What unis for comp sci? Am i being too ambitious??

Hi there, I am a year 12 currently studying Maths, Econ, physics and computer science, which i want to purse a degree in. I think i can say that I can get 2 A*s in maths and comp sci and possibly 2 As in physics and econ ( an A* if i bash it out tho), I have done some extracurriculars for comp sci (cyber centurion, tutoring, one or two small comps) but I havent made any like big big projects, only small things as while I am good at coding its not something I am doing everyday (plus i'm still getting my head around coding on my mac). Also worth mentioning I have a small youtube channel so editing is my whole life rn. I will hopefully get some work experience in summer too and hopefully more coding done.
So first thing is that are unis like Imperial, UCL and Manchester out of the question? Honestly UCL is a dream of mine and I feel like i've already ruled Imperial out, is it to early to say? My other options are Edinburgh bath and maybe York too, I cant rly find a 'safer' uni I would be happy going to but I'm sure I will when I look in summer. So am i crazy for thinking I can get into these places?
Second thing to ask is what on earth shall I code?? I have made a simple website to teach myself some css but i feel like website building isn't all that now. Should I make an app? or even a game or stick to smaller things, I just need ideas.
Sorry for this being so long

You are thinking about this completely the wrong way around. You are thinking
if I go to a good university and get a good degree = get a good job.
This idea no longer works. Thousands and thousands of grads now have good degrees from good universities and they are all scrabbling around for the few "good" jobs available on the market place.
What you really need to do is ask "what do I want to do?" Possible answers are defence, web development, app development, mobile app development, contract work, large projects, government business etc etc. You might also ask yourself which companies you might target. Do you want to work for a large corporate where you are a number or a small startup?
When you have answered that question, you should ask what do I need to do in order to get into those places. Go and ask. It doesn't hurt to write a speculative email. Or maybe write a hand written letter with a pound attached for postage?
That will then give you an idea about what skills you need to gain and that then feeds into which degree to choose. And please do not assume that Russel Group / Red Brick universities are the best. They really are not. They just want you to think they are. Often other universities have vastly better facilities and teaching.
Finally, seriously consider doing a sandwich year. A year's work experience trumps a 1st class honours degree from Imperial or Manchester any day.
Good luck!

Hi there, I am a year 12 currently studying Maths, Econ, physics and computer science, which i want to purse a degree in. I think i can say that I can get 2 A*s in maths and comp sci and possibly 2 As in physics and econ ( an A* if i bash it out tho), I have done some extracurriculars for comp sci (cyber centurion, tutoring, one or two small comps) but I havent made any like big big projects, only small things as while I am good at coding its not something I am doing everyday (plus i'm still getting my head around coding on my mac). Also worth mentioning I have a small youtube channel so editing is my whole life rn. I will hopefully get some work experience in summer too and hopefully more coding done.
So first thing is that are unis like Imperial, UCL and Manchester out of the question? Honestly UCL is a dream of mine and I feel like i've already ruled Imperial out, is it to early to say? My other options are Edinburgh bath and maybe York too, I cant rly find a 'safer' uni I would be happy going to but I'm sure I will when I look in summer. So am i crazy for thinking I can get into these places?
Second thing to ask is what on earth shall I code?? I have made a simple website to teach myself some css but i feel like website building isn't all that now. Should I make an app? or even a game or stick to smaller things, I just need ideas.
Sorry for this being so long

When I applied this year, I too ruled out my chances of getting an offer from Imperial. Felt that I wasn't good enough and that I have no chance. Fast track forward a few months, and I actually received an offer from them. Have some faith in yourself. That being said, you clearly like UCL more so if you get offers from both (congrats in advance) so deffo go to UCL.
Are you crazy for thinking you can get into these places? Yes, and no. It is all dependent on what you think you can achieve realistically. Applying to those hyper competitive places like I did with no insurance choice may cost you, so go for a mix. However, if you feel that even on a bad day, you can meet A*AA at the very least, then go for it and at the end of the day, it's your decision. I can only provide my opinion from my own experiences.
What should you code? Anything you want but it should demonstrate your interest. Maybe choose something that links to some extracurricular you already do? That way you can talk about both. At this stage, I don't think you have enough time to learn a language to a thorough proficiency to build complex apps unless you cut down on your YouTube channel stuff but by all means, you can build basic ones. So you gotta find a compromise. I understand that you like your YouTube channel and doing videos etc. but priorities.

