Changes to courses and how we
select our students
Dr Sam Lucy
Admissions Tutor
Newnham College
Outline
• New courses/routes
• Research Update
• Predictive value of GCSE, AS UMS and admissions tests
• Predictive value of IB performance
• Student Finance 2014 Entry
• Information Tools
The Courses: Arts
• Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic
• Architecture
• Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
• Classics
• Economics
• Education
• English
• Geography
• History
• History of Art
• Human, Social and Political Sciences
(HSPS)
• Land Economy
• Law
• Linguistics
• Management Studies
• Modern & Medieval Languages
• Music
• Philosophy
• Theology & Religious Studies
New course structures: HSPS and PBS
Human, Social and Political Sciences, first year:
HSPS second and third year
The Courses: Sciences
• Chemical Engineering
• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Mathematics
• Medicine
• Natural Sciences
• Psychological and Behavioural
Sciences (PBS)
• Veterinary Medicine
Psychological and Behavioural Sciences
An exciting new course for 2013 entry, Psychological and
Behavioural Sciences offers a broad and flexible degree covering all
aspects of psychology
The course covers, for example, cognitive psychology,
psychopathology, language, brain mechanisms, gender, family
relationships and influences, personality, and group social
behaviour, and will be BPS-accredited.
Course requirements
Essential No specific subjects Useful Mathematics,
science subjects, humanities subjects
What we are looking for
• Serious interest in their chosen subject
• Strong record in examinations
• Independent learning ability, motivation and
organisation
• Very positive school/college reference
• Vocational commitment (where appropriate)
• The potential to succeed at the highest academic
level, i.e. secure knowledge, critical and analytical
ability, curiosity, determination and intellectual
flexibility
Information used in selection
• Academic record (GCSEs, AS
levels and A levels)
• School or college reference
• Personal statement
• Submitted work, where requested
• Test results (e.g. BMAT, TSA),
where tests form part of our
assessment
• Performance at interview
Supplementary Application Questionnaire (SAQ)
• Completed online
• Used to collect information not on the UCAS
application, including:
•
•
•
•
Topics covered in AS/A level courses
Optional Cambridge-specific personal statement
UMS marks
Admission test registration numbers (if applicable)
• Ensures consistent information about all our applicants
The Great Multiple Regression Study (GMRS)
• Research into how well performance at GCSE, at AS Level
and in aptitude tests predicted subsequent performance in
Cambridge exams
• Four years of Cambridge exams used (2006 to 2009)
• Analysis of subjects for which a sufficiently large dataset
existed for the findings to have statistical significance
• Part of an ongoing study
The GMRS – Main Findings 1
• AS UMS scores provide a good, and in many cases very
good, indicator of potential for academic success at
Cambridge in every major subject, except Mathematics
• Performance in Mathematics STEP II and III predict
performance in the Cambridge Mathematics course very
well
The GMRS – Main Findings 2
• GCSEs mostly correlate reasonably well with Cambridge
exam performance, but are generally a less effective
predictor than AS scores and tend to add little to the
predictive validity of any model once the best indicator (AS
scores or STEP) has been included; GCSEs are still useful
in the absence of AS
• Some aptitude tests correlate more consistently with
Cambridge exam performance than others; none are as
effective a predictor as AS scores but they can be useful if
no AS scores are available
The GMRS – AS Levels
• In general, for Arts courses stronger correlations are
obtained when the best three AS Level scores are
considered without the 'relevance' of the subjects to the
course being taken into account
• Conversely, for Science courses the best correlations are
achieved with the three most relevant subjects
AS UMS scores
We look at the average UMS score ACROSS each applicant’s three best (arts)/ three
most relevant (science) AS subjects
Applicant for History
95% History
93% French
89% Maths
87% German
Average: History, Maths, French
= 92%
Applicant for Natural Sciences (Physical)
96% Maths
94% Physics
91% French
88% Chemistry
Average = Maths, Physics, Chemistry
= 93%
The GMRS – Pearson Scores
• Scores on a scale of –1 to +1
- a score above 0.35 indicates a good and useful
predictor
- scores above 0.4 are very good
- scores above 0.5 are excellent and very difficult to
achieve
The GMRS – Pearson Scores
Performance of IB/A-level students
2009 Engineering applicants
Engineering Applicants
100
UMS Percentage in M & P
90
80
70
60
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Number of A * GCSEs
8
9
10
11
12
2009 successful Engineering applicants
Successful Engineering Applicants
100
UMS Percentage in M & P
90
80
70
60
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Number of A * GCSEs
8
9
10
11
12
How do your students measure up?
• Profile of a statistically ‘middling’ Cambridge applicant:
• GCSE: ~ 4-8 A*s
• AS: ~ 87-93% across three most relevant, or best, subjects
• Profile of a typical successful applicant, whose education has not been
significantly disadvantaged or disrupted:
• GCSE: A* in most subjects
• AS: ~ 92-97%, including one or two rather lower scores, and perhaps
a lower overall grade in a non-relevant fourth or fifth subject
• These are not minimal requirements! Each candidate is assessed
individually
Student Finance 2014 Entry
‘Committed to the principle that no UK student should be
deterred from applying to the University of Cambridge
because of financial considerations, and that no student
should have to leave because of financial difficulties.’
Student Finance 2014 Entry – We will…
1
• Charge tuition fees of £9,000 p.a. to UK/EU students for all
our courses
• Give all UK students from families with incomes below
£25,000 p.a. financial support of £3,500 p.a. (£5,650 for
mature students) which they can choose to use as a
maintenance bursary or to reduce their fees
Student Finance 2014 Entry – We will…
• Give all UK students from families with incomes between
£25,000 and £42,000 p.a. financial support on a tapering,
sliding scale descending from £3,500 p.a.
• Additionally give £6,000 p.a. fee-waivers to students from
particularly disadvantaged backgrounds
2
Information Tools: BeCambridge.com
Questions?