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Cambridge/Oxford chance to get in?

Hi I am currently in year 12 and study maths, further maths and computer science so far predicted 3 A*'s and I also do an epq.

I was wondering what are my chances of getting into oxbridge. I didnt do quite well in my GCSE's I got eight 8/9 grades and two 6's (english and geography). I went to a very poor school/area which barely had children getting grade 4/5's.
I am first generation to go to univeristy too.

During that time I also had undiagnosed ADHD which meant that I did not revise for my GCSE's 'properly' and if I did some revision it was useless e.g doing questions and not marking them. This was all because of my ADHD.

I have done some extra stuff to make up for my GCSE's the ukmt in which I got a gold certificate.
I can play piano, ive had multiple leadership roles throughout school.

I want to do maths at cambridge. What are my chances?

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 1

BetaVersion2.9

I assume you would be interested in applying to study either maths or computer science. I would say your chances are good for Oxbridge. You should be aware that at Oxford there are about 10 applicants for every place in maths and 16 applicants per place in comp sci. To strengthen your application you would need to demonstrate a commitment to your subject beyond A'levels...called supercurriculars at Oxford. Look to enter maths olympiads, try some of the problems on Tom Crawfords website etc. Also check out the Oxford Maths website, they run some online study days over the year. Good luck

Reply 2

Asphalt777

Original post by BetaVersion2.9

Thanks for the advice

Reply 3

KWad

Agree with the above advice. Focus on your supercurriculars and make sure you prepare thoroughly for your entrance exam (MAT/STEP). It is very important that you take your entrance exam preparations seriously and devote significant attention to them, as putting in the same effort as you did at GCSE simply will not work. My advice is to try and cultivate an enjoyment of the type of problems on the exam papers, which should make it less of a battle against yourself to do past papers and the like.

But to answer the actual question, yes - as of now you have a competitive application. I will however emphasise the fact that all of this is meaningless if you don't perform in the admissions test. And vice versa, any weaknesses in your application will be ignored given a sufficiently good admission test result (at least for Oxford). Good luck.

Reply 4

Asphalt777

Original post by KWad

Agree with the above advice. Focus on your supercurriculars and make sure you prepare thoroughly for your entrance exam (MAT/STEP). It is very important that you take your entrance exam preparations seriously and devote significant attention to them, as putting in the same effort as you did at GCSE simply will not work. My advice is to try and cultivate an enjoyment of the type of problems on the exam papers, which should make it less of a battle against yourself to do past papers and the like.
But to answer the actual question, yes - as of now you have a competitive application. I will however emphasise the fact that all of this is meaningless if you don't perform in the admissions test. And vice versa, any weaknesses in your application will be ignored given a sufficiently good admission test result (at least for Oxford). Good luck.

Thx

Reply 5

aurora.hasfl

Original post by Asphalt777

Hi I am currently in year 12 and study maths, further maths and computer science so far predicted 3 A*'s and I also do an epq.
I was wondering what are my chances of getting into oxbridge. I didnt do quite well in my GCSE's I got eight 8/9 grades and two 6's (english and geography). I went to a very poor school/area which barely had children getting grade 4/5's.
I am first generation to go to univeristy too.
During that time I also had undiagnosed ADHD which meant that I did not revise for my GCSE's 'properly' and if I did some revision it was useless e.g doing questions and not marking them. This was all because of my ADHD.
I have done some extra stuff to make up for my GCSE's the ukmt in which I got a gold certificate.
I can play piano, ive had multiple leadership roles throughout school.
I want to do maths at cambridge. What are my chances?

I’d say your GCSEs are very good especially coming from a poorer area and having undiagnosed ADHD which if you put in your UCAS will be taken into account as extenuating circumstances.

Your extracurriculars are also really good but I’d keep in mind that Oxbridge doesn’t care much about them unless you can link them to your subject. Even just saying ‘I did a fancy maths course’ won’t count for much. But if you talk about how interesting it was and what specifically you learned then it’s a gold mine.

Also, especially if your A-Levels are good to go, most of it hinges on your interview. If you can show them how much you love maths and that you’re the kind of student they’re looking for, then yes you can definitely get into Oxbridge.

P.S. I’m in a very similar boat to you. Good luck!

Reply 6

mqb2766

Original post by Asphalt777

Hi I am currently in year 12 and study maths, further maths and computer science so far predicted 3 A*'s and I also do an epq.
I was wondering what are my chances of getting into oxbridge. I didnt do quite well in my GCSE's I got eight 8/9 grades and two 6's (english and geography). I went to a very poor school/area which barely had children getting grade 4/5's.
I am first generation to go to univeristy too.
During that time I also had undiagnosed ADHD which meant that I did not revise for my GCSE's 'properly' and if I did some revision it was useless e.g doing questions and not marking them. This was all because of my ADHD.
I have done some extra stuff to make up for my GCSE's the ukmt in which I got a gold certificate.
I can play piano, ive had multiple leadership roles throughout school.
I want to do maths at cambridge. What are my chances?

Pretty much as above, you sound like a decent candidate. I guess Id start the step foundation modules fairly soon if youre thinking about cambridge/maths,
https://maths.org/step/assignments
which are a reasonable soft start for step and scan over their suggested supercurriculars
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/super-curricular_suggestions.pdf
to get an idea of the type of stuff candidates typically talk about on their ps.

Note that in y12, as well as cracking on with the step foundation modules, you could keep an eye on the oxford mat/livestream/maths club/supercurricular suggestions
https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduate-study/maths-admissions-test/mat-livestream
stuff as thats typically based on maths as only.