Thanks so much for this! Really puts my anxious mind to relative ease!!
Congratulations to everyone with an offer, and fingers crossed for the rest of us.
I too, am still "under review".
In last years thread there was a user who received an offer through email but his status remained 'under review' for a further three weeks.
I have also found this below posted by a community assistant on the Student Room who seems to have an insight into the Cambridge Post-Graduate Application Process.
Community Assistant - Say they get 300 applications for the course. They want to make offers to the best 60 in order to get 30 who take up the 30 places. There's no way of doing that as each application comes in. You have no idea if the first application you get will be in the top 60 of the 300 you expect, nor the second or the third etc. They need to build up a clear view of the cohort strength. However, there will be some stand out strong candidates and soe standout weak candidates, they can make early offer and early rejections to those. Those applicants that remain possibly good enough, their applications just sit their either floating up towards offer level, or sinking to rejection level. That you have heard nothing for so long just means you are still being considered.
Community Assistant Again - Yes, that's absolutely what it means. There's a great big pot of competitive applicants into which more applicants are being put every day. There are periodic reviews where the cream is skimmed off the top and made and offer, and the gloop that sinks to the bottom is drained off and rejected. The remaining applicants and still decent ingredients in the mix, but gradually, up until about April, the size of the pot reduces, with more rising to the top or sinking to the bottom and fewer new applicants enter.
Link to a more detailed explanation on Application Status - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5205742&p=81470936&page=54&highlight=#post81470936
Cambridge promises 'all decisions will be made by 1st March'. They do not promise these decisions will be communicated to us by then.
^ This is what they are actually doing. It explains why we are all at different stages in the application process.
Didn't make the Cut - like the troll's friend (sorry could not remember user name) who was rejected weeks ago.
Cream of the Crop - those 'awaiting approval' and receiving offers currently.
In the Middle - those still 'under review' who's application must be filtered and compared with the pool of applicants, hoping we can jump the remaining hurdles to the finish line and not trip up.
I hope this helps ^ and puts others more at ease.
I am happy about this, our applications are each running their own race and if they don't reach the finish line then at least they put on a bloody good show! :)
