Classics at Cambridge help!
Hello,
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
Original post by aday23
Hello,
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
Do you know how your school / college arrives at their predicted grades? Do they simply use those mock grades, or so they (for example) add one grade to each? Is there an opportunity to sit some further exams in September to provide more evidence of your likely A level results?
If you're predicted BBB, then your application will almost certainly be unsuccessful. As you say, you can always apply a year later, once you know your actual grades.
Reply 2
The plural of "essay" is "essays". I say this to be helpful. Cambridge Dons tends to be sticklers for grammar and punctuation, Classicists perhaps more so than most.
An apostrophe denotes one or more missing characters. An apostrophe is not required in a plural noun.
An apostrophe denotes one or more missing characters. An apostrophe is not required in a plural noun.
Reply 3
If the work you are doing leads to you improving your essay writing and critical thinking skills over the summer, it won’t be “for nothing”, even if it is too late to change the predictions, as it may help with the actual grades.
If the predictions stick at 3 Bs, there is no point applying. You would be better off saving your energy to work really hard to get the actual grades and apply the following year. Or look at other Classics courses elsewhere.
If the predictions stick at 3 Bs, there is no point applying. You would be better off saving your energy to work really hard to get the actual grades and apply the following year. Or look at other Classics courses elsewhere.
Original post by aday23
Hello,
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
Applying in a gap year with achieved qualifications is perfectly reasonable if you don't get the predicted grades you need. If you do get up to AAA it might be a consideration as an "aspirational" course option (or you could just apply to Oxford which I think only needs AAA anyway).
If you are predicted less than that then you can always apply to o ther options and then see how you do on results day - if you get A*AA you can decide if you want to take a gap year and reapply for Cambridge and other courses, if you don't but meet the requirements of your firm choice then you can still pursue that
Reply 5
aday23
OP
4
Original post by Stiffy Byng
The plural of "essay" is "essays". I say this to be helpful. Cambridge Dons tends to be sticklers for grammar and punctuation, Classicists perhaps more so than most.
An apostrophe denotes one or more missing characters. An apostrophe is not required in a plural noun.
An apostrophe denotes one or more missing characters. An apostrophe is not required in a plural noun.
Thank you
Reply 6
Look up and understand the marking scheme. Understand good essay structure for the question types you’re tackling.
Have a look back at your own hard work- you’ll begin to see where the gap, or the difference lies. Sometimes it’s simply a consistent focus on relevancy and accuracy. So, dropping in arguments which are fun, but not relevant, or perhaps not precisely argued, or not linked into the questions could be enough to drop you a grade or even two.
First point of call would be the marking scheme for your exam boards. You’ll see that the difference between the top ranked score and one or even two down is ‘not much’.
You’ll soon sharpen the knife. If you’re at a B the fundamentals are there; it’s the icing on the cake that pulls you up towards the A*. Understanding what the icing looks like is a good (critical) start. Always working harder and harder is not always effective.
Good luck.
Have a look back at your own hard work- you’ll begin to see where the gap, or the difference lies. Sometimes it’s simply a consistent focus on relevancy and accuracy. So, dropping in arguments which are fun, but not relevant, or perhaps not precisely argued, or not linked into the questions could be enough to drop you a grade or even two.
First point of call would be the marking scheme for your exam boards. You’ll see that the difference between the top ranked score and one or even two down is ‘not much’.
You’ll soon sharpen the knife. If you’re at a B the fundamentals are there; it’s the icing on the cake that pulls you up towards the A*. Understanding what the icing looks like is a good (critical) start. Always working harder and harder is not always effective.
Good luck.
(edited 10 months ago)
Reply 7
Not for me to say, but 3 tough A-Levels, a Greek GCSE, the other English thing you mentioned, an EPQ and a Oxbridge application sounds like a brutal load, how’s the workload feeling? Be careful to box smart, not just burn out.
If you want better predicted grades then get meetings with all subject teachers and make a case that you can hit A* and could they rethink your predicteds for UCAS. Also, consider emailing your academic tutor/head with your thoughts on how that’s going to happen. could it be that the very heavy workload has impinged on the core A-Level grade achievements? Will a ‘ I’ve a new. sharp focus on the core A-Levels’ convince them? A good understanding of how you’re going to make the move from the B marking level to the A* marking level? Just some ideas of how to make an argument.
