EPQ and FSMQ

EPQ is an Extended Project Qualification. Usually taken during the second year of A levels, it is the difficulty of an A level but the length of an AS level - hence is is possible to achieve an A* grade but it is only worth half the UCAS points of a full A level. You usually write a 5000 word essay on a topic of your choice, accompanied by various supporting documents. There is also the option to create a project - e.g. a piece of artwork or a design of something - with a 2000 word essay.
FSMQ stands for the Free Standing Maths Qualification. It is a bit like one module of an AS level, and is usually taken in the last year of GCSEs. You study some topics beyond GCSE level, and it is good preparation for A level Maths and Further Maths. Depending on your exam board and chosen FSMQ, the topic could be anything from graphs to calculus. It is fairly coursework based, with a final exam at the end.
While universities are interested in your qualifications and would particularly highly regard the EPQ, they also recognise that not all students have the opportunity to do them and so they are not absolutely essential for your university application. It is most important to concentrate in getting very good grades in your main subjects before thinking of taking on additional work such as the EPQ or FSMQ. Also, qualifications are only one section of the UCAS form - the personal statement is also key, and so you need to allow time for extracurricular activities related to your course, such as extra reading, attending extension clubs at school, taking part in competitions, participating in summer schools or attending university taster days for your subject. Some are also interested in your broader extracurricular interests, and having a hobby such as a sport is also a great break from work - remember that gaining transferable skills and enjoying some time off studying are also important :smile:

Reply 2

OP

Original post by dragonkeeper999

EPQ is an Extended Project Qualification. Usually taken during the second year of A levels, it is the difficulty of an A level but the length of an AS level - hence is is possible to achieve an A* grade but it is only worth half the UCAS points of a full A level. You usually write a 5000 word essay on a topic of your choice, accompanied by various supporting documents. There is also the option to create a project - e.g. a piece of artwork or a design of something - with a 2000 word essay.
FSMQ stands for the Free Standing Maths Qualification. It is a bit like one module of an AS level, and is usually taken in the last year of GCSEs. You study some topics beyond GCSE level, and it is good preparation for A level Maths and Further Maths. Depending on your exam board and chosen FSMQ, the topic could be anything from graphs to calculus. It is fairly coursework based, with a final exam at the end.
While universities are interested in your qualifications and would particularly highly regard the EPQ, they also recognise that not all students have the opportunity to do them and so they are not absolutely essential for your university application. It is most important to concentrate in getting very good grades in your main subjects before thinking of taking on additional work such as the EPQ or FSMQ. Also, qualifications are only one section of the UCAS form - the personal statement is also key, and so you need to allow time for extracurricular activities related to your course, such as extra reading, attending extension clubs at school, taking part in competitions, participating in summer schools or attending university taster days for your subject. Some are also interested in your broader extracurricular interests, and having a hobby such as a sport is also a great break from work - remember that gaining transferable skills and enjoying some time off studying are also important :smile:

Wow, that's amazing. You are very prompt! I'll look at the FSMQ soon hopefully. I play tennis, badminton and cricket on a regular basis and at a competitive level. Would these be enough? I have also enrolled for Bronze DofE, and I hope to do all three. I'll attend some taster days as well. I have seen everyone saying 'extra reading' or 'wider reading'. What does this mean? Do I read novels, or do I read about Economics? When do I start this reading? Now? A levels?

Thanks, so much, for all of your help! It really helps!

Reply 3

Original post by londoncricket

Wow, that's amazing. You are very prompt! I'll look at the FSMQ soon hopefully. I play tennis, badminton and cricket on a regular basis and at a competitive level. Would these be enough? I have also enrolled for Bronze DofE, and I hope to do all three. I'll attend some taster days as well. I have seen everyone saying 'extra reading' or 'wider reading'. What does this mean? Do I read novels, or do I read about Economics? When do I start this reading? Now? A levels?

Thanks, so much, for all of your help! It really helps!

The main thing universities are interested in are extracurriculars relevant to your subject. It is great to have a couple of sports to have a bit of a break from studying, and they can show a few transferable skills, but you also need to have some real 'meat' to add to your personal statement - clear evidence that you have been exploring your subject beyond the curriculum. You can start as early as you want - although at the moment there may not be a lot of opportunities for you to do things, although reading relevant books is always an option. When you start sixth form however, there will be a lot more opportunities and this is the key time for you to focus on it :smile:

Examples include:

•

reading books relevant to your subject - can be more 'popular' books or textbooks, perhaps try a range - read a more relaxed ecomonics book then read up in more detail in textbooks the topic you found particularly interesting

•

attending 'taster days' - days at universities for a specific subject, most universities will offer some kind of taster day, Oxbridge and Russel Group unis tend to offer particularly popular ones. Get in there early with your application as some are first come first served and fill up within a couple of days

•

attending summer schools - like taster days these are usually held at universities and are often for specific subject, although some are more general on university life. They tend to be very competitive to apply to, and are usually done in the summer between your ASs and A2s. However, keep an eye out now - some are available for younger students and these tend to be less competitive to get onto since less students know about them.

