Maths Paper (Remarking Advice)...

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 01:49:28

Hello,

I'm in Year 11 at the moment (finished) and started some of the A-level maths modules early and got the results for them today;

C1 - 100
C2 - 89
C3 - 92
M1 - 88

I agree with all of the results except for M1, I thought I would get 97 UMS but ended up with 88 and I don't know why. I went on other forums and people have been saying similar things (e.g. they predicted a lot higher but got lower actual marks). Should I bother getting a remark?

To get A* in maths A-level you need 480/600 in total (there are 2 more modules I have to take, S1 and C4). You also need to get 180/200 in C3 + C4. However on my UCAS application if you have impressive module scores you can put them on and it will increase your chances. I'm not sure mine are that impressive though, and if remarking M1 is worth it. It's more a matter of a 9-mark difference rather than a 1 or 2 mark difference so it does have the potential to be increased significantly.

In short, should I get M1 remarked (you have to pay for that)?

bobbym · 2011-08-19 02:28:29

Hi zetafunc.;

Shouldn't you first nail down the reason for the reduced scores? What is to stop it from happening it again?

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 02:32:56

But I don't know the reason for the M1 score, I checked the mark scheme and I counted 73/75 raw marks, yet my sheet says 66/75. I don't know how I dropped the other 7 marks...

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 02:36:42

Also it is impossible for me to check now because I did the paper over 3 months ago, I can't remember my answers anymore...

bobbym · 2011-08-19 02:38:32

Hi;

That is a lot! Other people had this happen to them? Same question, what is to stop them from mucking up your retest scores? Is there anyone to contact?

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 02:41:54

I'm not sure who to contact; you pay for a remark, and it can be mucked up again, yes, but it's less likely to be mucked up twice in a row right?

I put in so much time and effort into M1 and got 88%, yet did very little revision for C3 and got 92%... do you think it's worth a remark? I mean I can still easily get A* overall but 88 in M1 doesn't look impressive...

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 02:43:50

Apparently other people had this problem too, yes. I heard someone predicted 60/75 and got a D (50%). One person on another forum said it's possible that it was because you did the questions in the wrong order... for maths A-level you get given a question with several parts, then a big blank space. You have to number the questions yourself, but maybe they would penalise you for doing (b) first then (a)? I don't see why they'd do that...

Bob · 2011-08-19 02:48:31

hi zetafunc

Well done for the marks you did get.

You can also ask for a (photo)copy of your paper. Don't know the price.

Advantage: You still get to see if it's been marked correctly, but you also get to see what you did wrong.

If you do discover there's more marks than you got given, go straight to your maths teacher to confirm and then back to the exams officer to appeal.

Talk to your exams officer today or as soon as possible. There's a time limit for appeals.

A competent marker should still give you the marks for correct work in the wrong order. But, with hundreds to mark a slip might be made if it's not looking like they expect.

Which exam board?

Let us know how you get on.

Bob

Last edited by Bob (2011-08-19 02:58:22)

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 03:19:05

I'm with Edexcel... thing is they are pretty expensive. I just want to know if it's worth it.

Bob · 2011-08-19 03:42:53

hi zetafunc

That's hard to say without knowing for certain what you actually wrote down.

A few years back I marked for Edexcel. They take the scripts and scan them digitally. Each page has a bar code to identify whose work it is.

Then they send individual pages out via a secure internet link to the markers. A marker will do a batch of single questions at a time, maybe several hundred. After the first 20, you get to learn what to award marks for. The marks are transmitted back and added to the marks that other markers have given for the questions they've marked. So a 10 question paper could be marked by 10 different people.

If a scanned question is unreadable or it's part of an answer to a completely different question, the marker has to refer it to the head examiner who looks at the original script to sort it out. When I did this marking, I was told to award marks according to the mark scheme if I saw the right answer; (even if it was surrounded by a load of nonsense!).

