Maths EPQ

I am considering doing an EPQ for maths, however I have heard that it is not worth doing for a maths degree is this true?

I am considering doing an EPQ for maths, however I have heard that it is not worth doing for a maths degree is this true?

I want to express my love for maths, however I have also done this in numerous other ways such as maths challenges and reading etc, so if it really is a waste of time to do epq for maths then I don't want to bother

I am considering doing an EPQ for maths, however I have heard that it is not worth doing for a maths degree is this true?

A well-executed EPQ may pique your interest and improve your research and presentation skills but won't make you any more likely to receive an offer to read mathematics at university.

I'd guess it would depend on the individual university or even the individual interviewer to make that decision.

I based mine on operant conditional techniques in psychology and applied it to conditioning horses as a practical. I got full marks because I chose a specialised subject so they just believed me - I gave my presentation to a geographer and a spanish teacher so didn't get a real grilling. It helps to do something other people won't know anything about.

Finished the actual project last week cracked out 6000 words over 5 days. Can't believe its only like 40% of the total though. I now have to go back and do the planning / research etc.

You could do 2,500 words a day and finish in 2 days. Bull****, waffle and comment on quotes a lot.

I want to do my EP on dentistry because this will look very good on my application form but I don't know what to write about, I don't know what is going on in the dentistry world. i have searched loads but I can't find anything, I need something that is interesting, that will catch peoples eye, get a high mark for. Please let me know what to do, thank you.

I haven't got a title yet. I might be thinking of doing something on Derren Brown.

I thought of the perfect topic: Harry Potter. Me doing a project on Harry Potter would be beyond perfect. I know everything there is to know about it.

My topic will be lucid dreaming since I already have contact with a university student and he has a website providing a lot of info and references to useful books and professors. 5000 words isn't that much is it? I made a book (3 pages) which was 2000 words easily and writing about a topic is much easier than a book. I only need a structure and fill it with me knowledge so that it is understandable by laymen and professionals.

I'm a bit confused about what topic to do it on. At first I was thinking schizophrenia, I've a long family history of schizophrenics. I have done work experience in an oncology ward so I could take interesting pictures. Now I have no idea what to do. Could also write about cancer in general.

Hey I'm doing my extended project on key decisions made by the U.K. government in the past 40 years. I was just wondering if you guys could point me to a few decisions made by the authorities which are most important and why.

I've been doing the EPQ for 9 months but decided the other day to change my project. I have gone from Eating Disorders to Fascism.

My title is How feasible is brain transplantation and could it take us to immortality?

heyyy. my college had an application process for doing the EPQ next year however i was refused i dont know why they didnt say anything jus that the application process was really difficult bu i really wanted to do it is there anyway i can appeal for it? cus i really dont understand cus my grades are good!!!!! n wa exam board is the EPQ done through? i'm peridcted a's and b's isnt dat good enough?

My initial idea for an essay title was "Assessment of the effect caffeine has upon various human brain receptors," I thought about following this idea with a short but sweet experiment measuring reaction time against amounts of caffeine ingested in mg (As my chemistry teacher has access to crystalline caffeine).

I'm doing a survery into swine flu for my 'Extended Project Qualification' for college and I need to do a questionnaire to help me to complete it.

1. Age: 0-10 11-18 19-39 40-65 65+

2. Do you think you contracted swine flu?
Yes No Unsure

Im doing an extended project on Tornadoes. Im not gathering research for a 5000 word essay on this topic and I was just wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of any good research websites? Im going to email a couple of universities who have good meteorological departments, The royal meteorological society, This american organisation (ive forgotten the name) Thanks

I REALLY want to do sexual perversion for my EPQ but my teacher's said it wouldn't be appropriate and therefore I have to stick to the "safe" option and do feminism which I'm sick of, tbh.

Any ideas of what I could do for EPQ - ideally including arabic. Id be really grateful if replies to this specifically could be sent to my email - addressremoved - just so i dont have to trawl through to find them"

I'm doing my epq on conviction rates and i'm tryna get my hand on the data to find out what the conviction rates are for different crimes e.g. rape, murder etc. Only i can't find them anywhere on the internet, I've emailed the home office and CPS, but do you have any suggestions where i could find this info?

Ok so I'm considering an EPQ on fractals..so far I have ordered: Fractals: images of Chaos (can't remember author, sorry) What could I write about them? Kind of unable to think of ideas!

Im gathering some information for my extended project qualification and I would really appreciate if you could share your personal opinions and beliefs on what you think of the 9/11 and whether you believe that the 9/11 terrorist attacks was controlled by the United States Government. Do you think it was an inside job? Was the World Trade Centre a controlled demolition?

The fact you have a vague hunch about this has convinced me.

The problem is the qualification suffers from a lack of rigour and is assessed by laypeople. It really is possible to spout any old drivel and achieve a very high mark.

admittedly you may have been specifically talking about offers for maths.

I am considering doing an EPQ for maths, however I have heard that it is not worth doing for a maths degree is this true?

As for whether or not it might help you getting an offer for maths, I'm inclined to say probably not, although I can't say for certain (it didn't seem to play any part in my offers, anyway). You should do a maths-based EPQ if you'd enjoy pursuing a genuine interest you have, such as a particular field in mathematics or perhaps a more historical aspect of it -- the development of a particular theory, or geared more towards a specific mathematician, for example. Yes, it is very possible to get an A* without putting in much effort -- and I know many who have -- but I found it much more satisfying to research and present something which I'd spent months learning about, than to rush it in a few days with a bunch of meaningless, boring exposition I typed in a hurry to fulfil whatever criteria I needed for the top grade.

Do you really want to do an EPQ due to a genuine interest in an aspect of mathematics, or are you simply looking for another shiny badge for your personal statement?

I disagree. If you're applying to Oxbridge then obviously your offer won't be lowered. But other Russell group unis may convert AAB into ABB if you get an A/A* in the EPQ. I don't know of anyone whose offer had an EPQ in it, but I know someone whose Loughborough offer went down by one grade because of it, either AAA to AAB or AAB to ABB.

So your comment about it probably not being useful is irrelevant; it wouldn't be a part of the offer for anyone applying to a Russell Group uni, I'm sure. Would it show the university they have a genuine interest in mathematics? Yes (which may help with the offer). Does it give the possibility of reducing the offer by a grade, therefore making it easier to get into the uni once you get your offer? Yes.

It is a worthwhile thing to do. It differentiates you from other students and teaches you how to work independently.

How does it differentiate you from other candidates when so many candidates do them nowadays?

I wouldn't say so many. This guy who is wondering whether to do one is a mathematician as well. All other people who I have spoken to that want to go to Cambridge to do maths as well haven't done an EPQ, so they clearly aren't that common, especially in maths.

As a final note, at my school about 20 of us did them, I was the one and only person to do a mathematical, or even scientific, topic. They seem to be far more common for those doing humanities.

(I want to do maths at Cambridge too , which college are you applying to?)
And I think it depends where you live - here in London pretty much everyone I've spoken to is doing one. At my old school, a pretty average state school, about 3/4 of candidates are doing one and at my current school practically everyone who isn't doing 5 A-levels is doing one.

Emmanuel, you? What was your UMS breakdown like?

That's odd. Very different here in Cheshire.

St John's For mathematics alone or for all subjects?

Mathematics and physics, the only relevant ones to maths!