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Physics, Natural Sciences, or both?

Hi, I'm looking for advice on which subjects to apply for.

Physics:
Pro - I could apply to 4 physics courses and still apply for Cambridge Natural Sciences (which I'm likely to) without affecting my application, and seeing as I probably won't actually get in, I don't mind too much doing a physics course as opposed to a natural sciences one - I'd still enjoy it.
Con - Even if I pick modules to specialise in an area with biology, I know that there won't be much biology at all (which I'm quite interested in).

Natural Sciences:
Pro - I could do biology alongside physics.
Con - There's only 3 or 4 courses that I like the look of and two of them (Cambridge and Durham) are going to be difficult to get into, which means I can only be confident in getting into 1 or 2 of the courses.

Both:
Pro - That'd be my ideal combination of courses.
Con - If I choose to apply to both types of courses I'd really like to apply to Cambridge and Durham for natural sciences and St Andrews for physics, along with two other courses I'm confident in getting an offer from. However, this way I'll have to make my personal statement fit with both courses - although it might not seem too different (just adding a bit of biology to what would be mostly about physics) but I understand that St Andrews is highly competitive and I'm worried that if they see my personal statement they'll reject me for being not 'committed' to physics.

I'm in Year 12 and got 9s in maths, biology, chemistry and physics and got 8s in further maths and computer science GCSEs.
I'm taking maths, further maths, physics and biology A Levels and am unlikely to drop any of these.
I don't have any predicted grades but I'm aiming for A*A*AA - A*A*A*A.

Could you please give advice?
Thanks
Reply 1
Original post by username11235813
Hi there! I'm currently holding offers from Cambridge and Durham for Natural Sciences (and I should have one from UCL arriving in the next few days). I also applied for Biomedical Engineering, and am holding offers from Imperial and KCL.

I used the same personal statement for all of my courses, so it mentioned some engineering and some physics stuff - it didn't make too much difference, as those two subjects are more similar than they look at first glance. Natural Sciences and Physics are very similar (more so than NS and BME), and you could probably use the same personal statement for both easily - mostly about physics, with a short paragraph about biology? Although it will be harder than just using the same for both, plenty of people apply to Cambridge for NatSci and single sciences elsewhere.

Wait - ignore that. For Cambridge, you have the SAQ, which is an extra personal statement. For Durham, you can upload a replacement personal statement just for Durham. So it's okay, and applying to NatSci at those won't affect the other courses you're applying for.

Oh wow, I was actually considering biomedical engineering but ruled it out because it'd be too much engineering (I'm good with theory but not great at hands-on stuff) and there weren't many courses I liked the look of. Well done on those offers though!

Thanks for that - I've heard about the SAQ but didn't know Durham has a similar thing as well.

Could I ask: What predicted grades in what A Levels did you have, and what super-curricular activities did you mention in your personal statement?

Thanks!
Reply 2
Original post by username11235813
The Durham thing isn't exactly like the SAQ - it's that you can upload a completely different personal statement for them if you want.

I had predicted 5A*, and most of the supercurricular activities I mentioned were reading (I love reading), but I also mentioned a few talks I went to and a summer course. I think the main thing is just linking everything together though - so you could find some biological physics topics maybe, and try and link physics and biology? I have no idea though!

Your possible predicted grades are amazing, and you have a very strong chance for all of the universities you mentioned! I'm sure you'll get in.

Yeah I searched up the Durham one after I replied.

5 A*s!? That's so amazing! Were all your A Levels STEM related? I'm actually considering also doing an A Level in Chinese but that won't account for much if I'm applying for STEM subjects at top universities right?

I'm going to investigate areas that incorporate physics into biology, or something like that.

Strong chance? I'll probably best the stupidest person there if I get in... :frown:
Reply 3
Original post by username11235813
All of mine were STEM subjects (I did double maths and triple science), but other A levels are just as valued and doing that many science subjects isn't necessary. Language A levels are awesome and it's so incredible that you can speak Chinese - I could never do that (I quit before GCSE).

A book that could interest you is The Gecko's Foot - it might be more engineering-y, but it's about products inspired by nature and their design. Also, this might be more maths-y, but the book Chaos by James Gleick is also very good and has some biology stuff in there.

And you won't be the stupidest there, not by a long margin. You're predicted 3 A*s, and an extra A - that exceeds their grade requirements by a lot. They "only" need A*A*A - at that point, any other As and A*s are meaningless. And grades aren't everything.

Well there's no way I'm doing another science A Level - physics and further maths are hard enough already. But I am considering Chinese because I know that employers value language A Levels, but will universities care?

Wow thanks so much!!! I've actually been stuck lately, having nothing to read. I'll definetely check those out!

Yeah I'm hoping I can impress them with super curriculars and the personal statement (and NSAA and interview), there'll be tons of applicants with similar if not higher grades.

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