So if you had part of an answer in the wrong order, say 2b, 2c, 2a, 2f, 2d, 2e; the marker should spot this and give you the marks. Also, the software doesn't let you submit the marks for a question until you've looked at all the pages for that question, so it's pretty hard to miss part of an answer that's lurking on page 3, say, when it looked like all the answer was on page 1.

But, however conscientious a marker is, it's still possible to make a mistake, they are only human after all. While I was being trained I accidentally gave a practice question full marks when I meant to give it zero marks. Whoops!

I got a right telling off from my supervisor!

Is the paper available for download anywhere? If it is, I'm happy to check your answers and see what mark I think you should have got.

Bob

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 05:17:13

That would be very kind of you if you could do that! I can't remember what my answers were since I did the paper over 3 months ago, but the paper is for download here (remove spaces);

Question Paper: h t t p : / / w w w . m e d i a f i r e . c o m / ? t 4 c 1 r r j c 2 n g r c i t
Mark Scheme: h t t p : / / w w w . m e d i a f i r e . c o m / ? m n 6 w z z m s k m 6 r u e q

Both are for M1.

I'm sure the only question I got wrong was 7) (c) (ii), which is worth only 2 marks. Yet, my score says I lost 9 marks...

Bob · 2011-08-19 06:32:44

hi zetafunc

I've not used mediafire before.

For both links I get a file not found error message.

I've made an account but it still says I need a 'sharing' URL.

Please advise.

Bob

ps. suggest you create a MIF account. It's free and you get additional features eg watch a thread for posts; check who is on-line.

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 06:42:44

I tested the links myself, they work for me... did you make sure you didn't delete part of the link when you were removing the spaces?

Bob · 2011-08-19 07:29:09

Oh.

Those were spaces, were they? You have to make allowances for my age and eyesight!

Now I've got them.

I'll have a look. back later.

Bob

Bob · 2011-08-19 07:40:28

hi again,

Assuming your memory of what you wrote is correct, then we are looking for 7 marks not credited.

Hypothesis:

First part of a question was marked but the bit where you continued over on the next page was missed.

Question 4 has 7 marks in parts c and d. Is it possible that you wrote answers to parts a and b on page 10 and then the rest on page 11 ?

If so, maybe that's where the 7 marks went.

Do you understand how to get the remaining two marks?

Beyond that I'm out of ideas.

Bob

ps. Can you re-sit for free ? Then you can get 100% (maybe )

Au101 · 2011-08-19 09:29:04

Hello, zetafunc, I resat that paper myself. I have to be honest with you, I did score in the nineties - although I'd be interested to see what my mistake(s) was/were - but in my C3 and C4 modules, I was disappointed, having expected to score significantly higher. It doesn't matter to me, I am off to my first choice university next month, so all is well, but I hope that I can offer a constructive take on the situation. The first thing that I would say is that marks may be awarded specifically for correct working. I knew of somebody who happened, by chance, to get the right answer to a question, but his method was wrong. I believe that he had used an equation where a constant speed is assumed and the speed was not so. It was something similar to this anyway and - rightly, you might say - he was not awarded any marks. Is it possible that your methods were not correct? It can be difficult to remember exactly how you did something even straight after an exam. Are you also sure that you rounded correctly? Marks may be awarded for correct solution only, and you may have been a decimal place out in a question, or two. I tend to be fairly philosophical with my exam results, I am disappointed at my own performance in maths, but I am happy to accept that - in the stress of it all - I probably got the wrong end of the stick, or made a mistake in the working. What I've said above is to illustrate the fact that there can be myriad ways in which marks can go astray, especially in an exam situation and so I would advise that you ordered a photocopy and double-checked first. I seem to remember that this is possible, although if there is a problem with timing, you might have to get a remark, without checking first. Marks can go down, though, and whilst examiners can obviously make mistakes, they are moderated and maths papers can be marked very formulaically, so you're unlikely to see a large variation, as you might in an essay subject, where it is a judgement call.

