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/sci/ - Science & Math

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4266849 No.4266849 [Reply] [Original]

[spoiler]>Apply for Natural Sciences at Cambridge, Physics at Imperial College, Durham, Warwick and York
>Attend Interview for Natural Sciences at St Catherine's College, Cambridge last month
>"Alright, Anon. Here's some paper and a pen, integrate e^(x^3)"
>Do Taylor series expansion and try to integrate that
>"No Anon"
>Try integrating x^3 and e^a first and somehow putting them back together
>"No Anon"
>Differentiate it and try to do the reverse
>"No Anon"
>Cry
>Sure I'm rejected
>Got my conditional offer yesterday
>mfw

I've still got my other interviews to attend but I need help deciding on which uni I want to go to. Cambridge seems cool but I don't know whether I genuinely like it or I like the simple fact that it's Cambridge.
So anyone who's studied at any of these universities, can you share your experiences, probably warn me away from the university?</spoiler>

>> No.4266856

[spoiler]Cambridge interviewers fuck with you like that, OP. They ask you a question you can't answer with A level knowledge, but as long as you exhaust your A level knowledge trying to solve it before having a breakdown, they'll give you a conditional.</spoiler>

>> No.4266857

[spoiler]>didn't do basic intergration by parts

why</spoiler>

>> No.4266858

[spoiler]>>4266857
Slipped my mind. Wouldn't have arrived at the answer anyway.</spoiler>

>> No.4266860

[spoiler]Unless they asked for a definite integral you cant integrate that, probably leave as a combination of error functions or something</spoiler>

>> No.4266906

[spoiler]I applied for Natural Sciences at Cambridge, I was going to go down the purely biological path. I got asked "What defines us as humans?" I didn't even bother mentioning anything to do with biology, I just gave the most douchey pseudo-intellectual response I could think of, you'd probably catch a philosophy major from /lit/ saying shit like this.

Got a conditional.</spoiler>

>> No.4266915

[spoiler]Not to put you off Cambridge OP, but someone who was in my year studied Natural Science there. He said it didn't live up to the image. If you want a social life, go for Imperial.</spoiler>

>> No.4266921

[spoiler]>>4266915

>social life
>Imperial

Choose one. Imperial is 80% male and most of them are Asian.

Cambridge will be very intensive but ultimately rewarding. Oxford physics graduate here who went on to take part III maths at Cambridge.

I'd choose Cambridge (or Oxford) every time. There is a level of confidence in the students there that will push you to reach your potential.</spoiler>

>> No.4266925

[spoiler]>>4266915
>>4266921
Where do I go for Aerospace Engineering if I'm autistic and don't want a social life? (not OP btw)</spoiler>

>> No.4266929

[spoiler]>>4266925

Imperial will suit you fine.</spoiler>

>> No.4266930

[spoiler]>>4266929
Good.</spoiler>

>> No.4266937

[spoiler]>>4266921
How difficult is it to be accepted in part III maths at Cambridge? Greek physics major here, interested in mathematical physics.</spoiler>

>> No.4266945

[spoiler]I am at Cambridge. I am sad because nobody seems very interesting. Lots of very talented people but nobody seems very keen on academic conversations. Thought it would be different.

Not a social retard btw.

Good job on your interview OP. The only people who really complain about them are pussies who got rejected and desperately try to rationalise it instead of accepting that maybe they just weren't up to scratch. My interview was retardedly easy for the most part. I had to differentiate logloglogx and draw a graph of sinx.e^x...

The only decent question I got was 'how many 0s are on the end of 126 factorial. They were very helpful at nudging me. Got it pretty much by myself in the end.</spoiler>

>> No.4266947

[spoiler]>>4266937

You will need a first class degree, and a reference that confirms that you have exceptional potential, particularly in the mathematical side of things (it is a mathematics course primarily). Part III is a tough course and you should only apply if you are confident in yourself.</spoiler>

>> No.4266951
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4266951

[spoiler]>I will never be cool enough to leave the states and go to a UK university</spoiler>

>> No.4266957

[spoiler]>using a taylor series for anything other than approximation</spoiler>

>> No.4266959

[spoiler]>>4266947

>he thinks oxbridge is about quality

>>4266945

Because Oxbridge isnt about academics. It is getting as many contacts as you can. There is a reason that super rich send their kids to Oxbridge when better courses around the world exist. Tokyo has some amazing courses that are taught in English but you will never see rich kids there from Britain and the U.S or the Emirates because you lose out on the economic links by making bros with the son of a billion property owner.</spoiler>

>> No.4266960

[spoiler]>>4266947
All students are offered the same degree in Greek Universities (i.e. there are no honours courses, unfortunately) but our degrees are graded. Maybe I should look into how these grades match to U.K. standards. I hope I can compensate that by doing undergraduate research and some teaching assistantships (I have two already).

