Oxford chem or Cambridge natsci

I’m in year 12 and I’m really stuck between whether I should apply for chemistry at Oxford or natural sciences at Cambridge. I’ve gotten all A*s for the whole year so far and I have no concerns in achieving A*s in my actual A levels, I do chemistry, biology and maths and my main interests (I’ve done lots of research and super curricular activities to do with them) are battery technology, medicinal chemistry, and more recently, lab-grown meat. I feel my interests don’t align well enough for admissions to natural sciences, as I’ve been to taster days at Cambridge for it and they seem to prefer your main interests to be in either biology or physics so that you fit easily into biological natural sciences or physical natural sciences. Even if I applied for physical natsci, I’d be at such a disadvantage for not doing physics or further maths so there’s really no point applying. But I don’t really want to apply to Oxford because I live less than half an hour away from the uni and I’ve gone to the city so much with family and friends during my life so I feel I would get bored spending 4 years in a place that I already know so well. Having to do the ESAT for natsci doesn’t bother me, and I like that some Cambridge colleges do in-person interviews. Sorry this is a really long post but I didn’t want to leave stuff out. Any advice would be appreciated :smile:

Reply 1

RedFeatherx

12

Apply for biological natsci because you don’t have physics or fm. If you gear your application towards chem related things you will get more chem interview questions about chemistry. After you get in though, you can still enroll in any of the courses and so you may get to do your battery stuff too.

Reply 2

Wired_1800

20

Original post by Anonymous

I’m in year 12 and I’m really stuck between whether I should apply for chemistry at Oxford or natural sciences at Cambridge. I’ve gotten all A*s for the whole year so far and I have no concerns in achieving A*s in my actual A levels, I do chemistry, biology and maths and my main interests (I’ve done lots of research and super curricular activities to do with them) are battery technology, medicinal chemistry, and more recently, lab-grown meat. I feel my interests don’t align well enough for admissions to natural sciences, as I’ve been to taster days at Cambridge for it and they seem to prefer your main interests to be in either biology or physics so that you fit easily into biological natural sciences or physical natural sciences. Even if I applied for physical natsci, I’d be at such a disadvantage for not doing physics or further maths so there’s really no point applying. But I don’t really want to apply to Oxford because I live less than half an hour away from the uni and I’ve gone to the city so much with family and friends during my life so I feel I would get bored spending 4 years in a place that I already know so well. Having to do the ESAT for natsci doesn’t bother me, and I like that some Cambridge colleges do in-person interviews. Sorry this is a really long post but I didn’t want to leave stuff out. Any advice would be appreciated :smile:

Cam Natsci

Reply 3

melancollege

Universities Forum Helper

18

Original post by Anonymous

I’m in year 12 and I’m really stuck between whether I should apply for chemistry at Oxford or natural sciences at Cambridge. I’ve gotten all A*s for the whole year so far and I have no concerns in achieving A*s in my actual A levels, I do chemistry, biology and maths and my main interests (I’ve done lots of research and super curricular activities to do with them) are battery technology, medicinal chemistry, and more recently, lab-grown meat. I feel my interests don’t align well enough for admissions to natural sciences, as I’ve been to taster days at Cambridge for it and they seem to prefer your main interests to be in either biology or physics so that you fit easily into biological natural sciences or physical natural sciences. Even if I applied for physical natsci, I’d be at such a disadvantage for not doing physics or further maths so there’s really no point applying. But I don’t really want to apply to Oxford because I live less than half an hour away from the uni and I’ve gone to the city so much with family and friends during my life so I feel I would get bored spending 4 years in a place that I already know so well. Having to do the ESAT for natsci doesn’t bother me, and I like that some Cambridge colleges do in-person interviews. Sorry this is a really long post but I didn’t want to leave stuff out. Any advice would be appreciated :smile:

As far as I'm aware from my NatSci friends, once you've gotten in, the distinction between Phys and Bio NatSci isn't that important and you can do any of the courses you're qualified to do.

Reply 4

username6990201

13

Original post by Anonymous

I’m in year 12 and I’m really stuck between whether I should apply for chemistry at Oxford or natural sciences at Cambridge. I’ve gotten all A*s for the whole year so far and I have no concerns in achieving A*s in my actual A levels, I do chemistry, biology and maths and my main interests (I’ve done lots of research and super curricular activities to do with them) are battery technology, medicinal chemistry, and more recently, lab-grown meat. I feel my interests don’t align well enough for admissions to natural sciences, as I’ve been to taster days at Cambridge for it and they seem to prefer your main interests to be in either biology or physics so that you fit easily into biological natural sciences or physical natural sciences. Even if I applied for physical natsci, I’d be at such a disadvantage for not doing physics or further maths so there’s really no point applying. But I don’t really want to apply to Oxford because I live less than half an hour away from the uni and I’ve gone to the city so much with family and friends during my life so I feel I would get bored spending 4 years in a place that I already know so well. Having to do the ESAT for natsci doesn’t bother me, and I like that some Cambridge colleges do in-person interviews. Sorry this is a really long post but I didn’t want to leave stuff out. Any advice would be appreciated :smile:

Definitely don't apply for Physical Nat Sci, you'll be turned down immediately because of your subjects.

You subjects are fine to apply for Biological Nat Sci, but you should check out the Nat Sci course page and see if there are enough modules that you would be interested in doing if you got in. If the only subject that interests you is chemistry, then maybe just applying for Oxford Chemistry is better, but if you think you would like the opportunity to have a wider selection of subjects then go for Cambridge Nat Sci.

Reply 5

TypicalNerd

18

Original post by Anonymous

I’m in year 12 and I’m really stuck between whether I should apply for chemistry at Oxford or natural sciences at Cambridge. I’ve gotten all A*s for the whole year so far and I have no concerns in achieving A*s in my actual A levels, I do chemistry, biology and maths and my main interests (I’ve done lots of research and super curricular activities to do with them) are battery technology, medicinal chemistry, and more recently, lab-grown meat. I feel my interests don’t align well enough for admissions to natural sciences, as I’ve been to taster days at Cambridge for it and they seem to prefer your main interests to be in either biology or physics so that you fit easily into biological natural sciences or physical natural sciences. Even if I applied for physical natsci, I’d be at such a disadvantage for not doing physics or further maths so there’s really no point applying. But I don’t really want to apply to Oxford because I live less than half an hour away from the uni and I’ve gone to the city so much with family and friends during my life so I feel I would get bored spending 4 years in a place that I already know so well. Having to do the ESAT for natsci doesn’t bother me, and I like that some Cambridge colleges do in-person interviews. Sorry this is a really long post but I didn’t want to leave stuff out. Any advice would be appreciated :smile:

Oxford Chemistry better aligns with your interests.

I can understand why you wouldn’t want to apply to Oxford, but it’s definitely well worth going on a taster day or open day regardless and getting an idea of what the course is like. I think you may have missed the deadline to apply for the Chemistry Inspire Study day hosted by St John’s College for year 12’s, unfortunately.

Reply 6

jez89

4

YP had same question a few years ago. They posed this to the DoS at open day at Cambridge and they were told that you wouldn't be at a disadvantage if your interests spiked in chem rather than bio or physics. This proved to be the case on admission. Subsequently you can choose chem related subjects in years 1 & 2 and onwards or you never know, you might change your mind and switch to bio whilst you're there.

Oxford chem or Cambridge natsci

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