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STEP early

Hi. I'm currently in year 12, and am going to be applying to cambridge in y13. I know that STEP scores from previous years aren't counted, but if I get a good score (1,1 or better) at the end of year 12 can I put it on my PS to show passion and boost my application?

Reply 1

Original post
by Anonymous
Hi. I'm currently in year 12, and am going to be applying to cambridge in y13. I know that STEP scores from previous years aren't counted, but if I get a good score (1,1 or better) at the end of year 12 can I put it on my PS to show passion and boost my application?

It shouldn't do you any harm - provided you are confident of getting (at least) a 1 - anything less would suggest you're just trying it early without being properly prepared. The trade-off is that if you're spending time on STEP (which is difficult), you don't want to be risking neglecting your A levels - hopefully you've taken this into account.

I wouldn't say doing STEP demonstrates "passion" for Maths, but anything that extends the curriculum or shows that you're prepare to tackle more difficult problems or ones that require more concentration than A level work are a good idea - could be STEP, AEA, competition stuff if you're into that (not everyone is!), or similar :smile:

Reply 2

Original post
by davros
It shouldn't do you any harm - provided you are confident of getting (at least) a 1 - anything less would suggest you're just trying it early without being properly prepared. The trade-off is that if you're spending time on STEP (which is difficult), you don't want to be risking neglecting your A levels - hopefully you've taken this into account.
I wouldn't say doing STEP demonstrates "passion" for Maths, but anything that extends the curriculum or shows that you're prepare to tackle more difficult problems or ones that require more concentration than A level work are a good idea - could be STEP, AEA, competition stuff if you're into that (not everyone is!), or similar :smile:

I am definitely properly prepared for my a levels (finished the spec for 3 of my 5), and I've still got plenty of time left for STEP and am already getting 1 in a decent portion of past papers.

Reply 3

Original post
by Anonymous
Hi. I'm currently in year 12, and am going to be applying to cambridge in y13. I know that STEP scores from previous years aren't counted, but if I get a good score (1,1 or better) at the end of year 12 can I put it on my PS to show passion and boost my application?

No, don't do it - you may have to resit in Year 13 anyway and a weak result will have to be declared.

Reply 4

Original post
by Muttley79
No, don't do it - you may have to resit in Year 13 anyway and a weak result will have to be declared.

I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't know for a fact I could get 1,1 or better

Reply 5

Original post
by Anonymous
I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't know for a fact I could get 1,1 or better

No-one can guarantee they'll get a 1,1 - remember 50% of offer holders miss their STEP requirement.

Reply 6

Original post
by Muttley79
No-one can guarantee they'll get a 1,1 - remember 50% of offer holders miss their STEP requirement.

I'm aware, but as I've said, I've got like 8 months and I've already got 1,1 on a few past papers. And that's with little preparation. With the extra 8 months, I have no doubt I'll be able to get S,S on at least one and at the very least 1,1 in the actual exam

Reply 7

Original post
by AltAccount00
I'm aware, but as I've said, I've got like 8 months and I've already got 1,1 on a few past papers. And that's with little preparation. With the extra 8 months, I have no doubt I'll be able to get S,S on at least one and at the very least 1,1 in the actual exam

Sorry, it's a risky move - sad to say I've taught many students who are convinced they'll get a S ...

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