In this post I'm going to talk about A level choices and how they affect your chances of getting into Cambridge.
Firstly, when I applied was before the new A* grade had been brought in and so the top A level grade was an A. Back then the standard offer from Cambridge was at least AAA. However, since the new A* grade has come in, offers will normally be at least A*AA and there has so far even been one case of an A*A*A* offer being made but this is not yet commonplace.
If you do get an offer, you've got through the toughest part of the selection process (in most cases) and you'll have from January until the summer to make sure you're up to standard on all your subjects to ensure you meet the offer. There are a few exceptions, mainly maths where you might get a STEP offer which is a LOT tougher than A levels.
With regards to which A levels to pick, Cambridge recommend doing 4 or 5 AS levels and then 3 or 4 full A levels. They say those doing 4 ASs will not be disadvantaged against those doing 5 however I would not agree with this. Overall you want your application to stand out as one of the best and doing more A levels helps with this. Basically 3 A levels is not enough. The average entry qualifications (before the A* grade) to Cambridge was AAAAa (4 As at A level and an A at AS level). This means you should be doing at least 5 ASs and 4 A levels if you want to be at the average entry standard.
If you are able to do more A levels then all the better but once you start going past 4 you need to make sure you're still going to have enough time to do interview preparation. I know multiple people who got in with 5As at A level and one who got 6As at full A level. Doing this many is not necessary but it does help you to stand out.
Doing A levels early also helps to make you stand out. For example doing all of one or even two A levels by the end of Year 12 will show your work ethic and motivation. It will also help to take the pressure off in Year 13 when you need to prepare for the Cambridge interview. I would definitely recommend this if you're able to do it.
I do not know what standard offers will be like now the new A* has come in, but it used to be the case that Cambridge said the standard offer was AAA but they'd do things like making an offer of As in further maths, physics and chemistry which is effectively a AAAA offer as you have to get an A in maths to get an A in further maths. AAAC offers were commonplace if you were doing 4 A levels and AAAEE was commonplace for 5 A levels.
With regards to subject choices, Cambridge provide a list of subjects that are recommended at A level when applying to different courses. For your chosen course, anything that is essential or highly desirable you should definitely be doing at A level if you want any chance of getting in for that subject. Different colleges have different subject requirements which may influence which college you choose.
When picking the remainaing subjects, you want to choose hard, difficult, academic subjects like maths, physics, geography, english literature and so on. You should not be choosing easy subjects like media studies, business studies, theatre studies. These are looked down on by people at Cambridge which you don't want.
In summary then, I'd recommend doing at least 4 full A levels and preferably 5 if you can manage it, all at at least A grade level, in hard subjects that are relevant to your chosen course. If possible, try to complete 1 or 2 full A levels by the end of Year 12.
Sorry, again. This is simply factually incorrect, or at least may I make the point that this blog is very much OPINION.
ReplyDeleteSome students go to schools which don't give them the option of completing A-levels early. This isn't discriminated against - obviously.
"Easy subjects" - okay, yeah, don't do three more vocationally based subjects at A-level, it closes off doors. But look at the official advice regarding desirable subjects. Its official because its written by the head of admissions. Doing an A-level in Theatre studies, or whatever, because you enjoy it is absolutely fine so long as you meet the required number of more rigorous subjects.
Cambridge are actively discouraging people from taking exams early because they would rather people took them at the normal time and got exceptional grades than a year or two early and just got quite good ones.
ReplyDeleteIf you want advice about how to get into Cambridge, talk to the admissions tutor at the college you want to apply to. Don't listen to anyone else, even this blog although a lot of the advice is not too bad.
It's also not true that you have to take more than 3 A levels. Getting five Bs does not look as good as getting three As. Take subjects you like and are good at.
Thanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteYes it is true that some students go to schools that do not offer the option of completing A levels early. However I do not believe that interviewers are going to look up the school of every applicant and then look up the school's policy on whether A levels can be taken early. Hence even if the intention is not to discriminate against pupils who can't do A levels early, it is not always known whether or not they had the option.
