<p>Hey guys, I have begun the college application process and I was curious about the University of Cambridge in the UK. I know it is one of the most prestigious schools in the world and I wish to study Computer Science. My CS teacher at school has praised the school for its course and from his descriptions I feel I would be a good fit. I suppose my main question is, would I have a shot at getting in? I know it is incredibly difficult for international students to gain acceptance and thus I am wondering whether I would be wasting my time by applying. Here are my test scores:</p>
<p>APs: Chemistry (5) US History (5) Micro (5) Macro (5) US Gov (5) Comp Gov (5)
Eng Lang (5) Comp Sci (5) Psych (5) Human Geo (5)</p>
<p>SATs: 2280 (CR 760 Math 760 Writing 760) (first time, retaking in October to hopefully get over 2300)</p>
<p>SAT IIs: Chem 800 Math Level II 800 US History 790</p>
<p>my other extracurricular activities and awards, etc., can be seen in my other chance thread but from my understanding these don't play a big part in British college applications. I guess I'm just trying to gain some insight into the process. Has anyone been accepted for the computer science course at Cambridge from the US that can share their stats? Or even if I have a legitimate chance at getting in or whether my application would be written off as an international candidate. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!</p>
<p>Your current AP schedule is probably not sufficient for a competitive application to Cambridge CS. </p>
<p>In order to apply to CS at Cambridge, you need A-level Maths (required) plus A-level Further Maths and an additional physical science (highly desirable). For a student coming from the US school system, the minimum closest equivalents would be AP Calculus BC and AP Physics C (Mechanics and E&M).</p>
<p>Well the APs I have are only the exams I have taken so far. I am taking AP Physics C (both exams) as well as AP Calculus BC this upcoming school year as well as AP Biology. Would those still count even though I won’t have the exam scores?</p>
<p>Yes, you can apply before you have your AP exam scores. In that case, it is possible to receive a “conditional offer” meaning you will be admitted provided that you fulfill some future requirement such as e.g. 5-5-5 in AP Calculus BC, Physics C and Biology. </p>
<p>thank you very much bruno! I have heard of those. Do you have any knowledge of US candidates getting such offers and what kind of stats they may have?</p>
<p>You’re stats are quite good, but again, this is Cambridge we’re talking about here. I don’t know how much research you’ve done, but I actually wouldn’t recommend Cambridge or any English school for an American. One reason they don’t like to accept many US kids is because our education system is incompatible with ours. They have 13 years of schools as opposed to our 12 (so they have 5 years of high school). So, they only have 3 years of college. High school basically contains general education for Brits, so that takes a lot of introductory stuff out of the way too. Cambridge and similar schools are known for being very rigorous, no-nonsense, and no hand holding tactics; it is a focused and difficult career-prep oriented track. So, even if you could get in, is that something that sounds appealing to you? Just keep that in mind.</p>
<p>Let me just clarify it a bit. The (new) British pre-college system doesn’t’ actually have 5 high school years. But you can also look at it that way. What they have instead is a 2-year A-Level program, which you must take up and obtain grades before you apply for (mostly) 3-year baccalaureate programs such as CS and Maths. The IB can serve as an entrance requirement to British universities (including Cambridge) in lieu of the A-Levels. During my time, a cumulative score of 38 is good enough to get onto Cambridge’s CS program. Looks like entrance has gotten stiffer these days.</p>
<p>The OP should apply. There is a good chance he will be asked to go for interview. The interview will determine whether or not he gets in. Unlike US universities, OxBridge interviews tend to be very analytical/academic in nature. At the interview, he will likely be given a mathematics test to evaluate whether he has the quantitative skill to cope with the program.</p>
<p>I agree with Alexandre. But, sometimes, interviews can be very informal. And, for applicants applying outside of the UK, it is an alumnus or alumna who will be interviewing the applicant. It helps when the interviewer knows your family name (connection) and can vouch for the impeccability of your family’s name in the society you live in. There were cases in the past where the applicants were not interviewed and were given offers just by submitting grades and other requirements. Of course, their grades were very impressive. Cambridge does not tell you this, but I think they want to choose students who are either top 1 or top 2 in the whole graduating class, unless you come from a top feeder school like Eton, Westminster School, Harrow or Charterhouse School which send students to Cambridge is a somewhat massive number. And, by massive, I mean 9 or 10 students in a year.</p>
<p>RML, students who apply from the UAE have regular interviews on campus at Cambridge. I would assume US applicants are also requested to interview on campus.</p>
<p>thanks everybody for their input, it is really helpful! michellel that honestly does sound appealing to me, my objective in college is to take the hardest mathematics and science classes I can and the thought of not having to take as many humanities is pretty appealing. also, RML, you said that Cambridge likes to accept students who are in the top one or two percent of their graduating class. I am number one in my graduating class of about 300. However, as I have been filling out the application for Cambridge, I do not see any place where a transcript is requested. Is there a certain place on the application I would put this information? Also, does anyone know if Alexandre is correct? Because traveling to Britain for an interview would be something that I would almost certainly be unable to do in the middle of the school year</p>
<p>It’s certainly gotten stiffer. I believe you need an IB cumulative score of at least 40 to get into Cambridge these days. The admissions website mentions something in the range of 40-42 as the minimum requirement. </p>
<p>BTW, just to clarify something that was mentioned before, CS is now also available as a 4-year program at Cambridge and other peer institutions in the UK. The difference between the old 3-year degrees and the new 4-year ones is that the 4-year program is actually an integrated bachelor’s/master’s course that awards both a BA (the standard Oxbridge bachelor’s degree) and an MEng.</p>
<p>bruno: that definitely seems like a great program. how intensive would that program be though? im assuming you would have to take many classes more than the average undergraduate would take</p>
<p>Wow, Alexandre, that’s going to be very costly for UAE students. Some applicants in the Far East aren’t required to go to the UK for interviews. Not everyone who apply to OxBridge from the Far East come from the wealthy class, so there’s no way for them to afford it, if solely for that purpose. :D</p>
<p>I haven’t’ really followed the application process these past recent years, but I think there’s a Supplementary Application Questionnaire (SAQ) that you will be required to submit prior to getting a schedule for an interview (if ever you’ll get that far) where you can subtly “sell yourself” to become an attractive candidate. Good luck! :)</p>