EPQ in year 13

Hiya!
Definitely agree that EPQ is a great environment to learn about referencing and Bibliographies (USE MYBIB!) because of the direct support from an EPQ teacher, which you would not necessarily get as much in uni. I would still consider putting it on your statement honestly, even if you don’t necessarily need it because unis like to see a sustained interest in specific areas of your topic, if you end up getting a Cambridge interview, your EPQ could be a helpful and easy discussion point. EPQ has been fantastic for me in my applications as a lot of my unis did interviews where they mainly asked about it and I have developed a new area of interest and expertise!
Obviously, it’s not always useful for everyone but most people I know got lowered offers if they got an A (or in some cases just a pass!) because of EPQ.
I will say most people end up doing the majority of the workload in Year 12 summer anyway which works really well but as you’re an early applicant I’m assuming you would be handing it in before the early application deadline, which isn’t lots of time. DEFINITELY manageable as EPQ is honestly not that many words or anything but what I will say is that Autumn Year 13 is an EXTREMELY stressful time, I absolutely hated it and EPQ definitely could feel like a burden when you’re in the middle of applications and mock exams.
I’d still say it’s worth it in the end but I cant lie, Year 13 can be a really intense time and you shouldn’t take on too much if you don’t have to! if you want to do an EPQ in Year 13 do it because there’s a topic you genuinely want to explore, rather than the other aspects because finding a deep interest in your topic will make it SO much easier to get through!
Based solely on your uni options you seem like you’re probably very hardworking and I’m sure you’ll be fine doing EPQ, but equally things like references will sort themselves out once you get to uni if you don’t end up figuring them out now.
Sorry if that’s not helpful/contradictory in places 😭 basically Id say definitely see if you can pick it up, I’m sure you’ll be fine but worst case scenario you can always drop it with no harm done!

Sorry to jump into someone else’s discussion but I’m also considering doing an EPQ in the summer (I’m in Year 12) and thinking about applying to Oxbridge. Do you think it’s worth following through the whole EPQ or doing a mini research project? As I was in the same boat as the OP in September and it’s only a couple months ago I knew what I want to study at uni

Hey, I'm in the same position as you, and I think I'm going to go ahead with it. It should be a really fun thing to do and will look good on applications, but I am a bit concerned that especially with the whole oxbridge application process its going to be quite difficult to fit in. I suppose we need to do as much as we can over summer. What are you going to do yours on?

Ah okay, im glad someone else is thinking of the same thing!! I’m doing mine on the use of visual art and satirical propaganda in political instances throughout history (it’s not the title but that’s pretty much my topic per say)
I mainly chose the topic since I do History, Politics and Art to hopefully apply for Hispol and I think it combines all my a-levels nicely. Wbu? What topic would you pick?

Thats such a cool topic omg! I'm applying for history and economics so im going to do something in economic history, and i was thinking of combining it with local history (somehting im rly passionate abt) by doing it on the trade guilds of london. are you applying to cambridge or oxford?

That’s such an interesting topic! I wish you all the best with that. Tbh, rn in terms of Oxbridge I’m leaning towards Cambridge as I like the vibe a lot more and the course in comparison to Oxford but I think I’d still go see Oxford for myself and see how I feel then. Wbu? Are you thinking about applying to Oxford or Cambridge?

Yeah icl i was briefly looking at H&P and I preferred cambridge for the course. Cambridge doesnt offer my course though, and tbh I do prefer oxford as an overall university, so I would probably pick it either way. Best of luck to you as well! What are your stats btw?

Ah fair enough. My stats are A*A*B (I’m tryna bump up history to an A or A* hopefully) in a level and 8877766666 (not too great at GCSE tbh so idk if I’ll even get accepted at Cambridge) Wbu? What are your stats?

Oof, yeah an A will be fine for history but you'll probably need that - im sure you'll be able to get there by October tho (maybe give in some extra essays out of class?). Also dw about GCSEs for Cambridge, they're somewhat lenient and they do look at it in context. So if you went to a top private school they might not be good enough, but if you went to a normal school they should be fine! I know people who have got in with similar, or even with some 5s. I got A*A* in History and Physics, but I'm doing maths A-level this year (and the actual grade for that is my further maths predicted as well), and 999998888776 in GCSE.

