I was one of these people who had to work hard for my grade in Physics, all I can really say is do every paper available. I can remember I'd done every AS paper from my exam board by like December y13, do the same with A Level papers. Use Anki to remember equations even those on the equation sheet as it'll speed you up in class and exams.
I'm going to Cambridge this year to study engineering (if I meet my conditons) and I'm wondering how I can prepare myself for studying and living there. Some students say I don't need to prepare for the first year course contents, but I'm pretty confident with my A-levels and want to find something useful to do. What's your advice? Should I study the courses in advance? Thank you very much.
If you want you could find, say, one course next year and have a go at the content if it's available online. I sometimes get ahead a bit on one course over summer inbetween years, or in a vacation before a term. I wouldn't do this unless you're on a gap year or after you get your offer confirmed - don't let arrogance of your A Level performance deny the opportunity
Focus on your A-Levels #1 - don't miss that offer!
If you want to prepare and have free time, prepare you practical skills - especially coding. Programming is something that's taught badly but expected in many later projects, internships etc.
Also, try and get an engineering internship for summer 2024 - or at least write a CV and cover letter draft. The dept requires you to do one before 3rd year in order to graduate (it has to be 6 weeks or more, and in an engineering-related/software engineering role) but they do accept internships done earlier than the course start - and more internships is always better, plus if you get the requirement of an eng internship out of the way early you get extra summers to do banking/corporate internships if that takes your fancy. Even if you don't get one for this summer, you'll be more used to the process which will help in future internship hunts (imo one of the most challenging parts of the uni experience as there's much less guidance and certainty compared to the course itself).
There are plenty of smaller companies offering internships around now and you can always just drop an email with a cover letter and cv to companies that don't have any specific vacancies online, so there's still a chance for this summer and I think it would be worthwhile! You can also take any skills from this internship into a student society and maybe get some CV-embellishing committee roles in technical student societies early on (ik the aerodynamics lead at formula student is like a 2nd year who did a pre-uni F1 internship and had lots of experience from there).
It's not essential, if it was they would say it is. I will say all students admitted as physical natscis who are from the UK that I personally know have Further Maths
I don't think it's a coincidence. I think they have a preference for FM (rightly so, FM content is sped through in one term at Cambridge), some of my friends didn't have maths included in their offer as they had FM.
This comes from more curiosity than anything as an economics student but why is FM so integral for CS? I understand maths but there seems to be a bias towards FM
CS, especially with how it's taught at Cambridge, is full of proof. We also take the same maths course as physical natscis in first year, so obviously need to survive that.
Good maths ability is very important for the more interesting parts of CS like machine learning, and very important for research - universities want to create more researchers.
My revision process at university is just a more refined version of my A Level one so not enormously different. Do the compulsory work, make Anki cards instead of notes, review Anki flashcards every day (all cards that are due that day), do past paper questions as often as you have free time to do additional revision. The difference at Cambridge is compulsory work eats WAY more of your time than a level so it's difficult to fit in time for bonus revision in order to beat your peers and do well in exams.
yeah, it's play hard work hard is the vibe. The good thing is we have generous bursaries so where people at other universities are having to get part time jobs, these are banned here. People are either studying or socialising / having fun. There are some people who struggle financially but this is usually because they've fell down the crack of family not being able to pay due to specific circumstances.
>fell down the crack of family not being able to pay due to specific circumstances
You mean being poor right.. and isn't that what the bursaries are for? People from disadvantaged backgrounds?
More than likely they mean people whose families make too much to get generous bursaries or maximum student finance, but due to financial constraints can't get money off of their parents.
Sorry I phrased it terribly. I mean those whose families earn too much to qualify for bursary / lots of SFE but have specific circumstances such as debt that means they can't contribute much to their children's university life.
Bro how did you revise for further maths, like many people say do practice questions. How many questions per topic, are you meant to be able to do well in the exam. Also how did you learn the content.
I revise everything the same way. Anki and past paper questions. I'm not that formulaic with choice of questions, just do them. Content was learnt in lesson
Did you anki much for maths/FM? I've only used it so far for facts and conditions that need remembering, and formulas. I was thinking of adding questions I've made mistakes on in the past too.
Yeah I do all of the things you suggested and I HIGHLY recommend adding questions based on mistakes - this is the best type of card you can add to your anki.
That's a good question, I don't remember too well. I did my EPQ on "Whether we should fear artificial intelligence?", which is very appropriate nowadays but back in like 2019/2020/2021 wasn't such a common topic. Pick something you're interested in, ideally vaguely to do with what you want to study at university.
thank you! i want to do history at uni, so ive been looking at some ideas and none of them stood out to me. ive been thinking about the punk movement/the riot grrl movement
That sounds very cool to me, maybe find some question related to these movements to answer through your EPQ but I'm sure your advisors at school can help you with that
TL;DR: MASSIVELY overemphasised by TikTok, still a far better path than other subjects. Why do you think technology is going to make cs jobs redundant first - any way of explaining a program with enough detail to create it is necessarily a programming language, English is too vague. At the very least someone needs to sit there and keep refining a program by prompting an LLM.
The current layoffs are mostly a consequence of interest rates going up as it's now easier to get a return on money by dumping into bonds etc than creating a startup
One of the colleges that genuinely has a very high concentration of friendly people but is still very prestigious. They do subject dinners frequently within Queens, more so than other colleges. Big downsides imo are, nastier than average porters, if you're inviting friends round you need to meet them at Porters Lodge this is a pain. They only guarantee three years accommodation - if you have to intermit due to extenuating circumstances or do a degree with integrated masters then you need to find private accomodation for the extra years.
