AIBU to ask about Economics at Cambridge University.

[CambridgeEntry2022]

Posted in Education, but no replies as yet, so thought I would try AIBU instead!

DD is hoping to apply to Cambridge University to do Economics next year. She has done a practice ECAA test and scored 28 out of 40. Her teachers have advised that this is not a competitive score.

Does anyone know what a competitive score would be?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

It says around 60% is a respectable score here:

www.calday.co.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=507&type=pdf

[quote cathyandclare]It says around 60% is a respectable score here:

www.calday.co.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=507&type=pdf[/quote]
Hi @cathandclare

Thank you for that link. Yes, the information I looked at said that 60% is a respectable score. When DD got school report to say that 70% was below a competitive score, she was really worried.

I don't know how that compares to A-Level results, but Economics is a popular course and I imagine that they'd ask for A A A in A level grades (or whatever the numerical equivalent is nowadays).

They do take account of other circumstances so she should certainly give it a try. There's more advice and stuff about colleges on this thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4272844-AIBU-to-ask-which-is-the-best-Cambridge-College-for-Economics

This is a really interesting article about the admission process and well worth a read - disclosure - I went to Churchill and adored it (NatSci)

www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jan/10/how-cambridge-admissions-really-work

[quote Hollowgast]This is a really interesting article about the admission process and well worth a read - disclosure - I went to Churchill and adored it (NatSci)

www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jan/10/how-cambridge-admissions-really-work[/quote]
@Hollowgast

Thank you so much for both of those links. I will read them now.

Hi, my son also decided to apply to Economics in Cambridge and looking at ECAA past paper they are really hard. I would be over the moon if he manages to do above 70%. Is pretty much impossible to do all maths questions in time allowed and he got 4 A* in predicted grades including Maths and Further Maths.

@Hollowgast. Very interesting article. I had no idea...Thank you for sharing.

I think that’s a pretty decent score (especially for a first attempt?) How strong is her maths? Most economists at Cambridge are very good mathematicians.

I would encourage your DD to speak to admissions tutors in colleges, they know far more than even the best school teachers/advisers. They are very knowledgeable and give sensible, pragmatic and kind advice. My DC were both given a steer by tutors pre admission which was invaluable.

If she’s keen, is a decent mathematician and has good GCSEs/predictions, then why not give it a shot. As long as her other options give her a bit of a range on grades.

[quote Hollowgast]This is a really interesting article about the admission process and well worth a read - disclosure - I went to Churchill and adored it (NatSci)

www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jan/10/how-cambridge-admissions-really-work[/quote]
Really interesting article, I loved my time at Cambridge.

It's a very maths heavy course. So is she predicted a* in maths and her other subjects.

There's no harm in her applying

[quote GJReading]@Hollowgast. Very interesting article. I had no idea...Thank you for sharing.[/quote]
No problem. I went to Cambridge from an ordinary state school family. The tired old clichés such as "you need to be rich" or "those places aren't for the likes of us" are nonsense and have been for years and it saddens me when I think about all those students put off from applying and missing out on a fantastic experience. I was also advised against applying; "we've never had anyone get in" but that just made me more determined.

I would be delighted if someone, anyone, is encouraged to apply after reading my posts or by sharing articles such as the one above. Right now the state school proportion of Cambridge is only about 50%. This is not good enough but it needs more people from normal backgrounds to apply. If they don't apply, then nothing can change.

Anything over 60% is ok for someone educated in the UK. They prioritise the A Levels and interview so don’t waste time trying to get a perfect score if it’s affecting the other grades.

It’s probably obvious but if she wants to study Economics then LSE and Soas are considered better than Cambridge depending on the specialism & may lead to better jobs. LSE also offers a BSC in Economics & gives you a much better grounding in econometrics - so if the aim is progress down that line she would have more options.

And of she has the predicted grades then she should get an interview. So no harm in applying

I went to Cambridge from an ordinary state school family. The tired old clichés such as "you need to be rich" or "those places aren't for the likes of us" are nonsense and have been for years and it saddens me when I think about all those students put off from applying and missing out on a fantastic experience. I was also advised against applying; "we've never had anyone get in" but that just made me more determined.

