Jump to content

The Oxbridge Guide


Abu

Recommended Posts

I have a question about my chances at applying for NatSci at Cambridge. Due to extreme health issues (I missed an entire term, the term before final exams...) I took half my exams in May and will take the rest next year. From this session I got 6 in English HL, 7 in Mother Tongue SL, and 7 in history SL, A in TOK, and C in EE. Will Cambridge frown upon my health issues (they are chronic..)? I am predicted 6s in Physics HL, Maths HL, and French B SL. Do I have a shot in hell of at least getting an interview if I excel at the pre-interview test? Ugh, I am so nervous.......

Link to post
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, evelynrose said:

I have a question about my chances at applying for NatSci at Cambridge. Due to extreme health issues (I missed an entire term, the term before final exams...) I took half my exams in May and will take the rest next year. From this session I got 6 in English HL, 7 in Mother Tongue SL, and 7 in history SL, A in TOK, and C in EE. Will Cambridge frown upon my health issues (they are chronic..)? I am predicted 6s in Physics HL, Maths HL, and French B SL. Do I have a shot in hell of at least getting an interview if I excel at the pre-interview test? Ugh, I am so nervous.......

I think the best thing to do would be to contact Cambridge admission, because it's hard for any of us to say for sure how they'll treat it. You don't meet their entry requirements, from what I can see, and you'd be competing against people who do. However, they do take into consideration Extenuating Circumstances, from what I've just read on their website (http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/decisions/extenuating-circumstances-form). So you might have a shot. If I were you, I'd contact admissions (might be a good idea to call, because it's a very busy period and they probably get millions of emails now), and explain your situation, ask if there's any point applying. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I really want to apply for Law in 2017 entry but I am really not sure if my predicted grades are high enough. Should I bother?

Math SL - 5

History SL - 6

French B SL - 6

English B HL - 7

Bio HL - 7

German A Lit - 6

TOK - A/B

EE - B (History)

That leaves me with 37/42 and 39/40 out of 45. The website states that they want 38 including core points...but is my score at all competitive?

Link to post
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, sarah_kupke said:

I really want to apply for Law in 2017 entry but I am really not sure if my predicted grades are high enough. Should I bother?

Math SL - 5

History SL - 6

French B SL - 6

English B HL - 7

Bio HL - 7

German A Lit - 6

TOK - A/B

EE - B (History)

That leaves me with 37/42 and 39/40 out of 45. The website states that they want 38 including core points...but is my score at all competitive?

If you meet the requirements, you have a shot. You need to get your LNAT done asap, if you haven't already, and ideally do well on that. And make your Personal Statement as good as possible. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, terribletouw said:

I'm applying for Cambridge Law and my predicted grades meet the entry requirement published on the website, which is 40-41 with 776 for HLs. However, I've heard of some people getting offers of 42/43 with 777. Is this likely to happen? 

It largely depends on how much they "want" you as a student. If you have a very strong statement of purpose, reference letter, at-interview assessment, and most importantly the actual interview, they'd be less likely to ask for an IB score higher than your predicted grades. 

On the other hand, Oxford has 38 points with 766/666 for many of its courses, in which case it's more likely they'd give offers much higher than the requirements.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...

Hi!

So I just started my second year of IB, and last year I ended up with a predicted grade of 41 (all 7s except a 6 in maths SL). I thought about applying to Cambridge to study HSPS, but I'm not sure whether to apply with the IB or not, because we are the first IB class at my school and getting those good grades it's not as guaranteed as in other more experienced schools. I'm also doing the national high school program, which is probably less interesting for Cambridge than the IB diploma, but I know that I will get really good grades on this program as I am a good students and my school is really good at preparing students for the national program. Should I risk applying with the IB, even though I might get a bad grade, or should I apply with the national program? What would happen if I applied with both? Is it possible?

I know this is kind of confusing, but I don't know where else to ask!

Thanks!! :lol:

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Hello. I am currently in 10th grade and will be starting IB soon. I am willing to study law in Oxford. Would the subject choice be appropriate?

HL: Lang&Lit, History, Economics

SL: Math, Korean, Chemistry

Would it be better to take Lit or Lang&Lit? Also since I'm international student would it be good idea to take IELTS?

Link to post
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, yujincho0869 said:

Hello. I am currently in 10th grade and will be starting IB soon. I am willing to study law in Oxford. Would the subject choice be appropriate?