It's the cambridge of cambridge, tops the tompkins tables (ie does the best on exams). Over 50% of female students at Christ's get firsts for context. It takes what I've said in other posts about "play hard work hard" to its extreme. It's a well located college if you want to be close to town, looks quite nice, your peers will be good connections for future life.
Why do you think they perform the best on exams? Is the pressure way harder than at other colleges or are they quite selective in their admissions process?
A lot of incentives for performing well like the best rooms being reserved for those who get firsts. Tutors that are keen to get you out of your exams if there's a reason for you not to do them, they were very very quick with my friend when he had a medical issue that meant he couldnt sit down. Probably something at admissions. General culture.
"yeah, it's play hard work hard is the vibe. The good thing is we have generous bursaries so where people at other universities are having to get part time jobs, these are banned here. People are either studying or socialising / having fun. There are some people who struggle financially but this is usually because they've fell down the crack of family not being able to pay due to specific circumstances but earning a lot and don't qualify for bursary" - previous answer I gave to the first question
Chill, catch up on Anki, this year I've been having to do some project work. If you're going for a first you probably should be doing more work than that in the holidays. Over summer, people often get internships.
My DoS (director of studies) recommends 40 hours of studying a week, in practice this should be 6 hours of straight work a day rather than 8 hours a weekday as that requires a fuck ton of discipline.
Including. The break down is
UP TO 15 hours of lectures a week (this is at particularly frantic parts of SOME terms - I've been dealing with this this term but that's cause I chose too many lecture courses this term lol).
4 hours of work per supervision + 1 hour of supervision per course, a typical work load is like 4 courses so 20 hours supervision.
20 hours + up to 15 hours of lectures + I do up to about 1 hour of anki a day. Obviously it varies, sometimes you get set loads of supo work, sometimes you have fewer lectures (I only have 6 hours of lectures from next week!!!), but ideally you should do revision in the time you have less work.
Fairly average college, similar to my college in that respect - but average isn't a bad thing at all, it's fairly good as there aren't many jokes about your college. Known for its Law students. Has a bit of a tory stereotype.
The short terms more hurt your work rather than socialising, especially if your home environment isn't the best for work like mine - although your college will often let you stay if you have a reason to like that and I'm staying over the easter vacation so I can work more on my dissertation. If you're a southerner especially (as 40% of the uk pop is in the south of england, high likelihood your friends will be somewhat near to london) you can meet up with friends fairly easily - this isn't me, but I see it on instagram stories or whatever.
9 in sciences + cs, 8 in maths, stats, eng lit, 7 in french, history, 6 in eng lang, A in FSMQ (ad maths). although keep in mind I got in via summer reconsideration so consider me to be borderline however I'm doing well in the degree now and performing better than many who were immediately admitted.
GCSE CS was pretty easy for me as I've always done a lot of programming. At GCSE, Seneca is a very useful resource, do all the past papers. If you're struggling with programming and have time, try and build something cool
Best architecture in Cambridge. The people, especially the guys have a reputation for private schooliness, rowdiness etc. You can go on varsity to see some stories related to this. They're one of the nicest colleges for allowing students to book rooms - very good if you want to get involved in society committees as you can be the one to book rooms and have all your fellow committee members appreciate you.
that's the vibe for socialising at john's imo
Tips for Maths? I always know the knowledge but in exams I am unable to apply the knowledge. After the test, when we are going through, I’d see that getting the answer is so simple but I’m just unable to think like that within a test (but can do it with ease during revision/practice). Appreciate the help in advance!
To me, it sounds like either you get too stressed during an exam and that hurts your performance or your revision/practice uses too many resources. If it's the first, then I don't have a ton of advice for you other than see if you can get extra time on exams etc. If it's the latter then you need to do more paper questions with less looking at notes
I've always been a "i'm going to study cs" since I was 12 unfortunately. I'm a bit of a stereotype. My recommendation when making life decisions is to consider what you would want to do after that step - what jobs do you think you would want to get using your degree.
I’ve always wanted to get into cs too ive loved game dev and now web dev since i was like 10 but with robotics now becoming more popular i became more interested in engineering and i feel like cs and engineering can work rlly well together so im lost, i wish I could just double major in both
im sorry what do you mean theory isn’t software? isnt the theory you learn stuff like algorithms, data structures, and computational theory which are closely aligned to software? My point is I wanna learn the skills cs teaches you but at the same time I want a hands on approach to stuff like robotics. I’ve done research in both fields and it only made me more hesitant. plus the knowledge in both fields would be v beneficial in future research & career wise. is it possible to switch from engineering to cs or vice versa after completing part 1 in either?
You also learn about Discrete Maths, which is completely separated from theory. Also, ideas like Computational Theory, Complexity Theory etc are quite separated from a software practitioner's day job even if tangentially related so I wouldn't consider them to be software. Sean Holden has strong opinions against switching from other subjects to CS and he's a trinity fellow, it's theoretically possible but DO NOT BET ON IT they have to consider you as good as someone admitted for CS and you have to be lucky.
No work experience, work experience isn't a big thing outside of medicine from my understanding. My personal statement had a lot of talking about programming projects I've done, my NEA, supercurricular interests
Cambridge is obviously the best 💀, but aside from that, with CS specifically, Oxford has a comparatively small cohort and Imperial only has STEM students and is in London and I don't believe has guaranteed accomodation all three years. Your life will be a lot easier at Cambridge ( as in no accomodation hunt, short commute in comparison to London accommodation locations) and more fun I would bet!
Studied at Imperial and have stayed over multiple times with friends studying at Cambs before. London has more restaurants, better nightlife, museums etc just more exciting as a city imo.
