Imperial, Warwick or reapply to Oxford?

Latter initially (but don't look at the solutions, ever) then former closer to exams.

Out of interest, what are your reasons for saying "stay away fom Warwick ...."?

not again ....
I answer this at least once a week...

Either refer me to a previous answer or answer again. I don't support nor deny your claims about Warwick, I simply do not know enough about the course there. Hence why I am very interested to hear your answer, so please, continue.

Why the fetishism for Oxford? Cambridge maths department is clearly the best in the UK meaning anyone who gets rejected from there for whatever spurious reasons usually ends up at Warwick more than anywhere. Hence some of the strongest maths students can be found there not at Oxford.

Sorry, I asked for advice about my university choices. Not some ramblings about Oxford versus Cambridge. I simply couldn't care which university has the best mathematicians, that will not effect my choice for any university. I chose Oxford over cambridge because I grew up in Oxford, surrounded by the colleges.

Sorry, I asked for advice about my university choices. Not some ramblings about Oxford versus Cambridge. I simply couldn't care which university has the best mathematicians, that will not effect my choice for any university. I chose Oxford over cambridge because I grew up in Oxford, surrounded by the colleges.

well I am sorry but I am very busy too do either ...
However @jneill might remember the thread as he tag me there

all the best!

Either refer me to a previous answer or answer again. I don't support nor deny your claims about Warwick, I simply do not know enough about the course there. Hence why I am very interested to hear your answer, so please, continue.

The course should come first, not the university.

Also if you have been brought up in Oxford, wouldn't it be interesting to experience your university life elsewhere?

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In that case, why bother asking the question at all, since you've already made your mind up?

Any judgement I made now upon the content of the mathematics courses at Oxford and Cambridge would be rather unjustified and based on gut feeling. Ones interests in mathematics change, both courses are very appealing to me at this time. I could not decide between them, without making huge presumptions.
However I do agree with your last point, it would be interesting. But I have had very good experiences in Oxford, and enjoy the city thoroughly.
I also feel that my AS UMS would be a disadvantage to me at Cambridge. For instance I scored highly in some modules (95UMS+) but completely flopped D1 and C2 (80 and 87 UMS respectively). But, on the contrary, my GCSE grades would be a disadvantage to me at Oxford. I also feel that due to the difficulty of STEP III (which seems to be increasing) I would be at risk of missing my hypothetical Cambridge offer. Maybe neither is the correct choice for me, but I certainly am not attracted to Imperial (due to its location, costs and other reasons). Warwick seems like the national home of the Oxbridge maths reject, I certainly do not like the way they give out Maths offers (very quickly, with little consideration). For now, I am simply enjoying mathematics. And the idea of a gap year to refine my mathematical palette, per se, is attractive.

Long story short, I like both Oxford and Cambridge. And I wish to apply to the one that I have the highest chance of receiving and subsequently meeting my offer.

At the time of making the post (2 weeks ago approx) I had certainly not made my mind up.

Ok so a real issue could be the gap year. I don't know about Oxford, but some Cambridge colleges don't encourage it. Some do (notably Queens' and many don't mind. But it's worth factoring into your thinking.

Also, the D1 UMS won't be a worry for Cambridge.

But yes STEP can be a significant challenge...

Have you considered sitting STEP this year anyway (presumably you have a STEP offer from Warwick). Apologies if you've already stated this, it's tricky to navigate threads on the app...

If you do well that would open up Cambridge as a gap year option.

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Any judgement I made now upon the content of the mathematics courses at Oxford and Cambridge would be rather unjustified and based on gut feeling. Ones interests in mathematics change, both courses are very appealing to me at this time. I could not decide between them, without making huge presumptions.
However I do agree with your last point, it would be interesting. But I have had very good experiences in Oxford, and enjoy the city thoroughly.
I also feel that my AS UMS would be a disadvantage to me at Cambridge. For instance I scored highly in some modules (95UMS+) but completely flopped D1 and C2 (80 and 87 UMS respectively). But, on the contrary, my GCSE grades would be a disadvantage to me at Oxford. I also feel that due to the difficulty of STEP III (which seems to be increasing) I would be at risk of missing my hypothetical Cambridge offer. Maybe neither is the correct choice for me, but I certainly am not attracted to Imperial (due to its location, costs and other reasons). Warwick seems like the national home of the Oxbridge maths reject, I certainly do not like the way they give out Maths offers (very quickly, with little consideration). For now, I am simply enjoying mathematics. And the idea of a gap year to refine my mathematical palette, per se, is attractive.

Long story short, I like both Oxford and Cambridge. And I wish to apply to the one that I have the highest chance of receiving and subsequently meeting my offer.

At the time of making the post (2 weeks ago approx) I had certainly not made my mind up.

Yes, I am going to sit I and II. I haven't done much prep, really I am just starting now. Hopefully a 1,1 or above will become of my endeavour. Of course, if I do manage to get an offer from Cam, I would have a whole year to prepare for step II and III. If I was unable to achieve a 1,1 in II and III after a year of preparation then I certainly do not deserve to go to Oxbridge. I think I could safely get an interview for Cambridge, from which I can hopefully prove my mathematical ability. It may be a long shot, but I will be considering applying to Cambridge, contrary to my statement earier. Thanks for your comments.

No problem. I presume you know about the STEP prep thread on TSR?

And here's the Cambridge Maths dept info including college's views of deferred years:
https://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.maths.cam.ac.uk/files/css/admissionsguide.pdf

No problem. I presume you know about the STEP prep thread on TSR?

And here's the Cambridge Maths dept info including college's views of deferred years:
https://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.maths.cam.ac.uk/files/css/admissionsguide.pdf

Thanks, thats very useful indeed. But, by Cambridge's definition: "* The number of mature mathematicians in any given year is small, so entries in this table would notconvey useful information; by definition mature students have had ‘gap years’ for a variety of reasons atsome point in their lives before applying to university" would I have to apply to one of the Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish or St Edmund’s?

Also, one last question. If I were to apply to Cambridge next year, do you think it would be more sensible to just take STEP I this year instead of I and II, because I am unsure that I could get a 1 in II at this moment in time, so I would run the risk of doing badly and hence being unattractive to admissions tutors.