Read b4 asking &quot;Will I get in?&quot;!

Fluffmonster

Ok yes I asked that question too and I have decided to apply. I got 5Bs 2As and 2A*s at GCSE and four A grades at AS (but not in "ideal" subjects) and I'm applying!!! All you people with all As and A*s and ten thousand A-Levels...for gods sake apply! The odds are against you but they are against EVERYONE. If you don't apply you'll never know either way and you will always think what if! And they have to let someone in and it could be you! Also.....you all make me feel really bad about my grades so stopit!!!!!!!
and good luck :smile:

X

Hehehehehe lovely Fluffmonster! I posted exactly the same reply in exactly the same tone and intentions and irritation as you weeks ago in another thread - one of those "will I get in?" threads. Totally agree. Though it doesn't keep me from freaking out :frown:

And don't feel bad about your grades. At GCSE I got one C - although that's in German so that doesn't really matter. For AS I got a C in Chemistry and I'm hoping to get into Natural Science at Cambridge :eek:

yaks! And will probably be predicted a B cus I was a mark off a B :frown:

I only have two sciences - bio and chem, A in bio, and I take art, which Cambridge does not take seriously and I'm not even sure all colleges accept it.

I'm applying too :biggrin:

So don't feel bad. Already by the sounds of things you have a much higher chance of getting in than I have. Let's hope we both get in eh? :redface:

I'm expecting a rejection, but what the heck, no harm trying :rolleyes:

And your username is random!!! I know someone who's email address name was master of fluff :biggrin:

hehehe reminds me of that. I like random. I'm really getting more convinced by the day that Cambridge is for academic but random people! Honestly I've heard people decide on a college on the basis of it having ducks *quack* :biggrin:

(and I'm one of them, though not decided) hehehehehe (I'm a watch *tick tick tick* *BAAAAH*) :biggrin:

I'm gonna end up scaring everyone away :frown:

Reply 2

priya

14

irisng

I take art, which Cambridge does not take seriously and I'm not even sure all colleges accept it.

i took art alevel....make yourself sound really knowledgeable about it, like about different movements etc, and they'll love you for it. it'll prove to them that you can talk about the subject academically, not just draw pretty pictues (which IMO requires a lot of talent/patience that some other students might not have) i got interviewed in my SUBJECT SPECIFIC interview (subject being modern languages) about art...it was painful at the time but i just churned out what i could remember reading for critical studies.

Cambridge not taking art seriously is a load of bull though

Reply 3

priya

i took art alevel....make yourself sound really knowledgeable about it, like about different movements etc, and they'll love you for it. it'll prove to them that you can talk about the subject academically, not just draw pretty pictues (which IMO requires a lot of talent/patience that some other students might not have) i got interviewed in my SUBJECT SPECIFIC interview (subject being modern languages) about art...it was painful at the time but i just churned out what i could remember reading for critical studies.

Cambridge not taking art seriously is a load of bull though

Ummm sound knowledgable? I don't know that many artists! And what movements??? All I know is how to draw cus I pretty much self-taught myself all my life. About 99.9% of the skills I have now I taught myself so I really don't have much technical knowledge! Although I can analyse art and waffle on and on and sound really clever about it :biggrin:

it's how I survive English Lit :biggrin:

Umm I don't think Cambridge takes art seriously. They may have taken it well with you cus you're going for modern languages, which is kind of related. I'm heading for science! I've asked the admissioner who says she's not sure if Cambridge accepts it. And my form tutor who was a Cambridge student herself said Cambridge probably won't take it seriously. And seeing as some other unis don't even accept art, I would presume Cambridge doesn't like art very much, being UK's top uni!

But all in all, I could be talking a load of bull - I hope you're right. Cus if you are, then I'm saved :biggrin:

art is my best subject!!!!

Reply 4

jonas123

1

Don't expect to get in and that way you won't worry as much, that's what I did. Prepare yourself for failure, then if you don't get in, it's not such a big deal but if you do get an offer, you'll feel really good :smile:

Until you have to sit your A-level exams that is...