Three B predicted grades on UCAS might be a bit of a hurdle to jump, if you get the school onboard you might find they’ll change.
Just my 2p worth.
Also, if you want a place there’s not really any good reason not to apply now, apart from the additional prep work you’d be putting in this autumn for your application. Just remember the A-Levels are more important than say an EPQ.
If you want better predicted grades then get meetings with all subject teachers and make a case that you can hit A* and could they rethink your predicteds for UCAS. Also, consider emailing your academic tutor/head with your thoughts on how that’s going to happen. could it be that the very heavy workload has impinged on the core A-Level grade achievements? Will a ‘ I’ve a new. sharp focus on the core A-Levels’ convince them? A good understanding of how you’re going to make the move from the B marking level to the A* marking level? Just some ideas of how to make an argument.
Three B predicted grades on UCAS might be a bit of a hurdle to jump, if you get the school onboard you might find they’ll change.
Just my 2p worth.
Also, if you want a place there’s not really any good reason not to apply now, apart from the additional prep work you’d be putting in this autumn for your application. Just remember the A-Levels are more important than say an EPQ.
(edited 10 months ago)
Reply 8
aday23
OP
4
Original post by AnonOxE
Not for me to say, but 3 tough A-Levels, a Greek GCSE, the other English thing you mentioned, an EPQ and a Oxbridge application sounds like a brutal load, how’s the workload feeling? Be careful to box smart, not just burn out.
If you want better predicted grades then get meetings with all subject teachers and make a case that you can hit A* and could they rethink your predicteds for UCAS. Also, consider emailing your academic tutor/head with your thoughts on how that’s going to happen. could it be that the very heavy workload has impinged on the core A-Level grade achievements? Will a ‘ I’ve a new. sharp focus on the core A-Levels’ convince them? A good understanding of how you’re going to make the move from the B marking level to the A* marking level? Just some ideas of how to make an argument.
Three B predicted grades on UCAS might be a bit of a hurdle to jump, if you get the school onboard you might find they’ll change.
Just my 2p worth.
Also, if you want a place there’s not really any good reason not to apply now, apart from the additional prep work you’d be putting in this autumn for your application. Just remember the A-Levels are more important than say an EPQ.
If you want better predicted grades then get meetings with all subject teachers and make a case that you can hit A* and could they rethink your predicteds for UCAS. Also, consider emailing your academic tutor/head with your thoughts on how that’s going to happen. could it be that the very heavy workload has impinged on the core A-Level grade achievements? Will a ‘ I’ve a new. sharp focus on the core A-Levels’ convince them? A good understanding of how you’re going to make the move from the B marking level to the A* marking level? Just some ideas of how to make an argument.
Three B predicted grades on UCAS might be a bit of a hurdle to jump, if you get the school onboard you might find they’ll change.
Just my 2p worth.
Also, if you want a place there’s not really any good reason not to apply now, apart from the additional prep work you’d be putting in this autumn for your application. Just remember the A-Levels are more important than say an EPQ.
Thank you so so so very much for your comprehensive reply. That has been a great confidence boost for me. As you have accurately predicted, I am buckling under the pressure - but I thought it was what a oxbridge applicant was supposed to do. I'm going to try and finish my Eqp this week - just to get it out the way - and draft some emails to my teachers. I have been lacking the confidence to do so. Thank you again
Reply 9
It’s a vital skill to be able to prioritise and manage workload. The two go hand in glove.
Going ‘I’m not there yet I’ll just work harder!’ kinda isn’t effective and can lead to burn out.. careful there.
And good luck.
Ps if you think of it from a Teacher’s perspective. The predicted grade isn’t always a fixed thing. They’re really making a stab in the dark as to where a student will end up at the end of next year. Eg let’s say someone’s come from a poor GCSE school and is on lower grades but is rapidly bringing themselves up, then what do you guess?
Personally I think a student rocking up, determined to achieve a certain grade with a plan how to achieve it and crucially asking for help to get there would be a powerful statement. I don’t think your plea would fall on rocky ground.
Do mind the workload though. Good idea to get the EPQ somewhat buttoned up early before term starts.
Going ‘I’m not there yet I’ll just work harder!’ kinda isn’t effective and can lead to burn out.. careful there.
And good luck.
Ps if you think of it from a Teacher’s perspective. The predicted grade isn’t always a fixed thing. They’re really making a stab in the dark as to where a student will end up at the end of next year. Eg let’s say someone’s come from a poor GCSE school and is on lower grades but is rapidly bringing themselves up, then what do you guess?
