Should I even be looking at Cambridge?

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>Hi everyone, so this is my first posting on CC, so apologies if I write anything incorrectly or if this is at all confusing..</p>

<p>Anyway, ever since I was little I have dreamed of going to Cambridge with English as my subject. I have loved books my entire life, and to be in an atmosphere in which everyone shares the same passions as I do obviously appeals to me very, very much.</p>

<p>But I'm from the United States, and Cambridge has a reputation for being particularly picky when it comes to American applicants. I am in my sophomore year of high school and am currently taking AP European History (which I love!) and I aim to get a 5 on the AP exam. I understand I must take 5 AP exams with a score of 5 in each, so my plan is to take AP Euro (the one I am in now), AP English Literature and Composition, AP Language and Composition, AP US Government, and AP Spanish.</p>

<p>I must also not forget to mention that for my junior year, I will study abroad in Spain for the entire year. I hope that this strengthens my application, as there have been Americans who have done their junior year abroad through this program and have gotten into Cambridge before.</p>

<p>My grades are in the A-B range. I have A's in English and History, and B's in the sciences. I have been writing for the student newspaper for two years now... I don't know if that's helpful haha</p>

<p>I am so, so nervous because I would love more than anything to go to Cam, but I feel that I would not be able to get in because of their impossible requirements for American students... Any thoughts?</p>

<p>(thank you in advance)</p>

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<p>You have the first and hardest part: you have a long and deep passion for the subject you are applying to study.</p>

<p>Note that your class grades are not relevant to your application- your test scores are what counts, and they are a gate-way: once you have the necessary scores, your submitted written work*, Cambridge English admissions test and interview will determine whether you get an offer, and on what terms.</p>

<p>*(note that if the written work that you have available does not meet their requirements, they can and will ask you to write work specifically for the application- there is a Cambridge parent on CC- alcibiade- whose daughter had to do that), </p>

<p>Have you looked carefully at the detail of the English program? The UK system is much, much more prescriptive than the US system, so it is important that you know what you are getting in to. Here is the list of the compulsory and optional courses for English students at Cambridge:</p>

<p><a href=“Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge”>Study at Cambridge | University of Cambridge;

<p>and an overview of the English program:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/tripos.htm”>http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/tripos.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The Cambridge application process is seen as not particularly welcoming to international students in general. In practice, however, both Cambridge and Oxford took about 8% of their US applicants in 2013 (Cambridge has 11K undergrads, had 293 Americans apply, and offered places to 23; Oxford has 12K undergrads, had 399 US applications and offered places to 33). </p>

<p>Finally, it is not clear to me why you think that studying in Spain may be helpful to your application to study English at Cambridge. UK universities don’t do holistic admissions, and Cambridge doesn’t have an admission office: the selections are made professors who will actually be teaching you, and they truly only care about your ability in, and passion for, their subject. Which, in this case, is English. I would think that some of them might wonder why somebody who was passionate about studying English in a deep and analytical way, would spend a year abroad in Spain, where your ability to study your subject in depth could be seen as limited. </p>

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Yeah–just keep everything in mind, that’s a very thorough answer above me & I believe all of it… rumor has it that only 1 American got into Cambridge for English in 2014, so definitely try but keep all your options open and in perspective.