With maths, of course, your results will average out, there are other modules and this is good and bad. Obviously, the higher the module marks, the better your position, so a remark would be advisable in that way. On the other hand, however, one module is not the be-all-and-end-all, a few marks here and there isn't the end of the world, especially as this is an applied module.

My advice, then, is to remember that in examinations, marks can be lost unexpectedly, which is a great shame and can obscure the real talent. As a result, I would personally order the photocopy of the script. If this is not an option, however, you can get the remark, it's not hugely expensive, but I would certainly not expect anything to come of having mine remarked. I wouldn't wish to say that the same will be true in your case, but I don't think I'd do it myself.

P.S. I don't think it is free to sit any examination, including re-sits. However, your school may be prepared to pay for you.

Au101 · 2011-08-19 09:34:47

Also, re-reading your conversation from earlier, they cannot penalise you for doing (b) before (a), some questions can be done in any order, especially if you have simultaneous equations and then it's just a choice if which unknown you find first. This is often the case in questions involving F = ma. Often this is specifically pointed out on the mark schemes. Sometimes, however, a poor, tired examiner will not notice. For this reason it is always advisable to number clearly. If you have found the answer to part (b) without realising it, you should go back, change your numbering from (a) to (b) and clearly write:

Answer to part (b): {underlined answer}

And then continue with the question, clearly writing

Answer to part (a): {underlined answer}

Another thing which I have just remembered is that the board has recently said that they will take marks off for not making your answer clear. This is no word of a lie, my mechanics teacher specifically said that any abbreviations must be expanded. I am told that it is no longer acceptable (at least in M2) to write, for example:

m = 2.

You must write:

Therefore, the weight of the boy at point B = 2 kg.

For example. Even in the case of simple abbreviations like, m for mass and a for acceleration. This is mainly because people use different abbreviations, and if you've used arbitrary variables, it can become confusing. Anyway, this is good advice for next time, even if it isn't the cause of your lost marks this time. It's a pain, but it is good form.

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 10:25:04

bob bundy wrote:

hi again,
Assuming your memory of what you wrote is correct, then we are looking for 7 marks not credited.
Hypothesis:
First part of a question was marked but the bit where you continued over on the next page was missed.
Question 4 has 7 marks in parts c and d. Is it possible that you wrote answers to parts a and b on page 10 and then the rest on page 11 ?
If so, maybe that's where the 7 marks went.
Do you understand how to get the remaining two marks?
Beyond that I'm out of ideas.
Bob
ps. Can you re-sit for free ? Then you can get 100% (maybe )

It's possible, but I can't remember, it was too long ago...

It's £25 for a re-sit I think.

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 10:37:42

Au101 wrote:

Hello, zetafunc, I resat that paper myself. I have to be honest with you, I did score in the nineties - although I'd be interested to see what my mistake(s) was/were - but in my C3 and C4 modules, I was disappointed, having expected to score significantly higher. It doesn't matter to me, I am off to my first choice university next month, so all is well, but I hope that I can offer a constructive take on the situation. The first thing that I would say is that marks may be awarded specifically for correct working. I knew of somebody who happened, by chance, to get the right answer to a question, but his method was wrong. I believe that he had used an equation where a constant speed is assumed and the speed was not so. It was something similar to this anyway and - rightly, you might say - he was not awarded any marks. Is it possible that your methods were not correct? It can be difficult to remember exactly how you did something even straight after an exam. Are you also sure that you rounded correctly? Marks may be awarded for correct solution only, and you may have been a decimal place out in a question, or two. I tend to be fairly philosophical with my exam results, I am disappointed at my own performance in maths, but I am happy to accept that - in the stress of it all - I probably got the wrong end of the stick, or made a mistake in the working. What I've said above is to illustrate the fact that there can be myriad ways in which marks can go astray, especially in an exam situation and so I would advise that you ordered a photocopy and double-checked first. I seem to remember that this is possible, although if there is a problem with timing, you might have to get a remark, without checking first. Marks can go down, though, and whilst examiners can obviously make mistakes, they are moderated and maths papers can be marked very formulaically, so you're unlikely to see a large variation, as you might in an essay subject, where it is a judgement call.
With maths, of course, your results will average out, there are other modules and this is good and bad. Obviously, the higher the module marks, the better your position, so a remark would be advisable in that way. On the other hand, however, one module is not the be-all-and-end-all, a few marks here and there isn't the end of the world, especially as this is an applied module.
My advice, then, is to remember that in examinations, marks can be lost unexpectedly, which is a great shame and can obscure the real talent. As a result, I would personally order the photocopy of the script. If this is not an option, however, you can get the remark, it's not hugely expensive, but I would certainly not expect anything to come of having mine remarked. I wouldn't wish to say that the same will be true in your case, but I don't think I'd do it myself.
P.S. I don't think it is free to sit any examination, including re-sits. However, your school may be prepared to pay for you.

