Oxford Maths and Philosophy, Cambridge Maths

10

Hello everyone, I got my GCSE results today and got 999998886A*, although I got an 8 in Further Mathematics so I'm no longer considering applying to Oxford/Cambridge. Further Math was entirely self studied and I was sick for the first paper but its still no excuse. Ill be doing SQA Highers next (Scottish equivalent of AS level - I am taking Math, chemistry, Physics, English and History) and then advanced Highers ( Scottish equivalent of Advanced Highers - I am taking Maths, Mechanics and Physics), Further Maths doesn't exist as a subject in the Scottish education system, so Mechanics is a required instead. Sorry if this was long and please let me know if there is there still a chance I could get an offer from Oxford or Cambridge or is it over for me??

Reply 1

Muu9

14

An 8 in GCSE will not kill you. Just do well on the MAT.

Reply 2

melancollege

Universities Forum Helper

19

An 8 in a self-taught FM GCSE would make almost no difference.

Reply 3

Dolce Vita

10

Original post

by biographical-ini

Hello everyone, I got my GCSE results today and got 999998886A*, although I got an 8 in Further Mathematics so I'm no longer considering applying to Oxford/Cambridge. Further Math was entirely self studied and I was sick for the first paper but its still no excuse. Ill be doing SQA Highers next (Scottish equivalent of AS level - I am taking Math, chemistry, Physics, English and History) and then advanced Highers ( Scottish equivalent of Advanced Highers - I am taking Maths, Mechanics and Physics), Further Maths doesn't exist as a subject in the Scottish education system, so Mechanics is a required instead. Sorry if this was long and please let me know if there is there still a chance I could get an offer from Oxford or Cambridge or is it over for me??

There was a similar question re Oxford M&P and one response from someone who knew what they were talking about stated “Not having FM is less an issue for M&Phil students than it is for Maths students atOxford, as it's the extra calculus you meet that tends to be most important, but that'son the applied side (which M&P students don't take).”.
That said, it is known that Oxford places a degree of weight on contextual gcse performance, contextual being key here. Also it’s not entirely true that the SQA don’t offer further mathematics, they do at advanced higher level with courses for statistics and mechanics of mathematics but your school may not offer them. If this is the case then you should speak to your preferred college admissions for advice.
If you opt for Cambridge maths then fm is required and again, you need to speak to your preferred college admissions team for advice. Also worth contacting camscot.org who are a Scottish society of Cambridge alumni who can offer support to varying levels.
Good luck whichever path you decide upon!

(edited 8 months ago)

Oxford Maths and Philosophy, Cambridge Maths

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Articles for you

How The Student Room is moderated