#natsci

[circadiancrunch]

New project. And here's the first piece. Sebastes pinniger - Canary Rockfish (with opaleye) There's over 50 more to go. So wish me luck.

[biratezz]

21.10.21

again it’s been a while,, sorri

i think i’ll just run through my timetable for no reason at all. for me each week here consists of:

12 lectures (45-60 mins each, two per day, monday-saturday)

2 practicals (materials 75 mins every week, chem 5hrs and phys 3hrs alternating weeks)

4 supervisions (1hr each, one per subject maths/phys/chem/materials)

clubs/societies

i may or may not be developing a caffeine addiction but there’s not much i can do about that bc i need to be fully conscious to watch lectures fjfjdb

ok i am off to do some maths and then get dinner. see u next time

🎵 Powder Train - Daisy Brain

[ollies-studyblr]

Chem: Interactions b/t Atoms and Molecules

[rosielearnsthings]

Hello I want to apply for natural sciences at Cambridge but I know it's super competitive and idk if I'm good enough. Do you mind sharing some tips on how you got in??

hey!

I’m not an expert - so many people have different experiences, so this is just going to be a summary of the key things I think helped (+ a few that didn’t)

When you apply:

Please do actually apply if you think it’s a course you’d enjoy! They can’t make you an offer it you don’t apply

Your personal statement should be personal - why do you want to study natural sciences? Why that course in particular - what drew me was that I could keep studying lots of different sciences and specialise later. I also would advise leaving all your extracurriculars to the end. If it shows you’re keen to do science then by all means keep it in the main part, but they get so many applications and I know if they start reading about gymnastics or something they’ll know it’s the end of what they find useful. This doesn’t apply to many other unis!

Think about which college you like - ultimately the teaching is the same across the whole uni, but think about the size/architecture/location/age/anything else important to you. I personally love Selwyn and can’t rate it highly enough, but everyone genuinely loves their college. I know lots have photos on their website, or you can use streetview on google maps for a better idea of their geography

They know that people apply to other courses than natural sciences on the same personal statement (e.g. one of mine was chemistry with molecular physics) - if your personal statement doesn’t focus specifically on natural sciences that’s fine, just show an appreciation for liking a range of sciences

Check your predicted grades match their standard offer (A*A*A I think, but it can vary) and you have the right a levels (if you do a level!) for the modules you’d want to take in your first year. You can negotiate predicted grades with your teachers, but it’s important to be realistic

There’s an extra questionnaire to take into account any disruption your educational life has had which might have meant you didn’t perform your best, so please don’t let that put you off

If you get an interview:

I was super shy in my first one, which meant I didn’t talk much and that didn’t really help me come across well. They can’t know what’s going on in your head - talk through your ideas, and they’ll give you paper if you want to draw a diagram or a graph

My interviews were mostly applied maths/physics and chemistry. The physics questions were similar to Fermi problems (so I would recommend giving those a look!) where you have to estimate lots of quantities to get a rough answer. None of the content was beyond what I’d done at school, so don’t think you have to learn the intricacies of quantum mechanics!

They asked very briefly about things I’d read and my extended project from my personal statement - I think this was mostly as a nice introduction to the interview for me, but don’t put anything in you don’t want to talk about

Don’t be afraid to ask questions or only give a partial answer. As long as you can explain where you want to go next, and what you need to do it, that’s a good sign for them

The whole idea of the interview is to see how well you would suit being taught in a supervision, so really don’t expect to know all the answers! This can be a bit different to interviews in other places, where you might know everything they ask - here, they want to see how you think and if they can teach you

If you get an offer:

Well done!!!

This part is down to you rather than the luck of someone seeing your application - use past papers and the specification for your exams, make sure you balance revision with things to keep you calm and happy, and keep in mind what’s motivating you

After you’ve taken each paper, there’s nothing you can do to change what’s written on it - all you can do it move onto the next one

Hope this helped a little - good luck!

[curiosi-tea]

oh btw ya girl got an offer for cambridge!!

i might make a better post than this later, i just haven't had time yet hahaha

[chemistry-and-cupcakes]

Cambridge NatSci Admissions Test 2018

Oh dear Lord I’ve never felt so inadequate.

I didn’t realise the second paper was a calculator paper and was given a really crappy 50p one by school, which slowed me down.

I lost so many marks on being genuinely dumb. I just blanked.

I didn’t get break time today so I was sat on my own in a room (with an invigilator obvs) for two hours hungry, stressed and with a massive headache.

It was so much harder than the practice papers I did.

I’m sorry for the rant - I just need to get my feelings out so I can focus on thinking positively and put it behind me.

Anybody who sat it - good luck to you, fellow soldier. I wish you all the success in the world.

[askacambridgestudent]

Hi! Any advice on applying for NatSci? I’m not sure how much reading or prep for the test I should be doing or what to expect from the interview. Thanks :)

So I don’t feel like I can give too many tips about prep for the test, as I’m pretty sure we’ve got a couple of NatSci helpful experts hanging around who might be able to give advice from experience. But in general, look through the spec and do the practice papers that are available, but don’t stress about it too much. For reading, there’s no need to do masses, as it’s best to discuss books on your PS rather than just name dropping, so limit the ones you mention to a couple, and maybe an article or two? Obviously if you read more than this, that’s excellent, but think through which you mention specifically. The interview will probably include problems to solve - there might be some maths, and then questions that start from your A Level knowledge and then go further. Sometimes they’ll ask A Level type questions but then might probe your understanding further, rather than just knowledge of content. It might be a good idea to watch this video, which demonstrates a Chemistry interview - obviously topics will vary depending on subject, but it should give you an idea.

[skiencefornumpties]

Life, The Universe, and Maths

Thirteen: What the actual hell, there are imaginary numbers in this exam...

Chemist: What, like 42?