I don't think I used any wrong methods... as preparation I did every single past paper, including all Solomon papers and even Delphis papers. I had got used to the exact method the examiners want to see. I would like to get a photocopy but I may have to pay a lot of money for it (will have to ask when I get back to them). For decimals, I always rounded to 3 s.f. unless otherwise specified. I can't remember what I did in the exam but if I remember correctly Edexcel like you to use rounded values for multiple-part questions.

The thing that might also be the reason is that I have pretty bad handwriting. It's readable with perseverance. That's possibly the reason.

Regarding re-marks, are they treated any differently to ordinary candidate papers? Are they marked in a different way?

I remember looking at the answers the day after the exam and even a couple of weeks afterwards when someone managed to get a hold of the real answers (don't know how). I lost around 2 marks but definitely not 9 marks, taking methods into account. Unless I missed something obvious. I am a bit upset because this too was an easy opportunity for 100 UMS, it was not difficult at all!

I don't know if it matters. I'm hoping to apply for Cambridge to do maths but I know that on the UCAS form having good module scores can be an advantage (putting them down is optional, but advantageous if they're impressive). Will talk to my higher education advisor about this. Imperial and Warwick are also thinking about doing this as well. I'm hoping that as I become better at sitting these exams I can post a few more 100s and 95+ scores in Further Maths. When sitting these exams I didn't approach them with a great mentality. I didn't 'properly' check my answers. I'm stupid. I don't know why. If I had even bothered to check, use the right exam technique, that C3 mark could have easily been 100, likewise for C2. M1 I lost the 2 marks out of not knowing how to do it but I found out how immediately after the exam finished.

What was interesting was that when I did this paper all the people were Year 13, in other words everyone doing it was re-sitting it...

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 10:46:08

Au101 wrote:

Also, re-reading your conversation from earlier, they cannot penalise you for doing (b) before (a), some questions can be done in any order, especially if you have simultaneous equations and then it's just a choice if which unknown you find first. This is often the case in questions involving F = ma. Often this is specifically pointed out on the mark schemes. Sometimes, however, a poor, tired examiner will not notice. For this reason it is always advisable to number clearly. If you have found the answer to part (b) without realising it, you should go back, change your numbering from (a) to (b) and clearly write:
Answer to part (b): {underlined answer}
And then continue with the question, clearly writing
Answer to part (a): {underlined answer}
Another thing which I have just remembered is that the board has recently said that they will take marks off for not making your answer clear. This is no word of a lie, my mechanics teacher specifically said that any abbreviations must be expanded. I am told that it is no longer acceptable (at least in M2) to write, for example:
m = 2.
You must write:
Therefore, the weight of the boy at point B = 2 kg.
For example. Even in the case of simple abbreviations like, m for mass and a for acceleration. This is mainly because people use different abbreviations, and if you've used arbitrary variables, it can become confusing. Anyway, this is good advice for next time, even if it isn't the cause of your lost marks this time. It's a pain, but it is good form.

