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NATSCI at Cambridge

I applied to NATSCI at Cambridge and I got rejected after the interview.
I did not excel at the ESAT and I was very stressed at the interview. I have 3 A* predicted and a very solid personal statement.
I got conditional offers from very good Russell Group uni, so I'm not keen to take a gap year.

If I confirm my predicted grades, my school said I could reapply this September at Oxbridge and they will support my application with references ect..
My doubt is how likely that my application will be considered and successful if I decide do not take a gap year?

Anyone in this situation?

Reply 1

Original post
by Kaosali
I applied to NATSCI at Cambridge and I got rejected after the interview.
I did not excel at the ESAT and I was very stressed at the interview. I have 3 A* predicted and a very solid personal statement.
I got conditional offers from very good Russell Group uni, so I'm not keen to take a gap year.
If I confirm my predicted grades, my school said I could reapply this September at Oxbridge and they will support my application with references ect..
My doubt is how likely that my application will be considered and successful if I decide do not take a gap year?
Anyone in this situation?
You got to the interview stage, so you was clearly a good applicant for Natural Sciences at Cambridge.

I wonder is it Biological or Physical? 😧 Did you pick Maths, Chemistry and Biology?

You would obviously have to re-apply to a different Cambridge college.

Reply 2

Original post
by Kaosali
I applied to NATSCI at Cambridge and I got rejected after the interview.
I did not excel at the ESAT and I was very stressed at the interview. I have 3 A* predicted and a very solid personal statement.
I got conditional offers from very good Russell Group uni, so I'm not keen to take a gap year.
If I confirm my predicted grades, my school said I could reapply this September at Oxbridge and they will support my application with references ect..
My doubt is how likely that my application will be considered and successful if I decide do not take a gap year?
Anyone in this situation?

If you are suggesting applying whilst already at another university, that application would be very unlikely to succeed.

Cambridge says this on its website -

"Transferring to Cambridge from another UK university
We normally do not consider applications from students enrolled on a degree course at another UK university.
We’ll only consider this if:

you have exceptional circumstances

you want to change the subject you're studying

You will:

need strong support from your course director

need a written reference or letter of support to the Cambridge College you apply to

be assessed in the same way as any other applicant"


You'd probably be better off committing to another university and moving forwards in that way. If you tried the entrance test again, there's no guarantee that you'd do any better.

Reply 3

Original post
by Stiffy Byng
If you are suggesting applying whilst already at another university, that application would be very unlikely to succeed.
Cambridge says this on its website -
"Transferring to Cambridge from another UK university
We normally do not consider applications from students enrolled on a degree course at another UK university.
We’ll only consider this if:

you have exceptional circumstances

you want to change the subject you're studying

You will:

need strong support from your course director

need a written reference or letter of support to the Cambridge College you apply to

be assessed in the same way as any other applicant"

You'd probably be better off committing to another university and moving forwards in that way. If you tried the entrance test again, there's no guarantee that you'd do any better.
It won't be a transfer as if I get the offer, I will start from the first year in September 2026 and drop the university I was attending up to that point.
My application will be submitted in September so before I start my first year, however the Esat and the interview will be happening during my first term at uni.
I will apply to a different college at Cambridge or, in alternative, I could instead apply to Oxford (similar undergraduate course) and in this case I do not have to sit Esat.
Do you think I should consider this option at all?

Reply 4

Original post
by thegeek888
You got to the interview stage, so you was clearly a good applicant for Natural Sciences at Cambridge.
I wonder is it Biological or Physical? 😧 Did you pick Maths, Chemistry and Biology?
You would obviously have to re-apply to a different Cambridge college.

Biological and I definitely will apply to a different college at Cambridge, my A level are Maths, Chemistry and Biology.

Reply 5

Original post
by Kaosali
It won't be a transfer as if I get the offer, I will start from the first year in September 2026 and drop the other university.
My application will be submitted in September so before I start my first year, however the Esat and the interview will be happening during my first term at uni.
I will apply to a different college at Cambridge or, in alternative, I could instead apply to Oxford (similar undergraduate course) and in this case I do not have to sit Esat.
Do you think I should consider this option at all?

Read what Cambridge say, posted above. Your application would have to show exceptional circumstances and involve changing subject.

Oxford is even stricter on this. See link below.

If you wish to reapply, you should take a gap year. You can't hedge your bet.

https://uni-of-oxford.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1777/~/can-i-apply-for-an-undergraduate-degree-course-if-i-am-already-studying-at
(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 6

Original post
by Kaosali
Biological and I definitely will apply to a different college at Cambridge, my A level are Maths, Chemistry and Biology.
What Natural Sciences students have studied

Natural Sciences (Biological)

Most Natural Sciences (Biological) students (who had studied A levels and started at Cambridge in 2018, 2019 and 2023) achieved at least A*A*A* (76% of entrants).

Nearly all of these students took Mathematics (99%). Please note that Mathematics is now a required subject.

Other common subjects were:

Biology (98%)

Chemistry (97%)

Further Mathematics (36%)

Physics (29%)

In addition to Mathematics A levels, the percentage of entrants taking:

all 3 of Biology, Chemistry and Physics was 23%

2 of the sciences 74% (of which 95% took Chemistry and Biology)

only one of the sciences was 1%. Please note that two sciences are now a requirement.


You really need to aim for A*A*A or ideally A*A*A and consider self-teaching A-Level Further Maths in your gap year.

Reply 7

As Stiffy Bing says if you want to reapply you must take a gap year.

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