The Student Room Group

Should I apply to Cambridge Med?

Hi, so I'm a bit worried about whether I should still apply to Cambridge after my UCAT, every other aspect of my application is competitive apart from it.

GCSEs - 9999999998, A in Additional Maths
A-Level Predictions - A*A*A*A*
UCAT: 2760 Band 1

My personal statement and teacher reference are also very strong, so the UCAT is the only thing dragging me down. I feel as though I will regret it if I don't at least apply to Cambridge but at the same time, it's such a gamble because of my UCAT. I'm also applying to Kings, Leeds and Newcastle for Med. I don't really know where else to apply or where I'd really like (if I had a higher UCAT I would have put down Imperial but I'm afraid I won't meet there individual section cut-offs) even though I have done research. I've talked to careers officers and have gotten conflicting opinions so I really don't know what to do. I would really appreciate some help please.

Reply 1

if you really want to apply then nothing anyone says on here will stop you, and to me it seems like you're pretty certain on applying and just want some hope that you're making the right decision (this isn't a criticism per se, just an observation)
if you are applying then i would make sure your other choices are pretty safe
keep in mind that your interview performance will need to be pretty exceptional for them to give you an offer considering that their post interview offer rates are like 20% and that a lot of exceptional candidates will be applying there

i've seen cambridge repeatedly emphasise the importance of admissions tests to their application process, so imo your chances are pretty slim. your gcses and predicteds are excellent though so its not impossible for you to get an offer
(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 2

Original post by klafow
if you really want to apply then nothing anyone says on here will stop you, and to me it seems like you're pretty certain on applying and just want some hope that you're making the right decision (this isn't a criticism per se, just an observation)
if you are applying then i would make sure your other choices are pretty safe
keep in mind that your interview performance will need to be pretty exceptional for them to give you an offer considering that their post interview offer rates are like 20% and that a lot of exceptional candidates will be applying there
i've seen cambridge repeatedly emphasise the importance of admissions tests to their application process, so imo your chances are pretty slim. your gcses and predicteds are excellent though so its not impossible for you to get an offer

2490, b2 - anxiety can rlly get to me. 4a* predicted, 3 sciences and maths
5a* 1a at igcses + top of country award +international student + low income
Is it impossible to get an acceptance from Cambridge med?
(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 3

Original post by qu33n of the 3ee
2490, b2 - anxiety can rlly get to me. 4a* predicted, 3 sciences and maths
5a* 1a at igcses + top of country award +international student + low income
Is it impossible to get an acceptance from Cambridge med?

Hate to break it to you but your chances are basically nil considering your international status. Unis only have 20-30 places for internationals because of legal regulations and thus internationals usually need score 200-300 higher in UCAT compared to home students to go to the same uni. Average UCAT score for internationals that got an offer at mid-high range med schools last year was around 2900. I suggest looking into unis that don't weigh UCAT very heavily.

Reply 4

Hate to break it to you but your chances are basically nil considering your international status. Unis only have 20-30 places for internationals because of legal regulations and thus internationals usually need score 200-300 higher in UCAT compared to home students to go to the same uni. Average UCAT score for internationals that got an offer at mid-high range med schools last year was around 2900. I suggest looking into unis that don't weigh UCAT very heavily.

What about ucl?
Please post to https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=7312527

following the structure of post 1 on pg 1 to get suggestions from volunteering advisors.

Reply 6

Original post by qu33n of the 3ee
2490, b2 - anxiety can rlly get to me. 4a* predicted, 3 sciences and maths
5a* 1a at igcses + top of country award +international student + low income
Is it impossible to get an acceptance from Cambridge med?

please do what Jonjon7 said, they are quite helpful in that thread
personally i think its very risky as an international with that score at cambridge and ucl but i'm not really the most knowledgeable on international med applications. i agree with everything fy21 said

Reply 7

Original post by qu33n of the 3ee
What about ucl?

would be the same. You're likely not even going to be considered as that score won't meet the cut-off for international students at most unis. In fact you will struggle meet the UCAT cutoff for most unis that have one and will be very disadvantaged applying for any university that has a decent UCAT weighting at all. I'd suggest applying for only universities that either has no or a very low UCAT cutoff (you can check these cutoffs from previous year's data), and those that weigh academics and interviews significantly more than UCAT. You'll have to be very strategic with your choices unfortunately and I wouldn't use any of the 4 slots on higher ranked universities.