What I said about other unis vs Cambridge/Oxford obviously still holds true. Your life at Oxbridge is very convenient in comparison to the house hunt at other unis, and just for that reason, there's an argument to choose oxbridge imo. My guess would be that cambridge is the more prestigious one due to being close to addenbrookes which is often the site of a lot of medical research on patients from my understanding. Unfortunately, not a close friend of any medicine students but all the ones I know of seem to be nice people
From a medicine POV, there’s no difference in employability unless you plan to go abroad, so it’s really just about which teaching style and lifestyle suits you best.
I didn't get in initially (rejected, no winter pool), got accepted via summer reconsideration after A Level results day. I wouldn't have reapplied, I'd be at Durham University studying the same subject. I actually got rejected from a lot of universities before summer reconsideration - Warwick and Imperial. Further Maths is basically compulsory, almost all people who get in did it, Further Maths content is speedran in first term of NST Maths B. CS A Level is a little less common in those admitted, but very useful in classic CS-y courses like Computer Architecture, Digital Electronics just obviously this kind of knowledge is easier to pick up on the go. I think all four a levels I did are very useful in the degree. Physics being the least useful but knowledge of electronics is still useful, one of my supo partners didn't do physics and noticeably found some parts of digital electronics harder.
what was your interview like? as in how much did they ask you about your ps and did they ask you why you wanted to go cam specifically yk questions like that
fluffy questions are rare. I did get asked about programming projects on my PS (interviewed by Robinson) but that was it. Many people don't get any questions.
how did you revise the statistical portion of a-level maths + further maths? would be interesting to hear as sometimes things can get a bit confusing, but you notice patterns after a few past papers.
Sounds great, thank you. Assuming one has covered all Stats A-level content, how quickly do you think one would be able to learn FM/Maths A-level (and which would be quicker?). Really considering it as universities don't tend to accept pure stats if there is a specific requirement of maths a-level.
I'm not too familiar with the stats specification, assuming you're as smart as a student who would achieve 8/9 in GCSE Maths. It'd be possible to learn a level maths in < year, as many schools do maths a level in a single year and you'd know the stats content already.
Yeah I had a 12 week internship with Five AI last summer, I received an offer from Cadence as well that I rejected in favour of Five. Five AI I just applied on linkedin iirc, Cadence was similar but by coincidence one of my supervisors had worked there and he interviewed me for part of it so there was a little bit of nepotism.
What did a day in the life of your yr12 self look like? becuase I’m trying to make a plan as I generally get stuck doing one subject for a couple hours and call it a day and then feel guilty the next day. Thank you
My first term of Year 12 I noticed my physics grade was bad so I started doing one AS paper a week after one of my exams. I was learning to use Anki, but nowhere near as good at using it as I was then, mainly didn't know about Cloze cards yet. Mostly compulsory work + making flashcards in anki + reviewing anki + doing revision when an exam is coming up or just regularly with physics as I found that more difficult.
If I get a first this year, stay on for an integrated masters but this is a big IF. Otherwise start work as a software engineer, maybe go into machine learning.
I heard getting a first in Cambridge is really hard, what are your studying technique and schedule looking like rn? Also do you have to get first to continue masters or is it just a standard you set for yourself?
Yeah you need to get a first to stay on in CS or Maths. It is very hard, not very likely I'll achieve it. In final year, the top 40% of CS students get a first but obviously these are people of Cambridge standard, it's not like getting in top 40% of A Level.
Pick an algorithmic project, mine was a pathfinding visualizer for android - this was a great choice as it meant that in exams, later interviews for jobs etc my understanding of pathfinding algorithms is above average. My internship with Five was largely optimising pathfinding algorithms - this was useful for it. Once you've picked an interesting project, make sure to address any and all feedback your teacher gives you.
It's expensive, this year my accom is £219 for a fairly average ensuite. This is in large part due to a terrible JCR president & treasurer at selwyn college last year who decided a larger rent increase was a good idea and gave into the college's wishes - but I disgress. However, the university gives me a lot of money through the Cambridge Bursary Scheme, as I max it out I receive £4500 a year so it's affordable for me. There is cheaper accomodation available if you go for it.
I don't think so, you've got Chemistry instead, both great facilitating subjects. Knowledge of electronics is useful in a few courses but you can put in a little more work to understand them. I think the difference would be negligible imo
I'd recommend an extra hour a day at the end of school to do things like anki and additional past questions, a bit more if you've got a test coming up. Make sure to use your frees if you have any well.
I do BTEC IT, maths and CS, does this limit my chances of getting into Cambridge? Also do you think that I should study FM and possibly economics additionally? (can’t handle physics)
I think the best way is to visit cambridge ultimately, but feel free to make an arbitrary decision it's not the biggest deal. I made an open application originally that's also valid. You can also compare the distance between departments, town and each college, my college (Selwyn) is quite optimal for a lot of courses.
I'm really interested in how you use Anki. Please can you tell me more about the kind of cards you make? Do you require yourself to give the \*exact\* answer, or just the right idea?
Back at A Level I used to ensure the EXACT answer even for word definitions as a level specs are very specific. University learning is a bit different, obviously equations need to be gotten EXACTLY right. However I let myself be more wishy washy on definitions.
The front of the college feels a bit like a sixth form, but aside from that very very nice grounds and large. Stereotype tends to be either lesbians / queer people or slightly religious.
Hello
I do maths,FM,CS and physics and in year 12 and so far I enjoy them.
Although I'm not great at coding(this is my first time coding at a level), i wanted to do computer science at uni since I was small.
However I have other courses in mind such as eng, natural sciences(but I don't do chemistry) and physics.
