Cambridge vs Oxford for Physics

My mocks were **** to put it short marks were terrible for most of my class but my teacher predicted A*A*A i take only three alevels
1) I wanted to apply to oxford because i want to study physics and cambridge didnt offer that so i left it out, but then i noticed cambridge has a similar course called natural sciences with more Intake of students that caught my attention so now i need help out weighing the pros and cons here

When I was applying I researched the courses and went on shadowing schemes and etc. The physics course at Oxford is heavily mechanics based in the first year and there is very little choice you have when it comes to module choice, as the students have told me. The Cambridge course on the other hand has a little more choice and you can throw in other science streams if you wish, as you will be applying for physical natural sciences so there's choice of maths and chemistry but I know a biological option is also available.

Also what are your GCSEs like? Oxford puts much more emphasis on very good GCSEs than Cambridge. Cambridge used to work on UMS but seen as you've not taken AS exams I'm not sure what they would assess instead, possibly entrance exam results as I think they're implementing something similar to the Oxford PAT/MAT

5* 3A these are the max avaliable in my country and school for me
all the As were 1 UMS off
I actually couldnt find information on the cambridge site about entrance exams it really is packed with so much info and confuses me really so i have no clue. the oxford one is much easier to follow imo

i would love to get into either really and statisically cambridge looks like the better choice but i really dont know how they asses things and havent researched much however i have researched ofxford alot but they have lower intake sadly

Thing is the intake might really not work in your favour no matter how much you try to approach it statistically. I had the same approach initially but that's really not how it works. Be aware that you apply to one college only, so you're going to have to research your colleges and their individual requirements and entrance exams. When I applied in October each college had a different procedure (Cambridge) and some had entrance exams while others only interviews, and some had tests during the interview as far as I'm aware. Have a good look into each college, I believe the info is available on TSR also and it describes pros and cons of each college at the Oxbridge unis. Then look up the college websites and have a look at their application guidelines.

Your GCSEs are majority A* but bear in mind the unis wouldn't ask for your GCSE UMS so the As being 1 UMS off an A* doesn't make a difference, to them it's still an A. I can't remember exactly but a figure has stuck in my head that was to do with GCSE scores, something about a total of 64 points (8A*s?) which I particularly remember seeing. I'm not sure if this is compulsory or if it was a guideline, I'm sure you can find more information on GCSEs on the Oxford website under "application" or "admission" or something similar

Thing is the intake might really not work in your favour no matter how much you try to approach it statistically. I had the same approach initially but that's really not how it works. Be aware that you apply to one college only, so you're going to have to research your colleges and their individual requirements and entrance exams. When I applied in October each college had a different procedure (Cambridge) and some had entrance exams while others only interviews, and some had tests during the interview as far as I'm aware. Have a good look into each college, I believe the info is available on TSR also and it describes pros and cons of each college at the Oxbridge unis. Then look up the college websites and have a look at their application guidelines.

Your GCSEs are majority A* but bear in mind the unis wouldn't ask for your GCSE UMS so the As being 1 UMS off an A* doesn't make a difference, to them it's still an A. I can't remember exactly but a figure has stuck in my head that was to do with GCSE scores, something about a total of 64 points (8A*s?) which I particularly remember seeing. I'm not sure if this is compulsory or if it was a guideline, I'm sure you can find more information on GCSEs on the Oxford website under "application" or "admission" or something similar

do read this for me too http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=66254595&highlight=
thnaks

I will try and look for it and see if i find anything
i dont think oxford have different requirements depding on college though
So overall what do you think would be the better choice here seeing as what you said i assume dmore intake is better chance is wrong im leaning to oxford as ive done most of my research on them

It is not an entry requirement to have 4 A levels, and it is also not a requirement to have further maths as far as I'm aware - the website says physics and maths is compulsory and a standard offer is A*AA. Therefore you should be just fine.

For Oxford you're going to have to take the PAT which does have quite a significant effect on your application, so if you decide to go for Oxford you should certainly focus on preparing for that. You could even start over the summer seen as you have to take the PAT by 15th October I believe. It consists of physics and mathematics sections, some are multiple choice and others a little more wordy (or at least this was the case when I researched it last year). You're also going to have to research the colleges to see which one you like the most

My mocks were **** to put it short marks were terrible for most of my class but my teacher predicted A*A*A i take only three alevels
1) I wanted to apply to oxford because i want to study physics and cambridge didnt offer that so i left it out, but then i noticed cambridge has a similar course called natural sciences with more Intake of students that caught my attention so now i need help out weighing the pros and cons here

yeah i just thought because most of the sample students have 4 alevels or further maths so seeing as i have only 3 alevels and most people in my school take 4 i thought about doing as further maths, ive already given my as maths exams btw so i might have a little more free time. problem was even if i did consider it, its self taught and its summer now and my teacher said she cant give me a predicted grade on it since i haven given any test for it

ive started preparing some a2 maths for the pat already to get me up to speed and will work on the physics parts idk soon too. i could always submita an open application right, i dont know which colleges are mpre competitve and might hinder my chances