Chance for University of Cambridge?

<p>I will be applying to Cambridge in the fall, Pembroke College Linguistics. Since the interivew is such a big part of the admissions decision maybe chancing the likelihood of being called for an interview woud be best.</p>

<p>AP scores:
French 5
Spanish 5
Eng Lang 5
Chinese 4
Calc BC 5
US History 5
World History 5
Microecon 5
Macroecon 5
Enviro sci 5</p>

<p>SAT scores (though they matter less):
Test 1: 2310 (M 780 W 800 CR 730)
Test 2: 2270 (M 760 W 780 CR 730)
French 800
Spanish 770
Math 2 800
US History 800</p>

<p>Otherwise on my personal statement I described my passion for linguistics, basically how I had invented my own language at a young age and was related to the creator of Esperanto. </p>

<p>Other details:
I have an EU (not British) citizenship if that helps with admission.</p>

<p>Thanks! And no trolls please.</p>

<p>Hello GlobalDolphin (lol),</p>

<p>I am also planning to apply to Cambridge, so I could help you. However, as you’ve mentioned, the interview is a HUGE part, so practice! Cambridge interviews ~80%, so if your academics and essay are up to par (which they are seeing this), you’ll get the interview. You do have one hook - Americans will have to pay full tuition unlike UK/EU students so they’ll be happy to take you</p>

<p>All right, then with a well-written personal statement talking about these grades and my passion for linguistics I should expect a what, 90% chance of interview and start reading up on interviewtypes and the like immediately?</p>

<p>So I guess regarding the EU citizenship it’s a boon for them—they would get a student who has European living experience/a good profile but pays 4 times the price!</p>

<p>Also @Zafar, could you send me a private message with your details? It’s always great to hear from a fellow applicant.</p>

<p>Bump
This is over 10 characters.</p>

<p>“Americans will have to pay full tuition unlike UK/EU students so they’ll be happy to take you”</p>

<p>Yet there are only about 50 American undergrads at Cambridge, compared with 800 grad students. The professors who will interview you couldn’t care less with the fees you’re going to pay. It’s not the US where admissions officers, along with other things, keep finances in mind. Otherwise Cambridge would be filled with people from the Persian Gulf, yet, according to the latest statistics, only a handful of them got admissions. Some (not all, obviously) one year masters programs could partially serve as cash-cows, but the same don’t apply to undergrad programs.</p>

<p>BTW, assumptions to the contrary notwithstanding, Cambridge and it’s colleges offer serious scholarships to undergrads. Pembroke is a financially well to do institution, you could end up receiving a nice sum.</p>

<p>Well the fact that professors make the admissions decisions also means that the requirements for entering are different than in the US…</p>

<p>Out of the 50, about how many enter directly from high school? I’ve heard some figures as low as 6, is that correct or way too low?</p>

<p>And as for scholarships, do you need to put the name of a specific scholarship on the COPA, or will they give you whatever scholarship is available if your credentials are up to par? And do scholarships depend heavily on family income as in US schools?</p>

<p>HSStudents: That’s a question I can’t answer, and I don’t think Cambridge maintains such database. There’s the latest publication as regards student numbers
<a href=“Academic and Financial Planning and Analysis |”>Academic and Financial Planning and Analysis |;

<p>So there were 65 undergrads (+41 visiting) and 697 grads from the US.</p>

<p>In contrast with the grad scholarships, most of the undergrad scholarships and grants are awarded by the colleges. Therefore every college have quite a few special ones. You can apply to some, but most are awarded on merit or if they feel you would need some extra cash. Some colleges also award pocket money (a few hundred pounds) honoring good results on examinations, and so on.
As you’re interested in applying to Pembroke, you should enquire about their undergrad grants scheme.</p>

<p>oh so that’s a pretty high number. But I remember that they said it was rare for students to come directly from HS…</p>

<p>And @GeraldM, do you agree that those scores would be good enough to get called for interview?</p>

<p>In a nutshell, yes, you have a decent chance :)</p>

<p>That’s good to hear then…</p>

<p>And since you know your stuff well, is it fine to mention “Why Cambridge?” on the personal statement I submit to UCAS, sicne I won’t apply to any other schools on UCAS?</p>

<p>And as for the bursaries given for good exam results, does that corrrespond to a specific program/rule or is the money generally given on an informal basis at the discretion of the college?</p>

<p>Bump</p>

<p>10 chars</p>

<p>There are no specific subjects to receive grants for first class results. Johns and Trinity are the colleges that offer the most, Queens do offer grants, but very little. Be as it may, this should not be an important factor as these grants are for first class results, and you can get these once a year. British and EU students fairly often receive some serious money to support their studies but I’m not sure what’s the rule about overseas students. Again, you should enquire at your chosen college, what’s their policy.</p>

<p>Thanks, and I know the Cambridge Overseas trust only applies to low-income students, correct?</p>

<p>I believe Cambridge only accepted two American students last year.</p>

<p>Two students? That seems very low, even for an out of high school figure…</p>

<p>Yes I also read the same: Out of HS figured are extremely depressing for US students… Try to score at least a 2350+ and at least 5,5,5,5,5 at your APs I’d say</p>

<p>I thought they didn’t care about SAT scores? And I have 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4.</p>

<p>Is there a specific quota to weed out American high school students, or is it just that so few of them have the necessary credentials?</p>

<p>bump</p>

<p>10 characters</p>