4 A levels Cambridge

[SusannaRowan]

DD is at the moment taking 4 A levels, she wants to apply for Cambridge (history). Head of sixth form wants her to drop one, as if she sits 4, then Cambridge will give her an offer based on 4. Is this true? Her fourth A level is a subject she loves and really isn't ready to give up, but Head considers it not a suitable subject for Cambridge, so it is the one she will have to drop if she has to drop an A level.
I can't see anything online that says Cambridge will offer on 4?

I went to a Cambridge open day with my daughter a few years ago (2015). I went to a Q&A session for parents (not subject specific) while she was doing something else.

Someone asked this question and was told that anyone doing 4 A levels would have an offer based on 4 A levels. Things might have changed since then of course. It it might also be different for different colleges (that was Clare).

I do remember one of her friends applying for engineering and getting an offer of 4 x A*. That was King's I think and the 4th was further maths.

Yeah but again, that is really out of date

Further Maths is now a full A level in its own right.

You can get into (top) Unis with maths, further maths and physics only.

They cannot demand or prefer 4 A levels as that excludes colleges in poorer areas who only offer 3

DS college said: get 3 A levels , Maths, Further Maths and Physics is a good combo (as FM is a full A level now).

He did not try Cambridge but got offers from Imperial, Bath, Bristol and 2 others

It was not what was said on MN, so be aware lots of people don’t have the most recent facts. This was this year.

Also, I don’t have all the facts either!!!! So do your own research, do it thoroughly

I don't think the OP is talking about further maths though.

Agree again this is one for the admissions tutor.

@MarleneDietrichsSmile

Yeah but again, that is really out of date

Further Maths is now a full A level in its own right.

You can get into (top) Unis with maths, further maths and physics only.

They cannot demand or prefer 4 A levels as that excludes colleges in poorer areas who only offer 3

DS college said: get 3 A levels , Maths, Further Maths and Physics is a good combo (as FM is a full A level now).

He did not try Cambridge but got offers from Imperial, Bath, Bristol and 2 others

It was not what was said on MN, so be aware lots of people don’t have the most recent facts. This was this year.

Also, I don’t have all the facts either!!!! So do your own research, do it thoroughly

Cambridge do not demand or require 4 A-levels, you can look through their admissions statistics and that is quite clear, they publish very detailed data.

But Cambridge do regularly if you are studying 4 A-levels specify the grades you need to get in all 4.

They cannot demand or prefer 4 A levels as that excludes colleges in poorer areas who only offer 3

Yes, of course no University can demand Further Maths or four A levels as not all schools offer them.

But if a school does offer Further Maths and a pupil chooses not to take it, this will affect his application (for relevant competitive degrees) Equally if high performing schools encourage 4 A levels and a pupil chooses to drop one and only take 3 then his/her application will be less strong than it would otherwise have been. So context really matters.

From the Cambridge website (Economics):

A-level applicants who receive an offer are usually doing (at least) 4 subjects. The ability to cope with a high workload is important since studying at Cambridge is intensive.

From Trinity College, Cambridge, when my son recently asked about admission requirements for computer science. He is Scottish so he's taking advanced highers in maths, mechanics and physics. He does not need to take a fourth subject.

Your proposed combination of Advanced Higher subjects will be acceptable for Computer Science at Trinity. Offers usually require AAA at Advanced Higher Grade; bands may be specified. Each applicant is considered individually at Trinity, taking all aspects into account, i.e. academic record, including grades or predictions, school/college reference, personal statement, submitted work (where requested), performance in any written assessment, contextual data and performance at interview (if interviewed). Realistic applicants are asked to attend interviews and offers are individually tailored after the interview process is finished.
Admissions Tutors are looking for academic ability and potential, motivation and suitability for the chosen course, commitment and self-discipline.

@MarleneDietrichsSmile

Yeah but again, that is really out of date

Further Maths is now a full A level in its own right.

You can get into (top) Unis with maths, further maths and physics only.

They cannot demand or prefer 4 A levels as that excludes colleges in poorer areas who only offer 3

DS college said: get 3 A levels , Maths, Further Maths and Physics is a good combo (as FM is a full A level now).

