I am a British student.
Whether you want to go to Cambridge for a master's degree or university, I think the hope is slim, but don't be completely discouraged. Although I went abroad in high school. However, Cambridge generally admits students who have received traditional British education, such as high school and A LEVEL. The master's degree is very strict.
Generally speaking, if you have the highest academic qualifications from abroad and want to apply directly to Cambridge, unless it is a world-famous school, there is basically no possibility of 70%. In addition, most schools in the G5 (referring to the five world-famous schools in the UK) require interviews. I'll be happy for you for a few rounds, and then tell you that you can't do it. . . Although I have not applied to Cambridge, I have applied to Imperial College, which is similar to Cambridge.
Your GPA is a bit low. The worst thing to do when applying to Cambridge is FIRST CLASS, which is equivalent to a straight-A student in our university, and you must get an A in every subject. And the most important thing is that there is a very exciting PERSONAL STATEMENT, telling you about your future plans and so on.
It is best to have a family member who is a Cambridge student, and have a more famous teacher make a recommendation.
Your IELTS score (the IELTS mentioned above) should be at least 7, preferably higher. You should have a rich research background, and it is best to publish articles in small publications. If so, It's what interests them. Congratulations then.
In addition, universities have to look at your grades every year. I am worried about your current score of 2.8. Especially the relevant courses you plan to study in the future.
In general, why do most students not apply to Cambridge. Because most of the students in Cambridge are local students, while foreign students are either rich or noble. I used to attend preparatory courses in Oxford (the city of Oxford, not Oxford University). The buildings of Oxford University are all over the city. It feels like this city exists just for it. It's okay to see a student going to school by helicopter. . . There are a lot of foreigners in Cambridge. It's not uncommon to meet a prince from another prince or the mayor's daughter. For princes and princesses from small European countries, Cambridge and Oxford are the first choice, or they are the traditional famous schools in the United States. So it can be seen that the threshold is very high.
We had a project to go to Oxford and Cambridge that year, and more than 3,000 Chinese people interviewed and selected 2 candidates. So the competition is quite fierce.
What LZ has to do is to improve his grades to straight A's, then write a very attractive PS, and find a very good tutor to write an evaluation for you. In recent years, I have worked hard to contribute and speak, do research, and participate in various forums within the academic scope. Since you want to go to Cambridge, it means that you want to be among the top 10 elites in the world. Naturally, you cannot be the same as ordinary students.
Concrete steps.
Then in the second half of your senior year (if you want to apply for a Cambridge master's degree), starting from November, you will start to download the application form from the Cambridge website and fill it out. The application is usually between 1 and 2 reaches its peak monthly. Submit later. If they are interested in you, they will send you a 1ST OFFER listing the performance standards you need to meet, and then they may arrange an interview in April or May.
If everything goes well, after you graduate, you can send your grades and English scores, change to a UNCONDITIONAL OFFER, and then you can enroll. Of course, you have to prepare a large amount of money, about 400,000, and Cambridge's tuition and living expenses are also relatively expensive. There are no scholarships in the UK, especially for a school like Cambridge that everyone is flocking to.
In general, if you want to apply to Cambridge, you should not feel imperfect at all. If you are saying that you are currently a freshman or sophomore in college and want to transfer to a freshman in college, then I would say that it is basically impossible. Even those who attend high school in the UK require that they do not accept any type of grade transfer and must be full-time A LEVEL students. Even preparatory courses for international students are not accepted. As for the UCAS mentioned above, UCAS is equivalent to our college entrance examination application choice. It is generally used by students in the UK. Foreign students can also apply directly from the school.
A better suggestion is that LZ applies to several other schools as substitutes at the same time, because the most likely approach from Cambridge is that there will not even be a reply. . (Except automatic replies)