Cambridge applications part 2

Just to supplement Lay Kuan's post:

I applied for Natural Sciences (Biological) at Cambridge last year, and there were some things that I did differently for the COAF.

Are there any aspects of the course at Cambridge that attracted you to apply here?
I like the flexibility of the syllabus in the first year, and how the course narrows down until you eventually pick your area of specialisation in third year. I'd like to see how high school subjects (sciences at least) are taught in university before making a final decision.

Were you able to take all the AS and A level (or equivalent) subjects you wanted? Please comment.
I found it interesting that Lay Kuan said "yes" because I was instructed by Mr Allan to say "no". I wrote "No. The school only offers math and science APs."

Please outline briefly the MAIN areas/topics you have already covered in each of your AS level and A level/IB (or equivalent) subjects:
Let me say here that this is the most annoying part of the COAF. You need to squeeze all the topics into the tiny box they give you.

English - Essay: discursive, argumentative; summary writing; comprehension; critical evaluation; debate
Major in Mathematics - Statistics, calculus, sequences, series, math induction, vectors, indices, surds, sets, coordinate geometry, functions, matrices, trigonometry, inequalities, complex numbers
Major in Chemistry - Equilibria, phase chemistry, electrochemistry, kinetics, thermodynamics, periodicity, molecular structure, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, chem synthesis
Major with honours in Chemistry - Aromatics, nucleophilic addition, reactions at alpha-carbon, organometallics, biochemistry, MS/IR/UV/NMR spectroscopy, plate theory, GC, HPLC
Major in Biology - Cell biology, plant and animal anatomy and physiology, genetics, evolution, ethology, ecology, biosystematics, biochemistry, molecular biology
(Ethology is the "cheem" term for animal behaviour and biosystematics is how life is catalogued, i.e. all the stuff you memorised for Biodiversity).
Major with honours in Biology - Functions and adaptations of plants and animals; enzymes; protein extraction, detection, purification; bioinformatics
Major in Music - History (Baroque to modern), music theory, composition, appreciation, technology, aural training, music in cultural persepctives, performance, senior recital

Qualifications completed
I did spam as much as possible here. Besides English and my majors, I also added in Olympiads, APs, and book prizes.

Optional additional personal statement
I feel that Cambridge is the right school for me because of its rare lecture and supervision system. I have always been able to learn more in small-group environments; not only because I can clarify any doubts I have, but also because I can also ask about topics outside the syllabus, should my interest lead me. It gives me a clearer understanding of the details, and helps me make connections to form the whole picture.

Reference
A note from personal experience: The best referee to get is someone still teaching in school. If your preferred referee has left, you can ask him/her to write as long as it's been less than a year since that teacher left. Do not, I repeat, do not be "garang" like me and ask an ex-teacher who is living overseas. Getting your reference written and obtaining all the necessary signatures is hard enough without adding bodies of water between both of you into the mix.

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My interview was in November and because I was applying for Natural Sciences, I had to sit for the TSA (thinking skills assessment). I might have written about it before; I can't remember. It's a 90-minute MCQ test of mathematical and logical reasoning skills. If you go to the TSA website you can try a mock test and get a feel for some of questions. Let's just say that while I was tackling it, the first half was pretty okay and I was done in half an hour, but the second half took the remaining hour.

The last question was particularly hellish. It's a question I will never forget. Basically they gave a drawing of three sides of a die, with the usual "two opposing sides always add up to seven". Then they gave pictures of five other dice. I had to identify which of the five dice was not the die in the question. Now you would think it would be something like a misplaced face (four dots where there should be three dots). But no, it wasn't. What was different about the wrong die was that the three dots were aligned in the opposite direction (instead of top left to bottom right, it was top right to bottom left). Charming.

Anyway the actual interview was about a week after that, and I wrote rather extensively about it here. My interviewer was Dr R J Barnes, a senior admissions tutor at Emmanuel College, which coincidentally was the college that I'd applied for. Usually the overseas interviewers simply forward their comments to your college's admissions tutor, but in my case, my interviewer was my college's admissions tutor, so he was essentially THE ONE deciding my place. Imagine that.

By the way, when you go in, it might be a good idea to carry your questions on a piece of paper, or you might end up like me, forgetting all my questions and asking a really dumb one: "are there really as many ducks in Emmanuel's ponds as the website says?"

So that was that. After the interview it was a semi-grueling two-month wait (I say semi-grueling even though it was a torture at the time; trust me, waiting for US results is much worse) until early January. It was a week after the official release date that I received my acceptance letter from Emmanuel in the mail. I was offered an unconditional place. I think I might frame up that letter just for the sake of it.

P.S. Dr Barnes happens look at your Facebook profile, too, though it probably doesn't play a role in admissions.