Natural sciences -Cambridge.

[notreadyforseptember]

Hello
looking for any advice or feedback. My DS is in year 12 doing a levels in biology chemistry and maths.

doesn’t really know want he wants to do. But someone suggested natural science at Cambridge which he then thought looked cool!

I don’t think the school will be able to advise. We’re not in a deprived area that might have access to outreach. But neither is the school set up to give good advice on Oxbridge applications. They just don’t tend to send kids there.

I just wondered what sort of extra curricular stuff might be worth doing in year 12 to support an application. Or any other feedback?

or is it totally out of his reach. I would say that 3 A grades are totally realistic. Probably an a star or two wouldn’t be impossible.

thanks for any advice

I have six A levels if you count General Studies too, Augend. Not A stars though, as I’m too ancient for that. I’m not sure it made NatSci any easier.

I'd take a bet that quite a lot of the few who got places with less than the standard two A stars and an A would tend to be mature applicants. The rest of what you say is spot on.

The published standard offer was the sane then, and has been for many years

Exactly - I think that was what I was trying to say in a very long winded way. You can have as many A stars at a level as you like and it doesn't tell you how easy you'll find NatSci as long as you have the required grades to meet your offer.

And @fUNNYfACE36 - I meant that in response to the OPs point that her son's most likely outcome was two A stars and an A - i.e. that that is the minimum grade set now required (as opposed to the A*AA when I got my offer).

He could certainly have a go but also have other good choices he would like. My siblings went to Oxbridge (and I didn't try - no one had ever been from my school at that point). None of my 5 children went, but they have done pretty well at places like Bristol where 3 of them went inculdng the two who are trainee solicitors at the moment.

Natural sciences is quite hard. I know some of my lot picked easier to get into subjects s they had a lot of spare time at university and so it was easier to get into at that particular place - ancient history eg. I am not saying that is a good plan for everyone but it is a plan for some. One of my daughters had science A levels but also included economics and did BSc in geography and is a lawyer now. You son might also want to think about what he would do after his degree for a career and work back.

It is true that for the number of students made offers with three A star grades, far more than this are turned down with the same grade profiles. The ones who get in with 'only' the minimum 2 A stars and an A are probably extremely contextualised candidates, or perhaps mature students with other types of experience to boost their application. It's always worth a shot, but also worth being realistic about the statistics.

One of my (C, NatSci) supervisors said 'I often prefer to teach the ones who only excel at "their subject" and never gave two hoots about anything else. Sorts them out from the ones who get A grades in everything to please their teachers.'

As an A-grades-in-everything sort of a lass, I was a bit miffed at the time.

I think the problem is they have to have a way of separating applicants without too much subjectivity

I know. He was pretty old-school even then. And actually, scientists who write clearly, or speak another language, or understand the context of history, are to be cherished.

I have actually pretty much made my career out of "being a scientist who writes clearly".

My real strength through my jobs that I have had (I am a qualified accountant, but now work in data science), is taking complex technical things, and either working out what in earth is going on myself, or talking to technical people who can't explain things in non technical terms, and then explaining options/requirements/what data means in plain language that makes sense to non-experts. I view it essentially as "translation" work but rather than translating from e.g. French, I translate from whatever complicated technical thing is causing problems/needs to be understood at the time.

It's not something I ever even realised was a thing that needed doing before I started doing it accidentally in my role but it's a niche people find quite useful.

@PauliString when DD was choosing her 2nd year options, she was interested in History & Philosophy of Science. Her DoS pulled a face and said "X, there's a lot of reading & writing involved". DD replied "I have an A level in English Literature" to which he replied "you'll love it". She did!

Good choice; wonder if it still gets nicknamed Hiss’n’Piss? Maybe undergraduates are more mature these days.

My dh read NatSci at Cam and stayed on to do a PhD, but then managed to nearly poison himself to death by wrongly burning off some arsenic he was experimenting on (the evacuation alarm went off but he got locked in with the fumes). He gave up on practical science research after that and joined Footlights instead. Don't want to put anyone off, but in case your ds doesn't enjoy practicals, after year 1 they can hone in on less practical subjects, like geology, or even switch to a different subject altogether. It's a very flexible course.

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My youngest brother read Natural sciences at Cambridge, having received an unconditional offer. He had been predicted 4 A which he achieved. From what I can tell, they are looking for far more than academic excellence, rather brilliant minds that think differently. His interview was very abstract and pulled on his scientific knowledge acquired though his own curiosity outside of the curriculum. The only extra curriculars he did were sport (mostly rugby!). He went to St Catherine's and loved every minute of it - could not have been further from the snobby, upper class stereotype.

The course is great and very flexible, multiple paths to specialize in.

The Cambridge website has lots of useful information, including a free webinar called Subject Matters -Choosing your A level subjects. Some interesting points are raised which may be useful to your son. He might prefer to skip the first 23 minutes and concentrate on the concrete advice about A-Level subject choice for STEM from the university admissions tutors.

Natural Sciences has to be one of the hardest degrees out there (and one of the most versatile and interesting), so the school must think he's up to the challenge if they're recommending it to him.
Good luck to you both.