I think it's probable that it wasn't clear. Sometimes teachers find it difficult to read my work.

I didn't write anything like m = 2, but I also didn't write anything like "Therefore, the weight of the boy at point B = 2 kg"... I was sort of in the middle. I would have written it, "∴ weight at point B = 2 kg". That could have potentially cost me marks...

My friend suggested that I do the paper again and see what people think, but I'm not as good at M1 as I was 3-5 months ago. I would have forgot some things, and I don't have time to revise for it again to the point where I can get 100.

Thanks for your advice - are you saying I should explicitly write "ANSWER TO PART B = ____"? If so I think this is a good idea. Usually I just underlined wherever my answer was, or circled it, but writing it like that will probably make it more likely that the examiner will see it.

I did a lot of crossing out on the moments question I recall, because I messed it up the first time, but got it right on the second.

That day was not great for me - C1 and M1 back to back, not allowed to get out of desk. Was told I would get a break and did not so brought an empty bottle and suffered. I've learned my lesson from this and I will always come prepared.

The grade boundaries are also getting high because students are getting better, but it's a little scary too. 72/75 in C4 Jan 2011 got you 90 UMS, so 73 got you 93 UMS, 74 got you 97 UMS. Those are big gaps. If I remember correctly in that paper 69/75 got you an A, with 80 UMS. So a gap of 6 raw marks = 20 UMS...

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 10:48:08

Sorry if this is off-topic... Au101, which university are you going to, what was your offer and what A-levels did you do? What modules did you take for maths (and further maths or further maths additional?)? What were your module scores like and did they help you with university places?

Au101 · 2011-08-19 10:50:37

The scripts themselves will not be marked in any other way, I mean, the person marking wouldn't know nor care. There's a bit of a conspiracy theory that in the case of subjects where the January paper is only for resits, the paper itself may be more difficult (although I highly doubt that) but since this isn't the case for maths it doesn't matter at all. I'm not sure what year eleven is (I go to a school with very odd naming conventions, and we had fifth form, lower sixth and upper sixth (which is slightly more normal than the names for previous years)) but am I right in thinking that that's GCSE year. Even if it's AS year, doing the resit will probably not hold you back, because you seem to be accelerated in some way. Nevertheless, some universities don't look kindly on resits, I have to say, in fact I think there are some which won't accept A2 resits. I don't know about AS's though. I'm not really a higher education adviser, I think talking it over with that person is your best option, but I think, if you want to apply for maths at Cambridge, there are more important things than module scores. First of all, you definitely need to do double maths and secondly, STEP. You may or may not know anything about STEP, but it is very very hard, and a typical maths offer will be a 1, 1 in STEP II and III. This is incredibly hard. I know two people at my school last year - one of whom had four A*s - who failed their offer, getting a 2 in STEP III. This is where I would recommend you invest your efforts, especially as this is the real distinguisher.

Au101 · 2011-08-19 11:09:34

The grade boundaries for C4 in January are correct - hence my paper this year was supposedly quite hard.

If you wrote what you said you wrote I would be surprised, if you lost marks. however, my teacher said that she spoke to the board, and unless it's a bit of a shock-tactic from her, that is the case. Anyway, even if they don't actually take marks off, it can only help make your answer clearer. It's a bit of a pain, especially in timed conditions, but it really will help you. You should definitely make it clear which part is which. Answer to part (b) = is exactly what I was always told to write. And obviously, beware units.

Well, it's your thread, so I assume it doesn't really matter if we wander off on a tangent.

I am going to SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies - which is part of the University of London, in Russell Square) to do Sanskrit. My offer was ABB and I got A*AB (with the A in (single) maths. Which came as a disappointment to me, but I know that exams can go badly for me and it doesn't affect my attitude towards maths. It's just that I know that I could do every question on that paper, so clearly I did something silly, which is frustrating to know, but that's life for you.)

