Advice for uni application

4

Hey there,
I'm in yr10 and today, I got my ukmt silver certificate for imc and genuinely I started crying cuz it's my 3rd silver certificate. Apparently I was 4 marks off getting gold so I was wondering is it worth talking abt my teachers about discretionary entrance? Reason being I want to get into my dream unis(Oxford, LSE, imperial, Cambridge) and I know to get in/stand out, you have to get gold or into olympiad. On top of that, I want to major into Stem so especially Maths, I gotta do something cool cuz my public school only does ukmt so help me out here guys. What do I do? Risk my relationship with my teachers by asking abt discretionary entrance or just accept the fact that I am stuck with silver?

Reply 1

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

20

Original post

by Mimishika

Hey there,
I'm in yr10 and today, I got my ukmt silver certificate for imc and genuinely I started crying cuz it's my 3rd silver certificate. Apparently I was 4 marks off getting gold so I was wondering is it worth talking abt my teachers about discretionary entrance? Reason being I want to get into my dream unis(Oxford, LSE, imperial, Cambridge) and I know to get in/stand out, you have to get gold or into olympiad. On top of that, I want to major into Stem so especially Maths, I gotta do something cool cuz my public school only does ukmt so help me out here guys. What do I do? Risk my relationship with my teachers by asking abt discretionary entrance or just accept the fact that I am stuck with silver?

UKMT competitions aren’t going to be a big part of your uni application, maybe only a couple of sentences at most id think. Focus on getting good gcse grades and exploring your interests further instead 🙂

Reply 2

Muu9

14

You don't need gold or Olympiad, but also asking about discretionary entry will not ruin your relationship with your teachers. You can also check out nrich and the Oxford maths podcast. What matters is your predicted grades, TMUA/STEP score, and GCSEs. You could also check out the FSMQ or self study basic A levels content.

Reply 3

Matiti4

1

Original post

by Mimishika

Hey there,
I'm in yr10 and today, I got my ukmt silver certificate for imc and genuinely I started crying cuz it's my 3rd silver certificate. Apparently I was 4 marks off getting gold so I was wondering is it worth talking abt my teachers about discretionary entrance? Reason being I want to get into my dream unis(Oxford, LSE, imperial, Cambridge) and I know to get in/stand out, you have to get gold or into olympiad. On top of that, I want to major into Stem so especially Maths, I gotta do something cool cuz my public school only does ukmt so help me out here guys. What do I do? Risk my relationship with my teachers by asking abt discretionary entrance or just accept the fact that I am stuck with silver?

Hi,
I’m in yr13, applied for maths at imperial,
Let me be so fr,
Its not the end of the world if you got silver in ukmt, don’t worry!!
I got a silver in the senior maths challenge and i shrugged it off .
Despite the fact that I am still waiting for an offer from imperial, i know that there are other things you should focus on!!!
In year ten, i would say you should focus on:

•

Getting 9s in GCSEs

•

Maybe do some supercurriculars if you realllyyy want to get ahead (read maths articles, books, watch videos on famous maths problems and topics, maths podcasts) -this will prepare you for your personal statement by getting you interested in the subject!

Then when you get to a levels, ENTRANCE EXAM!!!!!
Lock in as soon as you can (be aware that they usually contain year 12 content)
If you get a really good score in entrance exam (eg for TMUA get a 7 at lowest) they WILL NOT reject you.
In the end, Unis look at your personal statement, predicted grades, and entrance exam. Thats it. (oh and make sure you get good gcses)

But yeah, dw about ukmt. And ngl, if youre in year 10, gcses are your main focus, you got this!

Reply 4

Mimishika

OP

4

Original post

by Matiti4

Hi,
I’m in yr13, applied for maths at imperial,
Let me be so fr,
Its not the end of the world if you got silver in ukmt, don’t worry!!
I got a silver in the senior maths challenge and i shrugged it off .
Despite the fact that I am still waiting for an offer from imperial, i know that there are other things you should focus on!!!
In year ten, i would say you should focus on:

•

Getting 9s in GCSEs

•

Maybe do some supercurriculars if you realllyyy want to get ahead (read maths articles, books, watch videos on famous maths problems and topics, maths podcasts) -this will prepare you for your personal statement by getting you interested in the subject!

Then when you get to a levels, ENTRANCE EXAM!!!!!
Lock in as soon as you can (be aware that they usually contain year 12 content)
If you get a really good score in entrance exam (eg for TMUA get a 7 at lowest) they WILL NOT reject you.
In the end, Unis look at your personal statement, predicted grades, and entrance exam. Thats it. (oh and make sure you get good gcses)
But yeah, dw about ukmt. And ngl, if youre in year 10, gcses are your main focus, you got this!

Thanks, hope you are successful in getting into imperial? Abt supercurriculars, could u suggest what I could do to show that and what websites could be good for that?

Reply 5

Mimishika

OP

4

Original post

by DerDracologe

UKMT competitions aren’t going to be a big part of your uni application, maybe only a couple of sentences at most id think. Focus on getting good gcse grades and exploring your interests further instead 🙂

Thank you for the reassurance. Good to know that despite not getting gold or Olympiad stuff, I still have a chance to get my dream uni

Reply 6

Mimishika

OP

4

Original post

by Muu9

You don't need gold or Olympiad, but also asking about discretionary entry will not ruin your relationship with your teachers. You can also check out nrich and the Oxford maths podcast. What matters is your predicted grades, TMUA/STEP score, and GCSEs. You could also check out the FSMQ or self study basic A levels content.

Thank you so much! Me being an introvert but at the same time being a teacher's pet, I was worried that things might head south if I did.

