Transcript Slide 1

How do we assess our applicants in the
light of curriculum reform?
Dr Sam Lucy, Admissions Tutor, Newnham College, University of Cambridge
What are we looking for?
• Interest in and aptitude for the chosen subject
• Ability to think independently, critically and analytically
• Enthusiasm for complex and challenging ideas
• Motivation, commitment and organisation
• Intellectual flexibility
• Vocational or professional commitment, where appropriate
(e.g. Medicine, Architecture)
How we make decisions
• Academic record (e.g. GCSEs, AS Levels and A Levels)
• School or college reference and predictions
• Personal statement
• Submitted work, where requested
• Test results (e.g. BMAT, TSA), where tests form part of our
assessment
• Performance at interview
• Intensive moderation and the pool
Personal statements
• Personal
• A starting point for interview discussion
• Reflect rather than list
• Less can be more
• Focus on the chosen course(s)
• ‘Why you should choose me for your course’
• Care and attention to detail
• Beware Googled quotations, ‘I have always’
References
• Most references describe excellent students but few describe
exceptional ones
• Contextualise the student
• Explain anything that might feature in a January plea
• Extra information is welcome
• Remember our Extenuating Circumstances Form
In particular
• The most helpful references:
• are consistent and specific, indicating where an applicant lies in
relation to his/her peers
• emphasise the academic and the subject-related
• tell us about organisation and focus
• Back the genuinely exceptional to the hilt but be realistic
• Trust us to read between the lines
• Ensure a ‘fit’ between what you say and the grades achieved
and what the student tells us
Sample 1
“She is extremely well motivated and conscientious, with outstanding
intellectual ability and great personal charm. An exceptionally well
rounded student, she has contributed much to the life of the school. She
is an outstanding geographer with the potential to succeed at university.
She has developed excellent cartographic, graphical and statistical skills.
She contributes well to discussion and has made good presentations to
the group. She is highly organised and expresses herself well in both oral
and written and English … She is an exemplary student with an excellent
academic record and impressive commitment to the school, as Deputy
Head Girl, as well as to the wider community”.
GCSE: 10A*
Sample 2
“She is an exceptionally gifted student – one of the most erudite and
cerebral to have passed through this school. Her decision to study History
at university is eminently appropriate given her long-held fascination
with, and insatiable appetite for, the subject. She is a scholarly and
forensic historian who responds to primary and secondary sources alike
with incredible enthusiasm and commitment. Her analytical and
evaluative skills are acute and her knowledge – built through reading –
extensive. She has in abundance the clarity of thought and
meticulousness that are needed for her intended degree … She also has a
laconic sense of humour, a product of her intellectualism no doubt, and
esoteric, discriminatory musical taste … It is easy to trot out platitudes in
a UCAS reference but she is a superb student of immense potential,
easily capable of obtaining a First at university”.
GCSE: 10 A*
Extenuating Circumstances Scheme
To be used where an applicant's education has been significantly disrupted
or disadvantaged through health or personal problems, disability or
difficulties with schooling e.g.
• a serious, acute or chronic medical condition (especially since the age of 14)
which caused significant educational disruption
• significant caring responsibilities, or recent bereavement or serious illness within
close family
• serious disruption to educational provision at school/college
• other circumstances where serious disruption has occurred – schools/colleges
are welcome to contact a College admissions office to discuss an applicant's
particular circumstances
A Cambridge ‘type’?
• Forget the stereotypes
• Do not obsess about College choice
• Scholarly habits – reading, thinking, analysis
• Ensure subject ‘fit’ with the student
• The right course is crucial
• Exam record is crucial
Contextual data
• 80%+ of our home applicants are interviewed
• Decisions are based on academic record and
individual context.
• Flags:
• Care
• 2 x Postcode data, one linked to OFFA
Target
• Extenuating Circumstances Form (ECF)
• GCSE school performance
• Cambridge/Oxford success
This data is used to fairly
assess disadvantaged
candidates, not to
discriminate against those
who have not experienced
disadvantage.