I took Government & Politics (which I dropped at AS), Religious Studies and mathematics. I wasn't interested in maths at the time, and very nearly didn't take it. But since I started to enjoy myself doing additional maths (or add maths, its a pre A-level qualification, which basically covers most of C1) I decided to take it and have since become quite enamoured with it. As a result, I didn't take further maths, and although I do regret this in many ways, I don't really mind, because I've spent my holidays doing FP1 and FP2 and am just writing up a chapter on the graphs of hyperbolic functions as we speak, so at least it's given me something to do. Anyway, I've never liked applied maths, so at least I can avoid doing those modules.)

In maths I got:

C1: 100
C2: 87 (ran out of time on that one lol)
M1: 29 (which is a U, I told you I don't like applied maths, lol) resat and got 96
C3: 80
C4: 76 (bit disappointed in the last two, I'm not sure where the marks really went, but hey, like I say, that's life.)
M2: 76

Happily (in the case of M1) for the UCAS form you don't need to put your module scores down. Well, I didn't. Cambridge does, however, specifically ask for them. I assume if you give the 100 after 100 that can only help, but I think it's STEP that they're really interested. In fact, they've been known to not really look at your other exams, but that might be a bit of a myth. I did, however, get an offer from King's College London to study philosophy with 2 Bs in GCSE English and a personal statement which didn't mention a single extra curricular activity. The reason for this was because I took a very different line to my personal statement. So yeah,I think the other thing is to really work on an individual personal statement and an individual interview. You are gonna need grades to go to Cambridge, that's just the way it is, we can't dance around that. But what they really like is someone who obviously cares, someone a bit special. Don't just tick boxes on your UCAS form, don't come across as just another, one-dimensional student - show what a special talent you really are.

So yeah, I don't think the marks are everything, but they can only help you, I wouldn't be complacent about it, you've got big dreams and anything that can help you you should go for, but I wouldn't get too bogged down in one mechanics module. Whether it's worth the money, only you can decide, but and this is only my humble and probably quite ill-informed opinion - I would be surprised to see it change.

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 11:39:10

Au101 wrote:

The scripts themselves will not be marked in any other way, I mean, the person marking wouldn't know nor care. There's a bit of a conspiracy theory that in the case of subjects where the January paper is only for resits, the paper itself may be more difficult (although I highly doubt that) but since this isn't the case for maths it doesn't matter at all. I'm not sure what year eleven is (I go to a school with very odd naming conventions, and we had fifth form, lower sixth and upper sixth (which is slightly more normal than the names for previous years)) but am I right in thinking that that's GCSE year. Even if it's AS year, doing the resit will probably not hold you back, because you seem to be accelerated in some way. Nevertheless, some universities don't look kindly on resits, I have to say, in fact I think there are some which won't accept A2 resits. I don't know about AS's though. I'm not really a higher education adviser, I think talking it over with that person is your best option, but I think, if you want to apply for maths at Cambridge, there are more important things than module scores. First of all, you definitely need to do double maths and secondly, STEP. You may or may not know anything about STEP, but it is very very hard, and a typical maths offer will be a 1, 1 in STEP II and III. This is incredibly hard. I know two people at my school last year - one of whom had four A*s - who failed their offer, getting a 2 in STEP III. This is where I would recommend you invest your efforts, especially as this is the real distinguisher.

