The Student Room Group

have i made a mistake in a level options?

i want to do physical natsci at uni. i adore physics and chemistry. im taking maths, physics, chem and dt - however I think the last subject not being fm may weaken my application?

i come from a low-attaining sixth form, but i still want to aim for cambridge as i might as well shoot for the stars and land on the mood per say. my school *does* offer further maths however it's not a subject i care massively about as a whole, whereas design is a relaxed break for me where i can apply my scientific knowledge into fun and creative problems. i don't really consider it an academic part of my study, more like an extracurricular where i can spend time outside of the hardcore stem subjects.

i already have a weak application compared to other candidates, as i come from a below average school with not-so-great prospects although my grades are consistent and top level for my school. i genuinely have so much love for physics and chemistry, but i feel like my lack of further maths may make it impossible to potentially study at one of the best unis for these two sciences together! (I'm also really interested in the material science modules..) is there anything i should consider? I'll probably teach myself some further mechanics anyway just to have that in my toolkit, but i can't justify a desire to study the whole a level, as my love for maths honestly doesn't compare to how much I've enjoyed my dt lessons for the past 3 years.

to be fair, if i had to - i would study further maths, but I've already changed my a level subjects 5 times (i originally liked the idea of studying architecture, but over the summer i did some extra reading and fell in love with particle and atomic science) and desperately want to avoid harassing my teachers for the millionth time!

i reckon that comes off as indecisive, but half of those subject changes have come from my teachers getting the a levels i picked wrong. honestly i just want to forget about all of this!

tldr; not taking further maths, how realistic is it for me to get into physical natsci?
Reply 1
Original post by m5rrri
i want to do physical natsci at uni. i adore physics and chemistry. im taking maths, physics, chem and dt - however I think the last subject not being fm may weaken my application?

i come from a low-attaining sixth form, but i still want to aim for cambridge as i might as well shoot for the stars and land on the mood per say. my school *does* offer further maths however it's not a subject i care massively about as a whole, whereas design is a relaxed break for me where i can apply my scientific knowledge into fun and creative problems. i don't really consider it an academic part of my study, more like an extracurricular where i can spend time outside of the hardcore stem subjects.

i already have a weak application compared to other candidates, as i come from a below average school with not-so-great prospects although my grades are consistent and top level for my school. i genuinely have so much love for physics and chemistry, but i feel like my lack of further maths may make it impossible to potentially study at one of the best unis for these two sciences together! (I'm also really interested in the material science modules..) is there anything i should consider? I'll probably teach myself some further mechanics anyway just to have that in my toolkit, but i can't justify a desire to study the whole a level, as my love for maths honestly doesn't compare to how much I've enjoyed my dt lessons for the past 3 years.

to be fair, if i had to - i would study further maths, but I've already changed my a level subjects 5 times (i originally liked the idea of studying architecture, but over the summer i did some extra reading and fell in love with particle and atomic science) and desperately want to avoid harassing my teachers for the millionth time!

i reckon that comes off as indecisive, but half of those subject changes have come from my teachers getting the a levels i picked wrong. honestly i just want to forget about all of this!

tldr; not taking further maths, how realistic is it for me to get into physical natsci?


I think it’s still very possible! Of course, unis want to see a balance between academia and creativity/extra curricular so you could say DT is a passion and a way to apply what you have learned from your other subjects. That’s perfectly fine! All the best!
Original post by m5rrri
i want to do physical natsci at uni. i adore physics and chemistry. im taking maths, physics, chem and dt - however I think the last subject not being fm may weaken my application?

i come from a low-attaining sixth form, but i still want to aim for cambridge as i might as well shoot for the stars and land on the mood per say. my school *does* offer further maths however it's not a subject i care massively about as a whole, whereas design is a relaxed break for me where i can apply my scientific knowledge into fun and creative problems. i don't really consider it an academic part of my study, more like an extracurricular where i can spend time outside of the hardcore stem subjects.

i already have a weak application compared to other candidates, as i come from a below average school with not-so-great prospects although my grades are consistent and top level for my school. i genuinely have so much love for physics and chemistry, but i feel like my lack of further maths may make it impossible to potentially study at one of the best unis for these two sciences together! (I'm also really interested in the material science modules..) is there anything i should consider? I'll probably teach myself some further mechanics anyway just to have that in my toolkit, but i can't justify a desire to study the whole a level, as my love for maths honestly doesn't compare to how much I've enjoyed my dt lessons for the past 3 years.

to be fair, if i had to - i would study further maths, but I've already changed my a level subjects 5 times (i originally liked the idea of studying architecture, but over the summer i did some extra reading and fell in love with particle and atomic science) and desperately want to avoid harassing my teachers for the millionth time!

i reckon that comes off as indecisive, but half of those subject changes have come from my teachers getting the a levels i picked wrong. honestly i just want to forget about all of this!

tldr; not taking further maths, how realistic is it for me to get into physical natsci?


You can see the admissions approach taken by Colleges here https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/natsci_physical_subject_requirements.pdf

It seems you would be reducing the number of Colleges you could apply to without Further Maths, but not having Further Maths isn't an exclusion. You shoudl search the Cambridge thread, I'm pretty sure there are threads with the actual admissions stats in them.

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