A Levels into account if you are still affected by any issues 🙂 I hope things are going well for you now ❤️
Original post by Anonymous #1
surely there would be less people applying for the places ? so even if the standard is the same then there are less people applying who meet that standard ? or have i got this totally backwards ?
They take more people from the pool to account for this. Remember the admissions directors will have thought of every trick that you as an applicant will have thought of
Original post by Anonymous #1
and i did gcse psychology and got a 6, will this hold me back too ? considering i’d want to do a psychology degree. (in fairness we had 6 teachers over the course of the two years and i missed a few lessons due to my treatment)
Probably still worth applying if you are on track to get the required A-level grades.
Original post by lalexm
Your GCSE grade profile is not a showstoppers as many people with similar grades have got in, but of course you need to do brilliantly at A-levels, ideally 3x A* have a great PS, and do well at interview. Your 6 in Psychology might be an issue though, plus applying to Girton will make little/no difference to your chances of getting in. There have been cases where colleges have taken no candidates at all from those that have applied to them directly, and just taken them from the pool. They take the best applicants they can find from across the uni.
Probably still worth applying if you are on track to get the required A-level grades.
Probably still worth applying if you are on track to get the required A-level grades.
Original post by Anonymous #1
thank you 🙂 do you reckon i should consider retaking psychology this year ?
Original post by Anonymous
I’m currently in year 12 looking to apply to cambridge for psychology and behavioral sciences to girton college in october. I plan to do deferred entry to start in 2026.
I achieved 8777777666 in my gcses however I had extraneous circumstances of having camhs treatment. I am currently predicted A*AB so will need to get these grades up a bit before applying but considering that i plan to apply to a slightly less competitive college and take a gap year, are these gcses with extenuating circumstances good enough to apply ? do i have any chance of getting in ?
thanks !
I achieved 8777777666 in my gcses however I had extraneous circumstances of having camhs treatment. I am currently predicted A*AB so will need to get these grades up a bit before applying but considering that i plan to apply to a slightly less competitive college and take a gap year, are these gcses with extenuating circumstances good enough to apply ? do i have any chance of getting in ?
thanks !
Oxbridge will see CAHMS as a red flag as it shows you may not be able to handle the rigour of their courses. They are very cautious with this as there have been several suicides/mental health incidents that messed with their reputation in the past. Its best to avoid mentioning it altogether.
Original post by Anonymous
Oxbridge will see CAHMS as a red flag as it shows you may not be able to handle the rigour of their courses. They are very cautious with this as there have been several suicides/mental health incidents that messed with their reputation in the past. Its best to avoid mentioning it altogether.
i don't think this is right, or a good message to spread. it's their job as a uni to be more accommodating, and struggling with your mental health should not deter you from pursuing opportunities that you are absolutely capable of dealing with!! so anyone reading this, if you want to apply to oxbridge, go for it. don't let this stop you x
Original post by Anonymous
Oxbridge will see CAHMS as a red flag as it shows you may not be able to handle the rigour of their courses. They are very cautious with this as there have been several suicides/mental health incidents that messed with their reputation in the past. Its best to avoid mentioning it altogether.
This is completely untrue.
Original post by Anonymous
I’m currently in year 12 looking to apply to cambridge for psychology and behavioral sciences to girton college in october. I plan to do deferred entry to start in 2026.
I achieved 8777777666 in my gcses however I had extraneous circumstances of having camhs treatment. I am currently predicted A*AB so will need to get these grades up a bit before applying but considering that i plan to apply to a slightly less competitive college and take a gap year, are these gcses with extenuating circumstances good enough to apply ? do i have any chance of getting in ?
thanks !
I achieved 8777777666 in my gcses however I had extraneous circumstances of having camhs treatment. I am currently predicted A*AB so will need to get these grades up a bit before applying but considering that i plan to apply to a slightly less competitive college and take a gap year, are these gcses with extenuating circumstances good enough to apply ? do i have any chance of getting in ?
thanks !
OP, don't worry about your GCSEs and don't bother to retake any. They aren't disastrous and your circumstances explain why they weren't;t as strong as they might have been. Your issue is your A levels. If you predictions aren't going to be up to or above the stated requirements, then you are going to struggle in the competition for places. So focus on your A level and getting the right predictions, and then it's one of 5 choices, so why not give it a try.
Original post by Anonymous
surely there would be less people applying for the places ? so even if the standard is the same then there are less people applying who meet that standard ? or have i got this totally backwards ?
I'm not quite sure why they removed this wording from their webpages but on the admissions statistics page they used to have a section directly addressing this concern/hypothetical "loophole":
"Careful ongoing analysis of our admissions statistics shows that, for equally well-qualified applicants, making an open application or applying directly to a College does not affect your chance of being made an offer of a place. This is because we have rigorous procedures in place to compare all applicants for each subject before selection decisions are finalised. Strong applicants who’ve been squeezed out by the competition at their original College can be made an offer by another College through the pool. Colleges would rather admit a strong applicant from the pool than a weaker applicant who applied directly to them. "
As above just focus on getting your predicted grades up to A*AA, then pick whichever college you like the vibes of - you may well be pooled (even if you apply to Girton...).
Original post by Anonymous
i don't think this is right, or a good message to spread. it's their job as a uni to be more accommodating, and struggling with your mental health should not deter you from pursuing opportunities that you are absolutely capable of dealing with!! so anyone reading this, if you want to apply to oxbridge, go for it. don't let this stop you x
I'm not discouraging OP from applying at all, I'm just advising them to be extremely careful with the risks that can come with disclosing mental health issues. In my honest opinion, if they are dead set on Oxbridge, their grades would need to compensate for the low GCSES, and even then, PBS is one of the most competitive courses, with most applicants having majority 9s/A*s on their transcript. I would encourage OP to apply to Oxbridge, but be realistic. This in no way means that they are worse student or incapable, but simply that their profile may not currently align with that of an Oxbridge student. Undergraduate education at Oxbridge is not the be-all end-all, and if they do end up unsuccessful, I would strongly encourage them to apply to a postgraduate program there.
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