Performance by school type
The findings
SAQ
• Email address from UCAS form: check your junk mail!
• UMS scores (where these exist)
• Topics covered within A-level units
• Cambridge-specific personal statement
• Options within certain courses
Written work
• Depends on subject (Arts, Social Sciences and
Humanities) and College – list on university
website
• Most commonly a piece of work completed as part
of sixth form studies (some Colleges set a
question)
• Encourage applicants to think about the marker’s
comments
• The most effective submitted work tends to be
that which applicants are likely to enjoy discussing
and which has been completed relatively recently
Tests
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
BMAT (all Colleges)
Registration deadline 1st October 2015, test takes place 4th November 2015
Law
Cambridge Law Test (most Colleges)
Taken at interview
Mathematics
STEP (all Colleges)
Forms part of conditional offers and is taken with A2-levels
Other subjects
TSA – Economics, Engineering, Natural Sciences (depends on College)
Some other subjects have short additional tests at interview
Preparing for tests
Mean Tripos performance:
Second year Sciences and Technology
Mean Tripos performance:
Second year Social Sciences
Mean Tripos performance:
Second year Arts
Why interview?
• How do applicants who look very similar on paper differ from one another?
• Are the applicant’s aptitudes and interests suitable for the course to which they
have applied?
• Does the applicant have the potential to study their chosen subject at a high
level?
• Can the applicant think independently, flexibly and critically and assimilate new
ideas or apply existing concepts to challenging new questions?
• Does the ‘supervision’ style of learning suit the applicant?
• Does the applicant display vocation/professional commitment (where
appropriate)?
Interviews: what to expect
SUBJECT-SPECIFIC INTERVIEW
Discussion
based on
academic
interests
mentioned in
personal
statement
Challenging
questions
relating to Alevel courses
Assess knowledge
and understanding
of subject and flexibility
of thought
Application of
existing knowledge
to new situations
Sciences: a specimen to
discuss
Arts: perhaps a
text to discuss
Sciences:
problems to work
through
Discussion of
any submitted
essays
Sample teaching
session – like a
supervision
Interviews: what to expect
GENERAL ACADEMIC INTERVIEW
NOTE: some
Colleges/subjects
do not have a
more general
interview
Wider academic
interests and
reading
Why this course?
May not be
with
someone
who teaches
subject
applied for
…but may
include further
subject-based
discussion
The future (if
career plans
mentioned or
application for
deferred entry)
Discussion of your
personal
statement
IT IS STILL AN ACADEMIC
INTERVIEW, DESIGNED TO
TEST ACADEMIC
POTENTIAL
Preparation
• Reading and super-curricular engagement
• Getting beyond the specifications
• Commitment and thoughtfulness
• Depth over breadth
• Subject combinations and number
• Knowledge and skill
• Logic and clarity of thought
• Intellectual flexibility
Supporting Applicants: Mock Interviews
• Unfamiliar teacher – consider co-operating with local schools
• Challenging but not aggressive
• Academic questions: A-levels, personal statement, prompt material
• Prompting and follow-up questions
Moderation and the Pool(s)
• Spreadsheets allow for consideration of the gathered field
• Intensive December discussion
• Extensive transfers of students in January
• Further limited transfers in August
Successful Applications
Key points for success
Common pitfalls
• Strong exam results
• Wrong degree subject chosen
• Choice of subject
• Unsuitable A-level choices, too many
subjects in Year 12 or low grades
• Wider reading
• Revision in advance of interview
• Inconsistent reference
• Lack of wider reading and critical
engagement
• Lack of revision before interview
• Rehearsed answers at interview, lack
of clarity or flexibility of thought
Feedback
• We prefer to feed back to the school referee
• Do ask for detailed accounts
• Be aware the student may have done nothing badly and still have
been rejected
• We hope to inform your future guidance, as well as explaining
specific decisions