The Student Room Group

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Reply 1

jinsisi
BMO is BRITISH MATHEMATICAL OLYMPAID.
If I want to study in a good university,such as oxbridge,LSE……Is BMO madal a helpful thing?



Doing a set of 'EC's for the prime reason of getting into university is absurd. Does university entry dictate your life to that extent? When admissions people see a great deal of ECs on a persons form, particularly over the interview, they will certainly attempt to ascertain the motivation behind such an array of activities. One of my friends, from the U.S., who worked at Columbia told me of a sterotype of people from the far east in particular, who've accrued a vasssst amount of EC's and 101 A grades in every subject known to man and been rejected. Just go about your life, if it's something youre passionate about, then....do it. If not, then stop pretending to be something you're not.

Reply 2

Thank you again J.S.:smile:
TO study in a good university is really a very important thing for me.
I knew the BMO from internet and did it.I think it is not difficult for me.I finishihed all the 5 questions in 2 hours .The questions are really easy,but English is a big problem~~~~~
I am good at maths(May be you will say a lot of people are much better than I),so I hope my ability in maths field will help me go to a good university.

Reply 3

jinsisi
Thank you again J.S.:smile:
TO study in a good university is really a very important thing for me.
I knew the BMO from internet and did it.I think it is not difficult for me.I finishihed all the 5 questions in 2 hours .The questions are really easy,but English is a big problem~~~~~
I am good at maths(May be you will say a lot of people are much better than I),so I hope my ability in maths field will help me go to a good university.


Ah that's great, what you should do is attempt to develop your ability in Maths (and English, of course) in a way that's enjoyable to you. If there's something you like to do, do it. Just do not do a whole host of activities just because of entry. When you're in an a interview and have passion for something, it usually shows in how you come across, the reverse is also true. People that interview deem it to be one of their major roles in being able to 'filter out' such people.

Also, if you're looking to come to Britain, perhaps try and do a summer school or something, it gets you used to the 'conditions' here, of academia and life here in general. Also, certainly listen to English based radio, get plenty of media exposure, this is best done via the internet. (I would personally recommend BBC Radio 4). It really does help a great deal, to such an extent that you can easily tell people apart based on whether their English as a second language is acquired via the textbook, as opposed to 'real life', context based learning that the media can offer. Universities fear international students that are exceptionally bright, but find if difficult to 'adjust' to the demands of British education/life. It's not that British education is anymore 'difficult', it's just different, so you may want to try and gain some prior exposure.

Reply 4

jinsisi
Thank you again J.S.:smile:
TO study in a good university is really a very important thing for me.
I knew the BMO from internet and did it.I think it is not difficult for me.I finishihed all the 5 questions in 2 hours .The questions are really easy,but English is a big problem~~~~~
I am good at maths(May be you will say a lot of people are much better than I),so I hope my ability in maths field will help me go to a good university.


Then, no offence, why partake in it? You would be better taking an exam like the Chinese Mathematical Olympiad or something more challenging. However, it is beneficial in the fact that it shows you do have a great deal of ability....

Reply 5

J.S.
Ah that's great, what you should do is attempt to develop your ability in Maths (and English, of course) in a way that's enjoyable to you. If there's something you like to do, do it. Just do not do a whole host of activities just because of entry. When you're in an a interview and have passion for something, it usually shows in how you come across, the reverse is also true. People that interview deem it to be one of their major roles in being able to 'filter out' such people.

Also, if you're looking to come to Britain, perhaps try and do a summer school or something, it gets you used to the 'conditions' here, of academia and life here in general. Also, certainly listen to English based radio, get plenty of media exposure, this is best done via the internet. (I would personally recommend BBC Radio 4). It really does help a great deal, to such an extent that you can easily tell people apart based on whether their English as a second language is acquired via the textbook, as opposed to 'real life', context based learning that the media can offer. Universities fear international students that are exceptionally bright, but find if difficult to 'adjust' to the demands of British education/life. It's not that British education is anymore 'difficult', it's just different, so you may want to try and gain some prior exposure.

It's very kind of you.:smile:
In fact,I will begin to study a 6 months language course in January.The school is in Cambridgeshire.
Many thanks,J.S.Your advices are really very useful for me.:smile:

Reply 6

theone
Then, no offence, why partake in it? You would be better taking an exam like the Chinese Mathematical Olympiad or something more challenging. However, it is beneficial in the fact that it shows you do have a great deal of ability....

U dont understand mate, I ve read some where, that to do the the china version of the olympiad, it is almost impossibe to even get a medal as loads of people do it and everyone in china reckon that maths is like the god subject which dictates whether someone is clever or not. Crazy i say. Also people train for maths like really mad like, this dude they were interviewing was saying how he did every single question in books in his local library, and went to like a university library to do some mroe. Madness.

Reply 7

2776
U dont understand mate, I ve read some where, that to do the the china version of the olympiad, it is almost impossibe to even get a medal as loads of people do it and everyone in china reckon that maths is like the god subject which dictates whether someone is clever or not. Crazy i say. Also people train for maths like really mad like, this dude they were interviewing was saying how he did every single question in books in his local library, and went to like a university library to do some mroe. Madness.


