Should my dd give up on Cambridge?

[dinomirror]

She wants to do law and potentially apply to Cambridge but i think her gcses are too low?
997777766. Predicted two a star and one a.
However contextual due to postcode, being an ethnic minority (afghan) , first to finish education in family and potentially extenuating circumstances in that she has a profoundly disabled brother. Not sure if i should encourage her to look at other unis instead

Can she not have a shot at Cambridge and have some other, more ‘sensible’ Unis on her list? Seems a shame not to give it a try.

Cambridge is only one of 5 choices. What harm is there in giving it a go?

What would be the other sensible unis ? She currently wants Manchester, UCL and KCL

I would let her try. It is her life.

I think the contextual information could make a difference and it’s definitely worth a go. The GCSES shouldn’t be an issue but 3 A* at A Level would be better.

I guess what im asking is that is likely she would even get an interview?

Everyone who wants Cambridge must apply with a robust attitude, because the majority of well qualified applicants are rejected.

However your DD has a very compelling story and if she is feeling robust I think she should give it a go.

If she is currently in Y12 her PGs may yet change. Also, Cambridge Law applicants must sit the LNAT and the outcome of this exam is very important. There are many free practice tools online and she should prepare well.

I strongly recommend that DD get involved with the Sutton Trust if she isn’t already. She sounds like a great candidate for them. Their mission is to prepare pupils from underserved communities for UK HE.

Also, her school may have a Cambridge partner college whose mission is to help pupils understand the university as a whole. Finally, Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge, usually known as Caius, has an excellent social medial presence with lots of information about both the College and the University as a whole. The hashtag is something like #caiusschools.

I think some Colleges run programmes for pupils from underserved areas. It’s time to get moving on that, if interested.

Best wishes to DD

Really impossible to say yet, OP. The LNAT score will matter

Yep dd isnt set on Cambridge as in its not her absolute dream school. She is doing something called social mobility program which i think will help her.

As a pp said - its one of 5 choices, worth a go.

Why not give it a go! She has some good reasons why they might want to give her a place, and the majority of applicants are rejected anyway, however good their grades are.

Of course she should have a go. Cambridge interviews about 70 percent of all applicants - so if she has those great predicted grades, plus a good score on the test and a strong personal statement - then it's likely she'll get an interview. GCSEs are probably the least important part of that equation...

The only thing I would say is that it is a fairly long and challenging process. It's very difficult not to hold out a lot of hope for an offer post-interview, however much you understand the low success rate stats and have an awareness of how amazing candidates get rejected each year. My DC has an offer for Cambridge this year, but some of her incredibly capable and smart friends didn't get though - and this was pretty upsetting for them, despite the fact they knew the odds.

But if your dd goes in with a robust attitude, it's definitely worth a try. The contextual factors will also be helpful x

That programme is a great start, but the others, esp Sutton Trust, are important also. Law is very competitive!

She should definitely give Cambridge a go. With the contextual flags, she should get an interview as long as she performs well in the LNAT.

Those other Universities are pretty high tariff too, particularly UCL and KCL for law, both of which also require the LNAT. Would make sure that she has two choices she knows she'll get an achievable offer from (lower tier Russell Group or upper other, with no LNAT in case that goes badly) as well as Cam/UCL/KCL.

Hi, OP -

Sorry I was rushed earlier. To tie up loose ends:

I bet your DD’s social mobility pr

Apology and continuation:

I bet your DD’s social mobility programme is very good. Many are. A bug advantage

Sh has more chance of an interview if she applies then if she didn't. These are her choices and with her predicted grades she should get some good offers. I would advise having a safe choice too as a back up. My daughter had 4 aspirational choices and one safe choice.

However if your DD really doesn't want to apply then I'd save the space for another choice. My daughter was encouraged to apply for either Oxford or Cambridge but neither of them had the course that she really wanted to do so she didn't as there was no point in her going through all that to end up on a course she didn't want to do. She got her first choice and is loving uni life.

My DD went to Oxford from a state school in one of the most deprived towns in England. It’s not exclusively for the privileged elite. The interview process was three days and stressful. Your DD will never know if she doesn’t try.

Absolutely worth a go. It's not an either/or. It's just one of her choices.

At worst it's an interesting process to go through. My daughter didn't get in, but she hasn't set her heart on it at all, and the overnight stay in college if anything made her less disappointed! She went out for the evening with the other interviewees on her landing, and though they were very friendly, they were all from very different backgrounds, and she was far from convinced that she'd have fitted in there.

So she had no regrets at all, whereas had she not applied, she might always have wondered if she should have.

Sorry!

A big advantage of Sutton Trust is that they are well known to and respected by virtually all admissions tutors. When policy discussions about contextual admissions are held, Sutton Trust is consulted. Their resources are excellent. It would be good for someone as able as your DD to connect with them if possible.

Caius is surely not the only Cambridge College to have good online resources for pupils. But I have reviewed a number of their video clips, etc and know they are both good and appealing. Information straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, is particularly valuable. Their head admissions tutor has done good video as have a number of undergraduates.

(I am not associated with either Sutton Trust or Cambridge. I was steered to the #caiusschools stuff by a member of Caius College but only after asking about their outreach. I am a former admissions tutor in a highly ranked STEM programme. BTW, there is no reason a MumsNetter or anyone else should know how to pronounce 'Caius' until they have heard it spoken. One says 'keys'.)

Finally, I wonder what the contextual offers are at the other choices DD has selected? She will need to make a Firm Choice and an Insurance Choice from the offers she gets. Your Insurance isn't necessarily your second choice. It is an offer you feel confident of making even if you have several bad days during your exams.

If DD doesn't have such a choice yet she should make her fifth selection from this perspective.

Best wishes to your family.

She applied for a pathways but didnt get in i think due to distance but now has sutton trust online. Looking into sutton trust summer school at Cambridge

Those GCSEs would definitely not rule her out, given the contextual background and a prediction of AAA is fine. I work with Oxbridge candidates in an independent school and I would be telling them to give it a shot with those grades, let alone with the factors you’ve outlined.

Does she definitely want to study Law as an undergrad? It’s very competitive and quite a dry subject. My DS (y11 currently) would like a career in law or civil service, but he’s keen to do a law conversion after an undergrad degree in one of the subjects he loves. It’s a way off for him at the moment, but he’s thinking of Theology, History or Languages.

That should say A A A.

Argh. It’s the bold thingy. I mean Astar, Astar, A

It's very unlikely, but where is the harm in trying?

Far worse not to try and forever after think "what if?"