Interview About Cambridge Application Process & How to Be Accepted
Hey guys! I’m back today with a bit of a different blog post that’s all about my Cambridge application and journey to get into grad school.
In this video, you’ll hear all about my profile and qualifications at the time I applied, highs and lows of the application process, and tips for others looking to get into Cambridge.
I can’t thank my awesome host, Sachin Pullil, enough for asking me to be on his channel and interviewing me!
We actually met when I took a GRE course he used to offer, which was super helpful when I was preparing for the exam. After only two and a half weeks of studying, my scores were even higher than what I needed.
Now he has a bunch of super helpful courses to help others with the application process. If you’re interested in checking those out, click here to see his website.
To hear more about my grad school journey and Cambridge application, either watch his YouTube video above or keep reading!
Below, I’ll cover everything we talked about in the video, including the nitty gritty details about test scores, GPA, job experience, and other qualifications.
Also, first things first, I thought I should mention the program and department I’m in. Currently, I’m getting a Master’s in Entrepreneurship at Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge.
If you have any questions about Judge, that program specifically, or the Cambridge application process in general, feel free to reach out or comment below. I’d be happy to help in any way I can.
Anyway, let’s get started!
My General Profile
First, Sachin asked me to briefly discuss my profile at the time of application, including elements such as degree major, college, GPA, GRE/GMAT scores, TOEFL/IELTS scores, research work, projects, work experience, internships, and achievements.
About me:
- Dual-citizen from the U.S. and Germany
- Languages: English, German, Spanish, & Portuguese
Undergraduate experiences & qualifications:
- Attended the University of Iowa and got a 3.4 GPA
- Studied Biochemistry and Spanish on the Pre-Medical track and got a Certificate in Writing
- 3 internships: Taught English in Spain, molecular biology research in Switzerland, medical internship in Germany
- Did neuroscience research all 4 years and was 6th co-author of publication in Nature
- President of the Special Olympics Student Organization
- Regularly performed as a ukulele/piano player and singer
- 3 publications in Spanish in Azahares Literary Magazine
- Volunteer interpreter at Free Medical Clinic
- Studied abroad in Chile
- Tutor for German, Spanish, Portuguese, and English
Job experience:
- Coached Special Olympics for 5 years
- On-site medical interpreter and translator (8 months)
- Freelance German and Spanish translator (1.5 years)
- Remote health & lifestyle coach for German-speakers (5 months)
- Blogging and swimwear design on the side
Cambridge Application Experience
Next, Sachin asked about my application journey. Below are some of the questions he asked me to prepare for the interview.
“How did you select your specialization, your country, and your universities?”
I’ve been working toward starting a business for a couple years, but it all came to a grinding halt when the pandemic hit. That’s when I realized how little I actually know about business and thought it would be a good time to learn more about it.
That’s when I discovered the entrepreneurship program at the University of Cambridge.
At the time, I didn’t even know entrepreneurship Master’s programs existed, but figured if there’s one program like this, there must be others. So, while Cambridge was always my first choice, I figured I should apply to other programs as well (especially since I never thought I’d actually get into Cambridge).
That’s when I started searching for other programs and applied to a few that wouldn’t require me to take the GRE, since I was applying pretty late and didn’t have time to take it (or so I thought).
This narrowed things down to UCL (denied), Imperial College (denied), Cambridge, and two programs at USC (accepted to both).
They were all entrepreneurship programs, since I didn’t want to do a regular MBA and potentially be distracted by the corporate world. I wanted to be surrounded by people like me.
“What were the challenges you faced in the process and how did you overcome them? What were the highlights of the application process for you?”
University Experience
Cambridge Application Tips
“Do you have any advice for new applicants? Anything you wish you did differently or sooner? Anything you wish you knew?”
These are much better things to focus on in your application.
That's all! Comment if you have any questions.
That’s all I’ve got for you! If there are any questions you have or if you want more tips about getting into Cambridge or other top-ranked schools, feel free to comment below.
I’m also thinking about writing a follow-up blog post with more concrete tips about getting through the application process and how to nail your interview, since we didn’t get a chance to cover those things here.
Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in!
If you’re in the process of applying to grad school now, I wish you the best of luck. It’s not necessarily a fun process, but you definitely won’t regret it.
Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!
Love,
Emily
P.S. – To find out more about life as a grad student, check out this post and stay up to date with other lifestyle posts here.