Should I do 4 A'levels or 3 A'levels and EPQ? Oxford

I want to study maths and Philosophy at Oxford and currently do 4 A levels: Further Maths, Maths, philosophy and art. I want to do an epq on a topic within the intersection of maths and philosophy, but my school only offers epqs to those who do 3 a levels. As art is arguable not relevant to my course, should I drop it and do an epq? Or keep it. I have been debating whether I should drop it after sending off ucas as well.

Reply 1

mesub

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

22

Original post by henryheppell

I want to study maths and Philosophy at Oxford and currently do 4 A levels: Further Maths, Maths, philosophy and art. I want to do an epq on a topic within the intersection of maths and philosophy, but my school only offers epqs to those who do 3 a levels. As art is arguable not relevant to my course, should I drop it and do an epq? Or keep it. I have been debating whether I should drop it after sending off ucas as well.

I mean you don't need an EPQ for Oxford. At most, all it will give you is something extra to talk about during interview. Are you enjoying your A'levels at the moment?

Reply 2

EdwinDeRozarieux

13

I can't speak for Oxford in particular, but universities like EPQs and often give reduced offers if you do them well. I would recommend dropping Art and doing the EPQ.

Reply 3

study23!

Study Forum Helper

16

Original post by henryheppell

I want to study maths and Philosophy at Oxford and currently do 4 A levels: Further Maths, Maths, philosophy and art. I want to do an epq on a topic within the intersection of maths and philosophy, but my school only offers epqs to those who do 3 a levels. As art is arguable not relevant to my course, should I drop it and do an epq? Or keep it. I have been debating whether I should drop it after sending off ucas as well.

Either wil be fine. I think doing the epq instead would probably more beneficial as a) art is a very coursework heavy subject combined with your other a levels and b) EPQ allows you to explore this unique degree further.

I'd recommend if you drop something to do before sending off ucas (they can be iffy about things like that)

Reply 4

thegeek888

18

Original post by henryheppell

I want to study maths and Philosophy at Oxford and currently do 4 A levels: Further Maths, Maths, philosophy and art. I want to do an epq on a topic within the intersection of maths and philosophy, but my school only offers epqs to those who do 3 a levels. As art is arguable not relevant to my course, should I drop it and do an epq? Or keep it. I have been debating whether I should drop it after sending off ucas as well.

Drop A-Level Art as it is too time consuming and may 'impact' your chances of A*A*A* in Maths, Further Maths and Philosophy. Also, Oxford strongly desires A*A* grades in Maths and Further Maths. So, doing an EPQ might be worthwhile afterall. 🙂

Reply 5

thrivingfrog

Volunteer Team

22

altho Oxford don't, some universities will give you a reduced offer if you have (usually) an A or above in EPQ. in terms of Oxford, the entry requirements are only 3 grades and so you don't need to do 4 a-levels. if you feel like it is too much work, stress or just generally time-consuming i would drop it and focus on the others.

Reply 6

thegeek888

18

Original post by thrivingfrog

altho Oxford don't, some universities will give you a reduced offer if you have (usually) an A or above in EPQ. in terms of Oxford, the entry requirements are only 3 grades and so you don't need to do 4 a-levels. if you feel like it is too much work, stress or just generally time-consuming i would drop it and focus on the others.

About 40% of Oxford and Cambridge applicants study 4 A-Levels. 🙂

Reply 7

thrivingfrog

Volunteer Team

22

Original post by thegeek888

About 40% of Oxford and Cambridge applicants study 4 A-Levels. 🙂

I am a current oxford student and only took 3, as did most of my friends :smile:

Reply 8

study23!

Study Forum Helper

16

Original post by thegeek888

About 40% of Oxford and Cambridge applicants study 4 A-Levels. 🙂

I think this statistic probably comes from students like myself and the OP, who were convinced that more a levels is more impressive, and then we’d see something like that and it would reinforce that, thinking well we have to do 4 to be competitive. It’s just that smart students tend to think they are capable of doing more work or want to do a challenge, and those tend to be the types of people who receive offers at Oxbridge. But Oxbridge don’t give 4 a level offers (except Cambridge sometimes), and either way Cambridge is changing so it can on offer the minimum grades which is a 3 grade offer next year.

Reply 9

Stiffy Byng

19

Original post by thegeek888

About 40% of Oxford and Cambridge applicants study 4 A-Levels. 🙂

See if you can guess what the percentage would be if four A levels were required.

Reply 10

TypicalNerd

18

Original post by study23!

Either wil be fine. I think doing the epq instead would probably more beneficial as a) art is a very coursework heavy subject combined with your other a levels and b) EPQ allows you to explore this unique degree further.
I'd recommend if you drop something to do before sending off ucas (they can be iffy about things like that)

UCAS doesn’t really care so much if you drop anything as far as I know. You just have to fill out an online form declaring you have done this and email your universities.

Oxford is usually chill about you dropping a qualification- provided that it isn’t an essential entry requirement and you still have the correct subjects and number of them.

But I personally would recommend the OP considers dropping art sooner rather than later if they do decide they want to drop it at all. I would also say the EPQ offers no real benefit to an application and so if the OP is to take one, it should be purely out of interest in a given subject and not in an attempt to make their application appear stronger.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 11

study23!

Study Forum Helper

16

Original post by TypicalNerd

UCAS doesn’t really care so much if you drop anything as far as I know. You just have to fill out an online form declaring you have done this and email your universities.
Oxford is usually chill about you dropping a qualification- provided that it isn’t an essential entry requirement and you still have the correct subjects and number of them.
But I personally would recommend the OP considers dropping art sooner rather than later if they do decide they want to drop it at all. I would also say the EPQ offers no real benefit to an application and so if the OP is to take one, it should be purely out of interest in a given subject and not in an attempt to make their application appear stronger.

Thank you for the correction! I agree an EPQ should be done out of interest rather than an extra qualification for the sake of it

Reply 12

Wired_1800

20

Original post by henryheppell

I want to study maths and Philosophy at Oxford and currently do 4 A levels: Further Maths, Maths, philosophy and art. I want to do an epq on a topic within the intersection of maths and philosophy, but my school only offers epqs to those who do 3 a levels. As art is arguable not relevant to my course, should I drop it and do an epq? Or keep it. I have been debating whether I should drop it after sending off ucas as well.

Yes. Please do 3 A levels and EPQ.

Reply 13

nwar

Study Forum Helper

13

Original post by study23!

I think this statistic probably comes from students like myself and the OP, who were convinced that more a levels is more impressive, and then we’d see something like that and it would reinforce that, thinking well we have to do 4 to be competitive. It’s just that smart students tend to think they are capable of doing more work or want to do a challenge, and those tend to be the types of people who receive offers at Oxbridge. But Oxbridge don’t give 4 a level offers (except Cambridge sometimes), and either way Cambridge is changing so it can on offer the minimum grades which is a 3 grade offer next year.