REJECTED BY CAMBRIDGE + MY INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE // missing the TSA etc
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- Опубліковано 20 січ 2018
- hey guys :)
This is my first video, I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, please hit that like button and subscribe!
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My name is Hannah and I'll post mainly lifestyle videos about school, cooking, challenges etc.
I'm 18
I'm using a Nikon D3300
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Thank you for watching!
Hey there :) sorry to hear you got rejected, but as a current student I noticed fair few of the things you've said aren't really great advice for people applying in the future :/ (apart from the advice to find the interview room in advance, that's a really good tip) so for any other potential applicants:
First of all it's definitely not 80% how you say and 20% what you say! The interviewers are asking questions to test understanding and see if you can work well in one-to-one teaching (we call them supervisions!) You don't need to sound like you know everything - they're not expecting you to get all the answers, especially since they're testing out how you respond to new information. If you're stuck you can tell them or talk them through your thought process (that's really key!) and that'll help them see how you're approaching things.
Next, make sure you answer truthfully - if they ask you what your favourite subject is then tell them your favourite subject, not the one you think they want to hear because they will grill you about it! (as you learned) More broadly - don't worry about revising crazy amounts of knowledge, instead focus more on how to apply your knowledge to new situations as this is the kind of thing they're looking for :)
Thirdly, honestly don't bother about trying to squeeze your 'five things' into the interview - they're looking for an answer to the question not where you went on holiday! Unless it's truly relevant (like your housing team thing) then it won't help your case and it'll just look like you're trying to pidgeonhole your fun experiences in. It doesn't make you stand out, at least not for good reasons. It just looks like you're avoiding the question. What DOES help, as you mentioned, is knowing your personal statement and what you said in it, as well as the books or articles you mentioned in it. :)
Finally please please don't worry about looking up your interviewers' work and asking them about it - it's usually crazy complicated stuff and asking about it isn't really a good use of your limited interview time because it's just so difficult to understand (take this from a current student, I still don't understand, haha)
On another note (you didn't say this but it's a thing lots of people worry about) it really doesn't matter what you wear to interview - they're looking for your brains not your fashion sense!
Oh and by the way, confidentiality agreements still count even if you don't get in so be careful about how much detail you give...
I've pinned your comment so other applicants can see, so thank you for all this further advice. The 80/20 thing, this isn't something directly for cambridge interviews it something I found about all public speaking where "apparently" the way you say something actually counts for more than what you say. I wish I could edit the video to say that this was something general and not something I had I learnt just for Cambridge!!! My favourite subject is actually economics- but I stupidly had spent time revising law and geography as I did not take this subjects :-). The 5 things was something that I learnt from someone who is also at Cambridge, but he had 10-15 so I reduced mine, I used it more as a relaxing tool so that if they asked me a really tricky question I could work out whether any of my 5 things could relate so I could move into something that I was comfortable talking about- of course only if it made sense!! I wish I mentioned it because I legit went in jeans and as sweater to my interview and I did see others in suits! Anyway thank you again for your comment, I just kinda wanted to explain why I said something, :) x what subject did you apply for/ are doing?
Hannah Firth hi thanks for replying again! The 80/20 thing sounds like great advice for other situations if not Cambridge! And that's good that the 5 key points made you feel more relaxed. Sorry if I came across too harsh btw, I'm just passionate about helping people see what Cambridge really wants and values (there's so many myths around especially in the media) To answer your question I'm doing Human, Social and Political Sciences at Selwyn :) Hope you keep enjoying your a levels by the way, what courses have you applied for elsewhere? (I'm guessing land economy is unique to Cambridge?)
yeah it is!! I made this video cause land eocnomy as you probably know is a tiny subject so there were very limited resources available online so I thought this video would help! I'm doing the IB which is kinda killing me and economics and politics hopefully at st andrews but are still waiting to hear! You weren't harsh at all don't worry, what year are you in?
