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Maths at Oxford or Cambridge - How Did You Decide!?!?

Hi

I want to study Maths at Oxford or Cambridge but am yet to deviate between the two. You may have seen a couple of my threads in the Oxford and Cambridge forums trying to decide on my shortlist of colleges at each university. Unfortunately, I remain as confused as ever as to which university to apply to! Each has it's own pro's and con's, and everytime I manage to convince myself through logical reason to apply to one, I conjure up some sort of counter argument about why I should be applying to the other. Firstly, my shortlist of colleges in order of preference for each (not as yet definitive):

Oxford
St. John's
Wadham
Christ Church
St. Catz
Worcestor

Cambridge
King's
Churchill
St. John's
Queen's
Trinity

I am planning to go back to each university and visit every shortlisted college and will then come to my definite first choice college for each. Now for my personal list of thought processes for each university (which may differ in opinion to other's):

Oxford

•

Generally perceived to be 'less hard' to get into, and I definitely feel I have a greater chance of getting an offer

•

Oxford seems a nicer city to live in

•

Oxford is closer to home

•

I feel more attracted to some of my shortlisted colleges

•

An Oxford degree in Maths would be more than adequate for a good job in my desired line of work (Actuarial work) i.e. a Cambridge degree will not give an advantage, so why take the risk of not getting in?

•

All colleges give a test at interview, which I'd prefer

•

STEP papers are not part of the conditional offer

•

The Mathematical Institute building leaves much to be desired

•

Not all colleges provide accomodation for the duration of the course

Cambridge

•

Generally perceived as 'better' for Maths

•

Will provide the grandeur of having studied Maths at Cambridge

•

Will rid me of the underlying questions: 'Would I have got into Cambridge?' and 'What if I'd gone to Cambridge?'

•

Not all colleges give a test at interview, which is my preference so my choice of colleges is limited

•

The Mathematcial Institute building looks like something by NASA (which is good :wink: )

•

Cambridge colleges tend to have greater annual intakes of Mathematicians

•

Cambridge colleges tend to provide accomodation for the duration of the course

As you can see, I'm in quite a conundrum. Current students, or students with offers to study Maths at Oxbridge, how did you decide where to apply to!? Any feedback you can offer will be of paramount importance in terms of trying to decide where to apply, so many thanks in advance. I've incorporated a poll to make clear your recommendations, based on my opinions.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 80

SmokeyB

Alewhey

Actually it isn't that complicated.

Are you brave enough and smart enough to take the dreaded STEP papers? If so, go for Cambridge, as it is undoubtably the superior course.

If you are more of a normal human being, you might prefer the Oxford course.

This is coming from a STEP failee.

I agree, but that said when consideing Oxford one should also have a look at the other AAA+STEP maths courses Warwick and Imperial. You might even get in without STEP at some of then if you do well enough at Further Maths. There is a table sumarizing grades required here., but check UCAS/Maths dept web sites to be sure.

I think it depends on your personality. Do you do well in a highly competitive situations and always struggle to the top whaever pile you are in? Or do you perform best if you are in the, say, the top third of your class without being far ahead? Based on this you can decide if you want to do a course that you can only-just-if-you-are-luck get on to, or one you can get in fairly safely and are likely to be near the top of the class (but not way ahead).

Reply 81

Jimny

Oxford is still really good for mathematics, but as it has been said, Cambridge seems to have the edge, probably due to the requirement of STEP. This means that candidates are already in a good mathematical mindset.

Personally, i chose Oxford because i want to get out of Cambridge. I dont really want to go to university in the same city i have lived in most of my life.

So it really is personal preference, tbh i would do step II and III even if you apply to Oxford as it will almost deffinatly help the transition between A-levels and Uni. Plus they are fun.

Reply 82

Illusionary

Jimny

So it really is personal preference, tbh i would do step II and III even if you apply to Oxford as it will almost deffinatly help the transition between A-levels and Uni. Plus they are fun.

Not if an offer depends on them, they're not!

Reply 83

Jimny

Another reason to not apply to cambridge, if you dont enjoy the pressure and strain it puts on you, you might not be well suited for Oxbridge teaching.

Reply 84

Glutamic Acid

^ Why is that specific to Cambridge?

Reply 85

Jimny

It's not, i said oxbridge.

Reply 86

Glutamic Acid

So why did you say not to apply to Cambridge?

Reply 87

turgon

Personally (and this is just a personal opinion) I would not apply to Oxford simply because I thought I had a better chance of getting in there than at Cambridge. I'd like to see how I fare against other Cambridge applicants ( I m one of those competitive types :smile:

), and besides, a rejection doesn't necessarily mean the end of the world...Warwick/Imperial are probably just as good as Oxford.

