CS vs CS + Maths

Just simply, what is the difference in terms of competitiveness, and benefits/cons? I do not have FM A-Level, but do have it to the AS level (I picked it up a year late!), so is it "safer" to also just stick to CS? Many thanks.

Reply 1

aranon

Original post by vxcvzxcvzx

they are both equally competitive. although acceptance rates tend to be lower for CS, this is because more people apply for it, not because it is harder to get in.
if you mention in your extenuating circumstances that you only have FM to AS because you decided late, it will not be a problem. if you are applying to universities that require admission tests, make sure to do well in them

Reply 2

vnayak

Original post by vxcvzxcvzx

Don't bother with Maths + CS if you don't do Further Maths - TRUST ME ON THIS!

The workload is a but higher because you have to cover modules from both disciplines and this also means that the number of credits each course is worth is a lot less than if you took pure CS.

Competitiveness - JMC (Maths + CS) is much harder because it's a smaller cohort and so will be more competitive at the top top unis, but at any other place, I would say CS is more competitive because JMC is slightly more niche in comparison and Maths at uni steps up A LOT so it deters people, not to mention more people apply for pure CS. People are under the false impression that Maths at uni will be a lot like A level Maths, but this is just not the case. It's a huge step up and it's very proof-based.

You significantly disadvantage yourself by not doing A level Further Maths here for JMC. You can just about get by without Further Maths for pure CS, though the top unis are pretty much out of question imo.

I had Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and CompSci and EPQ (predicted A*s in all) and I still got rejected by 2/5 of the places I applied to this year (tbf, one was Cambridge, but the other one was Durham). The rejections haven't been as bad on TSR (partly because it's not discussed as much), but if you look at the countless CS rejection posts on reddit, you'll understand what I'm talking about.

CS is stupidly competitive.