He did not try Cambridge but got offers from Imperial, Bath, Bristol and 2 others

It was not what was said on MN, so be aware lots of people don’t have the most recent facts. This was this year.

Also, I don’t have all the facts either!!!! So do your own research, do it thoroughly

FM was a full A level pre-reform, those three A levels were what my DD got her place at Cambridge with. (But if she'd continued with the fourth, there's a high chance she'd have been required to get an A in that too). I think the confusion around FM as a one of three is that while maths, fm and physics is sufficient and desirable for some degrees (physics, maths, engineering other than chemical, comp sci), it may not be broad enough for some others. Completely irrelevant to the OP though!

Recent experience from DD, now 1st year so experience is recent:

Did 4 A-levels (intended to drop one, didn't get round to it due to pandemic).

Got an standard offer for a specific 3 (the 'obvious' 3 for her course), whereas for other universities she got their standard offers for any 3 out of 4.

Also did an EPQ and had a time-consuming hobby. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that combination!

My dc also did 4 A levels (not Further Maths) and her offers were all based on achieving a certain number of A stars. So for example she needed to get one or two A stars but the Unis didn't specify in which subjects. Two Uns subsequently reduced the offers to not needing any A stars, if they were chosen as a 'firm'.

The Unis involved did not include Oxbridges btw.

DD is at C and was offered A AA specifying the A in a specific language (she's doing MML). Her friend, also doing MML at a different C college had the same offer but no specification as to which subject the A should be. Another friend, also doing MML at a third college, was offered 2xA A and she did 4 A levels. There is no set rule.

@KaptainKaveman

DD is at C and was offered A AA specifying the A in a specific language (she's doing MML). Her friend, also doing MML at a different C college had the same offer but no specification as to which subject the A should be. Another friend, also doing MML at a third college, was offered 2xA A and she did 4 A levels. There is no set rule.

Whereas Oxford manage to publish the required grades on their website and that is what is required of everyone for that subject whom they make an offer to.

Whereas Oxford manage to publish the required grades on their website and that is what is required of everyone for that subject whom they make an offer to.

They seem to have more stringent criteria for achieved GCSEs (in the context of a school) though. The Cambridge approach seems to be more individualistic through the whole process. Which may be good for an applicant who is very strong in their chosen field but less of an all-rounder.

DD now a second year at Cambridge. Did 4 A levels and was given AAA offer, the A did not have to be in a specific subject. No EPQ, but very strong supra-curricular.

My advice for someone considering Cambridge would be to do four A levels if you can be sure they will all be A*, otherwise, tick to three.

TBF I think most of the students she has met have only done three A levels.

But surely 3 A starts plus an A (so 4 A levels) would be a great result!

Four A levels is commonplace for DS's subject/college combo, primarily because they all have Maths and FM, although neither is a formal subject requirement. Interestingly, the "standard' offer was two A stars and an A with the stars in any two subjects except Maths. They all have A star Maths so really it was a three A offer.

@Blubells

But surely 3 A starts plus an A (so 4 A levels) would be a great result!

It absolutely would be - unless Cambridge asked for an A in the subject they got the A in. My very limited experience of people applying over the last 3 years or so (I don't think DD has discussed entry requirements with anyone since she's been there but we've seen quite a few apply offer the last few years) is that about 20% of people seem to be asked to get their A in a specific subject. That's an additional pressure anyway but probably more so when it's one of 4 subjects rather than 3.

Oxford don't do it but Cambridge frequently make their offer based on 4 if you apply saying you are doing 4. Therefore unless it is further Maths there is a risk they will make a 4 level offer rather than a 3. Thus in many cases it may be better to present as taking 3 which is quite normal at many schools. However if the applicant is a high achiever and likely to get 4 x A* it won't be an issue.

I don't understand why the Uni would require 4 A stars instead of 3 just because applicants are offering an additional A level.

If the requirement is 3 A stars then surely achieving three A stars n addition to a fourth A grade is better than only achieving 3 A stars?!

My ds is currently applying with 4 A levels and his offers so far (although he's not heard back from Cambridge yet) all require 3 As in any three subjects including Maths.

An A is (to Oxbridge), a relatively mediocre grade.

It's not so much: "Wow, you got 3 A", more like: "You did an A level and couldn't get an A? The shame!"