Have I Made A Big Mistake? What should I do?

[sarahlayton06]

So, last year I had an offer from Cambridge and was predicted to achieve 3A*s. However, I ended up getting ill during my exams and underperforming, ending up with BBB.

This led me to take an impromptu gap year to retake my exams privately. I retook my entrance exams for the universities I wanted to apply to and it went really well. I also had extenuating circumstances and had evidence for this from my doctor and old school.

I wanted to reapply to Cambridge as I had an offer last year and really like the course. However, I was so nervous about them discriminating against me and rejecting me based on me resitting my A-level exams and originally achieving BBB. They claim that they officially accept resits and accept extenuating circumstances but I wasn’t sure if they truly meant it or were just saying so.

I discovered a Foundation Year course that they offer to those who have been disadvantaged and would be unable to make competitive applications normally and considered applying to it. Deep down, I know that I don’t want to do the course as I don’t want to delay my education by another year and because I don’t need any foundational support as I’m more than ready to start undergraduate studies right now; I only underperformed in my A-level exams due to medical issues. Also, the minimum entry requirement for the Foundation Year is BBB so I’ve already met this but with my resits will far surpass it in all likelihood.
This is supported by how I did mock exams at a private tutoring agency to get new predicted grades and got 3A*s again.

However, I was still worried that Cambridge would just reject me based on my resits. This indecision about what to do led me to miss the UCAS deadline for Oxbridge.

I have now come to really regret my actions and regret not directly applying. This is as I’ve heard of others who got in with resits and because otherwise my application (Personal Statement, Reference, Predicted Grades, Test Score etc) were really strong.

Now, I only have the Foundation Year open to me (deadline is in late January). I am eligible for this but as mentioned I really don’t want to do it as I don’t need it and it would be a waste of my time.

However, it’s the only pathway open for me to get into Cambridge as you can progress onto a normal course of your choice if you pass it. My parents probably won’t allow me to take a second gap year just for Oxbridge and I wouldn’t want to either.

I really don’t know what to do. I can’t stop regretting not applying normally as I think I would have stood a chance based on my offer from last year and after talking to some admissions tutors from different Cambridge Colleges and how they consider resits.

What should I do?

If the Foundation year is your option apply for it, you can always decide against later. Otherwise you won't be able to apply until a year's time anyway so have to delay entry, even assuming you got an offer. Tbh if you have had health issues the pressure of Oxbridge may not be ideal anyway. Apply to others who are well regarded and you can meet offers comfortably and look again if you want a postgrad course. Check the financial situation were you to take a Foundation course with SFE too.

Broaden your horizons and look at other unis?
Cambridge isn't the only uni, there are many other excellent universities and courses available where you haven't breeched the deadline.

I personally wouldn't do a foundation at Cambridge over a first year at another great university. In 20 years' time it really won't matter that you went to, say, Manchester, Exeter or Durham and not Cambridge.

sorry to hear about your difficulties

your only options are the foundation year or go somewhere else? You can regret not applying normally but that ship has sailed.

if Cambridge is that important and you can work out the funding then go for the foundation year.

you don’t mention any other unis. Are there really no other choices?

The Foundation Year is free by the way.

I would do the foundation year if possible, but can you also apply to some other universities?
The foundation year might give you time to mature and develop coping strategies around the factors leading you to this kind of indecision.

Apply through clearing to the best course that interests you that is available. You sound like you are in a pattern of unrelenting standards which predictably result in procrastination, indecision, avoidance and burnout. Time to start actually doing something about it instead of getting caught up in whether you are good enough, whether you are being treated fairly. It's an education marketplace. There's a lot of people in it. You are not the best and not the worst, just like everyone else. Others don't succeed by getting onto the right course or getting the best grades. They succeed by getting on with life and living in a way that is sustainable and consistent with their own aims and values.

What’s the plan if not Cambridge?

You sound clear that you don’t want to do the Foundation, nor wait another year. So, move onto Plan B.

If you’re not clear, and you do really want Cambridge, then apply.

Whatever you do, don’t miss the January deadline through indecision again.

Have you found somewhere now to resit?
I think you said before you thought you would now qualify for extra time, has that been confirmed?
How long were you ill for? I thought the issues was late diagnosis ASD or similar?

Let Cambridge go.

Find another great university and a course you love. Cambridge is not the be all and end all.
Don't waste your time wondering about the what ifs.

Do the foundation year

Even looking at the criteria there is no certainty of a place on the Foundation year by meeting the minimum grades, so you do need a back up plan.

Yes, I have found somewhere to resit and have qualified for extra time.

I also meet the eligibility criteria for the Foundation Year (not because of my late ASD diagnosis) but because of being care-experienced.

Funnily enough, if I hadn’t been in care, I wouldn’t be eligible for the programme as they don’t consider late disabilities as part of their criteria for this year - they changed it from last year when they did.

This makes me regret my decision even more.

So glad you have found somewhere to resit and have the extra time.
You must have a plan B however. Getting to Cambridge is a lot of luck. Every year loads of well qualified young people miss out.
What subject are you hoping to study?

