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Applying To Cambridge

Hi, I'm in year 12 and recently received my predicted grades - A*AAA (I'm currently considering dropping my 4th A-Level, if so my predicted would be A*AA). I'm interested in studying natural sciences at university. The entry grades to study natural sciences at cambridge is A*A*A.

Do you think it's worth applying to cambridge despite having one predicted grade lower than expected? I know it's highly competitive so l'm not sure whether or not it's worth it.

Some people I’ve spoken to have suggested that I try and apply anyway as it'd be beneficial for the other unis that l'd apply to as l'd get my application done early, but applying to cambridge would mean a lot of extra work which I worry might not be worth it in the long run - including an entry test and the additional application for cambridge itself. I’m not sure whether cambridge would actually even consider my application as I haven’t got the predicted grades.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you so much!

Reply 1

Reality Check

Original post

by Anonymous

Hi, I'm in year 12 and recently received my predicted grades - A*AAA (I'm currently considering dropping my 4th A-Level, if so my predicted would be A*AA). I'm interested in studying natural sciences at university. The entry grades to study natural sciences at cambridge is A*A*A.
Do you think it's worth applying to cambridge despite having one predicted grade lower than expected? I know it's highly competitive so l'm not sure whether or not it's worth it.
Some people I’ve spoken to have suggested that I try and apply anyway as it'd be beneficial for the other unis that l'd apply to as l'd get my application done early, but applying to cambridge would mean a lot of extra work which I worry might not be worth it in the long run - including an entry test and the additional application for cambridge itself. I’m not sure whether cambridge would actually even consider my application as I haven’t got the predicted grades.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you so much!

Unless your predicted grades are at least the minimum required (i.e A*A*A) an application is unlikely to be successful, primarily because there are 134,000,000 applicants whose predicted grades meet or exceed the minimum requirement. You don't sound hugely motivated to go through the rollercoaster that is a Cambridge application, so maybe you should have a think about (a) whether it's what you really want, or whether you're just applying because you feel you should, and (b) are you going to realistically be a competitive applicant.