Agree with all of this. I went to a very good state 6th form college to do A-levels after a very average comprehensive for gcse's and got so much encouragement to apply. It had never crossed my mind before that.

@HectorGloop

May I ask what your GCSE grades were? I totally agree that more kids from state schools should be encouraged to apply rather than discouraged.

Good Luck to all who are applying to Cambridge this year!

Hollowgast must be seriously bright, though. Natural Sciences at Cambridge is meant to be just about the hardest degree course in the UK.

Do you mind my asking what you do/did for a living after that?

I used to do some admissions work for Cambridge - not in Economics so I can't speak to what the score means. What I will say though is that a big problem in outreach was (usually very well-meaning) teachers telling students that Oxbridge was only for geniuses and therefore that they shouldn't apply if they're 'merely' very good, even if they had the grades. Between them Oxford and Cambridge take 6-7000 undergraduates a year; they're (nearly) all very bright and nearly all have top grades, but they aren't all prodigies in their chosen fields, there aren't 7000 of those a year! So I would want verification from somewhere else before just accepting that your Dad's score rules her out.

Is she amazing at maths? Friends who did Economics at Oxbridge all say that the maths was really hard, and they were glad that they were good at it arriving there.

@GJReading

my GCSE's were 7 A and 2A's, so very good compared to what was usual for my school. I think I took them in 1994, it was possibly the first year of A grades, the memory is getting fuzzy...

@thing47

Hollowgast must be seriously bright, though. Natural Sciences at Cambridge is meant to be just about the hardest degree course in the UK.

Do you mind my asking what you do/did for a living after that?

That's very kind of you thing47. I ended up doing a PhD in my favoured science at Cambridge, so was a student in the city for 7 completely brilliant years. Academia wasn't for me in he end so for the last 15 years I've been an accountant (finance manager).

The course was very intense though. Short terms, but so much work. I had three hours of lectures on Saturday mornings in my first year but the supervision system (tutorials with 1 academic or post grad teacher and a maximum of 3 students) means you get the chance to go over stuff you don't understand. Sciences obviously have lab work but other subjects have reading lists etc so will also have lots to do.

@Dishwashersaurous

It's a very maths heavy course. So is she predicted a* in maths and her other subjects.

There's no harm in her applying

Thank you for your reply. DD got A in Maths in August. She is predicted As in Further Maths, History and Economics, which she is taking 2022.

@astoundedgoat

Is she amazing at maths? Friends who did Economics at Oxbridge all say that the maths was really hard, and they were glad that they were good at it arriving there.

Yes, Her Maths is strong. She got A* when she took A-Level Maths this year. She is doing Further Maths, History and Economics next year.

[quote GJReading]@HectorGloop

May I ask what your GCSE grades were? I totally agree that more kids from state schools should be encouraged to apply rather than discouraged.

Good Luck to all who are applying to Cambridge this year![/quote]
She got 11 grade 9s at GCSE, so she's okay for GCSE entry requirements.

@Hardbackwriter

I used to do some admissions work for Cambridge - not in Economics so I can't speak to what the score means. What I will say though is that a big problem in outreach was (usually very well-meaning) teachers telling students that Oxbridge was only for geniuses and therefore that they shouldn't apply if they're 'merely' very good, even if they had the grades. Between them Oxford and Cambridge take 6-7000 undergraduates a year; they're (nearly) all very bright and nearly all have top grades, but they aren't all prodigies in their chosen fields, there aren't 7000 of those a year! So I would want verification from somewhere else before just accepting that your Dad's score rules her out.

Thank you for this advice. That is interesting to hear. She has decided to apply so we are just crossing our fingers for her!

Just had a quick scan through the thread and I don't think anyone's said it yet, but the teacher might be being especially cautious this year because of the grade inflation of the last 2 years.

A) lots of pupils deferred last year, and there was a lot of a* dished out.
B) 2022 exams will be sympathetically graded so again big pool of the best grades to choose from for oxbridge
C) I'm an exams officer and have noticed that some of the courses this year have 2 admissions test requirements where previously they had one, which tells me that because they don't trust the grading for public exams at the moment they are relying heavily on their own admissions tests.

She should absolutely apply, nothing to lose! But it is going to be a tough year to get in and that might be why the teacher is being a bit pessimistic.