STEP

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Yeah, absolutely. This extra STEP is such an effort on top of 4 other A-level exams, and will take up so much time surely.

It's not even the workload that worries me, it's the inconsistent results that STEP gives, so there's no way of having Imperial as a solid insurance now. It's just so risky, it's not worth it.

Imperial College London

London

Reply 21

Kolasinac138

Original post by TVIO

It's not even the workload that worries me, it's the inconsistent results that STEP gives, so there's no way of having Imperial as a solid insurance now. It's just so risky, it's not worth it.

I reckon I'll miss the offer with STEP though

Reply 22

TVIO

Original post by Kolasinac138

I reckon I'll miss the offer with STEP though

Most will. It's a stupid f***ing offer. Half of all Cambridge mathmos fail to get their STEP grades (1,1 in 2 and 3) so why the hell Imperial thinks this a good idea, god knows.

Reply 23

Kolasinac138

Original post by TVIO

Most will. It's a stupid f***ing offer. Half of all Cambridge mathmos fail to get their STEP grades (1,1 in 2 and 3) so why the hell Imperial thinks this a good idea, god knows.

Damn Imperial. :frown:

Reply 24

TVIO

Original post by Kolasinac138

Damn Imperial. :frown:

I was so angry at them I resolved to get into Cambridge to spite them. Fear and laziness got the better of me so I didn't actually do any prep, but that's another story.

Reply 25

lotsofq

Original post by Bendak

Yes, exactly. I have no idea how they're basing the decisions of giving/not giving people STEP offers. Are they giving it to people who they think have the ability to do it? Are they giving it to people they don't think have the ability to do it? Just completely sucks honestly, it's not an exam you can just easily prepare for and go in and get an amazing grade. But I guess we'll just have to work as hard as we can. Nothing else to do at this point. :/

I would assume that the interviews and admission tests they send would be enough for that, no? If so, then what's the point of having an interview process?

Obviously I can't speak for Imperial's admissions tutor but if I were conducting the application process, I would give low offers to those I think are strong candidates, in the hope they firm Imperial, give high offers to those I think have the potential to do well as Imperial if pushed and reject the rest.

So in response to your question, probably after interviewing, they thought a particular candidate could do well at Imperial but were not the strongest of candidates.

Original post by Kolasinac138

I disagree with this argument, given that Cambridge/Oxford don't offer STEP for Compsci.

So what if Cambridge and Oxford don't make offers for STEP?

Contrary to what you might think, the whole world does NOT revolve around Oxbridge.

Oxbridge have their fair share of the world's "best" candidates but definitely not all. Simply take a look at the results in competitions like IMO and you'll find the UK has never been anywhere near the top, never mind about winning. Some of the world's "best" students choose to study elsewhere but it's rarely mentioned in the British media.

IIT in India for example is strong, perhaps even stronger than MIT but how often is that mentioned?

If you're a strong candidate, STEP should be a breeze. If you're afraid of STEP, then don't firm Imperial.

As I said before, if everyone thought like you and rejected Imperial because of STEP or whatever, they would soon get the message and drop it.

With regard to giving out different offers at random, I would agree that is "unfair" but what is fair?

Assuming there are n places but m candidates, where m > n, then there must be some rejections.

Now IF all candidates are of IDENTICAL standards (thanks to the A-Levels, everyone now get's A*), then those candidates who get rejected will feel peeved and rightly so.

Therefore I am in favour of having tough exams to seek out the best from the rest. This is where STEP, MAT and AEA come in. Has it ever occurred to you why the grades for these exams have relatively remained the same over the years?

My own theory is these are taken in a SINGLE sitting, no retaking of modules.