Thank you @Riverpebble.
There's a very good post from a Pembroke College (Cam) rep on the Student room. I don't know how to link just that post but will see if I can post a copy. It's quite long.
Now we're beginning to see some repeated questions, I thought it would be a good time to bring out the FAQs. We know that the process can be confusing and that it’s easy to worry about whether you’ve submitted the correct paperwork. We’re here to help! This post is designed to answer the most commonly asked questions and point you in the direction of help for those we can’t answer. First off, some general tips:
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Check your email that you used for UCAS every weekday, including your junk/spam box
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Make sure your internet security settings are not stopping emails getting through. It’s a good idea to add your college’s email address to your safe senders list. If you are using a school email, speak to your school’s IT team about this (schools often have more restrictive privacy settings than gmail or Hotmail).
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Read everything you are sent by your college very carefully. If there’s something you don’t understand, ask someone else – a family member, a friend or a teacher/adviser – to read over the email to see if they can help you first. If they can’t answer, check the University website and the website of the college you have applied to or been allocated to. They often have a ‘current applicants’ page. If this still doesn't answer your question, email your college.
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Don’t expect colleges to be working over the weekend. It’s possible they might be, especially as interviews draw closer, but if you email them on a Friday evening, there’s a very good chance you won’t receive a reply until Monday.
What I and other posters can/can't help with:
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‘Will my college accept x or y thing?’ If you’re unable to submit what your college has asked for, you need to check with them, preferably by email.
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‘Have I done everything I need to do?’ Again, this is a question for your college.
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‘When will I hear from x college?’ I can answer in general terms, but I can’t be specific because I don’t know the inner workings of all colleges!
Now for some FAQs:
My UCAS Hub says there's been a change in my application, but I don't know what's changed!
In most cases, this is where you've made an Open application, which has now been allocated to a college and UCAS is just updating with this information. Cambridge doesn't update UCAS if you have been called for interview, so that won't be the update.
Has anyone heard about Computer Science/Natural Sciences/Medicine/Economics/Engineering/Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology/Law?
It's incredibly unlikely at this stage. We almost always wait for the results of Admissions Assessments to come in before we make any decisions on who we would like to call for interview and even when those decisions have been made, scheduling needs to be done. We have not yet received the results of the pre-interview assessments (ENGAA, BMAT, TMUA etc.) so if you sat one of these assessments, you're not going to hear from your college just yet.
Has anyone heard about <<subject>> in general?
This has no relevance to your own application. If someone at Pembroke has heard about an interview in Linguistics, for example, it has absolutely no bearing on your application to Trinity Hall for Linguistics. There are many reasons why one college might send out interview invitations for a subject sooner than another college. More on this later.
Has anyone heard from <<college>> in general?
This has moderate relevance to your application, in that you know the college that is handling your application has begun to send out interview invitations. It has no bearing on whether you're likely to get an invitation to interview, or when you might find out.
Has anyone heard from <<college>> for <<subject>>?
If you haven't heard, and you've checked your inbox, spam and junk folders, then there's a very strong chance that no one else has either. To the best of our knowledge, the majority of colleges contact all the students for the same subject on the same day, whether they are being invited to interview or not.
What time of day will I hear/will I hear over the weekend?
Most offices will work a relatively normal workday. They will usually finish between 5 and 6:30. They work Monday to Friday. If things are really urgent or time is tight, they might work in the evenings or over the weekend, but this is not standard practice, so please don't expect a reply to your email/an interview invitation outside reasonable working hours (UK time).
When will I hear?
This isn't a question I can answer, I'm afraid. There are many things which impact when you might hear about an interview, but your academic ability isn't one of them. Things that can affect it include:
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How busy the Director of Studies is. If they're super busy, they may not have had chance to look at the files. Don't forget that it is the middle of term and Directors of Studies are teaching, doing research, and trying to have a life as well as looking at Admissions files.
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How busy the Admissions Tutors are. As above.
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How many applicants the subject receives. Looking through a handful of files takes a lot less time than looking through 50!
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Whether scheduling for that subject is contingent on something else. Are we waiting to hear about an interviewer's availability? Are we sharing interviewers with another college or are there departmental interviews to factor in?
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Whether we are waiting for results of an Admissions Assessment.
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When the interviews are within the period. We like to give everyone as much notice as possible, so interviews on (e.g.) 7th December are likely to be scheduled before those on 17th (assuming we have all the information, of course!). Hearing later doesn't guarantee your interview will be later, but we sometimes work chronologically, all else being equal.
We don't call 'stronger' applicants for interview first.
As someone who has been working in Admissions for the past three years, this would be a logistical nightmare. Most college Admissions Offices are fairly small. It's usually one or two people working on scheduling interviews, liaising with academics, replying to your emails etc. Please be patient - we really are doing our best!
Finally, a major piece of advice. Try not to stress it. We recognise that the Cambridge Admissions process can be challenging, but we try to communicate with you as much as we can and make things as clear as possible. You'll hear about interviews (and college-registered assessments, for those who need to sit them) as soon as we can get things sent to you. We don't want to keep anyone waiting longer than we have to!