Cambridge Maths

[mad?]

As I have also gently pointed out, this post is not about "top" universities nor difficulty of applications. Some students who don't make the cut for Cambridge this year might well take a gap year to apply for Oxford the following year.

But why would done want to do that? Given that the courses are so totally different,if one really wanted to study XYZ at Cambridge =, then one would really not want to study it at Oxford. Their offerings are totally different. Presumably 'Oxbridge' want to ensure that DC apply for the course that is right for them, and not just will nilly?

Couldn't the application process evolve to take that into consideration so no one has to do that if they are adamant on getting in to either university?

But that is the point isn't it? Other than it being a 'top university' what possible reason could there be for applying to two courses so totally different? As students are required to provide personal statements indicating the rationale for their interest in the course in their application process, how could they write one that suited both? The same problem exists for students applying to other unis offering different course emphasis.

I simply want to celebrate my DD's journey and request for advice regarding STEP.

Congratulations to your DD Chai, an offered from Cambridge for maths is an achievement in itself, and if that is the type of course DD is interested in then no doubt she will have researched and chosen suitable alternatives in the event that things do not go as planned. Good luck.

[Catseye]

Imperial and Warwick are similar to the Cambridge w.r.t Maths course and probably more respected than Oxford for maths.

Maybe, g55 could shed some light ?

[Ladymuck]

Actually, it is a very legitimate question that comes up in both universities regularly, and may at some point change as open applications increase in popularity.

Historically the Oxbridge admissions process has essentially involved the subject tutors within each individual college selecting the students. For many subjects, this involves choosing as few as one or two students per admissions round. Whilst some offerees do turn down places, and some fail to get the grades, the proportion of offers that result in matriculation is far higher than for other universities (typically over 85%). As a result it is very rare for a college to have got their admissions numbers totally wrong - which is quite important if you only have 2 or 3 students in that subject!

If applications to both Oxford and Cambridge in the same round were allowed, the vast majority of candidates would apply to both, doubling both the numbers of candidates to be interviewed, and more importantly meaning that it would be almost impossible for individual colleges to accurately estimate how many of their offers might result in successful matriculations.

The contrast with Ivy League is that such applications are usually more general in the first place, with students not choosing to specialise until later in the process. The difficulty of accommodating greater or fewer numbers is not as severe as for an individual Oxbridge College trying to fill 90 spaces across 20 subjects (and for an individual tutor trying to fill just 2 spaces).

As 4th form testing becomes the norm again, and as open applications are pooled by departments, there is a possibility of moving to a system when open applicants get an offer but don't find out the college until after A level results are known. But Oxbridge doesn't tend to change too radically, and the current system is to their advantage, even though it does put candidates at a relative disadvantage.

Slightly tongue in cheek, perhaps grammars could learn from the process, and only one selective be put on the CAF?!

[Catseye]

Slightly tongue in cheek, perhaps grammars could learn from the process, and only one selective be put on the CAF?!

I think that is a marvellous idea, the only problem with it is that I didn't think of it first, m'lady

[KS10]

Well done to Chai's DD and to anyone else who has received an offer. I felt stressed just reading about the interviews.

[tiffinboys]

Well done to Chai's DD and to anyone else who has received an offer. I felt stressed just reading about the interviews.

+1

[SteveDH]

Congrats hope you get the necissary grades and it goes well, which college btw.

and on a different side note, My DD has a friend who was doing maths and now changed to engineering at the start of this year (3rd year).

[Miltonkeynes1]

Brilliant news, well done Chai jnr.

[Chai]

It's Cambridge for us. I wish I could say we did not tutor her or that she had done it all by herself because, as with the 11+, if you are smart, you would not need the tutoring nor any help at all to secure entry.

We did this:

1. STEP papers at home - so this is still us teaching her - tutoring her, although this part was the most enjoyable bit for us. The questions were so fun to do and the family got together round the table to all chip in.

2. There is a very good MEI course and I think you can get it for free. We paid £200 for it and did not bother to apply for the subsidy.

3. Time spent with a very kind mathematics professor friend of mine - 4 sessions when we went home for a holiday over Easter.

4. Plus her school teachers were so supportive. At times, she felt dejected but her teachers encouraged her not to give up. Grammar school.

Very happy. Parental and school support, a positive mindset and sheer grit and determination clinched it for her.

[Guest55]

Well done Chai's DD.

Many schools do offer comprehensive support in STEP so additional tutoring is not usually needed. However they do need to work hard on STEP as it matters.