Oxbridge 2021 Chances

Hi I'm a Y12 Student thinking of applying to Oxbridge and Harvard/Stanford in the US for Computer Science with Maths.

I have 9999998776 at GCSE (also studied at Rolls-Royce Young Apprentice Centre alongside - 2 Distinctions, Most Outstanding Student Award) and predicted A*A*A*A* for Maths, Further Maths, CompSci, Physics, with an EPQ in Russian History.

EC's: Cyberstart Elite 2019 Invitee, Founded Computer Science Club, GCSE Maths Departmental Award, UKSDC Regional Head of Automation, Chief Scout Gold Award, Scout Young Leader, Code Club Volunteer, HackTheMidlands 4.0 Programming Project, DofE Bronze & Gold

Currently working on a paper on an unsolved Math Problem (Toeplitz Conjecture, for reference).

Languages: Arabic, Russian(Learning)

Any advice on my chances, and what to do to improve them? Thanks in advance.

When you say ''working'', what do you mean? Are you writing a paper or going through a paper trying to understand it?

Also just curious why this problem? As it is a question in pure maths not really something to do with CS.

I'm writing a paper using a non-topological method I developed. I've been liaising with the Maths staff at my school to check my logic and general help in writing the paper.

Yes it isn't really to do with CS but I'm aiming for essentially a joint honours, without necessarily any emphasis on CS over mathematics. When I first saw the problem I wasn't intending to find a solution but I enjoy thinking about maths problems.

Must be a good school having people who are still able to do current maths. Not really sure why you're just ''thinking'' about applying. You don't have anything to lose by applying, so go for it.

The problem itself is quite easy to understand since its very visual as opposed to what most people imagine would constitute an unsolved math problem - similarly the solution doesn't require an actual algebra or trig beyond GCSE, it just the chain of logic that holds the proof together. I'm quite set on Merton College, Oxford its really just a matter of improving my chances from here on out.

Hi I'm a Y12 Student thinking of applying to Oxbridge and Harvard/Stanford in the US for Computer Science with Maths.

I have 9999998776 at GCSE (also studied at Rolls-Royce Young Apprentice Centre alongside - 2 Distinctions, Most Outstanding Student Award) and predicted A*A*A*A* for Maths, Further Maths, CompSci, Physics, with an EPQ in Russian History.

EC's: Cyberstart Elite 2019 Invitee, Founded Computer Science Club, GCSE Maths Departmental Award, UKSDC Regional Head of Automation, Chief Scout Gold Award, Scout Young Leader, Code Club Volunteer, HackTheMidlands 4.0 Programming Project, DofE Bronze & Gold

Currently working on a paper on an unsolved Math Problem (Toeplitz Conjecture, for reference).

Languages: Arabic, Russian(Learning)

Any advice on my chances, and what to do to improve them? Thanks in advance.

Most unsolved problems are. I just doubt that you are going to find a elementary way to prove the full generality of the problem. Terry Tao has an interesting article on it (His paper maybe a bit much), there is also an article in the Notices of the AMS with the main sketch proofs of the special cases proven.

Anyway it's always good to be thinking about such problems. Hope you get in where you want.

Can't comment on Harvard much but for Oxford they mostly just care about your MAT score and interview performance. All you really need to do is solve problems - I recommend MAT and STEP (mostly step 1 and start with foundation modules) for that and BMO1 & 2 as they're good for problem solving but not as similar as mat and step to your interview and admission test. For interview questions, you can do the ones on Dr Frost Maths (website is down right now or I'd have sent the link) and CSAT papers for Computer science at Cambridge which has good maths problems. To start having a good chance at going to Oxford, 60 is good but if you want a really good chance, aim for 80 or 90 or so on the MAT. A lot of people I know have went from scoring 90s on mocks and getting much lower on the real thing - someone I know went from 90 to 60 but still got an offer for Oxford Maths (slightly less competitive than CS & Maths at oxford I think). Your paper seems interesting, could you send it here once you've done?

You have good extra curriculars; make sure when you write your personal statement you can talk about how they've helped you learn more about the course you've applied to. When I wrote mine, I made everything link together so it didn't seem like a list so I had to omit some things. Harvard are more keen on this than Oxford I've heard - at my interview for Cambridge maths they didn't ask about my personal statement or extra curriculars at all and it felt like they hadn't even read it. Good luck with your application next year

Thanks that's really useful - I'm intending to start preparing for the MAT quite soon since its relatively early in the application process unlike the STEP (correct me if I'm wrong). Oxford CompSci does seem more competitive than CompSci and Maths from what I have seen though - 7% and 11% acceptance rate respectively.

As for the paper I'd be happy to share but given that there's still much to discuss with my Maths teachers and I likely won't get a chance until early next academic year you probably won't see it soon! Nevertheless thanks for the advice.