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PLEASE HELP!!!! oxford, cambridge, imperial, others? choices choices!

:confused: Please help! I'm having a really bad time with teachers pressurizing me etc. and i'd like some advice from the students themselves!
i'm studying chemistry, physics, maths, further maths (to AS only), french and general studies (not that it matters!) for my a-levels, and i'm predicted a's for them all.
so far so good, i fit into the basic oxbridge criteria.
now comes the dilemma - i love sciences and, as an inquisitive (or nosy! whichever way you look at it!) student, i really do think i would benefit from the nat sci course at cambridge! on the other hand, unlike most people who are applying for nat sci, i know almost for certain that i will end up specialising in chemistry - i've known that for quite a few years now, so why spend 2 years doing topics that i won't *need* necessarily when i can focus on chemistry from day one?
also, i've heard, and the figures back me up on this, that it is easier to get into a straight single science course at oxford than it is to get into nat sci at cambridge?
on top of these complications, i love my french and my music. oxford allows me to travel to france during my course for a few months whereas, as far as i know, cambridge will not. while places such as imperial or bristol will allow me to persue research in france for a whole year!
finally, can anyone tell me how competitive the instrumental awards are at places such as oxbridge, imperial, bristol, durham?
having said that, as places at oxbridge are so competitive, it's highly likely i won't even get in? and maybe that's better as it will solve my problem automatically?
please help! i'm sooooo confused! :frown:
Oxbridge statistically isn't as competitive as Durham, Bristol, LSE, UCL, KCL, Warwick etc., and although it is very hard to get into, you won't know if you could until you apply.
I personally think just apply for Chemistry - it's statistically much less competitive, and if you're sure that's what you want to do anyway, why not specialise now rather than waste time doing biological stuff you can't be bothered with in the first place. (I'm not a scientist at all, so I can't comment on the ins and outs of the two courses! That's just how it looks to me!) Also, if you really like French, why not go for the course that allows you to do that too?

One thing to be wary of: are you sure you don't want to do any of the Natural Sciences options that arent chemical? You might find you dont want to do chemistry after all! (However, you still have a long time to think these things over!)

good lcuk!
With your NatSci options - part of the question is whether you'd enjoy doing other options. Even though you know what you want to do, it's just interesting to do some side subjects as well.

I've seen the UCL course for Chemistry - and it's highly recommended. The good thing is that it's really flexible - only half of your first-year course is Chemistry.

Not sure if this is what you want, but you could always take a year out before uni in France.

Hopefully some of that was useful. Good luck!
Reply 3
I'm not convinced you can spend time in France under Oxford chemistry - what's your source on this? Besides that, the instrumental awards might not be that numerically competitive, but the standard's ridiculously high - usually at least a high performing diploma, if not a few. musicboy will know more than me on this.
Reply 4
RxB
I'm not convinced you can spend time in France under Oxford chemistry - what's your source on this? Besides that, the instrumental awards might not be that numerically competitive, but the standard's ridiculously high - usually at least a high performing diploma, if not a few. musicboy will know more than me on this.


I've known chemist friends spend a term out in Grenoble during their degree but don't know if it's an automatic choice
Reply 5
Best idea is to go to as many open days as possible, and take it from there. No need to decide just yet but don't think that being statistically less competitive, oxbridge is any easier to get into than the others.

I would have thought starting with a wider course would perhaps open up new aspects of chemistry that you might not have thought about, there must be a reason, and one many students must think is valid, to only specialise later in the course.

But don't panic.
Reply 6
I don't see where your dilemma is... It's obvious the Oxford course seems more suitable or you favour it more, in any case. Oxbridge is your only dilemma cus you have to choose either Cam or Ox - and I say apply. What can you lose? If you wanna go there, it's worth a shot. It's only a waste if you never intended to go there.

Industrial year *may* be more valuable tbh, especially in sciences and research - I think experience is always more valuable than a degree in itself, not to say the degree isn't important but you get my drift. Nottingham offers International Year in MSci Chemistry btw :wink: Get to spend a year abroad in your 3rd year for definite, although not guaranteed that it'd be France.

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