[lisamaria]

Hi
I know Cambridge is often said to be "better" for sciences but is there really that much in it? Is Cambridge any more difficult to get into for CompSci than Oxford?
I do maths, further maths, computing and French A levels at college and will be doing an EPQ next year.
Thanks

[fluteflute]

On the numbers front, I believe Oxford and Cambridge are equally difficult to get into.

The biggest difference is the actual courses offered.

• In the first year at Cambridge, everyone spends either half their time studying maths, or alternatively a quarter of their time studying maths and a quarter studying natural sciences. (See here.) But, Cambridge doesn't have any joint honours degrees, so after the first year, everyone does only Computer Science.
• Oxford offers straight Computer Science, but also two joint honours degrees: Maths & Computer Science; and Computer Science & Philosophy. (Of course even the straight CS degree has a significant amount of maths!)

[Nick_]

I would be interested in an answer to this question too.
(I realize that's not particularly helpful to you )

[SecondHand]

Ha, I do exactly the same subjects and have an offer to study CompSci at Oxford .

Although I didn't even look at Cambridge, the course structures are well documented on the websites. Pick which one takes your fancy.

[lisamaria]

(Original post by SecondHand)
Ha, I do exactly the same subjects and have an offer to study CompSci at Oxford .

Although I didn't even look at Cambridge, the course structures are well documented on the websites. Pick which one takes your fancy.

Do you do french as well?! It doesn't seem to be a very common choice along with the others :P What was your offer (if you don't mind me asking)? There's just seems to be something about Oxford that really appeals to me even if Cambridge is perhaps stronger for sciences.

[SecondHand]

A* in Maths, A in Further Maths and A in Computing or French. If there's something about Oxford that appeals to you then just apply to Oxford :P

[fluteflute]

(Original post by lisamaria)
DThere's just seems to be something about Oxford that really appeals to me even if Cambridge is perhaps stronger for sciences.

I really liked Oxford, and knew I couldn't apply to Cambridge as well. I never actually visited Cambridge. Not going to their open day meant I didn't have to make the choice

[roh]

Learn the organ, apply for both

[lisamaria]

(Original post by fluteflute)
I really liked Oxford, and knew I couldn't apply to Cambridge as well. I never actually visited Cambridge. Not going to their open day meant I didn't have to make the choice

Yeah, I've booked for the Oxford open day but think I'm going to leave the Cambridge one. If I'm leaning towards Oxford anyway I may as well not confuse myself and make the decision harder.

(Original post by SecondHand)
A* in Maths, A in Further Maths and A in Computing or French. If there's something about Oxford that appeals to you then just apply to Oxford :P

That actually sounds quite good to me I find maths far easier than computing just because there's less "theory" to learn and I actually find maths far more enjoyable at A-level than it was at GCSE. Plus it's good being able to choose which modules go towards which of the maths A-levels (well obviously not for all of them but hey).

[LtCommanderData]

One thing you might want to keep in mind is that the CS department here at Oxford is actually pretty small (especially compared to the maths department). That could be a good thing or a bad thing - I quite like having CS lectures with far fewer people in than my maths lectures, but that's just me.

I applied here because Cambridge don't do a proper joint degree with maths.

Good luck whichever way you decide to go!