Are EPQs worth it?

ive been looking into doing an epq and was wondering if they really are worth it and if they help you get into uni. also how long roughly do they take to complete i cant find the best information about them online

Hi, I’m a Year 13 student who just finished their A levels

In my opinion, it really depends on your work ethic and which unis you are looking at.
Some unis reduce the required offer by one grade less to get in if you get an A or above in the EPQ. For your info, the ones who reduced my offer were Bath and Manchester, if I remember correctly. Make sure to check each uni website though.
My offer was initially A*AA at Bath (my firm choice) but now it’s AAA. For Manchester it is now AAB.

Sounds good and all but it’s also good to note that so many people at my sixth form HATED the EPQ, mostly the ones who did the essays rather than the artefacts. Make sure you have a long think about your possible topics really well and think about whether you can keep a sustained effort throughout the entire period. I learnt that it is very very hard to do last minute since you need to also document how you got these findings and how you developed your research methods and stuff. Referencing sources sucks.
Good thing about EPQ though is it can be anything you wish, but with the catch that it has to be able to be evaluated.

In terms of how long it takes to complete, it depends on how your school structures it, but expect around 90 hours on working on the EPQ or so

Best wishes,
Haneul

As an academic I am biased, but I think an EPQ can be excellent prep for Uni life and ways of working - depending on the subject you are interested in

My eldest did an essay based EPQ. She is very organised and planned things really well. The skills and tenacity to finish it will be very useful when she goes to Uni. The content and subject gave her lots to talk about in her personal statement (which wont be a thing in the future, but its still good to have for any interview situation in the future)

My other child begins A levels this year and I have not pushed for her to do an EPQ because she mostly prefers fixed deadlines rather than more open ended project work. She is also looking at subjects that value EPQs less.

For sure some Unis make reduced offers but we noticed that that some Unis didn't make modified offers this year who have done in the past (eg Lancaster, Exeter). That might just be the subjects we looked at and not a wider pattern. FWIW many Scottish Unis dont seem to adjust offers for EPQs

thank you this was really helpful, do you reccomend doing the artefact rather than the essay

If you have creative ideas in mind, definitely. I found that I actually suffered less than my other friends who also did the EPQ but they did essays.
For an artefact, you just need to make a physical or digital outcome, along with a 1000+ word report on how you researched and conceived the final outcome.
There is no word limit for the report other than it has to be 1000+
I did an architectural model, but others in my cohort did a drama performance, a computer program, a short story, a poetry anthology, and a proposed unified underground train system to serve all of UK.

I see that you’re pursuing medicine. My friends who pursued medicine chose the essay route and did just as well (they got an A*). In terms of how you’ll do an artefact for that, I’m not sure but it’s could be possible.
Also bear in mind that the top unis don’t take EPQ as much into consideration apparently for medicine (Oxbridge) nor do they look at personal statements closely. Still make these good just for the sake of it, but just a heads up from what I’ve been told.