How I Got Into Cambridge for My Masters | Tips for MPhil applications

[@neezamdaud4029]

Underrated video. Thank you for this

[@sammckaylin]

Glad it was helpful!

[@marc8239]

0:44 The definition of passion. this is for y'all searching for a essay topic.

[@mariacastellobranco5904]

Thank you for this! Killer video. Applying for the MPhil in Political Thought and Intelectual History, hoping to see you next year in Cambridge!

[@maseng961]

Hi, thanks a lot for this video! This is really helpful. I am a final year international student studying Environmental Science in Malaysia. Planning to apply for an MPhil in biological sciences too at Cambridge this Sept!

[@jocelynbaffour5478]

Fantastic!! Love your straight forward video! Very in-depth! You are cool. Thank you for posting this!!

[@sammckaylin]

I'm glad you found it so helpful!

[@jessicalv6442]

I love your channel because I just got accepted by Imperial, and I'm also studying BIOLOGY!!!🤩🥰😝Your sharing about the application process helps me know what is important in college. It gives me an idea of what need to be done. THANKS A LOT🥳

[@nie9075]

Thank you! Though I’m an undergraduate student, I’m aiming for Cambridge to study my masters, your video really helps me a lot:)))

[@thea7169]

Thank you for this, this was so helpful!

[@malv4935]

Just what I needed. Thanks!

[@zachchen986]

Great video Could you make another video about what you do in your Mphil period (daily vlog or something) I'm going to study Mphil in manchester so I'm very curious about it.

[@sammckaylin]

Absolutely! I finished in September but have all the footage to do a "day in the life" I just never got around to editing it! Also good luck in September!

[@kailashmanavrajasthan]

This is very useful. Thanks from India. I want to research in biology in Cambridge. Please support me in future by advice.

[@Progger11]

Wow. I can't believe Rachel Maddow took the time to give us this insight!

[@sammckaylin]

MSNBC doesn’t pay what it used to. Had to branch out to KZbin

[@Progger11]

@@sammckaylin lol thanks for being a good sport. I was feeling saucy the other day, idk. Genuinely thanks for making this vid. It's very helpful!

[@sammckaylin]

​@@Progger11 No worries at all, I thought it was funny! If you have any questions I'm always happy to help 😃

[@Progger11]

@@sammckaylin I might reach out with more specifics if I have them. :) I'm American, so, the application process to a UK school is completely different for me, haha. It's also pretty amazing how even the "elite" schools here in the US don't even compare in the sense of history and architectural grandeur to the "elite" schools over there. I went to Columbia for undergrad and Harvard for my Master's, and I thought I had seen some amazing campuses. But now I'm considering Cambridge for my Ph.D. and watching all these campus tours, it's mind-blowing just how beautiful and grand a place it is. I can just *feel* the history wrapped up in it.

[@PriyaCreationsFun]

What is the difference between M.sc and M.phil ?

[@dennyyeng8779]

Great video, Could I ask how did you decide on your research topic? What inspired you and what resources did you look at to make this decision?

[@sammckaylin]

Of course! So during my degree I became really interested in evolutionary developmental biology (how things grow from a single cell to a whole animal and how that differs between species). Other than that my interests were broad although I was always VERY into fish (including the ones with legs like us). I stumbled upon cichlids by chance during a tangential lecture with one of my favourite lecturers and upon doing some reading tried to contact my current lab for an internship and found out they had space for a masters student by chance. The takeaway really is that your interests fall into your lap and the best way to find what suits you is to explore what's in front of you. Chat with your lecturers about outside reading and interesting topics, do some reading and you'll find your thing 🙂

[@dennyyeng8779]

@@sammckaylin Thank you, this is extremely helpful! I’m actually a penultimate year medical biosciences student at imperial. Watching the video is very inspiring.

[@sm42941]

do a levels matter less when youre applying for masters? because I noticed you got AAA which from what I understand is usually too low to get into cambridge at undergraduate. but obviously you did amazingly in your undergraduate, so that's more of the focus when evaluating masters applications?

[@sammckaylin]

Absolutely! Generally speaking all that matters with any application is the last thing you did. If your A-levels are poor and you have a low predicted grade then perhaps your application would be weaker but they tend to be able to stratify applicants just based on their undergraduate marks!

[@sm42941]

@@sammckaylin Thank you for the reply and video :)

[@bellaside8847]

Hey😌 Ive emailed to the Cambridge admission but they said it will take 3days to reply for I would like to ask you as well😌 I am scheduled to complete my undergraduate degree in August 2025, and I will not receive my final grades until that time. Given this timeline, I am wondering whether I can still apply for the 2025 October intake, or if I should wait and apply for the 2026 October intake after receiving my final grades. Is it possible to apply ahead of receiving my final marks? How did you do yours? And how long did you take receiving the confirmed offer from the school? 😌

[@cenations2000]

There's something fishy about this video 🤔

[@reminatiution78]

Would you be able to explain one thing? I was looking into applying for a MSc in Economics at Oxford but their entry requirements state that if you only have finance and management studies your application won’t be considered and that you should try the MPhil Economics (2 years).. after I looked it up I did not quite understand why they would advise towards MPhil since it is more research based (PhD type) so from my point of view it would seem harder since you’re expected to work more on your own?

[@trystar-sl1mi]

Oxford offers masters but they aren’t called MSc. They’re likely to be called an mphil. 2 years is probably because your degree isn’t in economics meaning you lack the essential skills to do a masters in economics like linear algebra and etc.

