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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Cambridge University.

152 replies

oneteen · 06/03/2019 22:40

ttps://news.sky.com/story/cambridge-university-aims-to-ditch-most-unequal-title-with-admissions-overhaul-11656787

OP posts:
MarchingFrogs · 07/03/2019 01:46

ttps://news.sky.com/story/cambridge-university-aims-to-ditch-most-unequal-title-with-admissions-overhaul-11656787

Missing an 'h'Smile

news.sky.com/story/cambridge-university-aims-to-ditch-most-unequal-title-with-admissions-overhaul-11656787

Original poster
oneteen · 07/03/2019 06:58

Thanks, @MarchingFrogs Blush - The change was on our local news last night so thought MNr's would find it of interest.

OP posts:
OKBobble · 07/03/2019 08:49

www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/adjustment This is their own announcement

MarchingFrogs · 07/03/2019 09:11

So if you originslly applied for one of the relevant Maths courses, you now have until May 10th to get your STEP entry sorted (and up to May 3rd to save up the fee, if you don't want to pay an extra £19 per paper - or do schools pay for their candidates?).

The window for applying for the Cambridge version of Adjustment is very narrow, as well - one five hour period, vs 5 x 24 hour. I can't help thinking that perhaps they should have given the process a different name,? Not knocking it, though.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 07/03/2019 11:40

I think it would be a rather big disadvantage to only be starting STEP prep at this point, so I'm not sure it would be very helpful this year for maths applicants.

MarchingFrogs · 07/03/2019 12:13

I suppose some other iuniversities use STEP, which the applicant may have firmed, havong not got an offer from Cambridge.

AtiaoftheJulii · 07/03/2019 14:43

Dh just told me about this, so have been reading about it. Interesting.

Apparently Oxford were caught in the hop by it, there was a draft press release going around.

Seems like win-win for Cambridge - they get to look good, whilst also filling as many gaps as possible 😁 (Dh brought it up because we were talking about ds declining his Cambridge offer!)

Was just reading a student room thread about it - some very surprised y13s. Someone on there suggested that people who drop a grade might be less likely to get on anyway, and dh said that the Oxford statistics show that black applicants miss their grades at a disproportionate rate - I have no idea about the Cambridge stats though of course.

Will certainly be interesting to see how it plays out this August.

AtiaoftheJulii · 07/03/2019 14:47

"get on anyway"? Think I got distracted there, I meant "get in now" or something similar.

MarchingFrogs · 07/03/2019 15:12

Oxford statistics show that black applicants miss their grades at a disproportionate rate

How does this marry up, I wonder, with the stats (?'stats') re state schools woefully failing their students by only predicting them the grades they think are a 'safe bet', rather than the grades they need to get considered by the 'top' universities? At least one can't blame Unconditional if Firmed offers for it, anyway, not at Oxford.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 07/03/2019 15:41

They do Marchingfrogs, but I don't know of any that need both STEP 2 and 3.

EcclesThePeacock · 07/03/2019 19:32

The one interesting stat I read recently re Cambridge and their numbers of black students is that (I think last year) took about a third of those who'd achieved 2A*A

DrMadelineMaxwell · 09/03/2019 22:43

DD is one of the ones to get the email telling her that, due to narrowly missing out on an offer, she can get in contact on results day if she exceeds her firm uni place and meets a standard Cambridge offer. It's due to her ticking 3 of 5 'disadvantaged' boxes.

Oh joy to be told that your child is disadvantaged in their education - at least by Cambridge standards.

DrMadelineMaxwell · 09/03/2019 22:43

DD is one of the ones to get the email telling her that, due to narrowly missing out on an offer, she can get in contact on results day if she exceeds her firm uni place and meets a standard Cambridge offer. It's due to her ticking 3 of 5 'disadvantaged' boxes.

Oh joy to be told that your child is disadvantaged in their education - at least by Cambridge standards.

Original poster
oneteen · 09/03/2019 23:52

When I posted the original link - I wondered how DC or indeed parents would deal with the situation - I also looked at the disadvantaged boxes which seem to be more about where you live (or at least 3 of them).

I wondered whether the offers sent out in January were on the low side and that they had held back places for this scheme...which it many respects is good because I'd like to think it reduces some pressure on DC when it comes to sitting their A levels - I would be P'eed off in some respect - however, I think some DC may rise to the challenge too.

IMHO...Cambridge is trying to adjust the way it offers places but it will be a long term process.

OP posts:
MarchingFrogs · 10/03/2019 00:11

I wondered whether the offers sent out in January were on the low side and that they had held back places for this scheme.

www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5835574&page=4

(Post no 77, Murray Edwards AT)
No, we haven't reduced the number of offers. Every year the collegiate university ends up with some empty spaces and this will help to rectify that. It may also change behaviour in the Summer Pool and with missed offers but it's too early to say how that behaviour might manifest itself.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 10/03/2019 08:35

DrM when did your dd receive the email?

DrMadelineMaxwell · 10/03/2019 09:08

The same day it was in the papers last week.

DrMadelineMaxwell · 10/03/2019 09:10

Tuesday.

Cambridge University.
OhYouBadBadKitten · 10/03/2019 12:05

Thanks :)

Original poster
oneteen · 10/03/2019 13:19

Thanks, Marchingfrogs - it was interesting to read all the Murray Edwards responses.

OP posts:
IrmaFayLear · 11/03/2019 13:23

It seems fair to me.

At ds's college there was a spare space on the course because someone hadn't made their grades. The horse's mouth said that it would be very unfair to take grade missers when other applicants who had been turned down after interview had exceeded the expected grades.

I'm not sure about their criteria, though. Doesn't the postcode factor disproportionately favour inner city applicants? Why are institutions always chasing these and never focusing their beam on candidates from Just About Managing homes out in Dullshire?

MullofKintire · 11/03/2019 13:38

I once heard a parent with a child at an expensive private boarding school saying they were planning to buy a house in a flagged area (available for

MariaNovella · 11/03/2019 14:20

Oh joy to be told that your child is disadvantaged in their education - at least by Cambridge standards.

I know someone currently at Cambridge who is not disadvantaged by any standards known to normal people but who gets special treatment because of her background.

Bowchicawowow · 11/03/2019 16:34

I told that story MullofKintire on a different thread and the replies were that it was complete nonsense.
I can't agree with you when you say 'you can see the appeal...' I think it's outrageous behaviour.

EcclesThePeacock · 11/03/2019 16:45

Hopefully they were joking. If not, they seem to lack basic comprehension skills.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/decisions/contextual-data?wssl=1

'Where an applicant is predicted to achieve the grades, and in certain cases subject (s) required to meet the standard conditional offer for a place at Oxford and performs to an appropriate standard in any required pre-interview admissions test, a candidate will be strongly recommended for interview if
They have received a contextual flag for at least one prior education measure
and
They have received a contextual flag for at least one postcode measure '

...note the use of and.