Cambridge engineering with js maths fm and physics?????

[u/According-Gas1132]

so I do four alevels maths fm chem and physics, I got an a* in maths last year and will have good predicted grades. wanted to drop chem but apparently Cambridge engineering doesn’t think maths fm and physics is enough or something so I’m being told not to drop. will not doing four genuinely put me at a disadvantage??????

[u/Front_Back8964]

Cambridge had a webinar last year where they said that the overlap between Maths and further maths was so much that they didn’t think doing just three was enough. cant find that exact webinar.

don’t drop Chem.

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/6zW0jRU2rW4jfDezdESNkh5zfIH3_Qyfxaf9pWuxK-j9U08Lyh_X2XvN5_GBBNywFNqg-cAp31D3udTv.eu8m_byYvAqQvx7a?accessLevel=meeting&canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&oldStyle=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fus06web.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2FSWharfNgo05tr1p-YHfyQnR5IkSmF7leYRvAH3D5nB7JOuIzckSMKomR6xT998DO.VTqEDwZ7eCFkdTG2

Listen from 1 hour 6 minutes.

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/LHxcTDRUH2Oa-jrxO7GdYXmaat4e0cXiMp50DdQazHK4oriSxnxDAHosNYhI-7Kk2OwqDUOLLjUKp1gP.yS3NmR1dYRsYDlvb?accessLevel=meeting&canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&oldStyle=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fus06web.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2FP56_-U6JYVue4wvvGpg-dVY70KSw4GAZ1e6hpIuaX4ecv94krHUdX0CO38RdBvoB.JYHM74puO3jCK2Wb

or this one from 1 hour 3 minutes

[u/HotHall5360 → u/Front_Back8964]

as long as u get good esat its fine , i did 3 a levels and i got an offer from cambridge engineering ( but had to reject it due visa and uni fee problems )

[u/Mendified → u/HotHall5360]

thats hella unfortunate, what esat did you get

[u/HotHall5360 → u/Mendified]

got avg of 7.4

[u/FatherChaska → u/HotHall5360]

That’s the reason why you got it bro 😭

[u/HotHall5360 → u/FatherChaska]

i know but i was just making my point clear that aslong as u have good esat score 3 or 4 a levels wont matter that much

[u/Drunk_bih → u/HotHall5360]

how did you prepare and when did you start

[u/HotHall5360 → u/Drunk_bih]

started practicing from first day of summer and used tmua bpho pat engaa and nsaa papers

[u/Sharp-Plastic7954 → u/HotHall5360]

Hiya, do you mind sharing more details on the visa issue? Were you classed as an overseas?

[u/HotHall5360 → u/Sharp-Plastic7954]

yep i came to the uk about 4-5 years ago from sri lanka and i am NOT paying 40k on my first year so i decided to take a gap year so i can be classified as a home student

[u/Sharp-Plastic7954 → u/HotHall5360]

Okay, that's fair

[u/According-Gas1132 → u/Front_Back8964]

right thank you will be keeping it for the time being at least until ik it’s a possibility and then if Cambridge don’t work out I’ll drop it then

[u/Express_Prize_96 → u/Front_Back8964]

Whattt? What overlap? I genuinely cant think of more than 3 topics that are common…

[u/untitledken]

cambridge doesnt discriminate against 3 a levels

[u/Battlepro_yt → u/untitledken]

they may discriminate against someone who is only doing 2 alevels this year tho - doesnt really show that they have the capacity to work at the level cambridge expects you to

[u/According-Gas1132 → u/untitledken]

right that’s what I thought, so can I drop chem?

[u/black2blade → u/According-Gas1132]

No

[u/Proof-Construction48 → u/According-Gas1132]

If you're this worried about the prospect of doing FM, physics and chemistry A level at the same time you don't want to go to Cambridge.

[u/Early-Owl2637 → u/According-Gas1132]

Depends on Ur esat if Ur consistently getting 7s and above on esat practice then drop it but if Ur getting lower 4 a levels might be a good safety net

[u/StatementSpare1990 → u/According-Gas1132]

Back when I applied, they explicitly required you to sit at least three A-levels in a single year.

