STEP 2 & 3 Exams- Can they be completed in Year 12?

[Cratos]

Hi,
My DS just started Year 12 and it looks like he will need to do TMUA and STEP exams. We are at the beginning of this journey and we would like to understand if he can do the STEP exams at the end of Year 12 by any chance?
If he can, would this be advisable ? He is studying Maths & Further Maths A levels and he may consider applying to Cambridge for Maths or Economics.
Thank you for your advice.

Hello, OP -

TMUA is something of a test of potential. The relevant topics are listed on the website. The intention is that by the time it is taken early Y13, the topics have been covered; if a few have not, the candidate can swot up on them.

STEP is a very different matter. It is the most difficult exam going for STEM pupils (I would say for any UK university candidate) by far. It covers the whole of the Maths and FM curriculum. The problems are novel to say the least.

STEP is written and marked at Cambridge, who set the grade boundaries. They do this in such a way that every year about 50% of those holding offers from Cambridge Maths make them.

I am a former STEM admissions tutor in a School ranked just below COWI in our discipline and DH is an RG Maths professor (similar ranking) and Cambridge alumni.
I see no reason to take these tests early. As an admissions tutor, it would look to me like an attempt at a hard sell. And it could easily go wrong.

From the Cambridge maths faq

I’m thinking of taking STEP in year 12, will my results be accepted?
Many Colleges will consider applications from students who have already taken STEP, but there is no guarantee that they won’t ask you to sit a STEP paper again, and they may even ask for a higher grade as part of their offer. Since admissions decisions are made by Colleges rather than the Faculty, you should contact the College to which you wish to apply. The Cambridge Admissions Office pages have a full list of Colleges. In practice, unless your mathematical preparation and understanding is already very advanced, it may be better for you to concentrate on preparing for your A levels (or equivalent), alongside starting to practice for STEP without rushing, aiming to deepen your understanding and familiarity with STEP questions.

Would be madness. Just get him to focus on supracuricular activities (reading, competitions etc) for the moment

Thank you so much for your advice. You helped us before as well (Computer Science vs Physics dilemma - he chose Physics at the end).
I really appreciate it.
TMUA and MAT are taken at the beginning of Year 13 whereas STEP is taken around the time of A level exams I think. This makes it more challenging since he will be doing 4 A level exams. You also mentioned that STEP is very difficult. Perhaps he needs to research the Oxford admission process vs Cambridge.

When and how do you think he should start practicing for these admission exams? I don't think he will get much guidance from his state school on these matters. He is a very busy boy too. He plays football and works part time at the pub so I am a little concerned about how he is going to manage it all. My other DS just started Medical School and the admission process was pretty hard. Perhaps this is why I am getting a little nervous.

@IThinkImAMathmoMum thank you so much for sending this link. Very helpful.
@SlenderRations 😄thanks. Good idea. He has his first competition in early October. What other supercurriculars should he consider ? I was recommending debating society especially if he goes for Economics degree?

Considering that my DS will be doing Further Maths, would he be expected to take Step 2 and also Step 3 exams in June and submit his results to universities?

Yes, it is a heavy workload. However Maths-FM-Physics is a well integrated package of subjects. They are by no means easy, but for pupils who elect the Mechanics options they reinforce each other beautifully. One advantage of starting STEP revisions the summer after Y12 is that this incorporates excellent revisions for the Maths and FM exams - it is the concept of overtraining.

Cambridge v Oxford?

Cambridge make offers to a much higher proportion of Maths applicants, because they will be using STEP to control numbers. STEP is meant to challenge the straight A star student, but IMO about half of the failure rate (at Cambridge; elsewhere the STEP component of the offer may be lower) is down to underpreparation or the wrong kind of studying. STEP candidates are the best maths pupils in their communities. They tend to underestimate the needed preparation, and then when they find old papers challenging - which is likely the first time this has ever happened to them - they use the time dishonoured technique of memorising the answers and regarding past papers as templates. Ie, they fall victim to the same ‘study techniques’ that serve less able pupils poorly at lower levels. A pupil who prepares intelligently, starting the summer after Y12 with past questions and online support/tutoring (concerning learnt material) has a tremendous advantage.

If DS decides to apply to C you can start a thread about STEP revision later.

Oxford has a much lower offer rate. Presumably this is related to the fact that the admissions tests results are used in the decision, although only as one component. With the written admissions tests being easier, the interview itself is of course weighted very heavily - not that I am implying the Cambridge interview is a stroll in the park, or unimportant.

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

Best wishes to DS

I suggest your ds does the UKMT senior maths challenge and progresses as far as possible through the follow-on rounds as this is a good example of super-curricular for maths.

1000 dc get into round 1 of the British Maths Olympiad then 100 into round 2 - it’s very competitive and good to have on the UCAS form for kids applying to competitive universities for maths.

