Kids have just said they want to apply to Cambridge university, what do we do?

[frozendaisy]

Just as the title says really.

Bit of a bolt out of the blue. One us year 10, one year 8.

We have always said, one step at a time, so concentrate on GCSEs, or even just this week's homework.

Not private schooled, fairly bright with hard work top grades, rounded outside interests, part time jobs and volunteer work. Just as a background.

Do we start looking at entrance exam tutors?

What do they both want to do? It’s quite early days for the year 8. Is the year 10 predicted good grades for GCSEs?

Tell them they better start working their butts off!
Doing all sorts of extra curricular academic stuff like maths olympiads etc…. And if they’re good enough, and still want to in Yr 12, you’ll back them all the way

Why have they suddenly said they want to go to Cambridge? Have they watched something on TV? What do they want to study? Realistically they will need to be able to achieve top grades while coasting at GCSE and doing minimal work at A level to then be able to step up to the level required for Cambridge uni work. There's no point getting in and then having nothing left in the tank, they'd be beyond miserable.

What are they like academically? Is it likely they’d get the grades?

Theyre very young, tbh at this point I’d just be at the ‘that’s a lovely idea’ stage and see what they come out with next week.

Out of interest what is the yr10 predicted at GCSE ? My eldest has mentioned Oxbridge too - also a bit of a curve ball for me .

There are threads on the Higher Education board under the education header, one will be Oxbridge applicants, they are combined names because you can only apply to one per UCAS cycle because it is difficult to get in even with all 9s and 4 A stars at A level. They want an avid interest in the subject, not what they are taught at school but outside of that, what have they read/seen/visited/listened to and most importantly what have they learned from that? Where did it take them next? Document everything, better to have far too much and cull than too little or they can't remember.

There is also a current Oxbridge students thread. I suggest you read it. It is intense, their terms are 8 weeks rather than 10 they have to work hard and it can mess up their mental health if they are not used to dealing with that sort of pressure.

There are summer schools and master classes, MOOCs etc, have a google. There are also entrance exams for lots of subjects. All the info is on their websites. They need to be prepared for who they are up against, lots of videos on youtube about interviews etc. Normal process for uni, apply via UCAS, for Oxbridge apply with an earlier deadline, sit entrance exam, might then be called for an interview, Cambridge does 2 usually, Oxford could be more as the colleges interview them. They reveal offers on the same day unlike all other unis who trickle out offers.

Oh and they don't care about the jobs or volunteer work unless it is directly connected to their degree ie vet and volunteering at a dog shelter etc. They care what they learn from it though.

Do they know the subjects they want to study?

My ds was clear he wanted to go to Oxford from year 8, but he knew the subject he wanted to study.

At this stage, they need to get the best gcses they can, with a view towards the A Levels they want. Lots of reading around their subject of they truly love it, and tell them to keep their options open.

And enjoy themselves. No point stressing themselves out about it. Life's too short.

You says good for you - make sure you work your hardest in your exams and do all Your homework on time and to the best of your ability. Absolutely nothing more at this point till they're in year 12 and you can assess whether that's a possibility.

Make sure that they do some extra curriculars that are related to whatever they want to study.

Have a word with their teachers and find out if your children's ambitions are realistic.

Depends on the course but they also have to pass the interview. Bound to be someone here who went. The people I knew who went were bright and worked at it. They also did extra curricular stuff as well. Public speaking, drama etc. You are going up against lots of people who want to go.

Get good GCSEs and then good a levels.

Depending on subject there are entrance exams or it is just from interview.

You can do various summer schools and visit Cambridge - quite a lot of colleges do widening participation activities.

No need or point in any tutoring- that's not how it works. Encourage them and revisit around GCSEs- if they're hitting top grades then.

Ok to answer some questions

Year 10 physics, I have found out they do a general natural science degree and specialise

Year 8 maths

There are entrance exams for both I think I will hop over to higher education board and see what is being suggested and advised there.

Year 10 is predicted 8/9s with no work winter exams for his favourite subjects just English because of lack of interest but we have been working on his attitude recently so will see what the summer exams bring.

They can public speak and debate.

And have ample of interest in their subjects but nothing official as if yet hence why asking now.

No idea why it came up, it seems definitely more Cambridge than Oxford. Think they just want to aim high which is not a bad thing in itself.

But yes if they aren't going to be self motivated now there's no point.

Thank you all for responses much appreciated and a fair bit to think about and let them know.

Take them to look around, it is wonderful to have kids with aspirations and it really focuses the brain if you are motivated and have a goal in mind. Look into strategies on study and revision so they can get good grades, if their teachers aren't so great use titors to fill the gap and provide extra. Also I would find out about help with the application and interview. Encourage extra study and personal enrichment.

The natural sciences degree offers specialisation and you can also then opt for the fourth year to get a masters.

The physics requires quite a lot of maths so further maths a level will be very helpful.

Does the school offer gcse further maths?

They may also find maths challenges helpful.

Parallel run maths circles that would also be good.

parallel.org.uk

There are entrance exams for Maths, the steps. At the point you hit a levels they run some online courses looking at the questions on them.

Just say work hard and you may be able to, nothing is guaranteed.

Don’t let them be told ‘they’re all snobs’ or the like. A friend of mine nearly didn’t apply because she thought she wouldn’t fit in. She had a fabulous time and was furious that her school had nearly pushed her away from applying.

Junior maths challenge - past papers and info (school may already do this)

ukmt.org.uk/junior-challenges/junior-mathematical-challenge

Information about steps (the maths entrance exam)

maths.org/step/welcome

I’d ask them why that particular uni as it’s not a great place to be recently.

They need to figure out what they want ti do then find the uni to get them to that point.

I'd say oh that's nice and do nothing else. Let them get their GCSEs first and then you will have a better idea if it's realistic or not. Lots of people want to go to Cambridge but that doesn't mean they can including me

NatSci is ultra competitive, but if your Y10 kid is coasting through science/maths GCSEs then he's in with a shot.

He needs to check out the entrance requirements of individual colleges, as they differ wildly. Some are fine with A-Levels, others require extra exams.

If he's state school educated, are there local independent schools who could be persuaded to offer mock interviews?

I don't know whether they would meet the criteria for STEM Smart, but it's worth looking into after GCSE - effectively a mentoring programme aimed at widening participation.

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/stem-smart

Also check out Isaac physics, that is trying to teach students physics and stretch them beyond the curriculum (also helps with the curriculum). https://isaacphysics.org/?stage=all

There is nothing wrong with them expressing a keen interest at this stage. We visited Cambridge in the summer holidays after year 11 as DD1 was interested. We stayed in a Premier Inn and used the park and ride bus. If you go to colleges and say you are a prospective student, you can often look inside the gates for free.

As others have said, Cambridge is hot on encouraging applications from state schools, especially those which don't send many/any students. Check out which college is linked to your location. The one linked to where I live & work isn't remotely interested in doing things with my school, but DD's college does lots of outreach events. You can register an interest in summer schools too if I remember rightly - again DD1 went to a Women into STEM one at Corpus Christi which she thoroughly enjoyed, and this gave her the confidence to apply.

Somewhere on the Higher Education board I made a thread about NatSci. You are most welcome to hop on there and ask away as we are (mostly) pretty friendly.

Finally, DD1 is still there in year 3 of a PhD. We went to visit her over Easter and got the bargain of the year at the Premier Inn close to the A14/J32 - £105 for 3 nights! There is a frequent bus into the city centre from there, or you can go to the Madingley Road Park & Ride.

Are your kids very clever?

For some subjects such as Economics, the offer rate is only something like 10%.