EPQ

[Trixiebell06]

Hi . My child has just started 6th Form A level & finding it challenging she’s changed her EPQ topic twice and feels that it’s not important & a lot of students drop it in year 13 .
Is the EPQ important? To apply for uni for example .
We do have parents evening on Feb .

I think depends on how competitive is the course she is applying for at uni?

No it's not.
Neither of my DC did EPQ and they both got offers from top unis including Oxbridge.

At my son’s school quite a lot of kids who do essay subjects do it, not so much those doing STEM. He’s year 13 and I think it was good for him… he’s doing politics and chose a political/social media type subject. He mentioned it in his personal statement and it came up in his Cambridge interview. However…. He hasn’t yet got an offer. He has had a lower offer from one uni because of the EQQ.

It was compulsory at both my children’s schools . My daughter took 4 A levels and had a host of other curriculum and outside experience so it wasn’t really useful for her when she applied to Uni and was pretty much forgotten when she started work.

My son had a limited amount of extra curricular activities along with his 3 A-levels and it was actually very helpful when he applied for his first full time job as he had geared it around a subject close to the field he wanted to work in . It gave him a good tie in for his CV and was discussed at his interviews .

Dd aced her EPQ, gaining her a reduced offer from all the unis she applied to. Which was lucky, because she did much worse than expected in her A-levels, and that reduced offer got her into her insurance choice. She is now doing very well at uni, having learned the importance of not resting on her laurels.

I supervise the EPQ. It can be great if the student knows what they want to do it in, will work hard and as others have said it can benefit them with their uni application.

However it also takes up a lot of time and can take away from the main A level subjects.

Obviously it's optional, but counts as "half an A level", could make the difference between an achievable and less achievable offer from a uni.

But might not!

Three out of 5 of my DDs Russell Group uni choices have dropped the offer by one grade if she gets an A in her EPQ. One of them didn’t even advertise this on their web page. The EPQs relevance to what she wants to study was also useful for demonstrating interest in the subject in her personal statement. It was extra work but she didn’t feel it was as much as half an A level.

My DD is waiting for the moderated result of her EPQ which is incidently due this week. She has applied for 5 Primary Education degree courses for September 2023 start and all five have given her an offer which includes points gained from her EPQ. It's done her a massive favour as it has effectively reduced the grades she needs to achieve at A level.

DS did an EPQ and found the actual research and essay interesting. It was linked to the subject that he applied for at Uni. However the journal that he was supposed to write along side it was 'tedious' and 'a waste of time'.

When DD then went to 6th form it was optional and he advised her not to do it. The lack of EPQ hasn't held her back.

Hmm, a narrow view though.

It was great for my child to get into a university he loved, some points in the bag before any exams were taken. It allowed for more choice and options and for progress to be made outside of exams.

DD did her EPQ mostly over the summer holidays with a few teacher meetings before and after and really enjoyed doing it. The research record and documenting meetings with a supervisor was a new skill to develop. It helped her hit the ground at the right pace in September and submit her coursework recently, it helped build up the momentum. She has two offers in, one of which is reduced for a top EPQ result. Don’t know how any of the remaining ones due in will consider the EPQ, they don’t advertise they that they consider it but that wasn’t the reason DD did it.

DD is doing essay subjects so seems more obvious but some of her science friends have done it as they are thinking of research in the future and being able to demonstrate written skills.

I have one who did EPQ and one who didn't. They both got the university places they wanted. DD2 dropped EPQ because her physical health was deteriorating and focused on her A levels instead, which was the right decision because she exceeded her grade requirements. DD1 benefited from doing an EPQ because it set up her independent research skills. I think it's very much dependent on each individual and their situation.

DS has reduced offers for his EPQ but its an awful lot of work and unless they're very good at hitting deadlines and methodical in their approach it is easy to get a low mark. If you struggle with organisation or deadlines then it really isn't for you. School advised a large number of children in DS1's year to drop it. It isn't great if you're already doing an A Level with a coursework component such as history since juggling all the deadlines is difficult. No adjustments made for learning difficulties either.