Reply 88

Jimny

Glutamic Acid

So why did you say not to apply to Cambridge?

What, i didnt tell you not to apply to Cambridge, i just said if you dont enjoy extra math like STEP you might not be cut out for Oxbridge.

I only said cambridge because they are the ones that require step.

Pm me if you want to take this further.

Reply 89

HCD

Jimny

Pm me if you want to take this further.

That is such a "you wanna take this outside, punk?" line! :biggrin:

Reply 90

JoMo1

I'll be applying next year. I was leaning towards Oxford rather heavily and then some comments on this thread made me question it, however, basically it comes down to the fact that I can't see much difference in the courses. Cambridge has a better reputation and is probably a bit better, but it isn't by much. Oxford is still absolutely bloody amazing for maths. I even like the city of Oxford better than cambridge, and the university just has a better feel to it for me. And really, i know I'm not one of the very best mathematicians in the county (YET!) and there's not a chance in hell I'd beat off the competition from anyone who even got a sniff of the IMO team so basically Trinity is out of my league. In the end the small difference isn't worth not getting in, so I'm perfectly happy to admit that I am not currently one of probably the top 100 (most likely considerably more) maths applicants in the county, but I do think I'm good enough for oxbridge, I just want to make sure of a place, and the competition is harder at cambridge. Plus I've fallen in love with Magdalen.

Reply 91

Opsimathmo

The maths intake at Trinity is massive so you're not just competing against IMO dudes, and there is always the Pool. But Magdalen is really lovely, and is pretty good for maths, I hear; it would have been my Oxford choice.

Reply 92

Glutamic Acid

I find the idea of STEP rather more attractive. It functions as another way to differentiate (haha) between candidates. Since my already attained grades are below average and a weakness of my application, I think this could benefit me.

Reply 93

Jimny

Glutamic Acid

It functions as another way to differentiate (haha) between candidates.

You, my friend are a comical genius. I'm not even being sarcastic for once, that honestly put a smile on my face.

Reply 94

JoMo1

Opsimathmo

yeh the maths intake at trinity is approx. 45 I think, but if you didn't even make the 2nd round in the maths challenge I don't think you have a chance in hell really. I'm happier going to a college that looks amazing in a City that looks amazing doing a course I love at one of the best places in the country, even if it isn't the very best. Really there isn't that much difference between imperial and oxbridge apart from the tutorial system, so aslong as I get that all is well.

Reply 95

JoMo1

who is this so called "francis of woodhouse"?

Reply 96

CarneLevare

JoMo1

yeh the maths intake at trinity is approx. 45 I think, but if you didn't even make the 2nd round in the maths challenge I don't think you have a chance in hell really.

I know someone who got into Trinity for maths who didn't even make BMO1. When they give out 40+ offers, the lower bound on the quality of their students can only be so high.

Reply 97

wiio

That's right, Trinity don't consider candidates who get below 30 on BMO1.

Reply 98

Winter

Such an old thread....
Before tonight, I was pretty sure that I'd apply to Cambridge since I loved this city so much
(Perhaps it's because this is the only city I have ever lived in in the UK although I have been to almost all of the "big" cities here.)
And I'm really confident for my ability in maths.
(even think take STEP II&III early,if I can guarantee 1/2 this year, I'd apply to Cambridge anyway and everything is fine. Unluckily, it's not recommended.)
However... one of my friends who got S in II but 3 in III(she predicted s,s after the exams) then failed the offer which I thought impossible. Something must go wrong.
I can't handle rejection since I'm international and want to work here at least 5 years to get back my fundings which would be used in my education in the UK.
Does it really make a difference for a employer?
I looked at wiio's reply just now.....I was definitely keen to apply to Trinity. But I got 27 in BMO1. :s-smilie:

anyway, it doesn't matter now. I'm hoping I'll never be struggling in this problem.
As wanderer said,'Would I have got into Cambridge?' and 'What if I'd gone to Cambridge?' this sort of questions may appear in my mind all the time if I apply to Oxford.

Reply 99

Glutamic Acid

Winter

I looked at wiio's reply just now.....I was definitely keen to apply to Trinity. But I got 27 in BMO1. :s-smilie:

anyway, it doesn't matter now. I'm hoping I'll never be struggling in this problem.

I'm pretty sure it's a facetious reply since i) I don't see how Trinity will know your BMO score ii) BMO seems to be quite different from university level maths from what I know.

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