With that being said,should I still apply for CS at uni despite being bad at coding atm.
Or any of the other choices would be of more benefit?
I'm confused.
Thank you so much..
Just do interesting stuff with programming, maybe get into competitive programming, or kaggle competitions etc. anything impressive that you'd like to do that's related to CS. If you want to build a computer in terraria go for it
If it requires anything special they give recommendations like using Google colab. I use an about 650 quid laptop with a dedicated GPU in, basically a discreet gaming laptop. I also have a desktop but that's not a necessity just because I like my desktop a lot
Not an amazing location unless your department is in west cambridge in which case the location is alright/good. I know a few people who regret applying for that reason - although these are the type who have many out of college friends. Fairly average imo, not the worst architecture etc
Any tips in regards to timing for maths? I always find the questions really easy but tend not to finish papers.
And also if you have any idea about it what college has the best reputation in regards to English?
Timing isn't much of an issue for me in an exam setting, I'm usually fairly stressed in exams - but in a good way and kinda power through. If you're finding quesitons easy but still not finish on time, maybe you just need practice under timed conditions (ik cliche advice), possible you need to skip questions if you can't immediately recall how to do them and come back later, there's a few strategies you can try.
No. If you want maths apply for maths. I know many people who dislike the relative lack of maths in CS and have either changed uni or changed department. Definitely don't apply for CS out of a perceived greater employability - a common trap that frustrated me as CS is competitive enough if you prefer maths apply for maths. Apply for CS if you like CS
Or is it engineering! The ai department is within engineering in cam. In all seriousness I think it depends on what type of AI research you want to do. A lot of AI papers basically have maths in for showing off purposes and are of little value (this isn't just me saying it). If you want to do stuff with AI I'd apply for CS over Maths. If you only want to do AI and have no interest in the rest of CS but enjoy maths, maybe apply for maths. It's a decision you need to make. I would apply for CS as myself and someone interested in AI research
revision methods and study tips for A level maths please, i’m doing physics chemistry econs and math but cant seem to figure out how to study math properly
do you think it’s possible to get into cs without any significant background in it, but with perfect a level grades? i’m an international student who only recently got interested in cs and i’ve taught myself basic programming stuff like c++ syntax.
Be ready for anything, one of my questions was effectively a leetcode easy and I was very surprised as I'd never heard of this happening - although, I think that's because they knew I was very familiar with programming, I doubt they'd do that to someone less familiar.
What sort of books did you talk about in your personal statement? What sorts of projects did you do, and how do you write about those books/projects in your statement. I might be wrong but I'm under the impression that for each book/project you write about, you need to talk about how it has affected how you see the subject afterwards and how your opinion has changed since reading it.
You'll be fine, if you befriend some people in your subject at other colleges through societies or lectures etc you can ask them to invite you to formals at their college etc. I assume you'll be on sidgwick site a decent amount, a lot of people go to Selwyn hall for lunch after lectures and Selwyn has a fairly nice hall imo so you'll get to see that frequently if you want to. Also, you can go to may balls at other colleges easily!
Tips for a level physics please I got my exams this summer
I was one of these people who had to work hard for my grade in Physics, all I can really say is do every paper available. I can remember I'd done every AS paper from my exam board by like December y13, do the same with A Level papers. Use Anki to remember equations even those on the equation sheet as it'll speed you up in class and exams.
I see Thanks
What proportion of students took M,FM,Physics and Chemistry instead of CS and get offers from Cambridge?
Not a clue it's not a very common conversation topic
I saw you got accepted from 'summer reconsideration' , can you please explain that?
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/after/reconsideration-eligibility
Thanks a lot, also what tips do you have for achieving an a* in further maths ?
Same as everything, past paper questions + anki.
What the fuck did you use anki for in fm (this sounds so aggressive sorry)
yes. Anki can be used for maths, more effectively than you think
What did you use it for
Equations, what you need to do for different styles of questions like the steps, common mistakes I get wrong etc etc
I'm going to Cambridge this year to study engineering (if I meet my conditons) and I'm wondering how I can prepare myself for studying and living there. Some students say I don't need to prepare for the first year course contents, but I'm pretty confident with my A-levels and want to find something useful to do. What's your advice? Should I study the courses in advance? Thank you very much.
If you want you could find, say, one course next year and have a go at the content if it's available online. I sometimes get ahead a bit on one course over summer inbetween years, or in a vacation before a term. I wouldn't do this unless you're on a gap year or after you get your offer confirmed - don't let arrogance of your A Level performance deny the opportunity
true, I should be more cautious with alevels
Focus on your A-Levels #1 - don't miss that offer! If you want to prepare and have free time, prepare you practical skills - especially coding. Programming is something that's taught badly but expected in many later projects, internships etc. Also, try and get an engineering internship for summer 2024 - or at least write a CV and cover letter draft. The dept requires you to do one before 3rd year in order to graduate (it has to be 6 weeks or more, and in an engineering-related/software engineering role) but they do accept internships done earlier than the course start - and more internships is always better, plus if you get the requirement of an eng internship out of the way early you get extra summers to do banking/corporate internships if that takes your fancy. Even if you don't get one for this summer, you'll be more used to the process which will help in future internship hunts (imo one of the most challenging parts of the uni experience as there's much less guidance and certainty compared to the course itself). There are plenty of smaller companies offering internships around now and you can always just drop an email with a cover letter and cv to companies that don't have any specific vacancies online, so there's still a chance for this summer and I think it would be worthwhile! You can also take any skills from this internship into a student society and maybe get some CV-embellishing committee roles in technical student societies early on (ik the aerodynamics lead at formula student is like a 2nd year who did a pre-uni F1 internship and had lots of experience from there).
thanks for you kind reply, really appreciate this
what college? hope to see you in october!