Yeah, I’m currently on the B/A borderline for history cus I keep on fluctuating from a high B to an A so I just need to be more solid. You have such good GCSE and A-Level stats, you defo have a really good chance for Oxbridge. Hopefully the EPQ over the summer + my PS + my predicted grades will get me an offer. Where else are you thinking of applying to?

I think they are likely to predict you an A bc it is quite easy to go up a grade or two in History if you really knuckle down. I got a C in my January mocks but now I got almost full marks. I mean hopefully I have a good shot, but seeing all these people with 12 9s actually makes me so worried ☹️ . Have you considered applying to a college that does an entrance exam? It would put less emphasis on your GCSEs. Aside from that just read a decent bit over the summer and write a solid ps and you should be good to get an interview (and beyond that who can say)

Yeah, history is all abt how you tackle the question as there’s more emphasis on analysis and judgement in A-Level. Oh yeah 100%, people who have like all 9s is very unnerving but you can be academically strong but not socially adept and I talked to some Cambridge students and you kinda have to have a balance between the two. I’ve looked at the colleges who have entrance exams and I don’t particularly want to apply to them anyway so im alright on that part. I’ve read a couple books in related to my EPQ and other topics that I’m generally interested in. I also have work experience at a Newspaper for a week so that’s something else to add. Wbu? Do you have any work experience?

Technically I have something in the civil service (its interdepartmental and I think I have some input over what I actually do) but I'm doing it through a family friend and he is so flaky with replying so as of rn im not very sure lol

Ahhhh, I tried Getting something with the civil service but failed miserably :/
I wish you all the best of luck with that tho! I tried to get MP work experience but none are available so I might do some work with my local mayor lol

That sounds like it could be really interesting (as does your newspaper thing)! Dw if things don't work out, work experience isn't necessarily that important

Hiya!
Definitely agree that EPQ is a great environment to learn about referencing and Bibliographies (USE MYBIB!) because of the direct support from an EPQ teacher, which you would not necessarily get as much in uni. I would still consider putting it on your statement honestly, even if you don’t necessarily need it because unis like to see a sustained interest in specific areas of your topic, if you end up getting a Cambridge interview, your EPQ could be a helpful and easy discussion point. EPQ has been fantastic for me in my applications as a lot of my unis did interviews where they mainly asked about it and I have developed a new area of interest and expertise!
Obviously, it’s not always useful for everyone but most people I know got lowered offers if they got an A (or in some cases just a pass!) because of EPQ.
I will say most people end up doing the majority of the workload in Year 12 summer anyway which works really well but as you’re an early applicant I’m assuming you would be handing it in before the early application deadline, which isn’t lots of time. DEFINITELY manageable as EPQ is honestly not that many words or anything but what I will say is that Autumn Year 13 is an EXTREMELY stressful time, I absolutely hated it and EPQ definitely could feel like a burden when you’re in the middle of applications and mock exams.
I’d still say it’s worth it in the end but I cant lie, Year 13 can be a really intense time and you shouldn’t take on too much if you don’t have to! if you want to do an EPQ in Year 13 do it because there’s a topic you genuinely want to explore, rather than the other aspects because finding a deep interest in your topic will make it SO much easier to get through!
Based solely on your uni options you seem like you’re probably very hardworking and I’m sure you’ll be fine doing EPQ, but equally things like references will sort themselves out once you get to uni if you don’t end up figuring them out now.
Sorry if that’s not helpful/contradictory in places 😭 basically Id say definitely see if you can pick it up, I’m sure you’ll be fine but worst case scenario you can always drop it with no harm done!

Yeah and I wasn’t sure how I’d get relevant work experience in related to my course unless it was a museum or smth. Are you doing any summer schools/university programmes atm?

Nah I think I'll have enough on this summer with writing an EPQ and a personal statement and preparing for an admissions test AND reading loads of books. Its going to be a packed summer as it is 😕
Wbu?