Also I think that doing A levels early, as well as looking good on your application, also helps better prepare you for interview questions. If you've done A levels early, your application will look stronger and you'll also have more knowledge to help you answering interview questions which is why I recommend it.
I have not seen where Cambridge actively discourage doing exams early. Yes it is better to do exams at the normal time and get exceptional grades than do them early and get not so good ones, but what I'm saying is that people who want to maximise their chances of getting in should do exams early AND get exceptional grades.
You don't absolutely have to do more than 3 A levels but the facts are that the average student admitted to Cambridge has 4 As at A level and and A at AS level (prior to the new A* grade). However if you want to stand out as the best I think you should aim to do more than 3 A levels, 4 minimum. 5 Bs is clearly not as good as 3 As but I'm saying people should be aiming for more like 5 As to maximise their chances.
Cambridge, along with other high profile UK Universities are discouraging taking exams early, as they feel that this is a strategy by schools to allow students to re-take examinations that they do badly in. Some universities (such as UCL) have stated that they will categorically not accept re-takes.
ReplyDeleteCan you provide a link showing where Cambridge discourage taking exams early as I have not seen evidence of this?
ReplyDeleteThe point I am making is that applicants should try to do A levels early and do well in them so they don't need to retake. Obviously resits don't look good, I'm not suggesting students take exams early just to have a go. I am recommending taking the exams early, preparing thoroughly for them and getting the highest grades early which will help to strengthen their application to Cambridge.
In my country, our education system requires us to take at least three h2s and one h1 subject, alongside with general paper, project work and mother tongue(which majority of us took in our GCSE O Levels so we so we don't take it at Alevels). Since the total number of subjects is only 7, does that put us at a disadvantage?
ReplyDeleteCan you provide a bit more information on this, like what country are you talking about? What exactly do you mean by h2s and h1 subjects, I'm not familiar with this education system.
DeleteBasically are you taking a different set of exams instead of A levels? Have you done GCSEs/O levels?
For A levels, 4 or more subjects is sufficient. If you are talking about something similar to GCSEs, I do not think that it will matter that much if the education systems is different since GCSEs don't count that much in the application process and if you are doing a different education system, Cambridge probably won't understand it anyway.
The A levels (or equivalent) are more important. If you have a choice try to do proper A levels (instead of other tests) as these are most well understood by Cambridge.
Singapore. H1 level subjects are more fundamental as compared to H2 level subjects. This is considered as A levels too. I did take O'levels when I was 16.
ReplyDeleteOK well I am not really familiar with the education system in Singapore and I do not know how much Cambridge know about it either. I do know however that quite a few students did get into Cambridge and I have seen quite a few around.
DeleteIf one H1 or H2 level subject really is the same as an A level then it is not necessary to do more than I mention in this post. However they should be in "hard" subjects (ie traditional academic subjects and not more modern ones like "business studies", "media studies", "film studies" or anything like that. You want to do things like maths, physics, history etc. - traditional academic subjects).
In terms of numbers the equivalent of 4 full A levels is minimum. I would do the equivalent of 5 full A levels if possible.
The other thing is, applying from Singapore, I am not sure how the interviewing works and whether you are interviewed. If you know people from Singapore who've gotten into Cambridge you should speak to them. That is the best bet.
Does Cambridge take into account exceptional circumstances for a candidate? In my case, I moved to England when I was 13 and have been learning English for the past 3 years. Now I am at the final stage of my GCSEs and still think that my predicted grades have to do with me moving to England late, but I do not know if universities take this into account. I am hoping to study medicine despite only being predicted 2 A*s, mostly As and a couple of Bs. Looking at the rejections of certain applicants, I am starting to loose hope of gaining a space at any medical school. Are medical schools keen on the fact that students may have circumstances? Also, if yes, how would a medical applicant make that clear to a university?
ReplyDeleteI hope to hear from anyone who offers help soon.
i came to england when i was 10 but 3 years are still a big advantage and am now fluent easily (i am 16) if you do exceptionally well in your A Levels you will be considered seriously and have a good chance! good luck!
DeleteMy penis is tiny.
ReplyDeleteI stroke it at night whilst reading this blog.
I really want to get into Cambridge...
ReplyDelete