<p>Hullo. I did a chance thread a while ago, but since then, I've looked at Oxbridge and decided to add Cambridge to the mix. </p>
<p>Though I did live in England for a year, I'm quite unfamiliar with the education system, so it'd be great if you guys could enlighten me : )</p>
<p>Well, here are my SAT and AP scores, since it seems like they are the only things that matter other than the personal statement and interview..
-2390 (800M, 800R, 790W)
-Calculus BC (5)
-Statistics (5)
-Biology (5)
-Chemistry (5)
-Physics (5)
-Psychology (5)
-Microeconomics (5)
-Macroeconomics (5)
-European History (5)</p>
<p>-US History (to be taken)
-Government (to be taken)
-English Literature (to be taken)
-French (to be taken)</p>
<p>Some questions:
1. What is the general admittance rate for US international students? Any idea for medical course rates? I'm estimating around or under 10%, but I can't seem to find the number on the website.
2. I'm interested in St. Catherines and Emmanuel - any first hand input on what they're like?
3. What other small-medium colleges have a great music community with their own tennis courts? Suggestions are welcome. : )
4. I heard students can get some forms of financial aid through bursaries. Is this true, and how much aid is it really?
5. Will applying to specific colleges versus open application greatly affect chances?
6. Tips? Anecdotes?</p>
<p>Admittance rate for US students is microscopic...For medicine it's even harder. I think you have a great chance on getting admitted to a normal course if you do well on the interview.</p>
<p>I can't answer questions 2 and 3 since I don't start Cam until October. </p>
<p>Don't expect much financial aid, especially as an undergrad. You may get a bursary worth a few thousand dollars, but I doubt you'll get anything significant. It's simply too rare.</p>
<p>I heard that applying with an open app doesn't really increase your chances, but I don't know if that's true...I haven't seen any stats</p>
<p>...then here's another question: Can I apply to medical school in the States after completing my undergrad at Oxbridge in a non-medical (i.e. "normal") course? If I can, I think Oxford may be a better choice for me since it offers Physiology and Psychology while Cambridge doesn't offer Psych at all, I don't think.</p>
<p>By microscopic do you mean <5%? Oiii..How depressing is this? And to think I coulda just stayed in the UK..</p>
<p>CWalker - which college will you be attending?</p>
<p>I'll be at one of the new colleges: Robinson. And you can apply to med school in the US after your undergrad abroad so long as you take all of the required courses (i.e. O-Chem, Bio, etc.). When applying to Oxbridge as an undergrad you have to keep in mind that they are public universities and as such they are there to serve UK students first. This is even more pronounced for law and medicine. You have excellent grades and test scores so don't get discouraged. You're going places!</p>
<p>Medicine is a 6 year undergraudte course. There is a UK quota - it's the only subject that has this. After enough UK and EU students have been admitted to fill the vacancies in the National Health Service, about 6-7 international students are admitted per year at Oxford and Cambridge. Basically this is the toughest course in the country to get on if you're an international. I've never known a US student do medicine here - probably because it doesn't entitle you to practice medicine in the US on graduation! I don't know the details about you would have to pass lots more tests to be certified in the US (any european or Commonwealth countires would accept it though). There have been posts on this topic on this board before if you search for them.</p>
<p>They will ignore any grades unrelated to medicine - the non-science and maths ones are worthless to them if you want to study medicine. So don't kill yourself over them. </p>
<p>Everyone says internationals should apply open because it gives them a better chance of getting in - but I've never seen any statistical evidence to support this! It may just be anecdotal. Or it may just be that more of the open apps are from internationals (who haven't had the opportunity to visit cambridge and choose a college from viewing) than from UK students. If anyone has any more info on this, I'd like to know.</p>
<p>All the part-time musicians (ie the ones who play instruments but are not studying music) seem to attend Clare. That wasn't my college (I went to New Hall) but it seems to value music. Don't know about tennis courts because I'm not into tennis. How do you feel about grass courts? because that is most likely what you'll get. </p>
<p>The thing about "Emma" college is they do your laundry for you (unless this has changed in the last 3 years). That can only be good :) They also have lots of ducks.</p>
<p>US admissions to Cambridge undergrad is very very difficult. Pembroke College says: </p>
<p>"Candidates should be aware of a possible mismatch between the broad liberal arts curriculum of the North American High School and the specialist emphasis of British degree courses. Very few students enter a Cambridge College directly from a US High School. The Cambridge Colleges admit about 3000 students each year; last year only six of these offers were made to US citizens, conditional on SAT and Advanced Placement scores."</p>
<p>Sounds like you have good stats, but just be aware that admission will probably be more difficult than any US university.</p>
<p>So, according to what CWalker said, I should then take a traditional "medical school" course so that I can take the required courses? Or can I still do a Physiology and Psychology course and take the required courses separate from my course?</p>
<p>and..six? wow. That's not intimidating at all! : )</p>
<p>People quote Pembroke a lot when it comes to international admissions - is there a specific reason, or is just because they're the only one that actually provided such information?</p>
<p>And, cupcake - thanks! That's something I didn't find from browsing the webpage. : )</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
people quote Pembroke a lot when it comes to international admissions - is there a specific reason, or is just because they're the only one that actually provided such information?
[/QUOTE]
They're the only ones who provide the info. But note that there ARE a number of US students here - even undergrads. Most of them did a year at a US college first before coming to Cambridge, that's all. Plus about 700 US grad students too, and lots and lots of study abroad students.</p>
<p>Before you sign up to take any pre-med qualification in another country I would strongly advise you to contact a few US medical schools to ask them how they would view this and exactly what they would require. In theory it is totally possible to do a pre-med kind of course overseas and then go to a US medical school. In practice what might happen is you don't fullfil the exact requirements because of minor differences (or major ones!) in how the subject is taught, and have to spend years (and $$$s) re-taking stuff in order to meet the requirements.</p>
[QUOTE]
Or can I still do a Physiology and Psychology course and take the required courses separate from my course?
[/QUOTE]
No, you can't generally (ever) take courses outside your subject of study. You can sit in the lectures if you want (assuming you have any free time after the 60 hours study per week you're going to need to do if you want to do really well at Cambridge....), but you cannot take practical classes, take the exams or get any grades. Lot of people do language classes on the side, but they don't get anything other than a certificate to say they turned up (I did Russian here at Oxford as a graduate student). It doesn't count towards your degree in any way. </p>
<p>You are thinking about it in the wrong way. There are no modules, or credits or anything like that. You sign up for a 3 years course of study as a whole. It's all cumulative and you can't pick and choose bits outside that course. So if you do Natural Sciences at Cambridge, you can only choose courses from the natural sciences tripos. Do not assume anything follows the American model. It doesn't!</p>
<p>I thought you could choose the specifics for the third year of your course - ie. choose a more specific study in your study. I was looking at the medicine one and apparently you read for more narrow topics the third year...no?</p>