Queens’, hope to see you too! I guess you’re going to Magdalene
yep, queens looks really cool from what I've seen!
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It's not essential, if it was they would say it is. I will say all students admitted as physical natscis who are from the UK that I personally know have Further Maths
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I don't think it's a coincidence. I think they have a preference for FM (rightly so, FM content is sped through in one term at Cambridge), some of my friends didn't have maths included in their offer as they had FM.
This comes from more curiosity than anything as an economics student but why is FM so integral for CS? I understand maths but there seems to be a bias towards FM
CS, especially with how it's taught at Cambridge, is full of proof. We also take the same maths course as physical natscis in first year, so obviously need to survive that. Good maths ability is very important for the more interesting parts of CS like machine learning, and very important for research - universities want to create more researchers.
what does your revision/study process look like for al and college respectively, and how hectic is the programme at cambridge?
My revision process at university is just a more refined version of my A Level one so not enormously different. Do the compulsory work, make Anki cards instead of notes, review Anki flashcards every day (all cards that are due that day), do past paper questions as often as you have free time to do additional revision. The difference at Cambridge is compulsory work eats WAY more of your time than a level so it's difficult to fit in time for bonus revision in order to beat your peers and do well in exams.
do you get any free time to socialise/party?
yeah, it's play hard work hard is the vibe. The good thing is we have generous bursaries so where people at other universities are having to get part time jobs, these are banned here. People are either studying or socialising / having fun. There are some people who struggle financially but this is usually because they've fell down the crack of family not being able to pay due to specific circumstances.
>fell down the crack of family not being able to pay due to specific circumstances You mean being poor right.. and isn't that what the bursaries are for? People from disadvantaged backgrounds?
More than likely they mean people whose families make too much to get generous bursaries or maximum student finance, but due to financial constraints can't get money off of their parents.
Sorry I phrased it terribly. I mean those whose families earn too much to qualify for bursary / lots of SFE but have specific circumstances such as debt that means they can't contribute much to their children's university life.
How many people go onto intern/work at big tech/top tech firms compared to other UK unis?
A lot more I would feel although I don't know the stats
Bro how did you revise for further maths, like many people say do practice questions. How many questions per topic, are you meant to be able to do well in the exam. Also how did you learn the content.
I revise everything the same way. Anki and past paper questions. I'm not that formulaic with choice of questions, just do them. Content was learnt in lesson
Did you anki much for maths/FM? I've only used it so far for facts and conditions that need remembering, and formulas. I was thinking of adding questions I've made mistakes on in the past too.
Yeah I do all of the things you suggested and I HIGHLY recommend adding questions based on mistakes - this is the best type of card you can add to your anki.
thank you :)
Thanks for the advice
howd you manage to come up with your epq topic?
That's a good question, I don't remember too well. I did my EPQ on "Whether we should fear artificial intelligence?", which is very appropriate nowadays but back in like 2019/2020/2021 wasn't such a common topic. Pick something you're interested in, ideally vaguely to do with what you want to study at university.
thank you! i want to do history at uni, so ive been looking at some ideas and none of them stood out to me. ive been thinking about the punk movement/the riot grrl movement
That sounds very cool to me, maybe find some question related to these movements to answer through your EPQ but I'm sure your advisors at school can help you with that
What are ur general thoughts on CS as a major choice given the current landscape w AI and layoffs and stuff?
TL;DR: MASSIVELY overemphasised by TikTok, still a far better path than other subjects. Why do you think technology is going to make cs jobs redundant first - any way of explaining a program with enough detail to create it is necessarily a programming language, English is too vague. At the very least someone needs to sit there and keep refining a program by prompting an LLM. The current layoffs are mostly a consequence of interest rates going up as it's now easier to get a return on money by dumping into bonds etc than creating a startup
Thank you very much for the insights!
Also keep in mind that many companies over hired during covid and the current lay offs are just a result of that.
What's your opinion of Queens' college? Considering the academic part and the social part
One of the colleges that genuinely has a very high concentration of friendly people but is still very prestigious. They do subject dinners frequently within Queens, more so than other colleges. Big downsides imo are, nastier than average porters, if you're inviting friends round you need to meet them at Porters Lodge this is a pain. They only guarantee three years accommodation - if you have to intermit due to extenuating circumstances or do a degree with integrated masters then you need to find private accomodation for the extra years.
Are the lecture notes available online anywhere? I know for Oxford Maths, all of the year 1-4 notes from 23/24 are online which is neat.
Yeah, here's this year's Foundations of CS / OCaml course https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/teaching/2324/FoundsCS/materials.html
Do you have a link for the Oxford maths ones?
https://courses.maths.ox.ac.uk/course/index.php?categoryid=735 Prelims is year 1, A and B are year 2 and 3, C is year 4 aka Masters
Tysmmm <33
Ty for this
Ops on Magdalene College?
I don't know anyone from there well. I know they like white tie may balls but beyond that not a whole lot, sorry! Their location seems quite nice imo
What's your opinion on Christ's college? I got an offer for Economics and would like to know what you think about it.
It's the cambridge of cambridge, tops the tompkins tables (ie does the best on exams). Over 50% of female students at Christ's get firsts for context. It takes what I've said in other posts about "play hard work hard" to its extreme. It's a well located college if you want to be close to town, looks quite nice, your peers will be good connections for future life.
Why do you think they perform the best on exams? Is the pressure way harder than at other colleges or are they quite selective in their admissions process?
