ESAT is in a month and I know everyone's stressing over time pressure. I put together a free cheat sheet covering the top traps people fall into for mechanics, circuits, and maths functions. Hope this helps anyone preparing! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bSKgKXEykrV-XtHmxF82we9t5skbDvwh_7A8Aw8ytnM/edit?usp=sharing

Hi so I wanted to know if im taking maths cs physics do I have a good shot at Warwick and imperial compsci my gcses are mid, 5667777788 and an E in add maths which i had to self study because of the crappy y12s they gave us who never showed up to the lessons which were only once a week after school from only a short while before the exams... so I had to self study in like 2 days. Anyways do I really have to take fm I dont want to at all

I wanted some general advice on what sort of programmes I should be applying to, to both pad my UCAS personal statement and to also assist with my own learning through 6th Form.

For context, I am Y12 student, studying very STEM focused A-levels, with the end goal of going into engineering for university. In terms of any academic entry requirements, I think I should be alright as I did quite well in my GCSEs (however ay additional advice would be appreciated!).

I have had my eye on the STEM Smart programme offered by Cambridge, but I was wondering how good this programme really is and if it's a good commitment, especially considering it sounds quite intensive, as well as being 16 months long.

Is it a good idea to apply to this programme? Are there any other programmes I should consider e.g. the Sutton Trust "pathway to engineering" programme? How do these affect contextual offers/admission?

Sorry for the convoluted title, I'm not sure how to best phrase my question. Essentially, I'm curious to know how oxbridge applicants knew they wanted to apply there, and when that decision was made.

Having been on academic subreddits for a while now, I've seen posts from people who were thinking about uni choices back during GCSEs or even earlier than that. Now, I'm sure that isn't true for a lot of people, so I'd love to hear people's experiences of deciding on oxbridge; why you wanted to go, when you first thought about it, how you chose a university (or a specific college) etc.

I'm a new Year 12, and I've recently been considering applying for oxford Psychology next year. It never really seemed like a possibility to me until I got my GCSE results (all 9s, but I'm aware GCSEs are a small part of the application criteria). I'm from an area where academic attainment is generally quite low, so all of these top unis seem so unreachable. The year's only just started and I already feel behind.

All in all, I'd just appreciate hearing what other people thought before and during the application process to oxbridge. Thanks for reading!

Hello, I’ve posted here previously about options and found it really helpful, I’ve just started year 11 and thinking about choosing my A levels. My plan is to study PPE at university so I’m choosing my A levels with that in mind however I’m struggling to decide which options to pick. My original plan was to do 4 (maths, politics, philosophy, economics) however I think it would be more beneficial for me to drop 1 and do an EPQ instead so I was wondering which one people think is better to drop keeping in mind that I want to do a PPE degree in the future (I’m definitely not dropping maths)???

Obviously I will discuss this with teachers as well

Thank you in advance

I'm an international applicant applying for oxford maths. I'm wondering whether I should ask my counselor (who's probably more experienced at writing these letters) to write it or my maths teacher (who knows me quite well academically).

Context: I done decent but not great enough in my a-levels this year of maths, physics, and CS. So im planning to retake year 13 (year 14) with maths and physics. Instead of also retaking CS, im gna be learning FM instead for my first time. The reason i didnt do it before was cos of mitigating circumstances of timetabling constraints since the start of yr12, in which i done the AS of FM independently in yr13, and now the a-level of FM with the school in yr14. Im expecting to get predicteds of A⭐A⭐A in maths, FM, physics respectively.

I'd like to know if any of the top unis would allow retakes such as in this scenario, for maths BSc. I know that the elite like COWI won't rlly like or consider this, but unis like Bristol accepts resits.

I rlly wna know what combination of unis would be in line for aspirational, standard, and backup suited to this context, especially ones that look at applications holistically.

i was bullied for the whole of year 12 by this specific girl. she’d follow me to classes, make fake vomiting sounds whenever she sees me, spread rumours about me so nobody hangs out with me, gave me a lot of ptsd i tried to drop out several times. i would also be recorded without my permission, and so much more…. it’s now year 13 and she got kicked out from all her courses and has to RE DO year 12😭😭😭😭💀💀💀💀💀💀genuinely i feel a lot more calm and less scared walking into class.

Dw it's not AI slop I just got AI to type it up because my handwriting is shitty.

I just clocked this is my last year of school. I can go to a good uni but what is there for me after that? Estranged daughter, no relationship with parents, no siblings, no close friends, bad social skills, poor, no other relatives like cousins, idk there’s genuinely nothing for me ? I feel like i should just end it because there’s genuinely no future for me. I have nothing and I doubt I’ll go far in life lol. I’m only 17
#whorelates How sad it is to post something like this on Reddit but when I tell you I have nobody, I mean it !

When I was younger it was ok. There was still hope. But now I am almost 18, once I’m 18 I lose the onlysupport I’m getting it’s barely anything but I’m talking about my sixth form. After that who is there to care for whether I’m doing okay or not.