[@theoandrews737]

Hey! Do they look at your entire undergrad transcript? Or just your final results? In my uni the first two years don't count towards your degree mark and my second year was a complete mess but the rest of my marks have been solid.

[@jessicalv6442]

Do Imperial offers service that give advice to students' CV and personal statement?

[@jessicalv6442]

Can I apply for doctor without studying master?

[@mariamzulfiqar8055]

Kindly tell me about referees Who we can approach? How can get his / her information such as email contact no etc? And referees will be professor of Cambridge university or our previous university?

[@idontevergiveup8367]

I hope I hope I hope so and with passion I try so much and I am so afraid that my dream will be lost I want you to take my issue seriously and tell me whether I can or not. Is it possible to complete my dream or is it impossible because I want to tell you something? My dream is to study at Cambridge University

[@sammckaylin]

Honestly the most important thing is to not get too caught up on things like this. Cambridge isn't all it's cracked up to be and there are plenty of amazing universities. The most important thing is to find something you love, work hard at it and chase it. You'll be amazed where you end up regardless of where it is 🙂

[@scientist416]

Hi! Just had this video on my KZbin recommendations. Thanks for sharing your experience! I’m also doing MPhil degree at the University of Queensland, Australia. MPhil in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, doing my second year. MPhil degrees take 2 years here in Australia. What’s your plan after graduating with MPhil?

[@sammckaylin]

Hi there! Currently I've got a job lined up studying cellular condensates and how we can develop drugs to treat them when they go wrong (Alzheimers, Parkinsons, motor neurone disease that sort of thing!). Otherwise I'm going to keep trying to develop this channel and my science communication stuff! Yourself?

[@scientist416]

@@sammckaylin that’s really cool! When are you graduating? So you’re not continuing on PhD? I’m still thinking about doing PhD or finding job. I’m graduating in 10 months.

[@kiranmann8144]

Hey, I am just writing my personal statement now for Cambridge. I am applying for a MPhil however it is pro-dominantly taught? Should i still email the department/leader for the course? how should i go about this?

[@sammckaylin]

If there's a research project (I know computer science has both) then you might still need to contact people you're interested in. However, if it's almost entirely taught then I don't think you need to - it should say on the departmental MPhil website 🙂

[@manza4974]

Hi, great succinct video. Would you think A levels are important when being considered for an MPhil? Unfortunately because I was a COVID period student i ended up with A* A B, I’m considering doing a PGR course but I wouldn’t want this to get in the way. Thank you!

[@sammckaylin]

Once you have preliminary grades from your degree and some research experience nothing else matters. I don't put my A levels on my CV anymore and if your B is in an irrelevant subject/one you've learned more about at uni they likely won't even look at it enough to care!

[@onkaryende2334]

Bro do Cambridge JBS MPhil requires any standardised test such as GMAT/GRE for getting into it... Business School i am talking about

[@sammckaylin]

A specific score isn't required but you do have to take it for an MBA here. I think the average score at Cam is roughly 680-700?

[@justintsui4256]

Hi Sam. Would you mind telling me when did you submit your application?

[@sammckaylin]

Hi Justin, I was actually really late and applied in February. It meant I missed the funding deadline but the course was still less expensive than the others I applied for!

[@Has645]

Hi, I wanted to ask what your offer was for your postgraduate studies and what grade you graduated with? I have received an offer to study MPhil in Economics at Cambridge, but the offer was pretty steep. They’re asking for 85% (unsure if it’s for each module or just the whole of 3rd year, it wasn’t too clear). I’m not sure I can meet their offer in all honesty, and I am worried that they are not lenient. Any advice or tips would be great! Thanks.

[@eccentricwisdom9971]

85% of what

[@sammckaylin]

Because my degree was 100% research based once I had an offer my grade requirements were low (because the supervisor decides if they want you based on your current grades) My girlfriend on the other hand had exactly the same situation as you. For her it was her average grade at the end of her degree so you won’t need to worry about individual modules. For advice I’d say take advantage of things being online at the minute. You can build your days however you want and work more productively because of it. Whenever you write an essay send it to a pal to proof read and make sure it reads well. If you have time start doing practice exam essays now and get them marked by a tutor or a friend to know you’re going in the right direction that sort of thing. It does seem really really steep but if you’ve got an offer they think you’re capable of meeting it 🙂

[@Has645]

@@sammckaylin cheers, that’s really solid advice. I will try to stay on top of everything and try some of the tips you suggested. 👍🏾

[@Has645]

@@eccentricwisdom9971 85% grade mark for my final year of my degree

[@geekland9000]

@@Has645 Hi there, if you dont mind me asking are you doing your undergrad degree at a UK uni? Just curious because most conditional offers I've heard from only requested a 2:1 or 1st at the most. 85% is very steep

[@lixuanying102]

Hello! do you think a high 2:2 has got a chance to be accepted by Public health in Cambridge?

[@tjravend]

Cambridge is top class and very rarely give offers to those below First.

[@sammckaylin]

That completely depends. If you have other experience then they might consider it. Without that it will be hard so you can always go out, get work experience and try again in a few years if you still want to :)

[@saarahrahman9119]

Does the type of uni you go to matter when it comes to applying for an Mphil?

[@sammckaylin]

Hey Saarah, I'd say it matters less than you might think. What really matters are your grades and that you've got some experience to prove you're interested

[@jessicalv6442]

Besides UROP, is there any other ways to find research opportunities in Imperial? Can I just email the professor and ask to join their group?

[@meghnaroy7774]

Can u help me with the masters application process in uk universities?