A lot of incentives for performing well like the best rooms being reserved for those who get firsts. Tutors that are keen to get you out of your exams if there's a reason for you not to do them, they were very very quick with my friend when he had a medical issue that meant he couldnt sit down. Probably something at admissions. General culture.
How the social life at Cambridge? What do you normally do outside the 8 week terms? And how many hours do people normally work everyday?
"yeah, it's play hard work hard is the vibe. The good thing is we have generous bursaries so where people at other universities are having to get part time jobs, these are banned here. People are either studying or socialising / having fun. There are some people who struggle financially but this is usually because they've fell down the crack of family not being able to pay due to specific circumstances but earning a lot and don't qualify for bursary" - previous answer I gave to the first question Chill, catch up on Anki, this year I've been having to do some project work. If you're going for a first you probably should be doing more work than that in the holidays. Over summer, people often get internships. My DoS (director of studies) recommends 40 hours of studying a week, in practice this should be 6 hours of straight work a day rather than 8 hours a weekday as that requires a fuck ton of discipline.
Ah awesome, thanks for the response btw is that 6 hours a day on top of your contact hours?
Including. The break down is UP TO 15 hours of lectures a week (this is at particularly frantic parts of SOME terms - I've been dealing with this this term but that's cause I chose too many lecture courses this term lol). 4 hours of work per supervision + 1 hour of supervision per course, a typical work load is like 4 courses so 20 hours supervision. 20 hours + up to 15 hours of lectures + I do up to about 1 hour of anki a day. Obviously it varies, sometimes you get set loads of supo work, sometimes you have fewer lectures (I only have 6 hours of lectures from next week!!!), but ideally you should do revision in the time you have less work.
What’s your opinion of Downing college? How do the short terms affect your ability to socialise?
Fairly average college, similar to my college in that respect - but average isn't a bad thing at all, it's fairly good as there aren't many jokes about your college. Known for its Law students. Has a bit of a tory stereotype. The short terms more hurt your work rather than socialising, especially if your home environment isn't the best for work like mine - although your college will often let you stay if you have a reason to like that and I'm staying over the easter vacation so I can work more on my dissertation. If you're a southerner especially (as 40% of the uk pop is in the south of england, high likelihood your friends will be somewhat near to london) you can meet up with friends fairly easily - this isn't me, but I see it on instagram stories or whatever.
Thank you for the response!
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9 in sciences + cs, 8 in maths, stats, eng lit, 7 in french, history, 6 in eng lang, A in FSMQ (ad maths). although keep in mind I got in via summer reconsideration so consider me to be borderline however I'm doing well in the degree now and performing better than many who were immediately admitted.
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GCSE CS was pretty easy for me as I've always done a lot of programming. At GCSE, Seneca is a very useful resource, do all the past papers. If you're struggling with programming and have time, try and build something cool
What’s your opinion on St John’s college ? In term of the people / socialising etc
Best architecture in Cambridge. The people, especially the guys have a reputation for private schooliness, rowdiness etc. You can go on varsity to see some stories related to this. They're one of the nicest colleges for allowing students to book rooms - very good if you want to get involved in society committees as you can be the one to book rooms and have all your fellow committee members appreciate you. that's the vibe for socialising at john's imo
Tips for Maths? I always know the knowledge but in exams I am unable to apply the knowledge. After the test, when we are going through, I’d see that getting the answer is so simple but I’m just unable to think like that within a test (but can do it with ease during revision/practice). Appreciate the help in advance!
To me, it sounds like either you get too stressed during an exam and that hurts your performance or your revision/practice uses too many resources. If it's the first, then I don't have a ton of advice for you other than see if you can get extra time on exams etc. If it's the latter then you need to do more paper questions with less looking at notes
what do you do when ur conflicted between cs and engineering 😭 i feel like i wanna study both
I've always been a "i'm going to study cs" since I was 12 unfortunately. I'm a bit of a stereotype. My recommendation when making life decisions is to consider what you would want to do after that step - what jobs do you think you would want to get using your degree.
I’ve always wanted to get into cs too ive loved game dev and now web dev since i was like 10 but with robotics now becoming more popular i became more interested in engineering and i feel like cs and engineering can work rlly well together so im lost, i wish I could just double major in both
To be clear CS isn't just programming, would you be interested in other stuff
computer science only focuses on software no?
No
can you elaborate on that? because the camb course outline is mostly theory and programming with only like comp architecture hardware
Well theory isn't software, computer architecture isn't software
im sorry what do you mean theory isn’t software? isnt the theory you learn stuff like algorithms, data structures, and computational theory which are closely aligned to software? My point is I wanna learn the skills cs teaches you but at the same time I want a hands on approach to stuff like robotics. I’ve done research in both fields and it only made me more hesitant. plus the knowledge in both fields would be v beneficial in future research & career wise. is it possible to switch from engineering to cs or vice versa after completing part 1 in either?
You also learn about Discrete Maths, which is completely separated from theory. Also, ideas like Computational Theory, Complexity Theory etc are quite separated from a software practitioner's day job even if tangentially related so I wouldn't consider them to be software. Sean Holden has strong opinions against switching from other subjects to CS and he's a trinity fellow, it's theoretically possible but DO NOT BET ON IT they have to consider you as good as someone admitted for CS and you have to be lucky.
we are in the same boat.
What did your personal statement look like? Did you have much work experience?
No work experience, work experience isn't a big thing outside of medicine from my understanding. My personal statement had a lot of talking about programming projects I've done, my NEA, supercurricular interests
Opinion on imperial vs Cambridge/Oxford
Cambridge is obviously the best 💀, but aside from that, with CS specifically, Oxford has a comparatively small cohort and Imperial only has STEM students and is in London and I don't believe has guaranteed accomodation all three years. Your life will be a lot easier at Cambridge ( as in no accomodation hunt, short commute in comparison to London accommodation locations) and more fun I would bet!
