Oxbridge-Aspirants-2021-New-Thread-3

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www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4016760-Oxbridge-Aspirants-2021-New-Thread-2

New Thread !

DS is now having to do an NEA as part of one of his A-levels. There are weekly deadlines for evidencing that you are progressing with this ad required by the mark scheme. The teachers are not allowed to give feedback as the whole point is that it’s meant to be independent. How is this different or any less ‘restrictive’ than an EPQ? What I can see, is that he’s much less daunted by it - he is used to writing to deadlines; he knows how to pull out relevant literature sources; how to reference and just basically get on with it. He has an app now for keeping in top of the bibliography and he’s in the flow of writing in this style.

@goodbyestranger the EPQ is actually a marked qualification whereas your wider reading is not unless it won an essay competition or you manage to get it published

For what it's worth my DC did not do an EPQ but I do see it's merits

@MatureStudent21 Cambridge definitely asked for a digital photo as part of the SAQ I think.

Which are the top 8 schools that send to Oxbridge? Are they all private schools?

@nolanscrack asked above whether the top 8 Oxbridge feeders do EPQs. I've changed my name quickly as it would be obvious which school my DD attends because of what I've previously said.

At my DD's school (top 8, state sixth form), EPQs are offered. Four A levels are certainly not encouraged.

@Tenpastseven according to the list I've seen, there are two state sixth forms.

Sorry I’m just catching up and see that a question I asked on another thread has been answered here. Though I still don’t fully understand the relationship between contextual offers and lower offers if firmed. Surely they are different things? Is it that the lower offer can be a accumulation of both?

@changenameforEPQquestion thanks, presumably selective?

Hills Road and Peter Symonds..

@Tenpastseven nope - but my DD's is very big.

Important to remember that the list of schools that have historically sent the most pupils to Oxbridge needs to be read very carefully. It's easy to jump to assumptions of unfairness.

The schools are either very big or very academically selective. It's not very surprising that huge state sixth forms can send high numbers and schools with very able cohorts send large numbers to Oxbridge.

I was personally asking out of curiosity not because I think it is unfair @sandybayley 😊

Congratulations everyone who has Durham offers - dd didn't apply , dd also didn't do an epq. Her 6 form did start them all on 4 A-levels just to make sure they'd chosen the right ones. She found the work load pretty heavy going and was finally allowed to drop one just before lockdown.

There is no correlation between a school offer of an EPQ and the likelihood of an Oxbridge offer!!!!

Exactly sandy. If a school has a cohort of 1000 students....

changename it's a bit of a stretch to call any school in the current climate a 'feeder' for Oxbridge.

@Tenpastseven - I didn't think you though it was unfair. I just know the way this conversation went last year. You all seem quite a chilled bunch in comparison 😉

@goodbyestranger the EPQ is actually a marked qualification

Well yes indeed chopc. A very easy one to notch up an additional A*, as I mentioned above, but not one highly valued on academic grounds by the top unis.

Some medical schools give lower offers if A/A* in EPQ. As so many other courses. The writing is only a very small part of the marks as the planning and reflection are more important. It is not easy to get an A, hence why not many people do. It's hard work and takes a lot of time.
Oxbridge candidates find doing an EPQ gives them something to discuss in depth. As well as research skills for Uni.

This is directly from the Cambridge website.

Oxford say similar about the EPQ on their website:

Where applicants have undertaken the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), this will not be a condition of any offer but the University recognises that the EPQ will provide an applicant with the opportunity to develop research and academic skills relevant for study at Oxford. Candidates are encouraged to draw upon relevant EPQ experience when writing their personal statement.

mumsneedwine interviewees don't get to say what is and isn't discussed at interview. The content of the EPQ may or may not be discussed. When DS1 interviewed at Oxford for Medicine his mad cow EPQ wasn't mentioned, even though he'd had to declare it on his list of pending qualifications, so the tutors knew he'd done it. They were far more interested in throwing difficult graphs at him and asking off the wall questions about history. It's a myth that it's good as something to discuss in depth. It's no better or worse than any book mentioned on a personal statement. It is however absolutely brilliant for providing a qualification at state schools with minimum teacher input. Win, win - until you dig a little deeper. In any personal statement you can flip in mention of things you might like to discuss. That's the art of a personal statement. In fact possibly better not to wax too lyrical about any one particular project or you can bet your bottom dollar that the tutors will pick on something else to explore. Also, very often, nothing which has featured in a personal statement is picked up at all, in any interview. Colleges and subjects vary hugely on this.

Also, I'd quarrel with your point about difficulty: in 2019 (so not a CAG year), out of 57 students at our school taking the EPQ, 43 were awarded an A after external moderation, 10 an A and 4 a B. No student scored lower. It is very, very easy to get an A if you're even remotely organised.

At DS school, 75% get an A/A* at A-level. Doesn’t mean it’s easy. Doesn’t mean they don’t work hard for it. Doesn’t make the qualification meaningless either.

Someone will always disagree with me. It's a sport I think.
EPQs are often talked about at interview as it's a topic students can discuss in depth. Universities know it requires perseverance and commitment. Some schools 'help' more than others, providing time and support. Others leave you alone to do it. Whatever way it develops research skills and revels tube learning

Reflective learning. Not sure what revel tunes are (but they sound chocklatey).