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Maths @ Oxbridge

Hey

I'm thinking about applying to Oxbridge for Maths. Just wondering what their courses are like, and if theres any students on here doing Maths @ Oxbridge, what they think of their course. Also, how hard is it to get into either Uni for Maths?

Cheers :smile:

Reply 1

Mop

I'm a first year mathmo at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. The course is very general in the first year, from rigourous proof in Analysis to theoretical physics in Dynamics and then you get to specialize a bit in the second year, and almost completely in the third. Unless you're a genius, it will require quite a bit of work to understand a lot of the stuff in the first year (and a rediculous amount if you haven't done further maths) but probably the nicest thing about doing pretty much the hardest maths course in the country in when you do finally gain complete understanding of something that appears incomprehensible at first. Of course there are some bits that seem to be there just to bore and annoy you, but they're reasonably infrequent. As for how hard it is to get in, for Cambridge at least it is heavily dependent on your thoughts when you see this: http://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/undergrad/admissionsinfo/steppaper/text/text.html

Reply 2

yeep

Harder to get into Oxford initially, but harder to make your offer at Cambridge for maths.

Reply 3

Rich P

Don't do it!

I am a third year mathematician at Oxford. It's horrible. I loved maths at school and was very good at it, but uni maths is so different. The course is very formal and boring. You get no choice in your first year and first half of your second year. Second half of second year you choose 10 options from 20, which isn't very much when there will be areas of maths you don't like (eg: stats, analysis) and then your third year is quite limited and dictated by the choices you made in your second year. Exams at the end of every year mean you will have had 6 summers of exams in a row and they're bloody hard. If you want to get a first you need to spend your life in the library, a 2:1 is manageable but not fun. With the choice again I would go to another uni and have more fun and still get a good degree. I hardly do any work as have lost all motivation, so will probably end up with 2:2, I've had fun but could have got an easy first at a different uni.

As much as I hate my course, I do love Oxford. It's very pretty, has a good atmosphere and the colleges give you good sets of friends to live and play with, and it is an Oxford degree at the end of the day.

awwww fooey :frown:

At Oxford maybe. Oxford is nowhere near as good as Cambridge, as the tripos course rightly says, Cambridge covers more, in more depth and is harder than any other maths course in the country. However I know my brother found it incredibly rewarding, and while he worked hard (and is damn clever :redface:

) he got one of the top firsts in his year.

Personally, having looked at the courses hard when I was determined to do maths, I'd have chosen Warwick over Oxford with little hesitation, and Cambridge as top.

It's hard to get in, even harder to meet your offer, and harder again once you get in, but maths at Cambridge is one hell of a course.

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What he said.

Drogue

At Oxford maybe. Oxford is nowhere near as good as Cambridge, as the tripos course rightly says, Cambridge covers more, in more depth and is harder than any other maths course in the country. However I know my brother found it incredibly rewarding, and while he worked hard (and is damn clever :redface:

) he got one of the top firsts in his year.

Personally, having looked at the courses hard when I was determined to do maths, I'd have chosen Warwick over Oxford with little hesitation, and Cambridge as top.

It's hard to get in, even harder to meet your offer, and harder again once you get in, but maths at Cambridge is one hell of a course.

Nowhere near as good?? I think your exaggerating just a little here. Ok, so the Cam course may be regarded as better but it isn't "nowhere near as good" and is at least as good if not better in certain aspects of the course.

Reply 8

Squishy

11

In terms of reputation and difficulty, the Cambridge maths course is really in a different league from Oxford's, as has been said. Of course, there are other reasons for choosing Oxford.

Reply 9

Drogue

19

yeep

Nowhere near as good?? I think your exaggerating just a little here. Ok, so the Cam course may be regarded as better but it isn't "nowhere near as good" and is at least as good if not better in certain aspects of the course.

As Squishy said, it's a different league. This from an Oxford student. Maybe nowhere near as good is a little harsh, but I've yet to see a place the Oxford course is better than the Cam one at all. I love Oxford, but I wouldn't choose to do maths here. The difference amazed me.

Reply 10

fishpaste

I really enjoy cambridge maths I find it really interesting and gosh so rigorous. I'm not looking forward to exams. And I have to say it, it was really hard work getting in. But I really do enjoy it and whilst I miss studying things like economics alot, I wouldn't want to switch.

Reply 11

shiny

12

Drogue

This from an Oxford student.

But you don't do maths :p:

Reply 12

Squishy

11

Drogue

As Squishy said, it's a different league. This from an Oxford student. Maybe nowhere near as good is a little harsh, but I've yet to see a place the Oxford course is better than the Cam one at all. I love Oxford, but I wouldn't choose to do maths here. The difference amazed me.

How do the two medicine courses compare? I know very little about them, except that it is very science-heavy at Cambridge.

Reply 13

Drogue

19

shiny

But you don't do maths :p:

True, but generally, a student at Oxford is slightly more pro-Oxford than someone who isn't :p:

Reply 14

yeep

Squishy

How do the two medicine courses compare? I know very little about them, except that it is very science-heavy at Cambridge.

I think you should ask a med student

Reply 15

Drogue

19

Squishy

How do the two medicine courses compare? I know very little about them, except that it is very science-heavy at Cambridge.

No idea really, never looked into doing Medicine. Both hellishly hard to get into and both seemingly well regarded though.

Reply 16

Elles

17

medical student here.. there are a few of us around! :p:

in terms of 'compare' to be honest, compared to the rest of the medical courses in this country they seem incredibly similar. & evoke about the same amount of hostility from rabid prefreshers/close-minded superior types form other medical schools in terms of producing only 'arrogant research doctors'.. :rolleyes:

most differences just seem to be small-ish course things - some i've noticed - Cambridge is much more anatomy heavy. so perhaps more conventionally sciencey, given they like 3 'sciences' i think, whereas most Oxford students i know have 1 or more 'arts' A level. some structural differences with tripos v. Biomedical BA.

the major differences might be with regards to clinical school - AFAIK Cambridge has a small clinical school compared to a huge preclinical, whereas we stay ~ the same for both.. so have quite a few cambridge students transfer here.

in terms of reputation/prestige, i'm not sure there's anything in it, to be honest. i instinctively chose Oxford on location/atmopshere grounds. :biggrin:

although on statistical grounds, in case you mathmo types are interested.. i worked out for someone who asked Oxford had ~2 more applications per place than cambridge for medicine this year.

Reply 17

shiny

12

tbh I don't understand why the Cambridge course is considered to be heads and shoulders above Oxford's? :confused:

I mean Oxford mathematicians get offers to do PhD study at Cambridge without admission first to CASM? There are two of them sitting in the office next to me :confused:

Reply 18

fishpaste

shiny

tbh I don't understand why the Cambridge course is considered to be heads and shoulders above Oxford's?