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 requirementsEssential No specific subjectsUseful 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% History93% French89% Maths87% German

Applicant for Natural Sciences (Physical)

96% Maths94% Physics91% French88% Chemistry

Average: History, Maths, French = 92%

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

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70

80

90

100

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Number of A* GCSEs

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2009 successful Engineering applicants

Successful Engineering Applicants

60

70

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90

100

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Number of A* GCSEs

UM

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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… 2

• 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

Information Tools: BeCambridge.com

Questions?