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Original post by Baaaaaaahh
As in most of them, so if you haven't got to BMO 2 you stand a pretty weak chance of getting in.

No. Almost none have got to BMO2. Thread closed.
Original post by Baaaaaaahh
As in most of them, so if you haven't got to BMO 2 you stand a pretty weak chance of getting in.


I got 2 marks off, you?
Original post by Omghacklol
I got 2 marks off, you?


so you got 41? petaaaaaaa
Original post by Baaaaaaahh
As in most of them, so if you haven't got to BMO 2 you stand a pretty weak chance of getting in.


No. Only two people at my college (out of 11) got to BMO2 or higher.
Original post by Principia
No. Only two people at my college (out of 11) got to BMO2 or higher.


I'm guessing most of them have been to BMO 1 though :tongue:

I honestly think if you aren't getting at least gold on the UKMT senior challenge you don't really stand a chance of getting into cambridge
Original post by FrostShot
I'm guessing most of them have been to BMO 1 though :tongue:

I honestly think if you aren't getting at least gold on the UKMT senior challenge you don't really stand a chance of getting into cambridge


At least one of the eight people in my year in my college got a silver on the maths challenge.
Original post by FrostShot
I'm guessing most of them have been to BMO 1 though :tongue:

I honestly think if you aren't getting at least gold on the UKMT senior challenge you don't really stand a chance of getting into cambridge


I disagree, the maths challenge is a very specific type of mathematics.
Original post by Smaug123
At least one of the eight people in my year in my college got a silver on the maths challenge.


I'm guessing he had some amazing UMS scores though?

Original post by Jai Sandhu
I disagree, the maths challenge is a very specific type of mathematics.


That is true, but usually the first 10 to 15 questions on the UKMT paper tend to be quite basic ('m talking about for students of Cambridge standards of course!), and if you answer all 15 correctly, if I'm not mistaken then that's will give you 60 marks plus the starting 25 marks you get, for a total of 85 marks, which I believe is usually enough for a Gold :smile:

I do agree that the questions are quite unusual and there tends to be a slightly too heavy focus on Euclidean Geometry (Or maybe the Euclidean Geometry questions just stick in my mind the most because I despise them :sad:). The fact that it's multiple choice and marked by a machine also makes it slightly dodgy to me as a means of providing an accurate assessment of ability.
Original post by FrostShot
I'm guessing he had some amazing UMS scores though?



That is true, but usually the first 10 to 15 questions on the UKMT paper tend to be quite basic ('m talking about for students of Cambridge standards of course!), and if you answer all 15 correctly, if I'm not mistaken then that's will give you 60 marks plus the starting 25 marks you get, for a total of 85 marks, which I believe is usually enough for a Gold :smile:

I do agree that the questions are quite unusual and there tends to be a slightly too heavy focus on Euclidean Geometry (Or maybe the Euclidean Geometry questions just stick in my mind the most because I despise them :sad:). The fact that it's multiple choice and marked by a machine also makes it slightly dodgy to me as a means of providing an accurate assessment of ability.


Aye, I know people who got a silver in UKMT but SS in STEP 2 and 3 and are at Cambridge atm so there must be more to it, but you are right doing well in the UKMT does in general mean you are a strong mathematician, but doing badly does not mean you are a bad mathematician.
Original post by Jai Sandhu
Aye, I know people who got a silver in UKMT but SS in STEP 2 and 3 and are at Cambridge atm so there must be more to it, but you are right doing well in the UKMT does in general mean you are a strong mathematician, but doing badly does not mean you are a bad mathematician.


I suspect going into the UKMT thinking you're of BMO standard, then getting a silver was a pretty hard slap on the face for them!

Since the UKMT challenge happens much earlier in the than the STEP challenge, I think getting a silver on the UKMT may have actually motivated them to work harder throughout the year and as a result, get a stronger STEP result. It's amazing how much better you can become at maths in just a short period of time if you really set your heart out to becoming better at it; and getting a wake up call like the silver in UKMT can be surprisingly powerful, in my opinion, and motivated them to work much harder and achieve their SS results.

Congratulations to them though, those STEP grades are amazing!
Original post by FrostShot
I suspect going into the UKMT thinking you're of BMO standard, then getting a silver was a pretty hard slap on the face for them!

Since the UKMT challenge happens much earlier in the than the STEP challenge, I think getting a silver on the UKMT may have actually motivated them to work harder throughout the year and as a result, get a stronger STEP result. It's amazing how much better you can become at maths in just a short period of time if you really set your heart out to becoming better at it; and getting a wake up call like the silver in UKMT can be surprisingly powerful, in my opinion, and motivated them to work much harder and achieve their SS results.

Congratulations to them though, those STEP grades are amazing!


Probably is the case for a couple of them, although one of them got an S in STEP 1 in L6th before he got the Silver so idk.
We should make a thread for people to post their BMO scores on (maybe we can find some IMOers on tsr?)
Original post by FrostShot
I'm guessing he had some amazing UMS scores though?


Almost everyone doing maths at Cambridge will have got very high marks in A-level maths/fmaths, but that's a by-product of studying for STEP.
Original post by Smaug123
Almost everyone doing maths at Cambridge will have got very high marks in A-level maths/fmaths, but that's a by-product of studying for STEP.


And also because high marks in A level maths/fmaths (Getting an average below 90-95 means you are unlikely to get an interview I believe, unless you have BMO to compensate) are pretty much a requirement for getting the offer in the first place.

:dontknow:
I don't know if 90-95 sounds about right as sort of the interview threshold for Cambridge, it's just a guess from me.
I can do quite a few BMO q's but in the SMC got a rly low score as they gave just 1 (really small) piece of paper to write on and the time issue is ridiculous.
Honestly getting 125/125 isnt hard at all it's just the time and the resources in the exam which are honestly, ridiculous.
so sidenote- imho a silver shouldnt be a slap in the face
Original post by FrostShot
And also because high marks in A level maths/fmaths (Getting an average below 90-95 means you are unlikely to get an interview I believe, unless you have BMO to compensate) are pretty much a requirement for getting the offer in the first place.

:dontknow:
I don't know if 90-95 sounds about right as sort of the interview threshold for Cambridge, it's just a guess from me.


If you are getting an average of under 92 odd UMS in your Maths and Further Maths AS levels and are applying for Maths you should not expect an interview.
Original post by MathMeister
I can do quite a few BMO q's but in the SMC got a rly low score as they gave just 1 (really small) piece of paper to write on and the time issue is ridiculous.
Honestly getting 125/125 isnt hard at all it's just the time and the resources in the exam which are honestly, ridiculous.
so sidenote- imho a silver shouldnt be a slap in the face


I totally agree with the '1 piece of paper thing'! One tiny piece of paper is not enough for an hour and a half of maths!
Original post by FrostShot
I totally agree with the '1 piece of paper thing'! One tiny piece of paper is not enough for an hour and a half of maths!

totally agree

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