Sounds as if he has not yet decided on what degree topic he is persuing (econ vs maths?) which is fine at this point but I suggest you leave worry about prepping for entrance tests until he has decided on degree subject. If doing maths there is a big decision on Cambridge vs Oxford as explained above - Oxford makes fewer offers but most people secure their offer while C over offers by 100% and uses the year 13 summer step papers to winnow. Go to open days, look at the course offering and factor in the process to make the decision. Start entrance test prep summer of year 12 once the school summer exams are safely done, securing good predictions. There are various resources to help students prepare for them. Look out for summer schemes for widening participation or just normal state school candidates. I don’t know much about them but others do

Sorry, OP -

I am not sure we have fully answered your questions. Any university that wants STEP will make it part of the offer. This is a contrast with the other Maths exams, taken earlier in the applications process.

One thing perhaps more A level pupils (as well as university students) could do to ease exam stresses is to stay caught up! I imagine DS is working very hard now and things will genuinely get easier, but there is a big temptation to slack a bit when they do. Learning the material deeply the first time around (rather than just well enough to complete one’s assignments) is very helpful and makes revisions much easier and less stressful.

I also agree with the advice above that simply mucking around as and when his interests dictate is the way to go. After all, the goal is to find a university where he will thrive.

My DD is starting Economics at Oxford in a couple of weeks time and I read Economics at Cambridge which then you could do a step in but this was around 1852 so know about Economics. Maths is quite brutal at Cambridge for rejections on results in August, which is something to consider, a lot end up at insurance after in their head they must have been at Cambridge. Two I know one got in, one got insurance, she was OK with that as had been pooled to all girls which she wasn't keen on but I think other kids would struggle and also accommodation for insurance choices can be an issue at some unis.

Step Cambridge with Economics years ago had access to it and read it and they particularly read it if you went down in your Economics A level and they said the purpose was to see if you were really weak in Economics or what they called too advanced in thinking for A levels, going above A level standard and being marked down for too advanced answers, they said the second group were often above the As in A level at Cambridge and their top performers. So then they would still offer those but reject the weaker step ones generally. Don't think it exists now but I think it shows taking a year early would not really work. There's also plenty of essentials to do with the entrance tests A levels so it can backfire taking on too much. Better to perfect what they rank.

It's worth looking into what each subject requires and course content. Interests for Economics would say they played minimal attention to and more as a conversational what us this person like point not as have they won this competition. My daughter did lots of ukmt competitions and got to Olympiads and the summer camp but don't think it was a factor at all in her offer, though obviously for maths might well help. It's not so much winning but the being able to think independently, love maths and be passionate.

Invaluable insight. Thank you so much @poetryandwine
It is good to understand the possible reasons for the STEP failure rate. I had a look at the admission statistics today for Cambridge and Oxford. If I am understanding it correctly it seems like Oxford has been receiving more applications for Maths and Economics. Do you think this is because candidates are trying to avoid STEP exams ? On the other hand, Cambridge Economics doesn't require STEP. Thank you

@Penguinsa big congratulations to your DD. What an amazing achievement.
I agree with you that the Cambridge process feels very brutal and accommodation might be a big issue after rejection.
For Economics and Computer Science, STEP doesn't seem compulsory as you mentioned but TMUA is at the moment.
Thank you very very much for your recommendations. I hope my DS will find the right way and does what is necessary.

I wondered if you might know a support group for Oxbridge applicants. I had a look but I think I cannot find the right one (or maybe it doesn't exist)

I think the word has gotten around that STEP is tougher than the other entrance exams. Whilst this is true, it is also very objective as discussed above. The caveat is that some independent schools and few state schools provide good STEP tuition. However other candidates can access this through the Advanced Support Network, Cambridge and with online or personal tutoring.

Oxford Economics is done as one of 3 Joint Hons degrees, less maths intensive than Cambridge and LSE.

I don’t know so much about Oxbridge support programmes. Caius College Cambridge has a wonderful set of short videos and a good SM presence someone there was telling me about. The topics go well beyond Caius (which I may be misspelling) to all of Cambridge and indeed Oxbridge. The tag is something like #caiusschools

Either C or O assigns a partner college to many state schools so you could enquire about that. The Sutton Trust may have good online resources; its programmes are restricted to those meeting certain socioeconomic criteria. The ASRM above has good online resources for Maths, FM and the maths admissions tests.

I hope someone will be along to help more with the Oxbridge questions

Edit: AMSN!!

If your concern is that there are too many A-level exams, one option is to take A-level exams a year early. Taking STEPs one year early would suggest that DC already knows M and FM well.

Re applications I think people would decide between economics and maths first, if you look at course content that may help, on universities webpages and consider what their interests are. Economics has a variety of subjects which can be studied with it maths, politics, history, current affairs, development economics of different countries, some parts of geography, statistics, finance, government policy, macroeconomics of countries and is generally a much broader subject than maths. So it's a good choice for say a student who is interested in the news, government policy, the environment, supporting poorer countries to develop, politics, recent history as well as those who want to apply maths or stats, and look at options in each course. Don't need to be interested in all those and I am just out of 7 days in hospital and 11 hour op so might not be at my clearest today.

