Official Natural Sciences 2022 Applicants Thread

leeds and exeter, the rest are biology

I'm so sorry, I can't seem to find anything online. your best bet is to contact their departments directly (some bio departments may be understanding too). I think if most of your subjects are biology I think you should continue writing your ps bio focused (you can always change it later) and speak to your school too if you can.

but take everything I say with a pinch of salt, I'm by no means an expert

1) What A-Levels (and/or other qualifications) are you taking? Maths, Bio, Product Design and AS Physics at 3A* (was thinking of being an architect...)

2) What strain of Natural Sciences are you thinking of doing - Biological or Physical? biological

3) Why are you thinking of applying for NatSci? i don't discriminate with the sciences lolol

4) What grades did you get at GCSE? nine 9s

5) What universities are you thinking of applying for? not sure but I have a rough idea: UCL, Leeds, Durham, Exeter for NatSci and Bath, Manchester, St Andrews, Imperial, Edinburgh for Biology

6) If you are applying for Cambridge (because realistically you probably are) what have you done to prepare for the NSAA (the admissions test)? I am not applying to Cambridge (sorry mum lol)

7) If you are applying for Cambridge or Durham what colleges are you thinking of applying to? idk about durham, see above for cambridge

8) What have you done in lockdown to help your studies and potentially your application? MOOC and I went to the UCL Natural Sciences Summer School and did a presentation there. Not much else as I only realised I wanted to do NatSci/Biology like two weeks ago

9) What books have you read? none, books recs anyone?

10) What do you want to do with your Natural Sciences degree? Research, become a lecturer/professor

Hey I’m in a similar situation as in I’m not applying for Cambridge as I got A*,A,A in chem,math,bio last year. Can I ask how you’re wording your personal statement to apply for Nat Sci at some and then Bio at imperial because I’m thinking of doing something similar.

i referred to biology/natsci as life sciences. my introduction/first paragraph is all biology related and my second is about more natsci stuff but i've tried to relate it to biology as i am applying to 4 unis for biology now. my last is just extracurriculars and my conclusion. hope this helps!

what books or materials have you guys been using to prepare for the NSAA? I've done all the available past papers and don't feel like it's enough

Cool how comes your doing bio and not natsci just curious as I’m thinking the exact same

Tip : when writing your PS, make it obvious that one of the reasons you want to do Natural Sciences is because not only do you want to study all of these science subjects but crucially, the connections between them. Give some examples of why this matters - and where this multi-discipline approach made a difference.

what books or materials have you guys been using to prepare for the NSAA? I've done all the available past papers and don't feel like it's enough

A few questions:

1) What A-Levels (and/or other qualifications) are you taking and what are your PGs?
maths a*
biology - a
chemistry - a
french - a*
epq - a*

2) What strain of Natural Sciences are you thinking of doing - Biological or Physical?
focusing on biology and maths

3) Why are you thinking of applying for NatSci?
i love both biology and maths (+ chemistry sometimes lol) and it seems to be one of the only ways of being able to carry on with both, and it also keeps options open for further studies!

4) What grades did you get at GCSE?
9999988777

5) What universities are you thinking of applying for?
york - mathematical bioscience pathway
exeter - natsci
st. andrews - biology
edinburgh - biology
loughborough - natsci

6) If you are applying for Cambridge (because realistically you probably are) what have you done to prepare for the NSAA (the admissions test)?
lol not applying

7) If you are applying for Cambridge or Durham what colleges are you thinking of applying to?
not for me

8) What have you done in lockdown to help your studies and potentially your application?
did a couple of MOOCs on medicine and genetics, reading books and the new scientist magazine, started some work on the a level maths course

9) What books have you read?
vaxxers by the two women who were really important in creating the astrazeneca covid vaccine, stuck by heidi larson, why geese don’t get obese (don’t remember who wrote it) and im currently reading the epigenetics revolution

10) What do you want to do with your Natural Sciences degree?

work out what i enjoy the most! then i’d love to do a masters in something more specialised and potentially then become an epidemiologist

lol finally someone else who isn't applying to Cambridge natsci

How is everyone revising for section 2? I can't find anything much in terms of practice questions other than the specimen paper.

Thanks.

I think it's only the second or third year that the section 2 is in this new multiple choice format, so tbh revising the a-level syllabus seems like the way to go. Good luck on Wednesday!

I'd just like to make sure as I haven't seen anywhere that you CANT do this, but am I allowed to pick the same science for both section 1 and 2? Chemistry is my strongest subject so it only feels right that I do both chemistry sections. Am stress revising rn.

yes