Law. But the frustrating thing is I got an offer last year and this year, as mentioned, my admissions test score/personal statement were really good. So, it all came down to the A-level resits.

No guarantee they will offer again in future though, sadly. They can afford to pick and choose from the pool of applicants. If you are going to apply for the Foundation programme, you might want to call to check if your resit grades will count positively or if you would still be eligible.

OP
You have 5 spaces on your application form. The Foundation course is your foot in the door to a course you’re had your heart set on for years. Just apply.
When you get your results and if you get the grades needed, get in touch and ask if you could be considered for a space which may open up in clearing. Doubtful it will go to clearing, but you never know.

I’m not sure why you are letting a small compromise get in the way of your dream. Just apply 💐
An extra year in education feels massive when you look at it from the beginning, but in the grand scheme of things in your life, it really won’t matter.

I don’t believe Cambridge is the ‘be all’ but I DO think holding on to regrets eats away at people. Just apply.

Also put other choices down too. Clearly you are bright, and eligible for contextual offers, so the world is your oyster. Good luck 💐💐💐

Have you somehow had your LNAT results? Are they not only released in February 25 for this year’s prospective applications? The LNAT only applies for the year of application, it does not carry over.

Apply through clearing to the best course that interests you that is available.

It's way too late for Clearing for 2024 entry and totally unnecessary at this stage for 2025 entry, as the equal consideration deadline is still over a month away. Why on earth would anyone decide to leave applying at all to next summer, when the desired course at any acceptable university might not even be available to be applied for, when they could just apply normally now?

One option would be for the OP to go elsewhere for undergrad and if still fixated on Cambridge by the beginning of her final year, to apply to do a postgraduate course there.

Yes, I am out of the loop this year and read missed Oxbridge UCAS deadline as if missed UCAS deadline, you are right of course.

Hi, OP -

I have just read your other more recent thread, about what might have been and asking about why people won’t believe you.

Writing as a former Russell Group admissions tutor, I think it would be helpful for you to contact a Cambridge FY admissions tutor early in the New Year, ideally the week of 6 Jan. Email is generally best and you can write to anyone on the admissions team. They will route your message properly.

I think you would benefit from the FY, because your only chance of succeeding doing Law at Cambridge requires you to learn proper study habits. There will be a massive amount of reading and writing, and the tutorial system leaves very little room to hide. I don’t mean to put you off, because it is a fantastic education! But you do need to learn how to get on top of your work.
It will be an adjustment and having a year for it seems to me a good plan.

In your place I would tell the admissions tutor that I had been ill, taken a year out, Cambridge remained my top choice and I was determined to do it right. Therefore I wanted to do the FY as a re-entry year, and was I a suitable candidate? The extra year is nothing if it sets you up for life.

However I fully agree with everyone who is telling you that Cambridge is not the be all and end all. Presumably your goal is to practise Law. The country is full of fine programmes that will enable you to do that. Always remember that the majority of qualified Oxbridge applicants are rejected through no fault of their own. Best wishes

If you are really stuck on Cambridge, apply for the foundation year. Law is extremely competitive, and just even having to resit A-levels will make you look very uncompetitive compared to the rest of the applicants in the standard field — sorry to be blunt, but colleges are looking for candidates who are well suited to the exam system and the pressures of Tripos straight out of the gate. If you are care-experienced and also have difficulties in work and time management the foundation course could actually be a really good way of getting yourself ready to do the subject and on a better footing for a degree.

(I’m an Oxbridge interviewer in a similarly competitive subject, and to be brutally honest with you, even though the university technically permits resits I have never actually seen a candidate get a standard offer on resit grades, I’m afraid, unless there has been some seriously major documented life event, like the candidate having experienced serious illness or parental bereavement just before the A-level exams.)

Remember that Cambridge is not the be-all and end-all. There are loads of great courses and universities which you would enjoy out there, and do well at. And the foundation year is a great option but not the be-all and end-all either.

(And by serious illness above I mean eg. medically documented emergency surgery, cancer, other life threatening condition, ICU stay, not just had a virus during the exam period kind of thing.)

Wait reading @poetryandwine response you are the same op as the 'why don't they believe me' thread? I thought you HAD already got three A stars!
One way of guaranteeing NOT going to Cambridge is not applying.

Hu, @mondaytosunday -

The OP was predicted 3 A stars, and from context seems to have earned these grades on mocks. Her exam results were BBB.

Please explain if not being given extra time in exams due to a late autism diagnosis would count as “extreme extenuating circumstances”?

Also, when you say you have never seen anyone get a standard offer, have you at least seen someone get an offer of some sort? After all, since I’m getting extra time this exam season maybe that wouldn’t have been such a big deal.

Just for the record, I did actually get an offer from Cambridge last year and there are some people who study law with grades like AAA or AAA - not even 3As because according to some Oxbridge students, the interview is the most important part of the application process along with the admissions test (even if Cambridge claims everything is treated equally). Some people have said that A-level grades/GCSEs aren’t that important as they aren’t considered suitably structured to the course at Oxbridge unlike admissions tests which test specific skills.