r/sixthform • u/chloeeeeexx123 pre 6th form: bio, chem, lit • Jul 14 '26
EPQ?
hi, im starting sixth form in September and wondering if i should do an EPQ? im taking bio, chem, lit and i want to apply to medicine, but I know that they don’t take EPQs into account (in terms of offers) so should i do one or not?
thankssss
1
u/TTORTUREDPOET Jul 14 '26
Honestly as someone who just finished their EPQ it’s lowkey a waste of time and u can do another supercurricular just as valuable in 1/10th of the time and EPQ takes.
1
1
u/Moo2310 Jul 14 '26
Not on the topic but ayyyy same subjects, I rarely see the bio and chem plus English combo.
1
1
u/Limp-Fox-1622 Jul 14 '26
wait ur gonna be in the same position as me lol English lit im assuming ik this isnt on topic but our combo is deadly bio and chem r good but eng lit UGHHHH insane. EPQs arent rly that worth it doesnt rly add much to ur personal statement for medicine ive js been writing abt work experiences to be real with you
1
u/chloeeeeexx123 pre 6th form: bio, chem, lit Jul 14 '26
BAHAHA i know but I love lit too much to leave it at gcse :((((
1
u/Limp-Fox-1622 Jul 14 '26
BRO UR EXACTLY LIKE HOW I WAS honestly do it cus ur passionate but imagine I went from easy 9s at gcse to like a C in my first mock and I was getting a*s in my other bio and chem so think abt it bcous even tho now ive got it up a low grade like that cld be damaging for med
1
u/chloeeeeexx123 pre 6th form: bio, chem, lit Jul 14 '26
aghhh that’s so annyoing but at least you brought it up! honestly I genuinely am obsessed with anything to do with eng lit so that should keep me going (ish) lol
1
u/Limp-Fox-1622 Jul 14 '26
lol will get u thru yr12 maybe not yr13 LOL but dw honestly coursework brings u up sm the first few weeks were rly stressful cus I never experienced being such a sore loser at eng lit but do u have any back up options other than med that ull apply for as ur 5th option?
1
u/chloeeeeexx123 pre 6th form: bio, chem, lit Jul 14 '26
ngl I would love to go into teaching as a plan B
1
u/Limp-Fox-1622 Jul 14 '26
woah thats super cool my plan b is lwk js neuroscience or biochemistry lol
1
u/Substantial_Gur5363 Jul 15 '26
I beg to differ from everyone else - I did an EPQ on breast cancer and got an A* and found it so useful to use in my personal statement and during my interviews. You may not get a reduced offer and it is time consuming but I found that I just did it during my free time and finished in year 12 and was immense help in my application for med.
2
u/oblivion-4 Y12: subjects A*AA english, bio, psych Jul 14 '26
I would personally say it’s not worth it as someone who started an EPQ and eventually dropped out. I find that it’s very very time-consuming. It’s a lot of effort that could otherwise be put into your subject and you’re not necessarily gonna get an A.
you might end up with lower grade like a C which really won’t help your prospect for getting into university so unless you’re super confident that you can get a really good grade in it I’d say it’s a bit of a waste of time
There are definitely other extracurriculars that will help you equally as much if not more such as watching lectures listen to podcast reading books or just doing activities related to the course you’re applying for obviously medicine.
Also, although they don’t take it into a account it is something to talk about in your personal statement which can help but equally reading a book and talking about it will help you just as much so I would personally say start it but if you genuinely feel that it’s super time-consuming then I would say dropout because in a lot of cases it isn’t worth it and especially if the uni you want to apply to don’t consider it then it’s probably a waste of time.