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what to do? EPQ in September?

I have been looking at university courses at some universities including Bath, Warwick and Loughborough for mechanical engineering/ design engineering and quite liked the sound of the courses.
I'm not fully set on a certain course yet, but would like to keep options open .The course at Bath requires A*AA or AAA and A in an EPQ.

At the moment I don't meet their entry requirements and can't really do an EPQ this summer as we're going away and this would be too stressful. I could however do some EPQ work over the summer to get a start to it.

Is it possible to start an EPQ for engineering in September, get a predicted grade for UCAS by the time I need to apply, then finish it in yr 13, or to aim for an A* in physics. Even so, could I still apply with an AAA predicted grade just in case I manage to get A*AA?

🤷*♀️🤷*♀️
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Avatar for Calliso
Calliso
12
This sounds like a question that your school would be more likely to answer correctly. Different schools allocate different times to completing the EPQ. For example, ours lasted from December-July of year 12, yet a neighbouring school had a more comprehensive scheme and completed them within a month. It all depends.

Have you tried emailing your teachers about this? The EPQ truly doesn't take as long as you think, especially if you're genuinely interested in your topic of choice. It's essentially preparing you for the manner of essay-writing at degree level, and while 5000 words may at first seem daunting, with proper time-management it can be completed fairly swiftly.

If you'd like my advice, I say do it - so long as you allocate your hours correctly, it shouldn't be a huge strain on your studies. With that being said, you are taking rather rigorous subjects. If you believe that your teachers will predict you an A* in Physics (more importantly, if you think you can attain it), then it still might worth taking the EPQ as a fallback; especially if your place at university is dependent on it. If it weren't, I'd say go for the A* instead.
Original post by Calliso
This sounds like a question that your school would be more likely to answer correctly. Different schools allocate different times to completing the EPQ. For example, ours lasted from December-July of year 12, yet a neighbouring school had a more comprehensive scheme and completed them within a month. It all depends.

Have you tried emailing your teachers about this? The EPQ truly doesn't take as long as you think, especially if you're genuinely interested in your topic of choice. It's essentially preparing you for the manner of essay-writing at degree level, and while 5000 words may at first seem daunting, with proper time-management it can be completed fairly swiftly.

If you'd like my advice, I say do it - so long as you allocate your hours correctly, it shouldn't be a huge strain on your studies. With that being said, you are taking rather rigorous subjects. If you believe that your teachers will predict you an A* in Physics (more importantly, if you think you can attain it), then it still might worth taking the EPQ as a fallback; especially if your place at university is dependent on it. If it weren't, I'd say go for the A* instead.


I think that’s a really good opinion. My school never had a timeframe to do them in so I’ve asked my subject teachers. And I think I may do it, I just don’t know even if I want to do that subject yet as I might go for engineering and architecture at UCL which is lower entry but requires a portfolio which I have abundance of. Even so, I think it’ll be useful to do and to aim for A* too.
Thanks

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