Reply 7

Phelena

13

Original post

by Mimishika

Hey there,
I'm in yr10 and today, I got my ukmt silver certificate for imc and genuinely I started crying cuz it's my 3rd silver certificate. Apparently I was 4 marks off getting gold so I was wondering is it worth talking abt my teachers about discretionary entrance? Reason being I want to get into my dream unis(Oxford, LSE, imperial, Cambridge) and I know to get in/stand out, you have to get gold or into olympiad. On top of that, I want to major into Stem so especially Maths, I gotta do something cool cuz my public school only does ukmt so help me out here guys. What do I do? Risk my relationship with my teachers by asking abt discretionary entrance or just accept the fact that I am stuck with silver?

Maths challenge and olympiad results will only be seen if you put them on your personal statement, which top unis famously don't care about very much for courses like Mathematics, except perhaps for LSE. Typically on your personal statement, you only write about year 12 and possibly year 11 anyway, so even if you got into the intermediate olympiad this year, it wouldn't make a difference like getting into the BMO in year 11 or year 12 might.

If you are concerned about going to a public school (which does disadvantage you against state school students) which doesn't offer supercurriculars (???), it might be worthwhile switching for sixth form if it's possible.

Reply 8

katla1

8

Original post

by Mimishika

Hey there,
I'm in yr10 and today, I got my ukmt silver certificate for imc and genuinely I started crying cuz it's my 3rd silver certificate. Apparently I was 4 marks off getting gold so I was wondering is it worth talking abt my teachers about discretionary entrance? Reason being I want to get into my dream unis(Oxford, LSE, imperial, Cambridge) and I know to get in/stand out, you have to get gold or into olympiad. On top of that, I want to major into Stem so especially Maths, I gotta do something cool cuz my public school only does ukmt so help me out here guys. What do I do? Risk my relationship with my teachers by asking abt discretionary entrance or just accept the fact that I am stuck with silver?

If youre in Y10, it really doesn't matter that much, the only one they will care about is if you do it in y12, and they would rather hear what you got out of doing the challenge rather than that you did well in it

Reply 9

Mimishika

OP

4

Original post

by Phelena

Maths challenge and olympiad results will only be seen if you put them on your personal statement, which top unis famously don't care about very much for courses like Mathematics, except perhaps for LSE. Typically on your personal statement, you only write about year 12 and possibly year 11 anyway, so even if you got into the intermediate olympiad this year, it wouldn't make a difference like getting into the BMO in year 11 or year 12 might.
If you are concerned about going to a public school (which does disadvantage you against state school students) which doesn't offer supercurriculars (???), it might be worthwhile switching for sixth form if it's possible.

Thank u so much for ur advice! Would u say that if I have the grades to switch sixth form into like a grammar school, is it worth seeing if they have good facilities for my a levels or try to apply there regardless for the facilities provided there since it looks slightly better that I went to a grammar school as such?

Reply 10

Mimishika

OP

4

Original post

by katla1

If youre in Y10, it really doesn't matter that much, the only one they will care about is if you do it in y12, and they would rather hear what you got out of doing the challenge rather than that you did well in it

Thanks! Really appreciate your guidance! Thank you for the reassurance that regardless of what I got, they care more abt the impact(doesn't help with the bragging rights of someone who in my year got into the kangaroo that too the only one welp)

Reply 11

Phelena

13

Original post

by Mimishika

Thank u so much for ur advice! Would u say that if I have the grades to switch sixth form into like a grammar school, is it worth seeing if they have good facilities for my a levels or try to apply there regardless for the facilities provided there since it looks slightly better that I went to a grammar school as such?

It's important that your school is able to teach you your subjects well, so make sure they get decent enough results, and that you generally enjoy your time there. The public vs state distinction itself isn't that important but it should be kept in mind, especially if there's a money factor in there.

Reply 12

Matiti4

1

Original post

by Mimishika

Thanks, hope you are successful in getting into imperial? Abt supercurriculars, could u suggest what I could do to show that and what websites could be good for that?

Ah ty (tmua results tmr🥲)

These are some supercurriculars, you can write abt in your ps

•

Read books abt your subject (one or two will do it, if youre doing maths, I recommend fermats last theorem by simon singh, loved it lots)

•

Essay competitions! I did the minds underground essay competition, even if you want to do stem, show on your ps that you have essay writing skills!

•

Any uni programmes are great! Even if its not a uni you want to go to. Lots of unis run programmes that invite you to online lectures, residential trips at the uni where you can have experience in labs and stuff.

•

HE+ programme- they gave online lectures AND the project was a great thing to do, to make your personal statement impressive

•

Sutton Trust summer school!!!!!!!!!!!! Apply!!! Even if you think you wont get in, i didnt think i would, but i did!!! So fun, and interesting, probably the best trip ive ever had! (Mine was at imperial, so awesomesauce)

•

Do a MOOC

•

Watch youtube videos and listen to podcasts about certain topics you found interesting, and make notes, you can put this in your ps! And its easy! Just get INTERESTED in your subject. For maths, I recommend tomrocksmaths, numberphile ( HUGE NUMBERPHILE FAN HERE!!!!), veritasium, 3blue1brown, etc. I lowkey ran a stem podcast w my friends where i could just talk abt cool maths topics 😝 that helped to summarise what i learnt from researching on my own

•

Read news articles on modern discoveries and stuff!! Show youre still interested in how your subject impacts the present

•

Work experience? Can be very difficult to get but worth a shot (i never got any but tbf i wasnt too bothered)

•

Olympiads and the maths challengs- i feel like thats a given tho lol

•

Tutoring lower years in that subject (i put this on my ps)

BUT with all that said, dont overdo it!
Its better to have a few things that you can talk about in depth on your ps rather than just list every activity you did!!!!!
Mainly, just get interested in your subject and the rest is easy!
Hope this helps :3

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