Year 11 is the GCSE year, yes. I am doing Further Maths Additional (18 modules). My college offers a maths enrichment class for preparation in STEP for Years 12-13 (Lower/Upper Sixth), which I will attend each week next year. I have done a couple of STEP questions and I agree that they are quite hard. I hope with a lot of training I can do well in them. I have heard rumours that there is going to be an offer requiring S-grades in STEP papers, which scares me a bit.

zetafunc. · 2011-08-19 11:49:40

Au101 wrote:

The grade boundaries for C4 in January are correct - hence my paper this year was supposedly quite hard.
If you wrote what you said you wrote I would be surprised, if you lost marks. however, my teacher said that she spoke to the board, and unless it's a bit of a shock-tactic from her, that is the case. Anyway, even if they don't actually take marks off, it can only help make your answer clearer. It's a bit of a pain, especially in timed conditions, but it really will help you. You should definitely make it clear which part is which. Answer to part (b) = is exactly what I was always told to write. And obviously, beware units.
Well, it's your thread, so I assume it doesn't really matter if we wander off on a tangent.
I am going to SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies - which is part of the University of London, in Russell Square) to do Sanskrit. My offer was ABB and I got A*AB (with the A in (single) maths. Which came as a disappointment to me, but I know that exams can go badly for me and it doesn't affect my attitude towards maths. It's just that I know that I could do every question on that paper, so clearly I did something silly, which is frustrating to know, but that's life for you.)
I took Government & Politics (which I dropped at AS), Religious Studies and mathematics. I wasn't interested in maths at the time, and very nearly didn't take it. But since I started to enjoy myself doing additional maths (or add maths, its a pre A-level qualification, which basically covers most of C1) I decided to take it and have since become quite enamoured with it. As a result, I didn't take further maths, and although I do regret this in many ways, I don't really mind, because I've spent my holidays doing FP1 and FP2 and am just writing up a chapter on the graphs of hyperbolic functions as we speak, so at least it's given me something to do. Anyway, I've never liked applied maths, so at least I can avoid doing those modules.)
In maths I got:
C1: 100
C2: 87 (ran out of time on that one lol)
M1: 29 (which is a U, I told you I don't like applied maths, lol) resat and got 96
C3: 80
C4: 76 (bit disappointed in the last two, I'm not sure where the marks really went, but hey, like I say, that's life.)
M2: 76
Happily (in the case of M1) for the UCAS form you don't need to put your module scores down. Well, I didn't. Cambridge does, however, specifically ask for them. I assume if you give the 100 after 100 that can only help, but I think it's STEP that they're really interested. In fact, they've been known to not really look at your other exams, but that might be a bit of a myth. I did, however, get an offer from King's College London to study philosophy with 2 Bs in GCSE English and a personal statement which didn't mention a single extra curricular activity. The reason for this was because I took a very different line to my personal statement. So yeah,I think the other thing is to really work on an individual personal statement and an individual interview. You are gonna need grades to go to Cambridge, that's just the way it is, we can't dance around that. But what they really like is someone who obviously cares, someone a bit special. Don't just tick boxes on your UCAS form, don't come across as just another, one-dimensional student - show what a special talent you really are.
So yeah, I don't think the marks are everything, but they can only help you, I wouldn't be complacent about it, you've got big dreams and anything that can help you you should go for, but I wouldn't get too bogged down in one mechanics module. Whether it's worth the money, only you can decide, but and this is only my humble and probably quite ill-informed opinion - I would be surprised to see it change.

Thanks for supplying this information. Just out of interest, why didn't you resit C3 + C4? I have heard of SOAS, I would be interested in hearing your experiences of it in case I apply there for UCAS 2013. Were you interviewed for SOAS, and, if so, did they ask anything about maths?

You said that Cambridge specifically ask for module scores, but my advisor told me that it's optional. I haven't seen the form, but are you sure that they do ask for them? He also said that other universities such as Imperial and Warwick are considering asking for (optional) module scores.

Thank you for the time you have put in to answer my questions, I appreciate it a lot.

Personally what worries me a lot is the money, capped at £9000/year. I come from a fairly poor background so it will be slightly reduced, but in the current economy I'm even wondering if I should do something else. Oh well, everyone else has to deal with it, so I guess I should just take it like everyone else does, but I don't want to be in debt for the rest of my life...

Math Is Fun Forum

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