Personally I think a student rocking up, determined to achieve a certain grade with a plan how to achieve it and crucially asking for help to get there would be a powerful statement. I don’t think your plea would fall on rocky ground.
Do mind the workload though. Good idea to get the EPQ somewhat buttoned up early before term starts.
(edited 10 months ago)
Reply 10
10
Original post by aday23
Hello,
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
gonna weigh in here and say that cambridge don’t expect you to have ancient greek gcse if you’re applying for the four year course. it would be much better to focus on your a levels and your grades, instead of taking on too much extra work. 🙂 you can always do a bit of greek in your spare time!
Reply 11
Original post by AnonOxE
It’s a vital skill to be able to prioritise and manage workload. The two go hand in glove.
Going ‘I’m not there yet I’ll just work harder!’ kinda isn’t effective and can lead to burn out.. careful there.
And good luck.
Ps if you think of it from a Teacher’s perspective. The predicted grade isn’t always a fixed thing. They’re really making a stab in the dark as to where a student will end up at the end of next year. Eg let’s say someone’s come from a poor GCSE school and is on lower grades but is rapidly bringing themselves up, then what do you guess?
Personally I think a student rocking up, determined to achieve a certain grade with a plan how to achieve it and crucially asking for help to get there would be a powerful statement. I don’t think your plea would fall on rocky ground.
Do mind the workload though. Good idea to get the EPQ somewhat buttoned up early before term starts.
Going ‘I’m not there yet I’ll just work harder!’ kinda isn’t effective and can lead to burn out.. careful there.
And good luck.
Ps if you think of it from a Teacher’s perspective. The predicted grade isn’t always a fixed thing. They’re really making a stab in the dark as to where a student will end up at the end of next year. Eg let’s say someone’s come from a poor GCSE school and is on lower grades but is rapidly bringing themselves up, then what do you guess?
Personally I think a student rocking up, determined to achieve a certain grade with a plan how to achieve it and crucially asking for help to get there would be a powerful statement. I don’t think your plea would fall on rocky ground.
Do mind the workload though. Good idea to get the EPQ somewhat buttoned up early before term starts.
As a teacher I am judged on the accuracy of my predictions. I have taught thousands and each student for at least a year, often more. Teachers use professional judgement to make predictions.
Reply 12
Original post by aday23
Hello,
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
hi there, I am starting in October at Christ’s for the classics 3 year course so if you have any questions or need help with the application don’t hesitate to ask
my application journey was a whirlwind so I feel I can give a pretty good view of all possibilities hahaReply 13
Cambridge absolutely do not expect four year course candidates to have Greek GCSE — they don’t even expect three year course candidates to have it!
Unfortunately, if you’re predicted 3 Bs, you will almost certainly be outright rejected. Cambridge interviews nearly everyone for Classics, but your predictions are far too low. Most people massively exceed their offers — if you’re predicted much lower than the typical A*AA offer, they’re unlikely to consider your application. I’d honestly advise dropping the Greek and focusing on your grades; if you still can’t get your predictions up, take a gap year and apply with achieved grades. You could also use that gap year to return to Greek ☺️
Unfortunately, if you’re predicted 3 Bs, you will almost certainly be outright rejected. Cambridge interviews nearly everyone for Classics, but your predictions are far too low. Most people massively exceed their offers — if you’re predicted much lower than the typical A*AA offer, they’re unlikely to consider your application. I’d honestly advise dropping the Greek and focusing on your grades; if you still can’t get your predictions up, take a gap year and apply with achieved grades. You could also use that gap year to return to Greek ☺️
Reply 14
Original post by gravvy
hi there, I am starting in October at Christ’s for the classics 3 year course so if you have any questions or need help with the application don’t hesitate to ask my application journey was a whirlwind so I feel I can give a pretty good view of all possibilities haha
my application journey was a whirlwind so I feel I can give a pretty good view of all possibilities hahaUt fortuna te sequatur!
Reply 15
aday23
OP
4
Original post by aday23
Hello,
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
I’m a year 12 student going into year 13 in September and I have been wanting to apply for the 4 year course at Christ’s, but just got my mocks back and they were lower than the grades needed (A*AA). I got three B’s (i’m taking Classical Civilisation, English Literature and Physics.I am doing an EPQ, an Ancient Greek GCSE, and i did HE+ English at the start of the year. I am writing as many essay’s as i can over the summer to improve my grades but I'm scared to put all this work in for ‘nothing’.