HL: Lang&Lit, History, Economics

SL: Math, Korean, Chemistry

Would it be better to take Lit or Lang&Lit? Also since I'm international student would it be good idea to take IELTS?

Looks like a fine combination to me. You don't need IELTS, I got into Law with English B HL. You can stick with Lang and Lit if you prefer it. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Hi all, 

I am applying to PPE at Oxford this year and currently my grades are:

English Lit HL: 7

Econ HL: 6 (but I've been on a 7 until this term, and I was really sick the week before the exam)

Chemistry HL: 6

Maths SL: 6

Physics SL: 7

French Ab Initio: 7

And probably 2 points for TOK/EE, so 41 overall.

 

Assuming I can get Economics back up to a 7 when grades are predicted next term, do you think I have a chance of getting in? My main concern is that I have no chance of getting a 7 predicted for Maths as I've been a solid 6 student for the last two years and that's pretty unlikely to change.

I also don't really do any extracurriculars related to PPE except for debating, I've read lots of books and developed an interest, but when I read successful personal statements everyone seems to have internships, youth parliament experience, won competitions etc. etc. etc... 

I will be applying regardless, but I'd really appreciate any advice anyone can give me.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I'm aiming for English Language and Literature at Oxford next year. I sort of only decided this year I wanted to go for it, but now I *really* want to go for it. My subjects are: 

English A Lang&Lit HL

History HL

French B HL (heh, yes)

ESS SL (Well, yeah. I'm not very good with the sciences, so I was not taking a Big 3 science. XD )

Maths SL (which I am *really* worried about, actually)

Economics SL

I think they're a well-rounded enough group, but yeah. I'm worried because I have been failing maths for the biggest part of this year, and I'm afraid that if I get a predicted 3 or 4 from my maths teacher they won't even consider it, despite the fact that I'm scoring consistently full-marks 7s in English, which is the relevant grade. Any advice? Does the 4 completely bar me from Oxford, despite the relevant grade being a strong 7?

Link to post
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, IBantics said:

I'm aiming for English Language and Literature at Oxford next year. I sort of only decided this year I wanted to go for it, but now I *really* want to go for it. My subjects are: 

English A Lang&Lit HL

History HL

French B HL (heh, yes)

ESS SL (Well, yeah. I'm not very good with the sciences, so I was not taking a Big 3 science. XD )

Maths SL (which I am *really* worried about, actually)

Economics SL

I think they're a well-rounded enough group, but yeah. I'm worried because I have been failing maths for the biggest part of this year, and I'm afraid that if I get a predicted 3 or 4 from my maths teacher they won't even consider it, despite the fact that I'm scoring consistently full-marks 7s in English, which is the relevant grade. Any advice? Does the 4 completely bar me from Oxford, despite the relevant grade being a strong 7?

Will your grades, overall, meet the entry requirements for the degree you want to study (which will be in the 38-39 region, I believe)? Do you have the relevant subjects? A 4 won't look good, I'm not going to lie to you, but since it is in SL, it might necessarily kill your application completely. I applied (for Law) with a predicted 6 or 7 in Maths SL, but ended up getting a 5. Since I overall met my offer, it didn't matter, but in an application, I guess it will depend on the strength of the overall thing. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Gaby said:

Will your grades, overall, meet the entry requirements for the degree you want to study (which will be in the 38-39 region, I believe)? Do you have the relevant subjects? A 4 won't look good, I'm not going to lie to you, but since it is in SL, it might necessarily kill your application completely. I applied (for Law) with a predicted 6 or 7 in Maths SL, but ended up getting a 5. Since I overall met my offer, it didn't matter, but in an application, I guess it will depend on the strength of the overall thing. 

Yes, I think so. If I score a strong 7 in English and get the remaining ones (with a 4 in maths... I know it's going to be *fun* trying to explain that one, but that was largely due to language barriers). I don't know my predicted grades yet (we'll get them soon, I think), and I have the summer to work, so I'm going to work my backside off to bring up my grades. And yes, it's 38 points with 666 at HL. I have scored 7s all year long in English A, consistently high 6s (because our teacher is extremely harsh with his grading) in history, and a fluctuating 6 in French B. I'm actually worried about French and maths, but maths is a bigger concern right now. :P 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...