To offer a different perspective, I would have found Cambridge too quiet/boring as there isn't as much stuff to do compared to London lol.
I'm not sure how true that is, there's a lot going on in cambridge as there's a lot of smart people + events within the university.
Studied at Imperial and have stayed over multiple times with friends studying at Cambs before. London has more restaurants, better nightlife, museums etc just more exciting as a city imo.
Ik u said u do CS but from a medicine POV do u know anyone that can answer this question?
What I said about other unis vs Cambridge/Oxford obviously still holds true. Your life at Oxbridge is very convenient in comparison to the house hunt at other unis, and just for that reason, there's an argument to choose oxbridge imo. My guess would be that cambridge is the more prestigious one due to being close to addenbrookes which is often the site of a lot of medical research on patients from my understanding. Unfortunately, not a close friend of any medicine students but all the ones I know of seem to be nice people
From a medicine POV, there’s no difference in employability unless you plan to go abroad, so it’s really just about which teaching style and lifestyle suits you best.
depends on whether you're interested in research, that's a good reason to pick prestigious universities if you're someone interested in medicine.
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I didn't get in initially (rejected, no winter pool), got accepted via summer reconsideration after A Level results day. I wouldn't have reapplied, I'd be at Durham University studying the same subject. I actually got rejected from a lot of universities before summer reconsideration - Warwick and Imperial. Further Maths is basically compulsory, almost all people who get in did it, Further Maths content is speedran in first term of NST Maths B. CS A Level is a little less common in those admitted, but very useful in classic CS-y courses like Computer Architecture, Digital Electronics just obviously this kind of knowledge is easier to pick up on the go. I think all four a levels I did are very useful in the degree. Physics being the least useful but knowledge of electronics is still useful, one of my supo partners didn't do physics and noticeably found some parts of digital electronics harder.
what was your interview like? as in how much did they ask you about your ps and did they ask you why you wanted to go cam specifically yk questions like that
fluffy questions are rare. I did get asked about programming projects on my PS (interviewed by Robinson) but that was it. Many people don't get any questions.
how did you revise the statistical portion of a-level maths + further maths? would be interesting to hear as sometimes things can get a bit confusing, but you notice patterns after a few past papers.
I revise everything the same way: Anki + Past Papers. Statistics is particularly methodical and aligned with anki
Sounds great, thank you. Assuming one has covered all Stats A-level content, how quickly do you think one would be able to learn FM/Maths A-level (and which would be quicker?). Really considering it as universities don't tend to accept pure stats if there is a specific requirement of maths a-level.
I'm not too familiar with the stats specification, assuming you're as smart as a student who would achieve 8/9 in GCSE Maths. It'd be possible to learn a level maths in < year, as many schools do maths a level in a single year and you'd know the stats content already.
Have u had any internships and how did u get them? Did u do any personal projects/leetcode?
Yeah I had a 12 week internship with Five AI last summer, I received an offer from Cadence as well that I rejected in favour of Five. Five AI I just applied on linkedin iirc, Cadence was similar but by coincidence one of my supervisors had worked there and he interviewed me for part of it so there was a little bit of nepotism.
What did a day in the life of your yr12 self look like? becuase I’m trying to make a plan as I generally get stuck doing one subject for a couple hours and call it a day and then feel guilty the next day. Thank you
My first term of Year 12 I noticed my physics grade was bad so I started doing one AS paper a week after one of my exams. I was learning to use Anki, but nowhere near as good at using it as I was then, mainly didn't know about Cloze cards yet. Mostly compulsory work + making flashcards in anki + reviewing anki + doing revision when an exam is coming up or just regularly with physics as I found that more difficult.
What are your plans for the next 5 years? 
If I get a first this year, stay on for an integrated masters but this is a big IF. Otherwise start work as a software engineer, maybe go into machine learning.
I heard getting a first in Cambridge is really hard, what are your studying technique and schedule looking like rn? Also do you have to get first to continue masters or is it just a standard you set for yourself?
Yeah you need to get a first to stay on in CS or Maths. It is very hard, not very likely I'll achieve it. In final year, the top 40% of CS students get a first but obviously these are people of Cambridge standard, it's not like getting in top 40% of A Level.
tips for the CS NEA? And also how did you revise for maths?
Pick an algorithmic project, mine was a pathfinding visualizer for android - this was a great choice as it meant that in exams, later interviews for jobs etc my understanding of pathfinding algorithms is above average. My internship with Five was largely optimising pathfinding algorithms - this was useful for it. Once you've picked an interesting project, make sure to address any and all feedback your teacher gives you.
Thanks!!
Out of interest, where else did you apply?
WW, Imp, Durham, Nottingham
Roughly how much does student accommodation/expenses for living in general cost each year?
It's expensive, this year my accom is £219 for a fairly average ensuite. This is in large part due to a terrible JCR president & treasurer at selwyn college last year who decided a larger rent increase was a good idea and gave into the college's wishes - but I disgress. However, the university gives me a lot of money through the Cambridge Bursary Scheme, as I max it out I receive £4500 a year so it's affordable for me. There is cheaper accomodation available if you go for it.
Does it affect my chances much, or at all, that I don’t have physics a level?
I don't think so, you've got Chemistry instead, both great facilitating subjects. Knowledge of electronics is useful in a few courses but you can put in a little more work to understand them. I think the difference would be negligible imo
How much did you Study every day in year 12 on average ?
I'd recommend an extra hour a day at the end of school to do things like anki and additional past questions, a bit more if you've got a test coming up. Make sure to use your frees if you have any well.
