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I'm in year 11 and aiming to get into cambridge or oxford

Hi I'm in year 11 right now and I want to study computer science at cambridge or oxford. I'm wondering what I can be doing right now to improve my chances of getting in? Please respond with suggestions
Hi, I've moved your thread to the CS forum :h:

Realistically in year 11 there's not a lot you can or need to do beyond just do as well in your GCSEs as you can - especially maths.

You can start exploring some wider reading around the subject area if you wish, but I would just focus on your academics and making sure you're in a position to take and do well in A-level Maths and Further Maths. The rest you can get sorted once you're in 6th form :smile:
Reply 2
Start your supercurriculars early, be it reading books, participating in challenges, etc. The earlier you get started on this, the better your personal statement.

Make sure you get the best GCSE grades you possibly can. Should be aiming for >=7 in all subjects ideally.

Choose your A-levels wisely. Make sure to pick further maths if it is available, and self study it if it is not.

After your GCSEs are finished, invest some time in learning the basics of different areas in computer science (cyber, ai, quantum, theoretical, etc.) and make sure you are confident with programming.

Other than that, have a very restful summer holiday when it comes. After y12 starts there will be less opportunity to really slow down and enjoy things day-to-day, so take full advantage of your holiday.

Best of luck
Original post by temiaf22
Hi I'm in year 11 right now and I want to study computer science at cambridge or oxford. I'm wondering what I can be doing right now to improve my chances of getting in? Please respond with suggestions

Get at least 5 8/9s focus on that and doing SOME supercurriculars,only to help ease off the amount you have to do in Yr 12 but don't make the same mistake as me trying to get a good portfolio, e.g 8899966547 is WAY better than 8977777777 if you want a really high chance AKA for medicine specifically 8 8/9s but aim for as many 8/9s as possible. wish you the best of luck
Original post by temiaf22
Hi I'm in year 11 right now and I want to study computer science at cambridge or oxford. I'm wondering what I can be doing right now to improve my chances of getting in? Please respond with suggestions

Get good grades across the board then smash TMUA/MAT :smile:
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 5
Original post by temiaf22
Hi I'm in year 11 right now and I want to study computer science at cambridge or oxford. I'm wondering what I can be doing right now to improve my chances of getting in? Please respond with suggestions

As above, prioritise your gcses, but you could do some stuff like project euler, advent of code, bio/bebras, ... so a bit of a mix of maths and programming.
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 6
Original post by Terena27
Get at least 5 8/9s focus on that and doing SOME supercurriculars,only to help ease off the amount you have to do in Yr 12 but don't make the same mistake as me trying to get a good portfolio, e.g 8899966547 is WAY better than 8977777777 if you want a really high chance AKA for medicine specifically 8 8/9s but aim for as many 8/9s as possible. wish you the best of luck

Not sure about that - a 4 would look really bad on an application compared to mostly 7s.

The general expectation is that you do well in every exam you sit. So grades below 7 are not really going to look good for your application at all. But there's not point getting stuck in the fine details of which grades they prefer. Get the best possible grades you can possibly get. Anything after that is entirely out of your hands.

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