But if more people begin to do things like this, this is going to take away all the british competition in the olympiad, except for a few people. If we actually think about the purpose of the exam, then it's better to keep it British imho. I'm sure university interviewers understand the difficulties with chinese olympiads and their relative difficulty, and they will not underestimate success even at a lower level in these competitions.

Reply 8

theone
But if more people begin to do things like this, this is going to take away all the british competition in the olympiad, except for a few people. If we actually think about the purpose of the exam, then it's better to keep it British imho. I'm sure university interviewers understand the difficulties with chinese olympiads and their relative difficulty, and they will not underestimate success even at a lower level in these competitions.

lol, i was just told by my teacher yesterday that the top 10 people that did the SMC, was all chinese except for 1. Thats cause most people in china do like a level stuff when they are in their gcse years. (read somewhere)

Reply 9

2776
lol, i was just told by my teacher yesterday that the top 10 people that did the SMC, was all chinese except for 1. Thats cause most people in china do like a level stuff when they are in their gcse years. (read somewhere)


Exactly...

Reply 10

theone
Then, no offence, why partake in it? You would be better taking an exam like the Chinese Mathematical Olympiad or something more challenging. However, it is beneficial in the fact that it shows you do have a great deal of ability....

I will take the BMO exam when I study AS level.:smile:
You are right,I had better take an exam in China.:smile:
I had taken a lot of maths challengings in China and got high marks.My best result is a siliver madal.But you may know,in China,many students are good at Maths.The siliver madal is not rare(Maybe I need use"precious"?).

Reply 11

2776
lol, i was just told by my teacher yesterday that the top 10 people that did the SMC, was all chinese except for 1. Thats cause most people in china do like a level stuff when they are in their gcse years. (read somewhere)

I heard that"One can not qualify for BMO round 2 unless he/she is a british citizen ."
I do not know wheather it is true or not.But if it is true,the law will protect the British students' benefits in MATHS OLMPAID field.:smile:

Reply 12

jinsisi
I have heard that"One can not qualify for BMO round 2 unless he/she is a british citizen ."
I do not wheather it is true or not.If it is true,the law can protect the British students benefits in MATHS OLMPAID field.:smile:


I'm quite certain that this is true...

Reply 13

theone
I'm quite certain that this is true...

This is because it is to select British citzens for the Intermnational Mathmatical olympiad instead of countries selecting other peoples country in the team.

Reply 14

2776
This is because it is to select British citzens for the Intermnational Mathmatical olympiad instead of countries selecting other peoples country in the team.


Yes, i know that, but I'm still wondering whether they let people take BMO2 'unofficially' i.e. Not eligible to earn an official mark and prize...

Reply 15

2776
lol, i was just told by my teacher yesterday that the top 10 people that did the SMC, was all chinese except for 1. Thats cause most people in china do like a level stuff when they are in their gcse years. (read somewhere)


yep and iknow the one english guy - he is seriously gifted so chinese must just be better at maths than english people

Reply 16

2776
U dont understand mate, I ve read some where, that to do the the china version of the olympiad, it is almost impossibe to even get a medal as loads of people do it and everyone in china reckon that maths is like the god subject which dictates whether someone is clever or not. Crazy i say. Also people train for maths like really mad like, this dude they were interviewing was saying how he did every single question in books in his local library, and went to like a university library to do some mroe. Madness.

I was told by a maths teacher that students from China excel at maths because they work so hard at it, to the exclusion of having any leisure interests.
Teachers here, although pleased to have students of that calibre to work with, get concerned about their social development and say they tend to be isolationist because of the culture of hard work.
Our Chinese friends also tend to excel at music because there is a definite link between music and mathematics.

Reply 17

It'sPhil...
yep and iknow the one english guy - he is seriously gifted so chinese must just be better at maths than english people

To be frankly,Chinese do well in maths is not only because intelligent but also diligent.In my opinion,maybe diligent is more important element of the successful in exams.

Reply 18

theone
Yes, i know that, but I'm still wondering whether they let people take BMO2 'unofficially' i.e. Not eligible to earn an official mark and prize...

cause its maths, as ie transends borders, but since bmo2 is basically select people for BRITISH olymiad team, it really is to appease other people

Reply 19

yawn1
I was told by a maths teacher that students from China excel at maths because they work so hard at it, to the exclusion of having any leisure interests.
Teachers here, although pleased to have students of that calibre to work with, get concerned about their social development and say they tend to be isolationist because of the culture of hard work.
Our Chinese friends also tend to excel at music because there is a definite link between music and mathematics.

As the times go by,more and more Chinese students will have as much leisure interests as the uk students.:smile:
For example,I was among the top 1% in the fierce competition of the high school entrance exam of altogether 170,000 studnets inPeking.But besides classroom work,I am interested in social events.I am a leader in the students' union,the editor of the school magazine and the head of the volunteer group.I like dancing,debating,writing novel and watching football match.:smile:My favourate football player is Li Tie,who is now serving for Efton in UK.