good kid, maad city - a small-town kid's A-level journey

Did you have to take an English language proficiency test? I apparently have to pay ~$50 just to send them!

I'm not actually sure, I quit before they started giving us university talks and all. I think Australia, France, UK unis are very common ones for mine. But even though it's a private school, the kids don't end up at the greatest unis, tbh.

Same with mine - private but we only send 0-2 to Oxbridge every year, much less (0.5 maybe) to elite US universities.

Generally mediocre UK unis are where the majority end up. Quite a shame given the exorbitant fees

Yep, pretty much the same. Although I think we've only ever had one person get a Cambridge interview before and he got rejected post-interview. I'd have been the first but I quit.

Yeah, pretty much the same! I wonder what Australian fees are like.

I didn't have to because I'm a US citizen - but I've heard the TOEFL is like $300 or something stupid so I sympathize




Same with mine - private but we only send 0-2 to Oxbridge every year, much less (0.5 maybe) to elite US universities.

Generally mediocre UK unis are where the majority end up. Quite a shame given the exorbitant fees

Yep, pretty much the same. Although I think we've only ever had one person get a Cambridge interview before and he got rejected post-interview. I'd have been the first but I quit.

Yeah, pretty much the same! I wonder what Australian fees are like.

Ah, you guys are lucky. I'm required to take English tests until and unless I finish a degree in a 1st world English speaking nation. The worst part is that your results become redundant after every two years so you have to retake them.

I don't think we've had an Oxbridge applicant let alone an offer-holder in the last 5 years... Two guys ended up in Cornell and UPenn in the last two years, though. One of my friends got an 80% scholarship to Vanderbilt and I'm really happy for him He's the only other person doing A-level Further Maths in my class. Another friend recently got 100% to some LA school, can't remember the name.



It doesn't count though, you got your offer after you left the school so they technically didn't play a part You're doing extremely well for yourself given what level your peers are at. Oh I've been meaning to ask - is this brother you spoke of before also a genius mathmo like you?

Australian schools are ok. All you need is an average set of grades, say BBC+ and you're in like 403 said. They have some decent engineering schools, but the best places for mathematics at undergraduate level are all in the UK or the big name US schools. I haven't seen any other country put such great emphasis on maths like they do in the UK.

Wow that's very impressive - the Cornell/Penn and scholarship holders. In my opinion it is very difficult to get in to an elite US university from the British system, as we do not place so much emphasis on the ECAs that are liked by America

I definitely agree with that. Imagine a hypothetical situation where Zain tried applying to MIT. If he had 0 ECAs, he'd have a very tough time getting in despite his mathematical abilities. It'd be even worse if he couldn't write well. Despite all that, US colleges are much kinder in terms of financial aid to international students in comparison to UK unis, which the biggest reason kids from my school lean towards the States.

Such an amazing story! You have done so well through hardship up to this point, and now the finishing line is in sight! Massively good luck and hope you get the results you deserve.

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Your FP2 mock is tomorrow, isn't it? You need to do more resting and less working!

I almost made that shading outside the circle mistake in the 2009 paper as well. That was a tricky one, are you sure you deserve five marks cut off for not multiplying by $\cos \theta$?

It's my last exam as well and I haven't really been working tbh. I feel too sick to at the moment.

I've been meaning to ask you: why is it that the inside is shaded? I think it's because $\displaystyle \left | z \right | = \left | \frac{wi}{1-w} \right | \text{and} \because \left | z \right | < 3 \Rightarrow \left | \frac{wi}{1-w} \right | < 3$. Is this valid reasoning?

I don't mark myself too leniently. It makes for bad practice. Careless algebra is really not what I expect from myself, given what stage I'm in and what grades I'm aiming for.

I've seen the Jan 16 Maths mark schemes and I feel like I got somewhere between 70-72 in M2 and 71-73 in S1. I can't say about F1 because I forgot all my answers by now.

Hi, TSR! My current ambition is to study Mechanical Engineering w/ Mathematics at a reputed North American university. I'll be honest to myself - I'm not the smartest person on TSR. I'm probably around the lower quartiles, but I will fight and give it my 100% until I'm incapable of doing so. My current predicted grades are A*A*AA in Maths, Physics, Further Maths and Chemistry respectively, but I'm striving for A*A*A*A to A*A*A*A*, and I really do hope I can show my face here with those grades on results day. I'll be updating my study blog and my mock scores as well.Apologies for the long read and thank you for bearing with me. Here's a cookie for compensation:

I didn't have to because I'm a US citizen - but I've heard the TOEFL is like $300 or something stupid so I sympathize




Same with mine - private but we only send 0-2 to Oxbridge every year, much less (0.5 maybe) to elite US universities.

Generally mediocre UK unis are where the majority end up. Quite a shame given the exorbitant fees

My school is a state school (selective) and we send 10 or more students to Oxbridge a year and 20+ to UCL, Imperial, KCL, LSE out of 135 students. But no one goes to any unis abroad except one guy who went to some Czech dental school and one guy who went to some Spanish business school.

Argh, have you been taking medicine?



Wait... what? You are meant to shade outside the circle. You're correct, aren't you?



Ah, fair enough - yeah, I tend to mark myself too leniently sometimes. Careless algebra is what you should expect when you're sick and doing maths, don't beat yourself up over it.



That's pretty darn good! Where'd you lose marks in S1?

Things I read on M3 examiner's reports

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