If your DC wants to apply to an aspirational university where the required grades might be the same as or higher than their predictions then its a useful safety net if they give a grade reduction. If they're predicted more than they need already though for their favoured course its a lot of work for no real benefit.

Both my DCs got reduced uni offers because of their EPQs, so definitely worth it in their cases.

I teach EPQ and lead it in my school. It's not just about the final grade, although the stories of reduced grades are heartening and I know of many in my own school. It's about the skills students learn, which sets them up for university study. We learn about researching, source analysis, referencing, reading academic papers, time-management, effective planning, setting SMART targets, presenting etc. All those come in useful for university study.

Both my DDs did an EPQ, one wrote a dissertation, the other made an artefact. Both were related to their chosen university courses. One went to Cambridge and was asked about her EPQ at interview. She had to do a literature review as part of her 3rd year work, and because she had done the EPQ and knew how to read, reference and cite academic papers, she found it one step up.

However, I know lots of people will say it isn't important; time would be better spent on A levels, which may or may not be the case. What I do know is that on results day, a number of our students who missed university offers by a grade or two have been accepted on the strength of their EPQ grade.

@Malbecfan You are so right! I meant to add to my original comment that writing 'all those words' in Year 12 for her EPQ has had a really positive impact on my DDs A level written work. My DD can now reference and cite academic papers, research in depth, structure a large document and organise herself and her work more effectively. I know she too will be a step ahead when she gets to Uni. Her grades have also subsequently jumped up in her essay based A level subjects this year because her writing skills have developed and improved because of the EPQ.

Ds1 got a reduced offer from an RG University and then they offered to reduce again if he firmed!

My take is it's worth doing as an end in itself if it's something the student is really into. If they're just doing it as a box ticking chore, then they probably won't get much out of it and may not do well enough for it to make much difference to their uni applications. Of DDs 5 ucas offers, only one dropped a grade for EPQ and it had to be an A or A* - but it was worth doing for her as she did an 'artefact' project which compensated a bit for the school not running the tech A level she'd wanted to do. It also provided some of the content of her PS though I don't think it came up at interview anywhere.

DD1 and DD2 did EPQ, both relatable to their degrees. It did help the application process since it was relatable and showed they can do independent study. Yes, its an absolute bind and takes an age (DD1 finished Spotember of yr13, DD2 finished May of year 12) but it can help with some unis reducing their offer by a grade in some cases.

I think the final 'A' level grades are more important as that's what the universities will be basing their offers on.

My DC did an EPQ and only one of the universities she applied to lowered one of the grades (but that's only if you achieve an A or A*).

Hope that helps.

Totally agree with @ErrolTheDragon. Only do it if there's something that your child really wants to do for their own benefit, not just to get extra ucas points or a possible reduced offers.

Just to throw a spanner in the works: if a student is trying to decide between a couple of different options for HE, an EPQ in one can be really helpful. I have had students in consecutive years change their minds. One was an aspiring engineer who changed his mind towards the end of y12. I encouraged him to complete his engineering-focused EPQ and if asked, to say that as a result of doing the project, he realised he wanted to work with people, hence applying for medicine. He had 4 offers for Medicine and got an A* for his EPQ. The following year, a girl thought she wanted to study Medicine so chose an EPQ title around death (cheery stuff!) As a result of her research & project, she is now studying Chemical Engineering.

Thank you @Trixiebell06 for starting this thread.
My DS has just started his A Levels at a sixth that runs the EPQ but my DS does not want to go to university and instead would prefer an apprenticeship. Is it the EPQ useful for those not thinking of going to uni?

Hi @DolphinSE, with respect to apprenticeships, my observations would be that performance in tests and interviews matters most, followed by the total 'package' of evidence that the candidate is ready for the world of work and that particular role and organisation.

An EPQ could form part of that evidence and I have seen posters refer to that (in relation to digital apprenticeship in those cases). However, if time spent on an EPQ was at the expenses of, say, a part time job that demonstrated personal organisation, working towards team objectives etc, then it might not be so useful.

Remember also that some A levels may come with an NEA component that allows for some demonstration of independent research skills.