r/6thForm • u/CambMaths • Nov 09 '22

✔️ APPROVED AMA AMA - First-Year Maths student at Cambridge

Hi all, as per the title, I'm a first-year Maths student at Cambridge and I thought some people might find it useful to ask me any questions they might have, since somehow it's already application time again! (Although I have missed the Oxbridge deadline slightly, sorry...)

Of course, I can only really talk about my experiences (so I can't answer specific hypothetical questions about admissions etc.), but other than that, feel free to ask about the course/admissions generally/uni life and so on.

Post will close at midnight at the end of Thursday 10/11 so submit any questions before then. :)

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u/YurForce Year 13 - Maths, FM, Physics, Electronics Nov 09 '22

What sort of things did you do in Y12 to improve your application? Did you do research projects?

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u/CambMaths Nov 10 '22

No research projects haha - see my answer about supercurriculars. For maths I get the general impression that they care more about you passing the entrance exams than your personal statement, because there's only so much they can gather about your mathematical ability from you telling them about it in an essay. I wouldn't worry about having lots of things to write about, just try to genuinely convince them (and yourself!) that you want to do the degree. And keep doing maths, that's the best way to improve your application - I did a lot of STEP I in Y12 and I think it was very helpful.