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Are my grades good enough for top universities?

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Hello, I have just finished GCSE's and I managed to achieve 7A*s, 1A, 1B and 2C's. I would like to apply for maths or physics at Cambridge but I'm really really not sure if these are good enough😁. I would like some advice please and if you think it's going to be difficult for me to get in, or that I can't get in I would like some Uniiversities you could reccomend, thank you. At A-level I'm taking Maths, Further maths, Physics and Chemistry btw.
Original post by JoshuaLegend
Hello, I have just finished GCSE's and I managed to achieve 7A*s, 1A, 1B and 2C's. I would like to apply for maths or physics at Cambridge but I'm really really not sure if these are good enough😁. I would like some advice please and if you think it's going to be difficult for me to get in, or that I can't get in I would like some Uniiversities you could reccomend, thank you. At A-level I'm taking Maths, Further maths, Physics and Chemistry btw.

Cambridge pay hardly any attention to your GCSE's. The important things are any AS results, including your UMS in maths and further maths, predicted A2 grades, interview performance and either the natural sciences test pre-interview or STEP for maths. Concentrate on doing great at the end of year 12, now is too early to know much about your chances.
Original post by AspiringUnderdog
Ah alright I'll keep these things in mind. Do you have any book recommendations that aren't chosen by everyone? Also, I find the Heisenberg Principle interesting.

This has quite a good selection:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Recommended_Physics_Reading
I first read about the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene although most of that book is about the string theory.

I would also recommend The Wonderful World of Relativity by Andrew Steane. It introduces special relativity, showing you space-time diagrams and deriving the equations, which is at a surprisingly ok level of maths- I was given it at a summer school between years 12 and 13. Really mind-bending concepts but very readable. I had a lot of fun with it.
More generally just search the internet for recommended physics books. Amazon is great because it has so many reviews and you can tell what kind of level it's at- try to avoid books that are more about the history of a field than about the physics itself.
Original post by Productivity
Your GCSE's are perfectly fine, possibly for Oxford even.For Natural Sciences, make sure that you have very good UMS, a very good personal statement, good Year 13 predicted grades, good AS grades if you are taking AS exams, and also prepare for your interview. Things look good with the fact that you have A*s in all of the sciences and maths, so you are most-likely capable of achieving well at AS level and therefore should be able to easily get high predicted grades for Year 13 as a result.It is rather similar for Physics, except that you won't have to worry about your UMS points. Personal statement, predicted grades, AS grades, and interview performance are what you need to focus on.To show your interest in Physics: read scholarly articles, subscribe to magazines, read physics textbooks, go to weekly physics lectures, join/start a physics society at your school. There are many more activities you could get involved in, but reading outside of the subject and reading/quoting scholarly articles are most favourable. All of these you can talk about in your personal statement, along with a paragraph on a particular topic of interest.


Original post by sindyscape62
Cambridge pay hardly any attention to your GCSE's. The important things are any AS results, including your UMS in maths and further maths, predicted A2 grades, interview performance and either the natural sciences test pre-interview or STEP for maths. Concentrate on doing great at the end of year 12, now is too early to know much about your chances.


Original post by sindyscape62
This has quite a good selection:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Recommended_Physics_Reading
I first read about the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene although most of that book is about the string theory.

I would also recommend The Wonderful World of Relativity by Andrew Steane. It introduces special relativity, showing you space-time diagrams and deriving the equations, which is at a surprisingly ok level of maths- I was given it at a summer school between years 12 and 13. Really mind-bending concepts but very readable. I had a lot of fun with it.
More generally just search the internet for recommended physics books. Amazon is great because it has so many reviews and you can tell what kind of level it's at- try to avoid books that are more about the history of a field than about the physics itself.


Okay thanks, all three of you. This advice is actually really useful and I'm going to make sure to find some good books to read. My physics teacher also recommended writing reviews about the books so I know how to talk about them for the interviews.

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