Thanks for the reply, I will start looking into safer unis for myself cause I dont want to risk too much :,) . The coding and extracurricular is a good idea so thats something I will start to think about. But I have made a simple app before with the help of some software, is it worth taking an online course like a MOOC to get better at coding? My studies are my number 1 priority and while youtube is high I will probs shift that view over summer so I can really get coding

Hi there, I am a year 12 currently studying Maths, Econ, physics and computer science, which i want to purse a degree in. I think i can say that I can get 2 A*s in maths and comp sci and possibly 2 As in physics and econ ( an A* if i bash it out tho), I have done some extracurriculars for comp sci (cyber centurion, tutoring, one or two small comps) but I havent made any like big big projects, only small things as while I am good at coding its not something I am doing everyday (plus i'm still getting my head around coding on my mac). Also worth mentioning I have a small youtube channel so editing is my whole life rn. I will hopefully get some work experience in summer too and hopefully more coding done.
So first thing is that are unis like Imperial, UCL and Manchester out of the question? Honestly UCL is a dream of mine and I feel like i've already ruled Imperial out, is it to early to say? My other options are Edinburgh bath and maybe York too, I cant rly find a 'safer' uni I would be happy going to but I'm sure I will when I look in summer. So am i crazy for thinking I can get into these places?
Second thing to ask is what on earth shall I code?? I have made a simple website to teach myself some css but i feel like website building isn't all that now. Should I make an app? or even a game or stick to smaller things, I just need ideas.
Sorry for this being so long

The first thing to check is whether these universities require FM. I believe Imperial and possibly others do for CS. If they require it and you dont have it then it is pointless applying there.
CS is very competitive at the moment especially in top universities and even getting the grades you are looking at doesnt guarantee getting in. As an example Imperial only makes offers to 1 in 20. UCL very much favours overseas students. Over 1/2 the students there come from overseas.
Applying to this type of university is very risky and every year students come on here having 5 rejections due to the level of competition. Be aware that if you gamble on these universities that could happen to you.
Generally it is advisable not to gamble on more than 2 London or Oxbridge universities and look into provincial universities which are far less competitive. Bath and York are very good choices to add to 2 London universities. Ideally you would also have an insurance choice but also could apply for a similar university and risk extra if rejected. Possibly consider Liverpool, Sheffield, Southampton, Lancaster or Loughborough as a 5th option. With your predicted grades you wont need to go lower than AAA or AAB. You dont need a really low grades university as an option as there are likely to be many of those in clearing anyway,

The first thing to check is whether these universities require FM. I believe Imperial and possibly others do for CS. If they require it and you dont have it then it is pointless applying there.
CS is very competitive at the moment especially in top universities and even getting the grades you are looking at doesnt guarantee getting in. As an example Imperial only makes offers to 1 in 20. UCL very much favours overseas students. Over 1/2 the students there come from overseas.
Applying to this type of university is very risky and every year students come on here having 5 rejections due to the level of competition. Be aware that if you gamble on these universities that could happen to you.
Generally it is advisable not to gamble on more than 2 London or Oxbridge universities and look into provincial universities which are far less competitive. Bath and York are very good choices to add to 2 London universities. Ideally you would also have an insurance choice but also could apply for a similar university and risk extra if rejected. Possibly consider Liverpool, Sheffield, Southampton, Lancaster or Loughborough as a 5th option. With your predicted grades you wont need to go lower than AAA or AAB. You dont need a really low grades university as an option as there are likely to be many of those in clearing anyway,

CS applicant here.
None of the universities NEED Further Maths. It's just that the majority of applicants do so you would be putting yourself at a slight disadvantage compared to them.
Imperial previously required the STEP as part of the offer (this is the last year they are doing it and I feel so unlucky that I'm in this last batch) so you would have had to have done Further Maths either as a formal qualification or self-studied in your own time because it is involved with the STEP but this is the only university that "NEEDS" Further Maths.
But obviously, all of the top, top unis will have it as an unwritten requirement if it is possible for you take it, you must to increase your likelihood of receiving the offer.

I didnt even realise that imperial didnt need STEP anymore! I have found a course imperial does on edX that is AS further maths that I could do over summer, do you think it would help my odds?

You are thinking about this completely the wrong way around. You are thinking
if I go to a good university and get a good degree = get a good job.
This idea no longer works. Thousands and thousands of grads now have good degrees from good universities and they are all scrabbling around for the few "good" jobs available on the market place.
What you really need to do is ask "what do I want to do?" Possible answers are defence, web development, app development, mobile app development, contract work, large projects, government business etc etc. You might also ask yourself which companies you might target. Do you want to work for a large corporate where you are a number or a small startup?
When you have answered that question, you should ask what do I need to do in order to get into those places. Go and ask. It doesn't hurt to write a speculative email. Or maybe write a hand written letter with a pound attached for postage?
That will then give you an idea about what skills you need to gain and that then feeds into which degree to choose. And please do not assume that Russel Group / Red Brick universities are the best. They really are not. They just want you to think they are. Often other universities have vastly better facilities and teaching.
Finally, seriously consider doing a sandwich year. A year's work experience trumps a 1st class honours degree from Imperial or Manchester any day.
Good luck!

