How we select our students

Dr Sam Lucy

Admissions Tutor

Newnham College

What we are looking for

• Serious interest in their chosen subject

• Strong record in examinations

• Independent learning ability, motivation and organisation

• Very positive school/college reference

• Vocational commitment (where appropriate)

• The potential to succeed at the highest academic level, i.e. secure knowledge, critical and analytical ability, curiosity, determination and intellectual flexibility

The Courses: Arts

• Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic

• Architecture

• Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

• Classics

• Economics

• Education

• English

• Geography

• History

• History of Art

• Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS)

• Land Economy

• Law

• Linguistics

• Management Studies

• Modern & Medieval Languages

• Music

• Philosophy

• Theology & Religious Studies

The Courses: Sciences

• Chemical Engineering

• Computer Science

• Engineering

• Manufacturing Engineering

• Mathematics

• Medicine

• Natural Sciences

• Psychological and Behavioural Sciences (PBS)

• Veterinary Medicine

Information used in selection

• Academic record (GCSEs, AS levels and A levels)

• School or college reference

• Personal statement

• Submitted work, where requested

• Test results (e.g. BMAT, TSA), where tests form part of our assessment

• Performance at interview

Supplementary Application Questionnaire (SAQ)

• Completed online

• Used to collect information not on the UCAS application, including:• Topics covered in AS/A level courses• Optional Cambridge-specific personal statement • UMS marks• Admission test registration numbers (if applicable)

• Ensures consistent information about all our applicants

Admissions tests

• BMAT for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

• Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA)

• Cambridge Law Test

• College tests

• STEP for Mathematics – taken at the same time as A Levels

• Different for Oxford (BMAT, LNAT, ELAT…)

How do your students measure up?

• Profile of a statistically ‘middling’ Cambridge applicant:

• GCSE: ~ 4-8 A*s

• AS: ~ 87-93% across three most relevant, or best, subjects

• Profile of a typical successful applicant, whose education has not been significantly disadvantaged or disrupted:

• GCSE: A* in most subjects

• AS: ~ 92-97%, including one or two rather lower scores, and perhaps a lower overall grade in a non-relevant fourth or fifth subject

• These are not minimal requirements! Each candidate is assessed individually

2009 Engineering applicants

Engineering Applicants

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2009 successful Engineering applicants

Successful Engineering Applicants

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Interviews

• Cambridge interviews ca. 85-90% of applicants. Oxford use aptitude tests for pre-selection before interview.

• Between one and three interviews at a college, each lasting 20-45 minutes, with one or two interviewers

• Conducted by academic staff

• Academic and subject-focused

• Invitation to interview based on academic record

What are we looking for at interview?

• Genuine passion for the subject

• Appropriateness of the course

• Enthusiasm for complex and challenging ideas

• Clarity of thought and analytical ability

• Intellectual flexibility

• Vocational or professional commitment (where appropriate)

How to prepare your students for interview

• Encourage them to read around, and then read some more

• Get them used to talking about their chosen subject with enthusiasm

• Get them used to talking to unfamiliar adults

• Encourage them to revise what they already know

• Encourage them to discuss things they don’t know

• Don’t believe the myths

• Warn them against paying for any training or advice

Typical pitfalls at interview

• Candidates have done insufficient revision/homework on:• The Cambridge course• Recent school/college work• Submitted essays (where applicable)

• They cannot back up what they wrote in their UCAS personal statement• They have not read anything, or they haven’t read it analytically or critically• They try to ‘perform’ or second-guess what is going on

Supporting the disappointed

• Last year ~ 5400 unsuccessful Cambridge applicants went on to achieve three or more A grades at A level

• We could happily take many more of our applicants were places available

• Competition is very tough and our decisions are enormously difficult

• The ‘Pool’

• Feedback

• Re-application