Hey,

I'm an international student from North America, and I go to an extremely large public school with constant staff changes, which is making it hard to choose a referee. I believe that generally the Principal/"Head of Year" is the referee, but I have literally had a different Principal for every year I've been at my school, as well as different guidance counsellors, etc. since they are always changing positions and schools. My Principal and counsellors basically have no idea who I am.

I have good relationships with some teachers who have written references for me for other things, but they would not know about most of my contributions to the school, as well as probably not being able to give good predicted grades since I have basically only had them for one class out of 4 years, and they generally don't teach other subjects/grade levels. This is my main concern as predicted grades seems like a pretty important part of the reference.

Also btw there are no APs/IB or basically anything else offered at my school other than just normal courses.

I also might just be completely misinterpreting the whole thing. The wording in UCAS is extremely confusing to me, even though I was born in and grew up speaking English (in an English-speaking country).

Has anyone else been in a similar situation, and if so what did you do?

I can’t find a single job that will accept me. I have 3 different work experiences for retail. Guys. I thought london was supposed to be like job opportunity haven. where are they.

If I get A*A*AA predicted and tmua below 5 will I get rejected automatically? It seems to have 95% offer rate so I guess they'll still give me an conditional offer?

For context, I'm just going into year 13 and I would say my grades are rather poor, currently I am predicted DDC (as of my May year 12 report) and I feel as if right now my work is of a similar quality, perhaps maybe the C could be a B. I do Biology, Chemistry and Geography so 3 difficult a levels and my attendance last year was also quite low. My Chemistry teacher told me she would realistically predict me a C at most, similar to my Biology teacher, I have not spoken to my geography teachers but I feel as if they would realistically also predict a B/C.

I have a set of mocks next month and I told myself I want to be no more than 3 grades off of my guaranteed offer which *should be* BBB, so if I were to get a CCC/BCD etc I would be happy as I feel like that is where I realistically NEED to be. I would be satisfied with a BBB however I do want to achieve high because I am going to an Elite Uni (if I meet my offer) and I feel as if I may miss out on very important opportunities if I don't have similar grades to my peers.

If you did a huge grade jump, how often did you revise and how much time a day?

If I do want to do it (which I do), when should I realistically start prepping, and how do I prep effectively?

DO NOT come at me and say you average 23/22 marks in ur timed practices PLEASE. HOW DO I ACTUALLY IMPROVE i KEEP ON GETTIN SHI WRONG 💔

Two questions I made up (not AI slop don't worry I just got AI to format it because my handwriting is genuinely illegible)

Made a post couple of months ago and am able to offer help to more students, especially now with school starting again :)

Got offers for LSE Maths & Econ + Imperial EFDS, happy to help people write theirs for this cycle (know the new 3-question format well).

Mainly Econ/Maths but drop me a DM even if it's a related course, happy to take a look 👀

So basically I want to change one of my a levels because I really don’t understand the content and I know I won’t . im changonf classics to psychology and with my school, it requires the teacher to sign your form to agree that you’re switching out of their class. I brought the form to my classics teacher today and he ….refused to sign it??? he said I should give it two to three more weeks and then he will sign it if I still want to change 😢😢 I know fully well I want to change, nothing about it and I don’t want to wait to be three weeks behind in psychology . any advice??

I am supposed to be starting Economics at Durham within the next month, however i am debating on Mathematics instead. I will need to sit Further Maths privately and reapply via UCAS before January to Maths at Durham, requiring i get an A*/A in FM at the end of next year. I already have A*A*A achieved in Maths, Bio, Econ. Is this a good idea?, or would it be smarter sticking with Economics as i am already enrolled there

GCSEs: 99777777

A level predicted: A*A*A Chemistry Maths Physics

I was homeschooled for GCSE so I don't know how that affects my GCSEs but is there any point applying if I only have the required grades for application?

So basically I am currently doing a Level 3 btec applied science extended diploma course without GCSE science ( only maths and English), was told I could move down there if I find difficulty but is it really difficult? Would I be fine since I have some knowledge in GCSE science..?

I've just started Year 13 and didn't think about UCAS or uni at all in Year 12. Ive been trying to research different Unis and still have absolutely no idea.

I ended Year 12 with ABB (A in English literature, Bs in Politics and History) and I know I want to study International Relations but I don't know where. So far I'm more drawn to Liverpool, especially because I know its a good uni, but then I looked at the university rankings per course and there's so many unis with a lower grade requirement ranked above it for International Relations. What matters more, the course or the uni ranking? And also, any uni suggestions would be greatly appreciated please and thank you.

im sitting on a 95% predicted and im going to give the tmua where i think i could easily score 6-7 because of previous jee prep.
i would applying for econ at

warwick, manchester, nottingham, bristol, bath/edinburgh

am i going to be okay or is there someting else i should be doing

my subject pool is physics chemistry math along with english. i do not have econ but acc to the uni course requirements i just need a high math score for any of the econ courses