a level + uni advice

hii! i'm currently in year 11 and i'm doing math (9), english lang (8) and lit (9), combined science (99/98), history (9), spanish (9), business studies (9), art (8/9) and further maths (no clue what my predicted is, hoping 8/7?). for a levels, i want to do math, further math, art and spanish, most probably staying at my own school, as i got rejected from harris westminster by 1 mark from threshold - might appeal but i'm worried it's a weak case anyway. so for a levels i'm obviously aspiring to get a and a* grades because i hope to study architecture in cambridge, westminster or kings college. the thing is, grades i can pretty much handle, but i want to know what it is that really helps people get places in prestigious unis - the extracurriculars, books etc. but please do give advice for a levels too! as a gcse student whos aiming for all 9s with an odd 8 i'm super behind on reading and haven't picked a book up for AGES as my free time involves running, gym, art and so on so any interesting reads for a level would be appreciated. so yeah, i'm a bad explainer so hope this made sense and waiting for everyone's experiences and advice!

hii! i'm currently in year 11 and i'm doing math (9), english lang (8) and lit (9), combined science (99/98), history (9), spanish (9), business studies (9), art (8/9) and further maths (no clue what my predicted is, hoping 8/7?). for a levels, i want to do math, further math, art and spanish, most probably staying at my own school, as i got rejected from harris westminster by 1 mark from threshold - might appeal but i'm worried it's a weak case anyway. so for a levels i'm obviously aspiring to get a and a* grades because i hope to study architecture in cambridge, westminster or kings college. the thing is, grades i can pretty much handle, but i want to know what it is that really helps people get places in prestigious unis - the extracurriculars, books etc. but please do give advice for a levels too! as a gcse student whos aiming for all 9s with an odd 8 i'm super behind on reading and haven't picked a book up for AGES as my free time involves running, gym, art and so on so any interesting reads for a level would be appreciated. so yeah, i'm a bad explainer so hope this made sense and waiting for everyone's experiences and advice!

The following thread shows the unis that offer architecture and the required subjects (if any) and grades. Note - KCL doesn't have an architecture course.
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7536742
For architecture supercurriculars, look at the suggestions on Cambridge's website, which are good for all unis:
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/before/improve-application

Hi! I do a level Maths and my advice for it would be to make notes as you go written in a way you understand and with examples where it helps. I did a lot of as content in fsmq during years 10 and 11 and found it really annoying not having my own notes when it came to revise. They dont have to be loads but a little index card explaining a concept (especially visually) has really helped me out. Doing loads of practice questions is really key. Also with maths i think it’s really important to do some maths over the summer after you’ve finished your GCSEs. It could just be a worksheet every week or so but just to keep your brain supple for starting a level so that you can get straight into learning new content.
For supercurriculars (extracurricular activities that are relevant to your aspiration degree subject) theres a massive variety of stuff that might be interesting to you. Im not aspirating toward architecture so cant offer specific advice for that but stuff ive done which can translate over could be stuff like online courses, any competitions, virtual or irl work experience, own projects, relevant clubs/societies/trips etc, reading books and articles, watching documentaries to broaden your knowledge. Hope those ideas help you to have an idea of what you could look into 🙂
Ill also tag some people who might be able to give input on either the subjects youre planning to take or supercurriculars you might find helpful.
@sdfj could you give any advice for double maths?
@oriio might be able to give advice for a level Spanish
@gabi56 could you give any advice for art?
@elareare could you give any advice for Spanish?
@annabel whittle could you give any advice for double maths?
@saramxha could you give any input on aspiring toward architecture
@Maximum-tragedy could you give any advice on double maths?

Hello! I’m in year 12 and also aiming for Cambridge. Congratulations on your predicted GCSE grades! I received all 9s, including art.
I would say for now definitely focus on getting the GCSE grades you want, especially as you have an extended summer afterwards where you can get ahead on a-levels, supercurriculars etc.
However, a sneaky hack I use is listening to podcasts whilst doing art.
Podcasts are one of the recommended things you can do for super curriculars, make sure it’s relevant to your subject though, and from a suitable source (I.e. the speakers are experts).
Or you could listen to audio books as wider reading whilst doing art/ running/ gym.
I personally can’t speak on any reads related to Architecture as I’m applying for English, but essentially I would recommend using audio mediums to multitask.
Best of luck!

this was really useful thank you! would you recommend starting extracurriculars in the summer or in year 12? i hope to start more reading in the summer, but how do you keep record or track of things like reading articles and books over year 12 and 13, and how do you present them in ur uni application?

thank u sm for the links! i think i got mixed up with kcl - is it ucl that offers architecture?

hii! i'm currently in year 11 and i'm doing math (9), english lang (8) and lit (9), combined science (99/98), history (9), spanish (9), business studies (9), art (8/9) and further maths (no clue what my predicted is, hoping 8/7?). for a levels, i want to do math, further math, art and spanish, most probably staying at my own school, as i got rejected from harris westminster by 1 mark from threshold - might appeal but i'm worried it's a weak case anyway. so for a levels i'm obviously aspiring to get a and a* grades because i hope to study architecture in cambridge, westminster or kings college. the thing is, grades i can pretty much handle, but i want to know what it is that really helps people get places in prestigious unis - the extracurriculars, books etc. but please do give advice for a levels too! as a gcse student whos aiming for all 9s with an odd 8 i'm super behind on reading and haven't picked a book up for AGES as my free time involves running, gym, art and so on so any interesting reads for a level would be appreciated. so yeah, i'm a bad explainer so hope this made sense and waiting for everyone's experiences and advice!

i agree with the previous author: extracurriculars should be relevant to your future studies and ideally you should actively participate in them: a project, internship. Books, podcasts, etc are nice but they are passive, you dont need to do anything. I am not related to architecture, i am more about engineering and also look at different extras.

Books and podcasts are accepted and recommended supercurriculars (if you look at the link I posted in post #4 for the Cambridge website it lists supercurriculars for a lot of subjects, including engineering). It's not about listing books and podcasts on your personal statement. You need to reflect on what you have learnt or found interesting about a particular subject or architect, etc. Unis want to see that your interest goes betond the usual A level curriculum. Internships are not necessary at this stage and are hard to secure at age 17/18.

ofc, but i know that those who participated in internships definitely stand out to the admission panel because everyone can listen to podcasts, watch videos, and read books. Ofc, all those recommended activities are useful, no doubt, but it is probably a bit difficult to make yourself unique using just them.

How do you know - do you work in uni admissions? Internships do not make you stand out when applying for an academic degree. Being able to discuss in depth an area of your chosen subject does. Why would Cambridge put together a list of recommended reading, podcasts, journals, etc. for every subject if they prefer everyone to do internships? Work experience is useful at age 17/18 to help you decide if the career you think you want to pursue is right for you but it is not essential for academic degrees.