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Higher education

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Original poster

A'Levels EPQ - Is it worth it?

150 replies

Shimy · 28/02/2019 10:46

Those of you with dc who did or are doing an EPQ with their A'levels, would you say it was worth it in terms of offers they received in the end? I noticed quite a few universities on their websites saying they'll get a reduced offer by one grade if they get an A. It just made me wonder wether it was worth all that additional work. Dc1 has not done an EPQ but dc2 is the type that might rise to this kind of challenge. Of course there is benefit in just doing the work for the sense of achievement in itself but would like to hear peoples thoughts. Also what did your dc do their EPQ in?

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ifonly4 · 28/02/2019 10:59

My DD didn't do an EPQ. The only uni she's applied to who said the'd give a reduced offer for a good EPQ, gave her that reduced offer anyway. She's applied to St Andrews, Warwick, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Durham, all fairly high ranked unis, four courses at the top of her predicted grades. So far she's had four offers, still waiting on Durham.

goodbyestranger · 28/02/2019 11:08

Six of my DC have done the EPQ. It's not a big deal to get it done, just slightly tedious because it's more about the admin than the substance. For that reason DC8 (Y12) decided not to do it a few weeks in. My DC were all given the standard offers at their various unis except for one single lower offer from Bristol for History for DS2 - but then DS3 applied in the following year for History and got the standard offer. The EPQ is fine but not much more.

Nagsnovalballs · 28/02/2019 11:12

It’s good practice for when they get to university for an essay subject as it’s closer to a university essay.

Many an undergraduate has struggled with the discovery that A level coursework and exam essays are considered very poor standards at degree level. Epqs are much more like an undergraduate research paper.

Original poster
Shimy · 28/02/2019 11:25

Goodbye - Do you think the EPQ workload got in the way of additional work they could have done for their 3 A'levels instead? can you expantiate a bit more on what you mean about the 'admin'.

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Original poster
Shimy · 28/02/2019 11:28

ifonly - DS applied to a uni that said it will give a reduced offer if accompanied by an A in EPQ but then got the reduced offer anyway despite his lack of EPQ.

Also is it rather easy to get an A in the EPQ? because i'm wondering why this seems to be the standards? don't people ever get B's or C's in it.

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Bowchicawowow · 28/02/2019 11:30

I think it's a good thing to do. My DS is learning skills now he wouldn't have otherwise at this point. I think that it is great to be able to apply to university with a strong EPQ mark on your UCAS.

Original poster
Shimy · 28/02/2019 11:32

Bow - Can i ask what he is doing his EPQ in? do the students decide on a topic themselves or does the school give them a list to choose from?

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Bowchicawowow · 28/02/2019 12:14

They choose their own topic but as far as I can remember they can do it in different ways. Some people choose to make an artifact, others do something resembling a dissertation.

Fazackerley · 28/02/2019 12:15

Out of 5 applications dd has had two reduced offers because of epq, so yes it's been worth it.

Original poster
Shimy · 28/02/2019 12:23

Fazack - by how much were they reduced and do you think she would've received those offers even if she hadn't done the EPQ though? also i'm very interested in what people did their EPQ's in.

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ColeHawlins · 28/02/2019 12:32

It's the independent research element that is helpful. It is something that bridges the famous gap between school and undergraduate study. Which can be a good topic for discussion for courses/unis that interview and for the UCAS form.

Also is it rather easy to get an A in the EPQ? because i'm wondering why this seems to be the standards? don't people ever get B's or C's in it.

It does seem skewed but I think it's a self-selecting (and teacher selected) group.

areyoubeingserviced · 28/02/2019 12:36

My dd is at a grammar school where the epq is mandatory.
I am not sure how useful it is tbh

Fazackerley · 28/02/2019 12:40

She didn't get any offers where it was mentioned at first. In the last week two unis have said they will lower grades if she gets an A. She's written a 6000 word essay.

LittleKitty1985 · 28/02/2019 12:41

I'm the EPQ coordinator at my school & am happy to answer any questions.