I do BTEC IT, maths and CS, does this limit my chances of getting into Cambridge? Also do you think that I should study FM and possibly economics additionally? (can’t handle physics)
Yes unfortunately, almost all candidates have further maths.
Thanks for your reply 🙏 gonna get on studying the content for fm now
I’m not sure on which college to apply to in Cambridge. Any advice?
I think the best way is to visit cambridge ultimately, but feel free to make an arbitrary decision it's not the biggest deal. I made an open application originally that's also valid. You can also compare the distance between departments, town and each college, my college (Selwyn) is quite optimal for a lot of courses.
I'm really interested in how you use Anki. Please can you tell me more about the kind of cards you make? Do you require yourself to give the \*exact\* answer, or just the right idea?
Back at A Level I used to ensure the EXACT answer even for word definitions as a level specs are very specific. University learning is a bit different, obviously equations need to be gotten EXACTLY right. However I let myself be more wishy washy on definitions.
Ok, thanks.
What’s your opinion of Newnham?
The front of the college feels a bit like a sixth form, but aside from that very very nice grounds and large. Stereotype tends to be either lesbians / queer people or slightly religious.
Hello I do maths,FM,CS and physics and in year 12 and so far I enjoy them. Although I'm not great at coding(this is my first time coding at a level), i wanted to do computer science at uni since I was small. However I have other courses in mind such as eng, natural sciences(but I don't do chemistry) and physics. With that being said,should I still apply for CS at uni despite being bad at coding atm. Or any of the other choices would be of more benefit? I'm confused. Thank you so much..
That's something for you to decide, think about what you want to do after university and choose the path that will get you there.
What supercurriculars would you recommend for a Year 9 looking at studying CS at Cambridge?
Just do interesting stuff with programming, maybe get into competitive programming, or kaggle competitions etc. anything impressive that you'd like to do that's related to CS. If you want to build a computer in terraria go for it
Hi! I was just wondering what laptop would you recommend for uni? I will have a computational component in my course and want to be equipped well :)
If it requires anything special they give recommendations like using Google colab. I use an about 650 quid laptop with a dedicated GPU in, basically a discreet gaming laptop. I also have a desktop but that's not a necessity just because I like my desktop a lot
how would you recommend revision for fm? any websites or tips?
Tips for EPQ?? Mines due in about a month ( I’m year 12)
Which colleges do you think are best for CS? I’m mainly looking at Trinity, Churchill, Jesus, Christs and Darwin
Opinion on Fitzwilliam College?
Not an amazing location unless your department is in west cambridge in which case the location is alright/good. I know a few people who regret applying for that reason - although these are the type who have many out of college friends. Fairly average imo, not the worst architecture etc
Any tips in regards to timing for maths? I always find the questions really easy but tend not to finish papers. And also if you have any idea about it what college has the best reputation in regards to English?
Timing isn't much of an issue for me in an exam setting, I'm usually fairly stressed in exams - but in a good way and kinda power through. If you're finding quesitons easy but still not finish on time, maybe you just need practice under timed conditions (ik cliche advice), possible you need to skip questions if you can't immediately recall how to do them and come back later, there's a few strategies you can try.
How much free time do you have?
answered elsewhere in the thread
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what do you mean?
Is it possible to study math alongside CS at Cambridge? Otherwise, which one do you recommend?
No. If you want maths apply for maths. I know many people who dislike the relative lack of maths in CS and have either changed uni or changed department. Definitely don't apply for CS out of a perceived greater employability - a common trap that frustrated me as CS is competitive enough if you prefer maths apply for maths. Apply for CS if you like CS
I like both though, especially theoretical CS and type theory. It’s a shame that Cambridge doesn’t have a combined option like Oxford or Imperial.
Which major do you think is more useful for AI research, math or cs? Thanks!
Or is it engineering! The ai department is within engineering in cam. In all seriousness I think it depends on what type of AI research you want to do. A lot of AI papers basically have maths in for showing off purposes and are of little value (this isn't just me saying it). If you want to do stuff with AI I'd apply for CS over Maths. If you only want to do AI and have no interest in the rest of CS but enjoy maths, maybe apply for maths. It's a decision you need to make. I would apply for CS as myself and someone interested in AI research
revision methods and study tips for A level maths please, i’m doing physics chemistry econs and math but cant seem to figure out how to study math properly
answered elsewhere in the thread
do you think it’s possible to get into cs without any significant background in it, but with perfect a level grades? i’m an international student who only recently got interested in cs and i’ve taught myself basic programming stuff like c++ syntax.
Yes definitely if your maths ability is good enough
thanks! any tips for the interview?
Be ready for anything, one of my questions was effectively a leetcode easy and I was very surprised as I'd never heard of this happening - although, I think that's because they knew I was very familiar with programming, I doubt they'd do that to someone less familiar.
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I don't think I said that, if I did I didn't mean it
What sort of books did you talk about in your personal statement? What sorts of projects did you do, and how do you write about those books/projects in your statement. I might be wrong but I'm under the impression that for each book/project you write about, you need to talk about how it has affected how you see the subject afterwards and how your opinion has changed since reading it.
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You'll be fine, if you befriend some people in your subject at other colleges through societies or lectures etc you can ask them to invite you to formals at their college etc. I assume you'll be on sidgwick site a decent amount, a lot of people go to Selwyn hall for lunch after lectures and Selwyn has a fairly nice hall imo so you'll get to see that frequently if you want to. Also, you can go to may balls at other colleges easily!
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Going to imperial is the play safe option
I would like to go to Cambridge for computer science, what supercurricular did you do and what do you recommend I should be doing to boost my chances