Reply 8

Original post by DedBread
Hi, so I'm a bit worried about whether I should still apply to Cambridge after my UCAT, every other aspect of my application is competitive apart from it.
GCSEs - 9999999998, A in Additional Maths
A-Level Predictions - A*A*A*A*
UCAT: 2760 Band 1
My personal statement and teacher reference are also very strong, so the UCAT is the only thing dragging me down. I feel as though I will regret it if I don't at least apply to Cambridge but at the same time, it's such a gamble because of my UCAT. I'm also applying to Kings, Leeds and Newcastle for Med. I don't really know where else to apply or where I'd really like (if I had a higher UCAT I would have put down Imperial but I'm afraid I won't meet there individual section cut-offs) even though I have done research. I've talked to careers officers and have gotten conflicting opinions so I really don't know what to do. I would really appreciate some help please.

shush man

Reply 9

would be the same. You're likely not even going to be considered as that score won't meet the cut-off for international students at most unis. In fact you will struggle meet the UCAT cutoff for most unis that have one and will be very disadvantaged applying for any university that has a decent UCAT weighting at all. I'd suggest applying for only universities that either has no or a very low UCAT cutoff (you can check these cutoffs from previous year's data), and those that weigh academics and interviews significantly more than UCAT. You'll have to be very strategic with your choices unfortunately and I wouldn't use any of the 4 slots on higher ranked universities.

Due to financial reasons and limited funding that unis provide my choices r extremely limited. Uk med is more like a reach uni type of situation, both financially and now in terms of the ucat. Also apparently Cambridge has 50% weight on the interview, say someone with 99th percentile ucat messing up their interview and getting rejected which is wild. Thank you for ur advice.
(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 10

would be the same. You're likely not even going to be considered as that score won't meet the cut-off for international students at most unis. In fact you will struggle meet the UCAT cutoff for most unis that have one and will be very disadvantaged applying for any university that has a decent UCAT weighting at all. I'd suggest applying for only universities that either has no or a very low UCAT cutoff (you can check these cutoffs from previous year's data), and those that weigh academics and interviews significantly more than UCAT. You'll have to be very strategic with your choices unfortunately and I wouldn't use any of the 4 slots on higher ranked universities.

So basically its kind of go big or go home type of situation, because maybe in some unis Id have a way better chance at getting accepted, even if i get an acceptance it wpuld be of no use due to lack of funding. I've heard alot about all the strategic application but thats more for ur typical international med school applicant which would prioritise ending up with at least one acceptance which isnt my case. I actually have extra slots so might throw in a few random unis cuz why not💀
(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 11

Original post by klafow
please do what Jonjon7 said, they are quite helpful in that thread
personally i think its very risky as an international with that score at cambridge and ucl but i'm not really the most knowledgeable on international med applications. i agree with everything fy21 said

First of all thank you, I appreciate it. Im low income. Basically like I said in one of my previous posts im limited by unis that have sufficient funding. It would be of no use to get acceptances from unis that dont have sufficient funding. Kinda different from most applicants situation. The uk unis are also reach unis and i went into all this completely knowing what to expect.

Reply 12

Original post by Jonjon7
Please post to https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=7312527
following the structure of post 1 on pg 1 to get suggestions from volunteering advisors.

Thank you, will do.

Reply 13

Original post by qu33n of the 3ee
First of all thank you, I appreciate it. Im low income. Basically like I said in one of my previous posts im limited by unis that have sufficient funding. It would be of no use to get acceptances from unis that dont have sufficient funding. Kinda different from most applicants situation. The uk unis are also reach unis and i went into all this completely knowing what to expect.

☹️
if you're really want to study in the uk, i think you'd have a much better shot if you just took the ucat again next year as you'll probably score a lot better,

Reply 14

Original post by klafow
☹️
if you're really want to study in the uk, i think you'd have a much better shot if you just took the ucat again next year as you'll probably score a lot better,
My situation is kind of complicated. That choice isnt as feasible. I appreciate your advice tho. Thank you

Reply 15

Original post by qu33n of the 3ee
My situation is kind of complicated. That choice isnt as feasible. I appreciate your advice tho. Thank you

that's a shame. good luck with everything though, i hope it all works out for you in the end 🙂

Reply 16

Original post by klafow
that's a shame. good luck with everything though, i hope it all works out for you in the end 🙂

Thank you so much!

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