Do you need BMO for Cambridge?

Thanks; I know it's not a requirement per se, but does having outstanding UKMT results greatly impact on the chance of receiving an offer?

As not all schools enter people for the UKMT it cannot be a significant factor or it would disadvantage some students. Cambridge will make more offers than they have places as not everyone will meet the conditional offer for STEP.

Thanks; I know it's not a requirement per se, but does having outstanding UKMT results greatly impact on the chance of receiving an offer?

A lot of Cambridge mathmos have decent BMO results, but it’s correlation rather than causation.

They’re unlikely to specifically ask what sort of results you got nor remember what those results were even if you mention them on your own. But they will ask you to answer difficult maths questions during the interview process before giving you an offer and will expect good STEP results as a condition of that offer. Naturally, those who get good BMO results tend to be more capable than most people of doing these things.

Remember that Mathematics at university is quite a different ball game from BMO. The BMO places more emphasis on creativity and innovation rather than knowledge and study, whereas a degree is the other way round; the exams are quite literally examinations of what you have learnt. It’s the next step in the GCSE, A-Level and STEP pathway rather than the next step in the SMC and BMO pathway. So the skills they’re looking for will reflect that.

most applicants will have some sort of maths competition results written in their personal statement, and mine definitely don't sound very impressive (merit in senior kangaroo but haven't qualified BMO). Hopefully this doesn't lower the chances of getting an offer too much! But maybe success (or not) in olympiads etc do play a part if you get pooled?

Yes, definitely; at the moment I can solve STEP questions (not quickly enough yet though) on specific topics without suffering the same mind blank that I get when doing Olympiad questions, even if they require a lower level of knowledge. The main issue I'm worried about is the pre-offer stage of the application process; most applicants will have some sort of maths competition results written in their personal statement, and mine definitely don't sound very impressive (merit in senior kangaroo but haven't qualified BMO). Hopefully this doesn't lower the chances of getting an offer too much! But maybe success (or not) in olympiads etc do play a part if you get pooled?