•

participating in competitions - there are a huge range of competitions, some run by universities, some by organisations or companies. They can be hard to find out about, but googling 'economics competition for GCSE students' might bring up a few. Often, they will be essay competitions, although some are online game-type competitions or those that require a team of you to attend an event.

•

Work Experience - this can be very hard to get, but would be great to support your university application even if you are only able to get a few days. The best way to get it is to talk to family contacts who may be willing to allow you to shadow them for a few days, although some companies and universities do do dedicated work experience schemes. They tend to be fairly competitive and hard to find though, particularly if you need to stick to your local area. Also consider getting work experience or doing voluntary work in related environments - e.g. being the treasurer for a school society, working in a shop, running your own small business.

•

Extension lectures - some schools run series of extension lectures on particular subjects or invite the odd guest speaker in to give a presentation. Also, many universities run public lecture series which anyone can attend - check out your local university's website. These are a great way to find out about particular topics within economics in more depth from an expert and demonstrate that you have made an effort to attend university style lectures on your course.

I hope this helps :smile:

Sorry, I'm a science student so can't give you many economics specific examples or suggestions.

Reply 4

OP

Original post by dragonkeeper999

The main thing universities are interested in are extracurriculars relevant to your subject. It is great to have a couple of sports to have a bit of a break from studying, and they can show a few transferable skills, but you also need to have some real 'meat' to add to your personal statement - clear evidence that you have been exploring your subject beyond the curriculum. You can start as early as you want - although at the moment there may not be a lot of opportunities for you to do things, although reading relevant books is always an option. When you start sixth form however, there will be a lot more opportunities and this is the key time for you to focus on it :smile:

Examples include:

•

reading books relevant to your subject - can be more 'popular' books or textbooks, perhaps try a range - read a more relaxed ecomonics book then read up in more detail in textbooks the topic you found particularly interesting

•

attending 'taster days' - days at universities for a specific subject, most universities will offer some kind of taster day, Oxbridge and Russel Group unis tend to offer particularly popular ones. Get in there early with your application as some are first come first served and fill up within a couple of days

•

attending summer schools - like taster days these are usually held at universities and are often for specific subject, although some are more general on university life. They tend to be very competitive to apply to, and are usually done in the summer between your ASs and A2s. However, keep an eye out now - some are available for younger students and these tend to be less competitive to get onto since less students know about them.

•

participating in competitions - there are a huge range of competitions, some run by universities, some by organisations or companies. They can be hard to find out about, but googling 'economics competition for GCSE students' might bring up a few. Often, they will be essay competitions, although some are online game-type competitions or those that require a team of you to attend an event.

•

Work Experience - this can be very hard to get, but would be great to support your university application even if you are only able to get a few days. The best way to get it is to talk to family contacts who may be willing to allow you to shadow them for a few days, although some companies and universities do do dedicated work experience schemes. They tend to be fairly competitive and hard to find though, particularly if you need to stick to your local area. Also consider getting work experience or doing voluntary work in related environments - e.g. being the treasurer for a school society, working in a shop, running your own small business.

•

Extension lectures - some schools run series of extension lectures on particular subjects or invite the odd guest speaker in to give a presentation. Also, many universities run public lecture series which anyone can attend - check out your local university's website. These are a great way to find out about particular topics within economics in more depth from an expert and demonstrate that you have made an effort to attend university style lectures on your course.

I hope this helps :smile:

Sorry, I'm a science student so can't give you many economics specific examples or suggestions.

Alright, that's great! Sorry for the delay in the reply, I didn't have an internet connection for a week. Which university do you go to? What do you study? I will have a look at each of the bullet points. i have applied for an HSBC Work Experience Placement and I have managed to get to the interview stage. Thanks for the advice and keep it coming, please!

Reply 5

Original post by londoncricket

Alright, that's great! Sorry for the delay in the reply, I didn't have an internet connection for a week. Which university do you go to? What do you study? I will have a look at each of the bullet points. i have applied for an HSBC Work Experience Placement and I have managed to get to the interview stage. Thanks for the advice and keep it coming, please!

No problem :smile:

I'm studying Natural Sciences at Cambridge. So I don't know a lot specifically about economics, although I have a few friends studying it so have a vague idea. The basic ideas of what to put in a personal statement are similar for many courses however.
The HSBC Work Experience Placement sounds fantastic, it would be really great to mention on your UCAS application if you get it - good luck with your interview!

Reply 6

OP

Original post by dragonkeeper999

No problem :smile:

I'm studying Natural Sciences at Cambridge. So I don't know a lot specifically about economics, although I have a few friends studying it so have a vague idea. The basic ideas of what to put in a personal statement are similar for many courses however.
The HSBC Work Experience Placement sounds fantastic, it would be really great to mention on your UCAS application if you get it - good luck with your interview!

Wow! Natural Sciences at Cambridge sounds amazing!

Thanks for the tips. What do you think was the main factor(s) in getting you into Cambridge?

Thanks again!

Reply 7

Original post by londoncricket

Wow! Natural Sciences at Cambridge sounds amazing!