I am not very confident in my mathematical abilities, but I try very hard to learn mathematics beyond the silly "engineering" side of it that we do at my shitty university.</spoiler>

>> No.4266962

[spoiler]>>4266960

If you are not confident in your mathematics abilities, Part III is not for you. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it is renowned for being the most difficult taught mathematics masters in the world.</spoiler>

>> No.4266964

[spoiler]>>4266959

All I said is that the course is tough and you need a first to get in. These are both true, I have first hand experience.</spoiler>

>> No.4266966

[spoiler]>>4266959
Sorry but that's stupid clichéd BS. Perhaps 50% of the people here are here because of that. The other 50% are genuinely interested in their subjects. That's why half of the people I know who're doing maths are going on to study pure, which has absolutely fuck all practical applications and cannot be used in any way as a large source of income.

The fact you think these people don't exist just shows me that you've never actually set foot in Oxbridge. Am I wrong? It's either that or your social circle is a bunch of posh twats.</spoiler>

>> No.4266969

[spoiler]>>4266962
No, that's completely understandable. Thanks for your help.</spoiler>

>> No.4266975

[spoiler]>>4266969

No problem. There are other theoretical physics masters courses in the UK which might be worth a look if that is what you want to do. I think Manchester has one, try looking around on University websites</spoiler>

>> No.4266980

[spoiler]>>4266966

>i am not in the posho clinch so therefore you are wrong

Enjoy your degree being totally useless since you have no connections to the rich kids group. There is a reason why people go to these universities when the degree is no more valuable ( in theory) than any other taught at a legitimate university. Noone would pay the fees Cambridge or Oxford charges for the same degree they can get half price at an Austrian university.

Sorry to upset you but Oxbridge has always been like this. If they were so amazing then they would be the role model of universities world wide but they arent. If you arent part of the social group, which is ALOT more than just 50%, then you are wasting your money and time by not going elsewhere.</spoiler>

>> No.4266983

[spoiler]>>4266980

A degree from Oxbridge will be regarded more highly by employers than an equivalent from another uni. This is fact, whether or not it should be the case.

Get that chip off your shoulder.</spoiler>

>> No.4266984

[spoiler]>>4266980

U jelly?</spoiler>

>> No.4266985

[spoiler]>>4266983

Of course it is. If you have someone from Oxbridge in your company, he may know someone from Oxbridge in another company and therefore set up another strand in the web. It's not because of the degree itself, its because it is a good link to other companies and gets business ties.</spoiler>

>> No.4266989

[spoiler]>>4266975
Yeah, Manchester looks nice, I think Imperial has one too.

By the way, I always feel shitty when people post the questions they got on cambridge and oxford interviews. I had to solve a lot of more difficult stuff, and I aced it just to get to a shitty Greek university. I really wish I was British.</spoiler>

>> No.4266992

[spoiler]>>4266989
I'm from Romania and all the questions I got at the Oxbridge admission were easy as pie. South eastern Europe is good at maths&physics.</spoiler>

>> No.4266993

[spoiler]>>4266985

Also, the workload and general level of the work is considerably higher than at other UK universities. This is part of why the degree is so valuable. A first from Oxbridge is far more difficult to achieve than from another university offering 'the same' degree.

Still mad?</spoiler>

>> No.4267001

[spoiler]>>4266992
You got admitted there? If yes, then that's awesome.
My parents wouldn't let me apply there for lack of money, so I had to do what most -if not all- Greeks do.</spoiler>

>> No.4267004

[spoiler]>>4266989

Yes Imperial has one called MSc in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces. It looks like a very solid course, from the little I have seen. In fact I think in some ways it would be better that part III for many as the course is more focused on physics.

Posting interview questions is gay.</spoiler>

>> No.4267005

[spoiler]>>4267001
I got a student loan from their government. I'll have to pay it back after I finish studying there. Even a modest job can cover the debt, so I'm not worrying too much.</spoiler>

>> No.4267007

[spoiler]>>4267004
Yeah, that's the course I was aware of, it looks well suited to my needs. Is it as difficult to get there?</spoiler>

>> No.4267009

[spoiler]>>4267005
Good for you dude, it's always nice to know a fellow Balkan made it.</spoiler>

>> No.4267015

[spoiler]>>4267007

Probably not as hard as Cambridge but their website still says a first class degree or equivalent. In your case I'm not sure what that would mean. You should email the admissions guy (apparently he's called Dr Rajantie) to find out what you would need.</spoiler>

>> No.4267033

[spoiler]I'm at Cambridge doing maths. It's not so tough as people say and looks impressive on one's academic record. No reason not to go really. It's well funded so there's probably a better range of study opportunities than elsewhere.

I don't have any friends here since the maths department is full of autists and everyone else is too normalfag, but oh well.</spoiler>