Hi all,
I'm in quite a pickle.
I will be sitting Further Maths and Computer Science in a few weeks (I sat Maths last year and got an A*) and I'm hoping to walk out with an additional two A*s.
I had originally applied for Computer Science (and Philosophy for some) at Oxford, UCL, Imperial, Exeter, and Bath. In the second half of Year 12, the feeling of wishing to study something involving Politics and Economics began to dawn on me (for I had always had a great interest in History and Politics, but over time I was drawn into the STEM subjects and I've ended up where I am, and Economics had intrigued me as being the STEM subject to maintain a balance in my degree life whilst also being quite mathematical). The day after submitting UCAS, I emailed my Oxbridge coordinator to explain the situation and how I had felt. I decided to switch Bath for Kings, Exeter for Royal Holloway, and Imperial for Data Science. All of those would still be for Computer Science (with the exception of LSE, which was for Data Science) but my hope was that universities would let me switch to PPE once I had received an offer.
Fast forward to present day and I have offers from UCL (Philosophy and Computer Science), Kings (Artificial Intelligence and Philosophy), and Royal Holloway (Computer Science) (unfortunately I didn't get the Oxford offer after the interview stage - I'm surprised I even got an interview considering I found the MAT practically impossible - and LSE felt my personal statement wasn't particularly competitive, which is fine since it was CS/Phil focussed - although Data Science is just a branch of CS, but anyway). Only Royal Holloway have approved a course transfer to PPE, but I'm not particularly wanting to go there.
My plan recently has been looking towards a gap year and reapplying, which is an idea I've grown to be quite fond of, despite previously rejecting any possibility of a gap year. I've already started looking at the TSA and I'm in high 50s right now (nowhere near competitive right now, but I'm feeling decently optimistic that I could improve, as oppose to the MAT...).
I would like to ask, what would the practical implications be of reapplying in October. Is it even plausible that I'd get an offer? My subjects aren't conventional for PPE, but most only require Maths whilst recommending the other subjects. I've been looking towards taking part in an essay competition in late July and seeing how I can apply my skills in Maths and Computer Science for some Politics/Economics supercurriculars. I've partaken in MUN, read books on Ethics and Logic when preparing for this application cycle, as well as a book on A.I., which looks into morality, ethics, and legality. My idea was to keep the personal statement close to home and theme it around A.I. in-light of PPE.
In terms of my future, I intend to study a Law conversion course and hopefully make my way into politics.
So, please, what are your thoughts? All criticism and advice is welcome - please be honest