Least popular subjects at top universities

[sherry_d]

There are definitely ways to try and work the system though as with Classics and Law.

You just need to do a bit more research, about 50% of top law firm solicitors didnt study law but did whatever and then did the conversion course. The conversion is not cheap though, I think its about £8000 and some students who have to self fund are put of at that thought so just do law for three years instead. I have read of students who are very passionate about law still doing other courses and then converting because apparently studying law for three years is "boring" and monotonous.

I dont think Cambridge puts out its percentages like Oxford. It seems Oxford is considered more elitist and perhaps they are tying to show that its not as bad getting a place there. The hardest uni to get into is Bristol apparently about 12:1 per application compared to 4:1 at Oxbridge but then again nearly everyone who gets Oxbridge takes the place and not quite the same at all the other universities.

[solimum]

Apply for Materials and move over to Maths.

That seems unlikely to me. Those doing Maths at Oxford will have done the entrance exam pre-interview, probably A levels in Maths, Further maths, additional further maths, done well in BMO, will be fascinated by Maths as a subject: how likely is it that someone who can impress the Materials entrance people with their fascination with alloys, polymers, crystallography, structures and fracture mechanics and top grades in Physics & Chemistry will suddenly convincingly decide they can swap to vector spaces and number theory - after a term? a year?. If you want to do Maths, apply to do Maths wherever the course appeals. If you simply want the kudos of an Oxbridge degree and don't really care about the subject then do the rest of us a favour and go to Harvard...

and please no more lawyers..... !

[Waiting_For_Godot]

Well I know of students who were advised by top schools to do this with Engineering as competition for Maths is so high. To be fair, most studying Material Science or Engineering will have Maths, Further Maths (and beyond), Physics and Chemistry for Oxbridge entry so the only way they need to prove their mathematic credentials is by sitting the entrance exam whilst there.

[sherry_d]

Found a link for the cambridge statistics. Its a bit more cluttered than oxford and its based on individual college admission.

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergr ... tatistics/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[solimum]

Oh well - that sort of advice is I guess what you pay the money to top schools for! I am all in favour of people studying Engineering, Maths or Science and there are numerous crossovers possible as interests develop - the Oxford Maths department have recently introduced the option of some fascinating third-year research projects with links to many other fields in sciences & engineering. I suppose I am slightly suspicious of advice to pretend to be interested in something other than what you really want to do - and I imagine the departments would rather offer places to people who really do want to study the subjects on offer than have people "jump ship" and leave empty places that others could have used.

Just found this table too:

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/200 ... ble4_1.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Without calculating the exact percentages, it looks like Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic is the one to go for (along with Classics..). Don't think the success rates are markedly different for engineering vs maths though...

[sherry_d]

I am sure there are many people who go to Oxford simply for the kudos and I would argue there are loads of subjects people do for many other reasons. Show me one dentist who is a dentist because they love looking at teeth everyday?

[solimum]

I am sure there are many people who go to Oxford simply for the kudos

Yes and they all end up as politicians.....

[sherry_d]

Economics looks like is the damn hardest to get into again at Cambridge and surely it isnt the love of economics for most of these folks. Its the love of what economics can bring if you study at Oxbridge or LSE. It reminds me of "greedy bankers" but being fair most of the competition for economics is from international students. They luuuuv economics and MBA

For flexibility alone natural sciences is the most flexible I think but its near impossible to move to maths and relatively easier the other way round.

[Waiting_For_Godot]

Most bankers on OH's floor have Classics Degrees from Oxbridge!

[sherry_d]

So is your hubby one of them classicist?