Reply 5

gringalet

I'm kind of in the same position as you two! I didn't get a string of A*s, but I am predicted 4 As, and have been encouraged to apply for some reason, so I am!

I think people place far too much emphasis on grades – they more sort of show how well you perform under pressure, your time management etc, especially at GCSE, where you can turn out coursework a week before the deadline and get an A or B! They don't really show your enthusiasm and commitment for a subject, which I think is one of the vital ingredients for a degree. Your grades do show how well you're going to cope with exams, obviously also another important factor of a degree, but, in my opinion at least, they're not the be all and end all – this is why Oxbridge interviews, probably. Anyway, I've ranted about this before, so I'll shut up.

irisng, you sound so much like someone at my school, it's scary...

Reply 6

Fluffmonster

OP

1

jonas123

Don't expect to get in and that way you won't worry as much, that's what I did. Prepare yourself for failure, then if you don't get in, it's not such a big deal but if you do get an offer, you'll feel really good :smile:

Until you have to sit your A-level exams that is...

Do you mind me asking what your grades were?
:smile:

Reply 7

The Albatross

priya

i took art alevel....make yourself sound really knowledgeable about it, like about different movements etc, and they'll love you for it. it'll prove to them that you can talk about the subject academically, not just draw pretty pictues (which IMO requires a lot of talent/patience that some other students might not have) i got interviewed in my SUBJECT SPECIFIC interview (subject being modern languages) about art...it was painful at the time but i just churned out what i could remember reading for critical studies.

Cambridge not taking art seriously is a load of bull though

exactly! cambridge not taking art seriously??? what?? for architecture they practically require it! so don't worry about that! even if its not exactly relevant to your subject, it still shows that you have a creative way of thinking, which is a good thing for any subject! the only one they dont accept is gen studies!

Reply 8

Fluffmonster

OP

1

scarlet ibis

exactly! cambridge not taking art seriously??? what?? for architecture they practically require it! so don't worry about that! even if its not exactly relevant to your subject, it still shows that you have a creative way of thinking, which is a good thing for any subject! the only one they dont accept is gen studies!

Does that mean they accept media studies then?
(hopeful)
X

Reply 9

The Albatross

i'd have thought so, but you's obviously have to justify why you took it and what you've got out of it that will help you later on etc...

Reply 10

amateurish

4

scarlet ibis

exactly! cambridge not taking art seriously??? what?? for architecture they practically require it! the only one they dont accept is gen studies!

that's not strictly true. obviously it's going to be required for architecture as there's an awful lot of drawing in the course. but for other subjects they'll still prefer more academic a-levels, especially if you're offering 4 a levels - i did art as one of 4 and wasn't allowed to use it to fulfil my offer terms. having said that, i know someone on my course who was allowed to use art because she only had 3 alevels. btw, i don't want to sound like i don't think art should be taken seriously by oxbridge - i think it's ridiculous that they often won't include it in offers but realistically that's just the way things are :frown:

Reply 11

gringalet

irisng, you sound so much like someone at my school, it's scary...

Hehe lol. What I find scary is when my body language is exactly the same as my friend's - like once I found myself standing next to one of my friends, and we were both eating the same flavoured crisps with our right hands, and our left hands held a cup of coke and the packet of crisps, and we were both standing with our ankles crossed! And it wasn't deliberate at all - I just happened to look and realised! :eek:

It was scary! But also quite cool :biggrin:

Amateurish - so does that mean if I dropped English Lit, Cambridge would include Art in their offer, if they offer me a place? Or would that just lower my chances? Cus currently I'm taking Eng Lit as my fourth subject just in case Art wasn't accepted.

