The doctor will see you now - Which Medical School Should You Apply To >>

Strengthening My Application to Top Universities (Imperial, Oxford, Cambridge)

Hi everyone,

I'm an international student in the French educational system currently enrolled in 1ère and finishing my baccalauréat. Recently, I received a rejection from Imperial College London’s Global Summer School, and I'm eager to strengthen my profile for future applications—especially for Aerospace Engineering or Computer Science courses.

Here's a brief overview of my background:

Academic Performance:

Average in 1ère: 17.7/20

Physics: 17 (class average: 10)

Mathematics: 18 (class average: 12)

Sciences de l'Ingénieur: 19 (class average: 16)

I'm ranked second in my class in Mathematics and Physics and first in Engineering.

Extracurriculars & Achievements:

I swim at a national level in Mexico.

I have founded two startups: one focused on forest fire detection using drones and computer vision, and another developing an AI tutor for students.

I built my own sports analysis app with sensors to analyze and improve my underwater performance (currently competing in the 50m freestyle).

Application Process Concerns:

In addition to my academic record and extracurriculars, I'm also curious about the application components in detail. What is the typical structure regarding admissions tests (like the TMUA or any other specific tests), written essays, or additional submitted work?

How do successful applicants effectively balance and present these parts of their application—especially as international candidates?

Any insights on what the admissions panels at Imperial, Oxford, or Cambridge look for in the essay or personal statement, along with advice on exam preparation and timelines?

Given my current results and achievements, I’m looking for guidance on:

Academic and Extracurricular Emphasis: What areas in my profile might I develop further to highlight my passion for Aerospace Engineering or Computer Science?

Exam Preparation and Application Materials: How critical are the standardized tests and essay components? Any suggestions on balancing these with extracurricular achievements?

General Advice for International Applicants: How can I best showcase my unique background and experiences to stand out during the highly competitive admissions process?

I’d really appreciate any advice, insights, or personal experiences you could share. Thanks so much for your help

Reply 1

nwar

Study Forum Helper

Original post

by Anonymous

Hi everyone,
I'm an international student in the French educational system currently enrolled in 1ère and finishing my baccalauréat. Recently, I received a rejection from Imperial College London’s Global Summer School, and I'm eager to strengthen my profile for future applications—especially for Aerospace Engineering or Computer Science courses.
Here's a brief overview of my background:
Academic Performance:
Average in 1ère: 17.7/20
Physics: 17 (class average: 10)
Mathematics: 18 (class average: 12)
Sciences de l'Ingénieur: 19 (class average: 16)
I'm ranked second in my class in Mathematics and Physics and first in Engineering.
Extracurriculars & Achievements:
I swim at a national level in Mexico.
I have founded two startups: one focused on forest fire detection using drones and computer vision, and another developing an AI tutor for students.
I built my own sports analysis app with sensors to analyze and improve my underwater performance (currently competing in the 50m freestyle).
Application Process Concerns:
In addition to my academic record and extracurriculars, I'm also curious about the application components in detail. What is the typical structure regarding admissions tests (like the TMUA or any other specific tests), written essays, or additional submitted work?
How do successful applicants effectively balance and present these parts of their application—especially as international candidates?
Any insights on what the admissions panels at Imperial, Oxford, or Cambridge look for in the essay or personal statement, along with advice on exam preparation and timelines?
Given my current results and achievements, I’m looking for guidance on:
Academic and Extracurricular Emphasis: What areas in my profile might I develop further to highlight my passion for Aerospace Engineering or Computer Science?
Exam Preparation and Application Materials: How critical are the standardized tests and essay components? Any suggestions on balancing these with extracurricular achievements?
General Advice for International Applicants: How can I best showcase my unique background and experiences to stand out during the highly competitive admissions process?
I’d really appreciate any advice, insights, or personal experiences you could share. Thanks so much for your help

Hi, I didn’t apply for engineering but I applied to Cambridge so will try to answer this as I can and hopefully others with more experience will join : )

Cambridge only has a general engineering course as far as I’m aware. You specialise but the actual course you apply to is general engineering, so you wouldn’t be applying for aerospace engineering.

Extracurriculars (e.g. sports, music, etc) aren’t relevant for UK unis, especially Oxford and Cambridge. They look for supercurriculars, which are activities relevant to your course. So for e.g. reading a book about engineering, doing Olympiads and maths competitions, probably building an app like you’ve done for computer science, etc.

You will most definitely have an admissions test. For my year, it was TMUA for computer science and something else for engineering. Prepare for them because they’re really important!

You don’t need to “stand out” with a unique background during the application process. The admissions tutors told me that this is one of the biggest misconceptions people have. The best way to stand out is to have really researched your degree, explored the subject in depth (going beyond your school curriculum), have a genuine passion/interest in it and do well in the admissions test. 90% of your personal statement should be academic btw, not like the US style college essay.

You will have to do interviews if you get through to the interview stage and these are usually very academic. So most of it will probably be working through problems or questions. Once again, pretty important and you can practice by working through interesting questions outside your school’s course and thinking aloud.

Best of luck!!
Edit — forgot to add that you can only apply to one of Oxford or Cambridge, not both.

(edited 11 months ago)

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Articles for you

Chemistry degree personal statement example (1x) with review and advice, UCL offer

Biology degree personal statement example (1i) Durham offer

Climate change and international development degree personal statement example (1a) Masters, Sheffield offer

Law degree personal statement example (3t) international application

How The Student Room is moderated

To keep The Student Room safe for everyone, we moderate posts that are added to the site.

Try out the app

Continue on web