Which South East University for Maths and Science?

p4radox said:
Just in case he's under some illusion: there's not really a lot of extra work to be put in to get into Oxbridge. For science/maths they'd expect at least 3 A grades in science/maths A levels and that's it really. It obviously helps to show you're interested by doing other stuff connected with the subject, but there aren't usually any extra tests to be taken. If you're son will probably get 4 A grades anyway then he might want to think about looking into Oxbridge (Cambridge obviously...;))

The one exception would be maths which usually requires a STEP paper.
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There really is:
a 2-5 day interview process which you need to prepare for thoroughly
an entrance paper set my the college
to get to the interview stage you pretty damned good As level grades (270+ in everything)
 
Ben M said:
a 2-5 day interview process which you need to prepare for thoroughly
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2-5 day? I think most people do their interview and a paper set by the college on the same day. That's what mine was.

I was woefully underprepared for my interview (going back 5 years ago now) I had no idea what to expect going in there and I wish my school would have given me a bit more preparation. Ended up at King's College London in the end though. :)
 
I'm at Queen Mary. I can only agree there are a lot of Asian's there but not so much overpowering other ethnic backgrounds. But I wouldn't say they were intimidating. They still go to pubs, have a drink etc. They're students like everyone else.
I can vouch though that the area gets pretty dull after a month. However, me and my friends go places. We go into the city, we visit different UoL uni's and have a drink in their SU and get to know other people! Queen Mary can be the best uni you've ever been to if you know how to enjoy it! It's not too far from clubs and pubs.

And after all that, i'd recommend the Uni of Manchester more ;)
 
daz said:
2-5 day? I think most people do their interview and a paper set by the college on the same day. That's what mine was.

I was woefully underprepared for my interview (going back 5 years ago now) I had no idea what to expect going in there and I wish my school would have given me a bit more preparation. Ended up at King's College London in the end though. :)
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All of my friends that applied to Oxford did their papers in school weeks before. Then went to the college for a few days for a series of interviews.
 
JohnnyG said:
He wants to travel to uni, not stay there as he's in lurrve and wants to balance 'work and play' so it has to be SE really, if he can carry the both off we don't mind.
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I'd add to the suggestions not to limit himself to <1hr from home. I know a few people at my uni who have a boy/girlfriend in a different city, they usually take it in turns to visit each other over the weekends. Friday afternoon/evening -> Monday morning is a fairly decent amount of time to be together, it's not like you disappear off and never speak to each other :p. It's the same amount of time I got to spend with my boyfriend when he was working fulltime over the summer, so I wouldn't let it be the ultimate factor in such a big decision.
 
I go to imperial and think it's great.

Academically Imperial is far superior to Queen Mary's (3rd in the Times' league table compared to 42nd for QM) so if he cares about that or could see himself being interested in research than the choice could be obvious. However the entry requirements are higher so unless he's going to get all A's (or maybe 2A's and a B) then Imperial might not be an option.

With regards to location I'd assume it's easier to get to Imperial because it is in west london whereas QM is in east london.

Accommodation is a problem because a) the uni halls are very expensive (normally from £100 to £150 a week) and b) they only guarantee it for the first year. However you mention he will be commuting so this wouldn't be a problem. I strongly advise staying at least the first year in halls though because otherwise you miss out on half the experience. QM seems to have very good accommodation which is all on site as well.

Some people could argue there is a better social life at QM. I don't know if this is true but Imperial does have a few issues a) it only has science courses so if he doesn't fancy just hanging around with mathematicians/physicists and computer scientists then maybe it's not a good idea and b) the number of girls is low - this also means that all fit girls have boyfriends from the first week who treat them like goddesses because they know if they lose them then they won't find another! (Slight exaggeration perhaps)

Sport is good at Imperial - there's a new sports centre (with gym, swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna) all of which are top spec and free for students and right next to college. You have to travel a bit to get to the sports ground but we play football where QPR train (and chelsea before Roman arrived and bought them a new one). We own it though so get perks like coaching from them and can use their physios.

With maths the work load will depend a fair bit on how intelligent he is.

This is all slightly positive in favour of Imperial but don't forget I am a bit biased and don't know much about QM which I'm sure is great.
 
I would say Imperial..... mainly because I went there and did Math. I genuinely don't think anywhere else in London comes close for just Math.

I had a great time there and most importantly it was quite easy to get a job afterwards.

It really isn't that stressful either.
 
To clarify the Oxbridge application process for mathematics:

Oxford will send your school a test for you to sit, which then gets sent back to the University for marking. Depending on how you do in the test, they might ask you for interview(s). This usually entails staying over one or possibly two nights so you can have up to 3 1hour interviews; these could be at different colleges.

If Cambridge ask you to come up for an interview, depending on the college you'll sit a test in the morning, then have two interviews later on.

In both cases the interviews are academically orientated, so you'll be expected to answer maths problems in them, with the aid of a friendly interviewer. As for the London Universities, I understand that Imperial has a very strong reputation. I would also echo the sentiments of those who suggested that staying at home during your University days is a bad move.
 
Certainly by reputation, Imperial has a long lead over anywhere else. When I was looking at Uni options, it also had a rep for expecting people to work incredibly hard and have no social life, but that was a long time ago.

In the end I went to Cambridge, but I did a couple of courses at Kings College London and in hindsight I think they were very well taught; the group theory course was much better than the equivalent at Cambridge, for example.

I also did a MSc in Computing at QMW, and to be honest, wasn't terribly impressed. There were a few bright students, but many only seemed to be there because they could afford the fees. On the other hand, I had a really cool time during my year there and did some good work (they wanted me to publish a paper based on it). Even at a 'weak' university, you'll usually find there are lecturers only too happy to teach someone who really wants to learn.
 
p4radox said:
Just in case he's under some illusion: there's not really a lot of extra work to be put in to get into Oxbridge. For science/maths they'd expect at least 3 A grades in science/maths A levels and that's it really. It obviously helps to show you're interested by doing other stuff connected with the subject, but there aren't usually any extra tests to be taken. If you're son will probably get 4 A grades anyway then he might want to think about looking into Oxbridge (Cambridge obviously...;))

The one exception would be maths which usually requires a STEP paper.

edit: just read the bit about wanting to live at home - he should definitely move out, he'd miss half the experience.
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What he said. After all, if he is projected to get the grades easily enough then what has he got to lose. It's only one place on the UCAS form.
 
Ben M said:
There really is:
a 2-5 day interview process which you need to prepare for thoroughly
an entrance paper set my the college
to get to the interview stage you pretty damned good As level grades (270+ in everything)
Click to expand...

My interviews were all on one day. Any reputable university will probably ask you for interview, it's not unusual.

I didn't prepare for my interviews. There's no way you can do and you're not expected to.

I had no paper set by the college, some colleges do, some don't. I think Oxford send a paper to your school for you to complete.

He's already said that he expects As in his A levels.


This is the problem: for some reason people have these crazy ideas about Oxbridge, but it's really not that unusual apart from having extremely high academic standards.
 
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