Yes it's tiny so that's why it was such a lovely surprise to find your video!!
Hi Steliata. I wonder as Hannah is 'good enough for Cambridge but no college picked her up from the pool', does that mean had she applied to a less-heavily subscribed college, namely women-colleges, would that mean she would have got in?
Were you allowed to email them after the rejection to get some advice on where you went wrong at interview/tailored-specific advice.? thanks x
hi Hannah, what was the economics question about?
pretty sure they do entrance exam anymore right??
I hope that people don’t take this video as advice and only as a reject’s experiences. If you do the things she did, you will certainly be rejected too! How much did you score on the TSA?
Hi Hannah
As a future Land Econ applicant thank u so, so much for dedicating the time and effort of putting up a video to give advice. Rejection is in a way hard to face so I really admire your courage to stand up to see another door opening (St Andrews! With gowns and many other posh stuff)haha. I feel the first question is a way of starting to discuss your strength so I'll be cautious; the fact that a law professer can ask you about economics is also important to learn.
In short, this video means a lot to me and I truly hope you do well in your a levels and go too somewhere that you will thrive without the extreme workload and pressure! Good luck!
Kayla
Heya, thanks for the comment! GOOD LUCK TO YOU! Also if you need any help with anything at all, TSA prep, Interview practise stuff, let me know. Although I didn't get in I'd hope I would still be of help?
Just found you, subscribed! Sorry to hear about Cambridge; it will all work out in the end :)
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Thank you for your honesty in posting this but I think even you would have to admit that you didn't give a great interview. Asking about the Housing Crisis was a very reasonable question. After explaining what was meant you could have moved on to suggested causes of the crisis (increased immigration, council house selloffs, buy-to-let, foreign purchasers, etc) and possible remedies with their pros and cons. What they're looking for is a coherent set of answers by a well-informed and intelligent young adult. It's not about last-minute revision or shoe-horning your experiences into an answer.
I was over the moon that the housing crisis came up and we had a really interesting 15 minute conversation about the housing crisis, however I did not go into detail about what we talked about because it was very personal to me if you understand. The conversation goes where you take it and therefore I did think that it would be helpful to explain where it went for me because it would be completely different for another candidate. I'm sorry if it came across that I was unprepared or not well-informed because I did spend at least 3 months preparing with quite a few practise interviews. Do you go to Oxbridge as you seem to know quite a bit about the interview process?
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I am also applying land economy. May I know how many questions you need to get it correct for an interview offer ?
its not about how many, its about the way you think and the pattern
Or a how to revise video?
Would you consider re-applying? I will be
(rejected by Queen's for History btw)
I don't know, tbh. At the moment, I'm going to put Durham first but I got rejected from St Andrews (my 2nd choice) so reapplying is a lot more likely now, then I thought in the video :) ! I might try and get a scholarship to the US though?
Snap - Queens reject for History!! 😁
are you reapplying?
Hannah Firth nah, I'm gonna go to Warwick and (hopefully) study English and History, then maybe look at Cambridge for a Masters! Ultimately I think, for me, not getting in was the right decision - I'm glad I can do English alongside History, as I love both subjects, and I think I would have been annoyed at having to drop it tbh - now I don't! 😁
Hannah Firth Nice! Durham and St Andrews offered me places, but I live near to London so they are both quite far away. I was predicted 43 pts too :) if we achieve that, we'd have a good chance with Cambridge again- I'm doing a gap year in Asia first though. Add me on sc (joedefries717) if you wanna know more about UCLA, my friend from IB recently got accepted :)
i was hoping i would be the first comment but i guess imo beat me to it
something similar happened to me newly it is so frustrating
Could you do a TSA prep video?
I did TSA Cambridge, so no essay. Would that work? :)
Can we have a GRWM?
omg that would be awful I cannot do makeup
What does TSA stand for ?
Thinking Skills Assessment x
cute