Thanks for the tips. What do you think was the main factor(s) in getting you into Cambridge?

Thanks again!

Haha, it's a lot of work! Good fun though, and I really enjoy it :smile:

I think the main factor has to be exam UMS scores and showing a thorough understanding of science at interview and an interest in the subject outside of the curriculum. They didn't ask any questions on my unrelated extracurriculars or why I was interested in the course - the main focus was on academics and how good I was at my subject. That's not to say that they ignored everything else, probably just that I had answered most of those questions already in my personal statement, but I would definitely say that the main thing Cambridge specifically was looking for was the potential and motivation to do well in your subject academically - and I'm sure most universities have this as their main priority too :smile:

Reply 8

OP

Original post by dragonkeeper999

Haha, it's a lot of work! Good fun though, and I really enjoy it :smile:

I think the main factor has to be exam UMS scores and showing a thorough understanding of science at interview and an interest in the subject outside of the curriculum. They didn't ask any questions on my unrelated extracurriculars or why I was interested in the course - the main focus was on academics and how good I was at my subject. That's not to say that they ignored everything else, probably just that I had answered most of those questions already in my personal statement, but I would definitely say that the main thing Cambridge specifically was looking for was the potential and motivation to do well in your subject academically - and I'm sure most universities have this as their main priority too :smile:

I'm sure it's a lot of work, but nonetheless a fantastic achievement!

Thanks for the advice, I was actually going to go on to ask you what is UMS and what is UCAS? Can you explain it please?

All the information is much appreciated!

Reply 9

Original post by londoncricket

I'm sure it's a lot of work, but nonetheless a fantastic achievement!

Thanks for the advice, I was actually going to go on to ask you what is UMS and what is UCAS? Can you explain it please?

All the information is much appreciated!

UMS is your exam score - the actual number you are given rather than just the grade. I don't think any other universities ask for it, but Cambridge sends round an additional form to fill in your exam marks and add some extra info.
UCAS is the University and Colleges Admissions Services - basically they run the website you apply to university through. You submit a 'UCAS form' through their website, which gets sent to up to 5 universities of your choice. Most universities make offers based on this alone, but some require an interview and/ or an additional form - for example Cambridge.

Reply 10

OP

Original post by dragonkeeper999

UMS is your exam score - the actual number you are given rather than just the grade. I don't think any other universities ask for it, but Cambridge sends round an additional form to fill in your exam marks and add some extra info.
UCAS is the University and Colleges Admissions Services - basically they run the website you apply to university through. You submit a 'UCAS form' through their website, which gets sent to up to 5 universities of your choice. Most universities make offers based on this alone, but some require an interview and/ or an additional form - for example Cambridge.

Okay, thanks for that! Is it only five universities maximum? Why?

Reply 11

Original post by londoncricket

Okay, thanks for that! Is it only five universities maximum? Why?

No problem :smile:

Yes - there are only 5 spaces on the UCAS form. You enter five different choices - usually for the same course/ very similar courses at five different universities, although if you wish you can enter the same university twice for two different courses (although generally this isn't recommended as switching between courses at a particular university is usually fairly simple and if you are applying to two very similar courses they will probably have similar entrance requirements/ things to look for in a personal statement/ even the same person looking at the application - so to maximise your chances most people pick five different universities.
This is because otherwise universities would become overwhelmed with applications - if you could select an unlimited number of choices you would just put down every university offering a course you are interested in. For common courses like the 'core' subjects this could be as many as 50! Can you image the amount of extra work for university admissions departments if they suddenly had ten times the number of applications, bearing in mind that most of them were just people picking the course/ university because it looked vaguely interesting or as a back up choice, with no real intention of going there anyway!
By limiting you to five choices, it reduces the pressure on admissions departments while still allowing you the opportunity to select courses with a range of admissions requirements (so you can pick some 'safe' insurance choices as well as one or two riskier choices asking for higher grades) and apply for several universities you are interested in so you can make a firm decision later on when you have had time to visit them again, etc.

Reply 12

Chlorophile

20

Original post by londoncricket

Hi all,

I am a Year 10 student with an interest in Economics and Maths. I hope to study Economics at university in the future.

I was wondering what EPQ and FSMQ are? I know that they are some sort of qualifications that universities like to see on someone's application but can some explain them? I don't think that I can take my Maths GCSE early because my school will not let me do this.
Thanks!

If I were you, I would strongly advise that you do not do your EPQ this early. Firstly, your EPQ is not going to be as good now as it would be if you did it in Year 12 or 13, and you will definitely get a better grade if you do it later on, which will of course look better when you're applying for University. Secondly, lots of people change their opinions about what they want to study between your age and when they actually apply. You might be convinced that you're going to go into Economics now, but a lot can change in a couple of years. As a result, an EPQ you do now might be completely irrelevant to what you actually end up studying, which again could decrease the benefit you get from it. If I had done my EPQ in Year 10, I'd have probably done it on something to do with electronics, which would have been completely unhelpful for the thing I'm actually intending on studying, Geology.

Reply 13

OP