h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

'Unlike many other universities, where the final grade of the degree is based on scores throughout the three years, a Cambridge grade is based purely on the score in the Part II.'

Not true - I'm taking the Computer Science option in the natural science tripos, and not only do I have exams at the end of every year, they all count individually...

That is, I'll get a grade for each year, and I'll have to give all three to prospective employers.

This means that, already, I'm about to take exams that'll determine what goes on my CV...

They don't make it easy for us, for some reason

Ah, but since when did CompScis matter...

Nearly forgot to say, nice article

If anyone wants to see some pictures of Caius (my college), I have a few on my home page:

http://home.neo.rr.com/centralstation

Jus' follow the 'caius' link on the left...

Gasp... CompScis have always mattered!

The same thing applies to anyone else in the natural science tripos, though, if compscis aren't good enough for you

Are you sure..? Speaking as an ex-NatSci (OK, ex-Medic, but the principle is the same) I've only ever quoted my Part II grade on my CV or on any other occasion when I've needed a grade.

Hmm, pretty sure, yep...

Then again, you can get away with just quoting the best grade, I think, but technically you're supposed to quote all three...

I'll see if I can check with someone, though.

Wow - maybe I got my job under false pretences!

Ah, well, if they don't know enough to ask, 's their loss

Technically speaking, Cambs doesn't give a final grade for any exams. However the magic grade that most people care about is your final year - your exit velocity, if you will. Most other Universities however blend the overall grade.

You'll find, though, that whilst many employers say "must have 2.1" or something like that, they will in fact ask for transcripts of all your results from all your exams, independnat of where you studied.