EPQ or 4th A level

[Orquid]

DD is in year 12 and studying Maths, Chemestry and Design Technology.

She thinks she wants to study engineering design/design engineering at University and it seems she can apply with current subjects for that course at Imperial College; however looking at other universities it seems they need either physics or further maths.

She is doing an EPQ but I was wondering if she will be better off doing further maths instead. Got a 9 in physics but said she doesn’t want to do physics.

Looking at university of Bath it seems she doesn’t have the subjects required. for UCL she looked at electrics and electronics engineering as they don’t have design engineering only architectural engineering. I think they require physics.

Can she add another subject this late ?

Would be greatly appreciated for any advice

It's unusual to change subjects this late but not impossible, perhaps. FM as an add-on might be possible.

I would ask tho, if the courses she wants to do require physics, which she does not want to do, are they the right courses? What is mean is, would they not involve a lot if the disliked physics?

Does she love love love maths? I think you need to if it's half your timetable tbh.

What could she do with maths and chemistry? Chemical engineering perhaps? Anything appealing along those lines?

I looked a couple quickly and if not physics a science, which I guess chemistry covers. No mention of further maths .
I agree with PP - if physics is so disliked then maybe it's not the right degree to go for?

@clary makes excellent points concerning both Physics and FM.

The Imperial course looks very cool, but its acceptance rate is only 27%, so no one should count on it. Also on most STEM courses Imperial is now majority Overseas students. I mention that only because many of them have a superb Maths background. If DD does love Maths and the A in FM is predictable, having FM would be a good thing for her confidence at Imperial.

Also to aim for an A star in Maths (as Imperial requires) you need to study it fairly intensely. At that level, FM is not quite an independent 4th A level as the Maths and FM feed each other.

This is a tough one, OP, and I say that as a former STEM admissions tutor. I think protecting DD’s current grades is the priority but if she has the headspace and ability for FM, it makes sense to add it if possible.

Thank you; school said she can’t add any more subjects now as too late so let’s wait and see which universities she can apply with current choices

She can apply to Imperial!

As they’ve ruled out the fourth A level, she could aim for an A star in the EPQ and ensure it is engineering related so she can discuss it in her PS to demonstrate her supra-curricular interest for the course she eventually applies for.

If she's keen to add in the further maths, I would push back on that with the school. If it fits with her timetable, then if you could get her a tutor to help her catch up by the end of term, would they let her do it? Catching up six weeks is not insurmountable, if the school doesn't have to provide the teaching.

I agree with @lanthanum OP. To be clear, I am not saying your DD needs FM. Only that with her ability, a good tutor and a bit of dedication, this is a reasonable task. It is nothing compared to next year’s workload!

The limiting factor might be no Physics. Imperial is a bit of a long shot with no FM and it’s one uni. Engineering often prefers physics. For fairly obvious reasons so she might wish to look at why she didn’t like Physics. Chemistry is perfect for chemical engineers obviously. However Bristol accept this A level combination and Sheffield offer Materials Science and Engineering. Both accept Chemistry. Don’t require FM as far as I can see. So I would start looking around at different unis and how they view chemistry but be flexible about the degree.