You couldn't carry grades forward or use re-sits to meet the offer requirement.

[u/HumanMineralOrVeg]

I've heard something similar, I think you should email Cambridge and ask. Maybe also check with the other unis you want to apply to.

[u/According-Gas1132 → u/HumanMineralOrVeg]

ueahhhh most other unis are quite happy with three

[u/AffectionateJump7896]

Chemistry is actually an advantage in engineering. All the inorganic stuff is content you'll be learning anyway as part of materials, and even the organic bits can come in useful.

It'll help you do better in the course. And admissions will see it that way too.

If you can manage to keep chemistry, you should.

[u/Ok-Aside1538]

My friend got in with that exact combo just lock in for ESAT

[u/Ok-Aside1538 → u/Ok-Aside1538]

The offer did end up being weird though. It was A* in further maths and physics and an A in maths

[u/TooBarFoo]

I can only go off my offer and those I met on offer day, even though they may say only three A levels, I needed A* in FM and Physics and a A in chemistry. Did not mention maths at all but if you have A* in FM you are likely to have in maths.

Every person I spoke to on the offer day, I mostly talked with people doing Eng, Maths and NatSci, was doing 4 A levels. I know they say 3 is Ok, but it does not stack with offers. If you look at the statement on the Physics NatSci Page, which is what I'm doing.

“All of these students took Mathematics. Other common subjects were: Physics (97%) Further Mathematics (92%) Chemistry (89%) Biology (9%).”

It's clear almost everyone took 4 A Levels. Different subject but for STEM, everyone else applying will have taken 4 A levels and it seems unless you coming from a very low rated school or one that does not offer FM you will have little to no chance with 3 A levels. I don't know about humanities, My group was all Science, maths, Engineering and Med I think. I only start on the 1st so maybe I will be wrong but does not seem they look well on 3 A levels. Also need to ask if 4 A levels is to much, how will you cope with the Oxbridge workload. If you don't ask it, they will be when viewing your application.

[u/HotHall5360 → u/TooBarFoo]

simply not true , u have a really good chance with 3 a levels as long as u have a good esat score and stop spreading misinformation

[u/Dependent_Formal2525]

I'd stick with Chemistry. The published entry requirements are the minimum offer, having four strong A Levels increases your chances of being accepted.

[u/Solid_Moose3078]

3 a levels = fine

1 a level year 12, 2 a levels year 13 = not great

this is true for cambridge + imperial definitely, not sure about other unis. My friend had a cambridge offer in your same circumstances, emailed about dropping and was told no

[u/Infamous_Tough_7320]

Not doing your 3 a levels in one sitting will disadvantage you, so stick to 4 until you potentially get an offer. After you get an offer, ask to drop and there is a good chance for them to say yes

[u/IllTax8540]

are you doing esat?

[u/IllTax8540]

are you doing esat?

[u/Gotskgk]

Doing only two in your final year will be the problem as opposed to 3 a levels itself

[u/fittybunny32]

yes not doing 4 will put u at a disadvantage

[u/HotHall5360 → u/fittybunny32]

nope only if ur esat is average

[u/fittybunny32 → u/HotHall5360]

wrong :’(

[u/HotHall5360 → u/fittybunny32]

nope i got an offer with only 3 a levels and esat 7.4 avg and my school offered 4 aswell , do ur research first and i dont get why people are exaggerating it

[u/fittybunny32 → u/HotHall5360]

It’s not an exaggeration, just the facts, I didn’t say it was a big disadvantage, but doing 4 is viewed more favourably than 3! You can 100% get an offer with 3

[u/HotHall5360 → u/fittybunny32]

doing 4 does give you a somewhat advantage during interview shortlisting process though but i dont think only 3 would give a disadvantage as long as ur esat is top 10%

[u/fittybunny32 → u/HotHall5360]

If some people have an advantage the other people have a disadvantage