A Strange New Universe: A Year 13 GYG

Last To-do List
Uni Stuff
Princeton Essay [ ]
Harvard Essay [ ]

School stuff
Finish coding and testing section of my compsci coursework. [done!]

Other stuff
Solve 3 mentoring scheme questions. [2/3]
Write up 3 mentoring scheme questions. [done!]


New To-do List
Uni Stuff
Princeton Essay [ ]

Other Stuff
Trinity Interview Test [ ]
Solve 3 mentoring scheme questions. [ ]
Write up 5 mentoring scheme questions. [ ]
Read at least 2 books. [ ]

So yes, didn't really get anywhere with the essays. Spent a couple of hours messing about with some ideas and stuff that I'd already written and then just ended up deciding that I hate all the essays I've written for all the other colleges. So that was fun. Didn't do much on them after that.

In physics and computer science I'm not doing much. I'm struggling to keep awake in lessons because I'm really tired for some reason so I've just been doing the bare minimum then which probably ain't great... I'm also doing the physics practical competition thing though which is a bit more fun so I'm going to have to do a bit more work on that soon!

I did get an interview invite for Trinity! Which is pretty nerve wracking... That's on the 12th so I'm probably going to have to put a bit more time towards preparing for that then I would like. I'm also planning on fitting in some BMO1 prep in the next few weeks though it's probably a bit too late really. Hence why my to-do list is pretty maths heavy.
Also had the STMC regionals recently. Didn't get through to nationals but it was still pretty fun.

I’m also hoping to do maths at Uni!! I’m currently getting A’s in maths but i really want an A* (edexcel) do u have any tips for it?

gl with cam interview. If you're at a state school there's always adjustment if things don't go to plan but you get the step results in the end. Bear in mind all of my interview prep was pointless. Just explain yourself well, when you get stuck ask for help but make an effort to explain your thinking and where you're getting stuck, awkward silence is better than blurting out stuff that's wrong. I didn't really put much effort into physics but after my cam offer I got the motivation to try really hard in it and it worked. Hope the same happens to you. Idk about cs.

Well, that to-do list worked... (also realised I got the wrong date for the interview so it's even closer than I thought...)
This week is ... interesting. I have a total of 4 lessons because so many were cancelled so I've been trying to read and do maths problems mostly.
I've got an interview for MIT which I thought I wasn't going to have because it was getting quite late but I'm super pleased that it's actually happening. Interviews for American colleges kind of work a bit differently so everyone usually does one but sometimes they don't have someone in your area so it's just waived. It's supposed to be really good though so I'm glad I do, even if I've now got even more things to stress about! I haven't got much further with the rest of my applications though.
I also handed in the rest of my computer science coursework at the end of last week so that's (mostly) over and done with! It's just revision now, and focusing on my other two subjects.
I've also got a meeting soon to discuss whether I could do some more work in the same area as my NRP during term time which will hopefully (if all works out) give me even more things to do. So I'm super looking forward to that!
Hope you guys had a great week!

New To-do List
Common App Essay. [ ]
Go over some potential questions for the MIT interview. [ ]
Read 2 more books. [ ]
Solve 1 more mentoring scheme question. [ ]
Do one mock BMO1 paper. [ ]
Do one mock Trinity interview. [ ]

Thank you! And thank you for the interview tips, I'll bear them in mind.
Physics is more the problem then CS, I've finished my CS project so I've got quite a bit of free time now to revise but I actually have to force myself to do work outside the lessons for physics.

Out of interest - do you prefer MIT or Cambridge? I know all of the American IMOers end up at MIT and that it ranks generally top or near top. (along with princeton/harvard) Your interests seem quite broad so maybe the American style will suit you.

Physics gets quite interesting towards the end. I had to really knuckle down to try to secure the A* though but I enjoyed nuclear physics and astro a fair amount. (generally just what's on Edexcel Physics Paper 2) Try to keep it up.

Unfortunately Warwick's physics modules are quite slow in the first year so didn't pick them up, disappointingly.

Also I just noticed under your grades you have 1SS down for step. Have you already got 1SS??? Completely overlooked that. I don't see you not getting a cambridge offer with that.

I'm not really sure, and I don't see much point in figuring it out when I haven't got offers from either of them! There's so many differences between the two places that I should probably sit down and think about it at some point but that's not happening any time this side of the holidays.

I think we do turning points instead of astro but it looks pretty interesting so I'm looking forward to that. That's a shame, is there anything in future years that you'd like to do? I have but I'm not sure it'll help me much if I fail the interview...

Fair enough.

Quite frankly - if they don't give you an offer they've gone insane. I've known of people who did STEP in y12 that got offers not conditional on STEP. (one US international got like S1S or something in equiv of y12 and got an unconditional because he'd already fulfilled the AP stuff) Harshly, I'd urge you not to come here. Very much tempted to say it'll be too easy for you and that you'd be very bored. Just make sure you get good grades on your other A-levels. It would be an awful shame to be rejected on results day because of that.

I'm not sure if there's any physics that I'm going to do. Might do quantum in y2. I think I could've done a physics degree, possibly. I'm not sure if UG physics would be as appealing to me as UG maths.

Pretty sure I still have to pass the interview but thanks! Yes, hoping mocks might kick me into gear a bit in that respect - I'm still doing okay in classes so hopefully there's not too much to worry about...

I think it's the experiments that would put me off physics, how did you find the required practicals when you did them?

You have basically already proven yourself good enough, tbh. Having far exceeded the standards required in y12 and doing uni level maths already.

It was a bit of a drag, but I didn't actually do all of them. At some point our teacher, after having scared us into writing up earlier practicals by threatening to fail us, just told us we'd all get passed. So I didn't end up writing up a lot of them. I still made notes on each for revision, though I have to admit there wasn't a whole lot on required practicals in the final thing. I remember one question on a required practical I hardly looked at and all the marks I got were guesses and I still got an A*.

was just wondering - if you go to the US, how will you be paying??

Think my teacher might be slightly stricter about the marking! That's good to hear, the required practical questions are just a pain because I end up writing everything about the experiment except one thing and then lose 3 marks or something.


I'm only applying to universities that are needs-blind or needs-aware so hopefully that shouldn't be an issue. I might apply for some scholarships if I decide I'm definitely going to America but I'd have to get in to somewhere first!

Yup it's hard not to make omissions. Even if you know everything. If you get 4 or 5/6 on a question it's not disastrous, especially as physics boundaries are fairly low. As long as you make no major omissions, you'll be ok. Examiner reports helped a lot with physics and clarified the MS.

That's what I'm banking on (I think it's currently around 80% so as long as I don't mess up the calculation or recall questions...).
Thanks for the tip!