Obviously I'm biased but I think it's invaluable for any student who plans to go on to university. All sixth form students at my school do it and this is increasingly becoming the norm around the country. Students who haven't done it arrive at university without the necessary skills and are far more likely to drop out. Also the reduced offers aren't necessarily just for A grades, plenty of ours get reduced offers just for passing it (grade E or higher).

& in regards to the impact on their A levels, research has shown that students doing the EPQ actually do 29% better in their A levels, due to the transferable skills they develop.

marine04 · 28/02/2019 12:47

My daughter started doing it but found it was interfering with A level work. None of her four offers (rejected by Cambridge) from high ranking universities mentioned it. She stopped it after that as she felt she couldn't give it the time it deserved.
Based my daughter's experience my son has chosen not to do one.
My daughters friend got a place at Cambridge with a B already achieved in the EPQ so they obviously didn't place that much emphasis on it.

Original poster
Shimy · 28/02/2019 12:49

LittleKitty - Thanks for coming on. I was just wondering about the success rate of students who entered uni with EPQ v those without. Can you give me your source? it will be very useful to look at.

I have the following questions:

What type of things do your students do EPQ's in. I'm particularly interested in those wanting to pursue business related courses or tech.

When does the EPQ have to be completed by and do the results come out together with the other A'level results or before?

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Laniakea · 28/02/2019 12:50

DD had two reduced offers on the basis of her A at EPQ & another two have said that they will take her up to two grades lower than the advised course grades on the basis of her EPQ + strong interview performance (part of which was a presentation based on her EPQ) . All RG universities in a STEM subject.

It isn't a massive amount of work - dd really enjoyed her subject - & it didn't interfere with her A level work ( she's doing three sciences).

Original poster
Shimy · 28/02/2019 12:52

Marine - That kind of confirms my thoughts re: amount of time spent doing it V time that could've been spent on their main subjects. Glad she's got 4 other very good offers. Cambridge isn't the be all and end all.

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Fazackerley · 28/02/2019 12:53

I think the idea is that they come up with the concept themselves.

CostanzaG · 28/02/2019 12:55

It's excellent preparation for university. It's worth more in UCAS points than an A/S level so can come in handy if applying to universities that make points based offers.

BertrandRussell · 28/02/2019 12:56

Dd says her EPQ was one of the most useful things she did in 6th form. Researching and writing a long form essay made her feel she hit the ground running when she started university.

Laniakea · 28/02/2019 12:56

At dd's school they have an hour a week timetabled for it (out of study time not lesson time) through year 12 but it really only takes a term maximum - dd did hers over the summer term of y12 & had the results back well before Christmas of y13. Lots of the group did it in the first term of y13 then had an extra free study period from then onwards. I think everyone who did it got an A or A*.

Original poster
Shimy · 28/02/2019 13:00

Fazac - That's good. I can see how that will help them with deciding on final dissertation at Uni. Deciding what topic to concentrate and what you want to achieve from it is half the work.

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Original poster
Shimy · 28/02/2019 13:03

Lani - I thought it spanned the full 2 yrs! That's very good to know. Sounds like it was very well managed at your school.

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LittleKitty1985 · 28/02/2019 13:03

@Shimy I was just wondering about the success rate of students who entered uni with EPQ v those without. Can you give me your source? it will be very useful to look at.

Unfortunately I'm on maternity leave so I don't have access to any of my data or resources.

What type of things do your students do EPQ's in. I'm particularly interested in those wanting to pursue business related courses or tech.

Sociological ones are very popular at my school, especially relating to gender or racial inequality. But really it can be on ANY topic, as long as the title has appropriate focus. Their supervisor will give guidance, but the project should be totally independent and student-lead, & therefore a list of other people's projects is not necessarily the best place to start.

When does the EPQ have to be completed by and do the results come out together with the other A'level results or before?

Different schools have different deadlines. If marks are submitted in May then they get their results in August with the rest (after external moderation has taken place), if they submit in November then they will get their results in March.