Btw I'm pretty sure Cambridge doesn't take art seriously cus the admissioner was unsure and my Cambridge-graduate tutor told me they probably won't take it seriously and if unis like Manchester don't accept art in medicine, I don't really see why the top uni in the UK would take art seriously for a Natural Science course! To be honest, of course they would count art in an architecture degree - it's graphics! It requires creativity for design and a skill in art and design, and also colours and forms definitely helps the design of buildings. But for myself I'm talking about science courses! - and popular courses at that cus I'm looking at NatSci at Cambridge and possibly Medicine elsewhere, as yet still split, my other possible choices being pathology and pharmacology. They don't exactly scream "art".

And if they like non-science subjects I already have Eng Lit, which is probably more useful than art in science cus it shows I can argue and analyse and me being Chinese, having Eng Lit helps show they don't have to worry about my English :tongue:

but my goodness the Eng Lit course is boring :frown:

I really wanna drop it - but I'm unsure about it cus I just don't know if they would accept art as an A2 cus some unis don't!

Reply 12

The only way I can justify my art A2 is I absolutely adore it and I can breeze through it quite easily - well not really I have to spend hours on it, but on hindsight I don't remember working at all cus it's simply NOT WORK!!! Art is not work to me at all - I love it that much. I won't give up art for the world. And as for justifying art in terms of science the only thing I can think up is I have the creativity to look and research into new aspects of science and come up with new scientific theories and/or technologies. Cus creativity is needed in stuff like that, even in science - but that's just talking too far into the future! That would be after graduation!

Reply 13

priya

14

irisng

The only way I can justify my art A2 is I absolutely adore it and I can breeze through it quite easily - well not really I have to spend hours on it, but on hindsight I don't remember working at all cus it's simply NOT WORK!!! Art is not work to me at all - I love it that much. I won't give up art for the world. And as for justifying art in terms of science the only thing I can think up is I have the creativity to look and research into new aspects of science and come up with new scientific theories and/or technologies. Cus creativity is needed in stuff like that, even in science - but that's just talking too far into the future! That would be after graduation!

to be fair i don't think they'll be bothered what arts subject you have. i think they'll be concerned at the lack of a maths alevel, or at best, physics.

why do you want to do Natsci if you love art so much? did you not consider things like graphic design, illustration, possibly even architecture?

Reply 14

amateurish

4

irisng

Amateurish - so does that mean if I dropped English Lit, Cambridge would include Art in their offer, if they offer me a place? Or would that just lower my chances? Cus currently I'm taking Eng Lit as my fourth subject just in case Art wasn't accepted.

Btw I'm pretty sure Cambridge doesn't take art seriously cus the admissioner was unsure and my Cambridge-graduate tutor told me they probably won't take it seriously and if unis like Manchester don't accept art in medicine, I don't really see why the top uni in the UK would take art seriously for a Natural Science course!

i wouldn't drop it. the person i know who was allowed to use art is doing arch & anth, where it's at least a bit relevant...i kept art to a2 for exactly the same reason, i found it really relaxing to spend lessons painting etc and it was actually fun despite being loads of work! i'm pretty sure cambridge wouldn't include art in an offer for natsci. :frown:

Reply 15

gringalet

Hehe lol. What I find scary is when my body language is exactly the same as my friend's - like once I found myself standing next to one of my friends, and we were both eating the same flavoured crisps with our right hands, and our left hands held a cup of coke and the packet of crisps, and we were both standing with our ankles crossed! And it wasn't deliberate at all - I just happened to look and realised! It was scary! But also quite cool

Actually, it was more because of this: this girl got good GCSEs, but a C in German, a C at AS Chemistry, and I think that at least at one point she was thinking of NatSci at Cambridge. Oh, and she's fabulous at art. :biggrin:

Reply 16

Syntax

13

Phew.. this thread is a little more encouraging. Because I would love to do vet med at Cambridge.. but my GCSE's arent that good (no strings of A*s lol), and I'd not only be applying for a very competitive course, but also at a very competitive Uni. But there arent that many places offering vet med to choose from so I might just apply anyway.. its worth a try :biggrin:

Reply 17

Acaila

17

That's the spirit :biggrin:

Reply 18