Original post by lewman99Hi folks, I've already posted in the other 2018 thread, but I may as well post here too:
Course: Maths and Computer Science
College: St. John's
Interviewed? (yes/no): Yes
Feedback?: None yet
School type: State Comprehensive (Scottish)
National 5s: 7 As (Maths, English, Physics, Chemistry, CompSci, History, Music)
Highers: 5 As (Maths, English, Physics, CompSci, History)
Adv. Higher predictions: 3 As (Maths, Physics, CompSci)
Other qualification (eg IB, AP, etc): n/a
Strengths: Can't say for sure w/o feedback, but I think the MAT went well, and my interviews at Balliol went well, good reference, solid grades (we don't have an A*, so the A is the highest grade possible).
Weaknesses: Can't say for sure w/o feedback, but I think the Maths interview at St. John's went very badly (didn't get very far, on a really bad topic and quite a bit of silence).
What you aim to work on: Mainly being more comfortable with talking about maths with people. I might also look over some STEP work for extra problem solving stuff, and brush up on some weaker areas (like geometry)
What your plans are: Mainly depends on the feedback. If the feedback's quite good, and my MAT score was solid (as in above the average for successful applicants), I'll probably start first year for Maths and CompSci (+ another subject, most likely Statistics) at Glasgow (Scottish universities are typically a year longer, so I'd still recieve funding, plus gap years for maths normally aren't a good idea), then reapply while I'm there (I'd be very happy to study in Glasgow, but I definitely prefer the Oxford course, particularly on the CompSci side, plus if I stayed at Glasgow I'd most likely be commuting, which I'm worried could be quite isolating).
On a similar note, does anyone have ideas as to which colleges they would be considering next time around? I quite liked Balliol while I was there (the place was nice and the tutors seemed friendly, though it's apparently not the best idea to choose a college you've already been interviewed at), and when I was deciding this year I also considered Merton and Univ (though compared to Balliol they're a bit out of the way, which is perhaps a good thing in some respects).