I’m also thinking of applying a year late.
Should I have any hope?
Thank you all so much for your helpful ideas. I completely finished my EPQ over summer and after some careful thinking am dropping Ancient Greek.
My college use the summer exams of first year to do predicted grades - I was given the option to write some essays (thank you Stiffy Byng 🙂 ) for English and Classics to up my grades.
I have received the Classics back and have three essays worthy of an A grade and have given in some to English but have not had them back yet. If my arguments are strong enough I should be able to move up to the new predicted grade of AAB - would this be strong enough to apply? Or should I take a gap year?
Again thank you all so very much.
(edited 9 months ago)
Reply 16
Original post by aday23
Thank you all so much for your helpful ideas. I completely finished my EPQ over summer and after some careful thinking am dropping Ancient Greek.
My college goes off of the summer exams of first year to do predicted grades - I was given the option to write some essays (thank you Stiffy Byng 🙂 ) for English and Classics to up my grades.
I have received the Classics back and have three essays worthy of an A grade and have given in some to English but have not had them back yet. If my arguments are strong enough I should be able to move up to the new predicted grade of AAB - would this be strong enough to apply? Or should I take a gap year?
Again thank you all so very much.
My college goes off of the summer exams of first year to do predicted grades - I was given the option to write some essays (thank you Stiffy Byng 🙂 ) for English and Classics to up my grades.
I have received the Classics back and have three essays worthy of an A grade and have given in some to English but have not had them back yet. If my arguments are strong enough I should be able to move up to the new predicted grade of AAB - would this be strong enough to apply? Or should I take a gap year?
Again thank you all so very much.
"My college goes off of"?
I hope that a study of Latin will remove such infelicities from your written English.
AAB (predicted) would not ordinarily be good enough for Cambridge. AAA (achieved) might be, subject to all other relevant factors, but you might be asked for A*AA.
(edited 9 months ago)
Reply 17
Original post by Stiffy Byng
"My college goes off of"?
I hope that a study of Latin will remove such infelicities from your written English.
AAB (predicted) would not ordinarily be good enough for Cambridge. AAA (achieved) might be, subject to all other relevant factors, but you might be asked for A*AA.
I hope that a study of Latin will remove such infelicities from your written English.
AAB (predicted) would not ordinarily be good enough for Cambridge. AAA (achieved) might be, subject to all other relevant factors, but you might be asked for A*AA.
Hi, Stiffy. Nice to see you. Having a good morning?
I’d have to agree with what you’ve said — AAB predictions probably aren’t good enough unless there are serious extenuating circumstances. Somewhere on TSR, there’s a thread for 2024 Classics applicants to all universities, and on it (as I mentioned earlier) I saw the only example I’ve ever seen of someone being rejected pre-interview for Classics. Their predicted grades just weren’t high enough. Just so you’re aware, OP, many candidates will be predicted far over the A*AA minimum offer, and some even have A*A*A* achieved. If you can’t get at least one A* prediction, I’d advise taking a gap year. If you can get AAA, I’d consider going for Oxford instead, who don’t ask for an A*.
Reply 18
My morning was fab, thanks! I hope that you are having a delightful evening. I got up at 5am to write about double renvoi. But I goofed off instead.
Ain't it a shame that people don't do Latin at school any more? It does wonders for people's English (and Romance languages, too). In my job, some bloke called Harry Woolf (well intentioned, also somewhat clueless) tried to ban Latin a while back, and for some years we had to refer to it as "the forbidden language"; but it's crept back in.
OP, do not despair. You could try a gap year, or AAB would likely produce an offer from some pretty good universities. I work with two Classicists who were at Birmingham, and they seem to know all of the rude bits in Catullus, which are of course the best bits.
Ain't it a shame that people don't do Latin at school any more? It does wonders for people's English (and Romance languages, too). In my job, some bloke called Harry Woolf (well intentioned, also somewhat clueless) tried to ban Latin a while back, and for some years we had to refer to it as "the forbidden language"; but it's crept back in.
OP, do not despair. You could try a gap year, or AAB would likely produce an offer from some pretty good universities. I work with two Classicists who were at Birmingham, and they seem to know all of the rude bits in Catullus, which are of course the best bits.
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