<p>I am not going to link this yet again, but it does specifically say on both the Oxford and Cambridge web-sites that ECs are not considered. However, if you do some kind of EC that is directly related to the subject you are applying for, then do mention it. eg if you are applying for English and have acted in a Shakespeare play, put it down. I think math club is probably good. That is not extra-curricular in their eyes. Just make sure it doesn't look like you spend all your time doing stuff outside of class and not studying! </p>
<p>An internship, job or work experience is not considered to be an EC and this is a really good thing to put down in the personal statement section of your UCAS forms, especially if it is subject-related. All UK students seem to do work experience (for some subjects, like medicine, it seems to be unofficially compulsory).</p>
<p>I want to apply to Cambridge for Natural Sciences (Biological),
I've only taken three APs and one IB, but will have more...</p>
<p>Here are my scores so far:
AP Chinese (5)
AP Japanese (5)
AP Biology (5)
IB History SL (6)</p>
<p>I will take these tests next year (predicted grades):
AP English Lit (4)
AP Macroeconomics (4/5)
AP Microeconomics (4/5)
AP Calculus BC (5)
AP Environmental Science (5)
IB English A1 SL (6/7)
IB Chinese A2 HL (7)
IB Economics SL (6/7)
IB Mathematics HL (5/6)</p>
<p>My IB Math grade probably won't be good (gosh I hate stats/prob),
but I'm confident that I can get a 5 on AP Calc BC.
Should I just not register for IB Math HL (Math HL and Calc BC is combined in my school, and we are only required to take one test)?</p>
<p>The same question applies to AP English Lit...
I'm probably won't get a 5 on that test, but will at least achieve a 6 on IB English A1 SL.</p>
<p>Will these scores be enough to get me an interview?</p>
<p>bv123, why didn't you take IB Bio HL or any other science subject at HL in IB? Then you would have fulfilled the criteria for a full IB diploma, i.e. 3 HL subjects and 3 SL subjects.</p>
<p>lol I know...
I should've taken the whole diploma.
But I only started considering the UK as an option a few months into my junior year...
So it was a bit too late for me to switch to full IB.
The IB sciences at my school are not very well taught anyway,
I'll be surprised if anyone got over a 5 on the HL Bio exam this year XP</p>
<p>So, I'm considering applying to Cambridge, having graduated from high school this June, and was hoping I could get some advice. I had a 3.7 GPA at a good prep school, taking honors and AP classes when I could. My GPA was so low because of my early years, but my senior year average was 4.15 on a 4.0 scale. I had a 760 SAT I reading, 760 writing, 640 math, 4 in AP Spanish, 4 in AP English, 4 in AP Government, 690 SAT II US History, 700 SAT II Spanish w/ listening, and 680 SAT II Literature.</p>
<p>I know I don't have paper qualifications as high as the average applicant, but does anyone think I have a plausible chance of getting an interview or even (against the odds) an acceptance if I do well in the essay/interview?</p>
<p>I spent a summer in Cambridge on an exchange course the summer before my senior year. Would that help at all? Do they generally just look at scores and dismiss you, or look at the whole picture before rejection?</p>
<p>Realistically, I think that your AP scores are too low for you to have a decent chance. They require at least two 5's and 4's...so you fall a bit short. If you attend a US university for a year and then apply you're chances will go up immensely.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
I spent a summer in Cambridge on an exchange course the summer before my senior year. Would that help at all?
[/QUOTE]
No. Such courses are run by outside companies who rent rooms in the university. You can go on them if you pay. They have nothing to do with intelligence or ability to study at Cambridge. You might mention it as a reason why you applied to Cambridge and why you like the place. But don't think they will be in any way impressed or assume it has any academic credit.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
Do they generally just look at scores and dismiss you, or look at the whole picture before rejection?
[/QUOTE]
You need the scores to get an interview. </p>
<p>I agree with CWalker. Most successful US applicants have spent a year at a US college already so to give yourself a better chance, get high grades as a freshman in the US.</p>
<p>Thanks for the honest answers... I know I may be relying on the last bastion of futile hope for this application, but would they look at the essays before deciding on the interview, mitigating the chances in spite of scores. </p>
<p>Granted, I may seem a little dim on paper; I just don't take standardized tests well, but performed at well above a 4.0 level in the subject I want to study at University. And since a majority of my AP scores wouldn't really be applicable in my degree (PoliSci), would that make a difference?</p>
<p>I don't know if transferring is really a possibility, as I'm otherwise planning on going to the Uni of St Andrews, and Cambridge isn't big on UK transfers, plus I don't want to waste two years by starting over completely. </p>
<p>So, best case scenario (i.e. great essay) with my grades, are my chances of getting an interview just slim to none, or as good as--maybe--one in five? In the likely case of rejection, do they look down on another application at a later date, like grad school?</p>
<p>Which essay are you referring to? Have you been asked to write one specifically for entry to Political Science? Some colleges ask to see a sample of your school work for entry in certain subjects. But unless you have been asked, there are no essays. Just a personal statement on the UCAS form. this should NOT be in any way like any US application essay. Don't do it. It looks really weird and to British ears sounds pushy and boastful. The statement should be along the lines of "I would like to study subject X because....." and go on from there about your interest in the subject (NOT the university, because all the unis you apply to see the same statement).</p>
<p>Cambridge do not accept transfers. There is no such concept in the UK. If you want to change you apply again for entry in the first year.</p>
<p>I very much doubt you would be interviewed by the same person for a graduate course as an undergraduate one and I also doubt they keep records of rejected undergraduate applications.</p>
<p>I think you meet their basic AP requirements but not much extra. Unfortunately, that means that my chances are less as well although it makes me wonder if being an EU national living in America provides any advantage?</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
it makes me wonder if being an EU national living in America provides any advantage?
[/QUOTE]
No, unfortunately for you it makes things a lot worse. There are only two sorts of students. UK/EU and overseas. If your parents have not been paying taxes in an EU country for the last 3 years, then you are an overseas student and will have to pay full fees with no financial aid. It doesn't matter about nationality. It's all about taxes since UK universities are owned and funded by the government.</p>
<p>You might get some form of financial aid via the Cambridge Overseas Trust and the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust depending on your nationality. I am not sure about Oxford but I think they might have similar funds.</p>