Visiting Oxford and Cambridge and subject talks would help, or get them online initially, this is E and M https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/course-listing/economics-and-management

Two other economics courses at Oxford are Economics and History very small numbers and politics, philosophy and economics. E and M was 18 to 1 for places, Cambridge Economics was about half that but they are similar ability to get into. E and M my daughter said attracts a lot of international applicants for the management part but they don't self select as much. Also Cambridge Economics is more maths based and maths entry test so people with just Maths A level and no FM tend to apply for Oxford, with FM it's either but for Cambridge almost all have FM. Daughter doesn't have FM. There's lots on the university websites. Colleges themselves admissions departments might well help especially if school has poor track record. My DD did it herself and that is ideal to encourage as they understand themselves. Oxford interviews 3 per place so 15 are rejected pre interview so it's worth seeing how you would do on other criteria, gcse score, how many 8s and 9s scored same and if state at 16 was underperformed comprehensive with negative progress 8 score they adjust for that. Its within context of school. And TSA. And predicted A levels but its first three A levels I think unless candiates equal so 3 A stars is same as 4 A stars mostly in scoring though offer rate higher to 4 A stars as they generally have higher GCSE results. There are reading lists on their too, DD didn't do any of those and don't feel you need to stick to those but gives an idea. I do work in economics though and have done for years so she's grown up with it, she didn't have Economics A level either. Both do require you to be strong at maths but if they are taking maths and FM that's fine and covered. Cambridge course has a lot of options too. Interests other than in economics weren't a big factor.

This has admission feedback for Oxford by subject and gives an idea of who gets in and why.

www.merton.ox.ac.uk/undergraduate/admissions-feedback

AMSN = Advanced Mathematics Support Network. Great online resources and runs tuition throughout England to prep for the various maths admissions tests.

Finally. I am also having a bad morning with less excuse than @Penguinsa

@DEI2025 thank you for your suggestion. When my DS was applying for medicine we found out that A-Levels should be completed in the same sitting ( in the same year), two years after GCSE. By this stage he already completed 1 A level in year 12 and only 1 university accepted this A level. Thankfully he was doing 4 A levels in total. Not sure if this would be the same for Oxbridge.

@Penguinsa I wish you a very speedy recovery. Thank you so much for your time and for explaining everything in detail. I will go through the information asap. My DS is studying Further Maths and Maths is his favorite subject. His GCSE s are all 9 and he also did 2 extra ones that were not offered by his school. He would be more interested in a Math heavy degree I think. I am not sure how he would tackle the interviews. He needs practice. He is not very talkative but he is confident and his job at the pub will help with his communication skills I think. He is doing Maths, FM, Physics and Economics.

@poetryandwine sorry to hear you have not had a good morning. Hope you feel better soon. Once again thank you for your help. We have got many resources to look at now. Hopefully my DS will start his own research and decide what he wants to do exactly. Pretty hard at the age of 16 I guess. He is currently getting used to his new College. Year 12 and 13 go so fast.

This is the Cambridge Economics information from one of the colleges https://www.caths.cam.ac.uk/subject/economics it includes 2 videos a 4 minute general one on Economics and then a much longer one giving everything in a lot of detail on applying. Also covers Land Economy which only Cambridge offer. It's fine not to be talkative, lots of quieter people get in. That combination is a common one for Cambridge Economics but could also be used for Oxford E&M. He doesn't need to decide now. I also found Economics A level very dull but loved the Cambridge degree which was pretty much the same papers as now though its gone more maths based for entry now. The two other Economists at my college had those A levels. Those GCSEs are great.

Just checked with DD about maths applicants, she said they all went for Oxford but she said this year the maths entrance exam went wrong nationally and some got whole thing, some got bits, some got nothing, one left. They did get chance to sit a second different test but she said it led to very odd results with who got offers and weaker candidates who had full access to test one got more offers than expected, rest less. Hopefully a one off issue and at least it's all known 10 Jan unlike Cambridge Maths where it's extra step papers, generally 4 A levels and then 50% lose their places then end up in insurance if grades OK but accommodation issues. Not sure exactly where accommodation issues are but probably all London ones plus others but that is very brutal. Especially as maths does not like you taking a year out. In Economics you could try again next year.

Not sure how many Cambridge interview per place for Economics, it's always 3 interviewed per place for Oxford. Cambridge generally much higher number interviewed and DD knows some rejections of 4 A star candidates state who had won lots of competitions based on interview score. Not entirely sure why but all boys who dominate lessons and school had told them they thought they would get in.

Yes, best wishes @Penguinsa

My syntax was pretty poor earlier, OP. I want to clarify that the AMSN is independent of Cambridge. Cambridge have solutions and guidance to past STEP papers, etc.

However IMO there are many candidates who could succeed at the exam, even to a Cambridge standard, who cannot make productive use of the Cambridge solutions in the first instance without some guidance. Lacking that guidance, they can get into the unproductive habits I mentioned above.

Oxbridge can suffer from a prejudice that mathematicians are born, not made. I completely accept that they are looking for a certain level of innate talent, fair enough. I agree with them that A star in FM is no longer enough of a screen, sadly, and that it is fair to attempt to screen for a higher level of insight or creativity.

I have a major difference of opinion with, I think, a generic Oxbridge maths tutor, over the effectiveness of tuition that relatively few schools are able to provide for the admissions tests. This is why I emphasise the importance of preparation - and TBF so does the STEP website