I do CompSci at Bath; the course is very good, and the uni's good too.
I would say do the AS in Further Maths, if possible. Almost all of your competition at top unis will have done Further Maths A-Level, so do the AS to at least reduce the gap. You can request and view university admissions data online on sites like whatdotheyknow to get some data to help you.
Here's some UCL admissions data for CompSci this year (Just an interesting fact: 200 of their offer holders were international and only 75 UK, which will be similar for most London unis). Less than half of their offer holders did FM A-Level but I'm presuming that most of their offer holders didn't do A-Levels at all, being international students. In statistics for Bath, around 60% of students do FM. Take a look at similar stats for unis you're going to.
Just to note, if you want to get into UCL's CompSci program, you'll need to do a lot of work. I was predicted and achieved A*s in CompSci, Maths and Physics A-Levels, with an A* in EPQ and As in FM and Econ AS-levels, but didn't get an offer from UCL. Like you've suggested, do some large scale projects. For inspiration, look at what you'll learn during the courses at some of the unis you want to go to and do projects in those languages. Do a lot of related reading, lots of unis have lists of books to read. Volunteering, internships, insight days etc if you can get them are very useful.
Good luck, let me know if you have any more questions.

Was it to do with the STAT?

Adding onto this, OP, have you looked at degree apprenticeships? I was in your shoes a year ago and applied to Cambridge, Imperial, Bath, Edinburgh and Southampton for Computer Science (as well as 9 US unis & 1 Dutch university), and I was rejected from all of them except Southampton (as I had done their Electronics & Computer Science taster course summer school). In retrospect, I'm glad I was rejected from a lot of these universities because I had accumulated a bunch of work experience over the years and wanted to get a head start in a career in software engineering, which degree apprenticeships are perfect for.
As other people have said in this thread, places for Computer Science courses are only going to become more & more competitive in the years to come, so if you have a rough idea of what you want to do in computer science, then it may be a good idea to consider applying for software engineering or cyber security degree apprenticeships. That way, you get 4 years of work experience along with a degree at the end, you're getting paid to study & work at the same time, and 99% of employers will guarantee you a full-time job with them at the end.
You probably won't get the traditional university experience, you'll have to manage your time pretty well to balance both work & studying for your degree, but those are the only few major tradeoffs with a degree apprenticeship compared to university. Feel free to msg me if you have any questions

I do CompSci at Bath; the course is very good, and the uni's good too.
I would say do the AS in Further Maths, if possible. Almost all of your competition at top unis will have done Further Maths A-Level, so do the AS to at least reduce the gap. You can request and view university admissions data online on sites like whatdotheyknow to get some data to help you.
Here's some UCL admissions data for CompSci this year (Just an interesting fact: 200 of their offer holders were international and only 75 UK, which will be similar for most London unis). Less than half of their offer holders did FM A-Level but I'm presuming that most of their offer holders didn't do A-Levels at all, being international students. In statistics for Bath, around 60% of students do FM. Take a look at similar stats for unis you're going to.
Just to note, if you want to get into UCL's CompSci program, you'll need to do a lot of work. I was predicted and achieved A*s in CompSci, Maths and Physics A-Levels, with an A* in EPQ and As in FM and Econ AS-levels, but didn't get an offer from UCL. Like you've suggested, do some large scale projects. For inspiration, look at what you'll learn during the courses at some of the unis you want to go to and do projects in those languages. Do a lot of related reading, lots of unis have lists of books to read. Volunteering, internships, insight days etc if you can get them are very useful.
Good luck, let me know if you have any more questions.

Hi there, I am a year 12 currently studying Maths, Econ, physics and computer science, which i want to purse a degree in. I think i can say that I can get 2 A*s in maths and comp sci and possibly 2 As in physics and econ ( an A* if i bash it out tho), I have done some extracurriculars for comp sci (cyber centurion, tutoring, one or two small comps) but I havent made any like big big projects, only small things as while I am good at coding its not something I am doing everyday (plus i'm still getting my head around coding on my mac). Also worth mentioning I have a small youtube channel so editing is my whole life rn. I will hopefully get some work experience in summer too and hopefully more coding done.
So first thing is that are unis like Imperial, UCL and Manchester out of the question? Honestly UCL is a dream of mine and I feel like i've already ruled Imperial out, is it to early to say? My other options are Edinburgh bath and maybe York too, I cant rly find a 'safer' uni I would be happy going to but I'm sure I will when I look in summer. So am i crazy for thinking I can get into these places?
Second thing to ask is what on earth shall I code?? I have made a simple website to teach myself some css but i feel like website building isn't all that now. Should I make an app? or even a game or stick to smaller things, I just need ideas.
Sorry for this being so long

Yes! I have been looking into them, are they more competitve then going to uni in your opinion, they seem really beneficial but I probably need to look into the pros and cons in detail