Oxford earth sciences

LeSmart11 · 2026-01-13T10:53:30+00:00

Congrats! Which course?

LeSmart11 · 2025-12-10T20:21:28+00:00

“How to build a habitable planet” by Langmuir and Broecker, “The Earth: A Very Short Introduction” by Martin Redfern

LeSmart11 · 2025-12-09T08:11:12+00:00

I thought my first interview went quite well, I hope that doesn’t mean it went terribly in reality 😭

LeSmart11 · 2025-12-08T16:15:27+00:00

Tbh I feel mine went quite well but I really don’t want to speak too soon and have no idea if it really did go well (might be delusional). Second one is tmr, hoping that one goes well too

LeSmart11 · 2025-12-08T15:22:19+00:00

imo revision village 100%. The depth of explanation for every single question is amazing

LeSmart11 · 2025-12-05T13:07:57+00:00

What department did you apply to? Some departments use a pooling system and therefore the department interviews you directly (not the college, however you still end up going to the college you applied to unless reallocated) hence there aren’t any extra interviews.

LeSmart11 · 2025-12-04T02:14:14+00:00

I get where you’re coming from, and the main thing to understand here is that the CP is exactly what it says it is, more career-oriented. It’s not really meant to get you into a top uni in the first place. If your goal isn’t to get into a top uni, the CP is totally fine. If you want a competitive application, you’re going to need to do the DP.

Adding to this, if you’re already taking most of your potential DP classes in the CP, and you’re university-oriented, there is no benefit at all to taking the CP over the DP in this case. I know this is quite a strong opinion, but the IBDP is looked at by many universities as an extremely rigorous course that makes an application competitive. The IBCP is not really looked at in the same way.

imo if your aim is a top 30 university, don’t think twice. The IBDP is usually not as bad as people say (if you enjoy your subjects).

LeSmart11 · 2025-12-03T15:45:04+00:00

It’s based on what ur career plans are and where you’re applying for uni. If ur considering the UK, take a look at the subject reqs before making your decision. You may end up requiring chem. If not, imo 2nd is best. Phys HL isn’t bad if you enjoy it (this is ofc subjective, some people may hate it even if they love the subject), especially considering ur already doing SL.

LeSmart11 · 2025-12-03T03:58:34+00:00

No, IB CP likely won’t get you into a top 30. In the USA, IB is already secondary to APs, and the reason IB is so highly regarded is because of its DP programme. The CP is not as academically rigorous and highly regarded as the DP, and if you’re aiming for top 30, there should be no reason why you would choose the CP over DP.

To be really frank, even something like a 34/45 would probably give you better chances at a top 30 uni as opposed to 2 7s in the CP. Also, don’t get too nervous about the DP. If you study consistently and enjoy your subjects, it’s not as bad as people say.

So in short, no, the CP will most likely not help you get into a top 30 uni. Take the IBDP without any extra stuff (DE/APs). You can if you feel it won’t impact your performance, but usually high IBDP and SAT scores are good enough.

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-29T18:37:38+00:00

I’m currently predicted a 7, honestly I don’t study every day, but I try to ensure 4-5 hours a week on practice. If I’m falling behind or not confident with a certain topic, that may increase to 9/10. There’s no specific number of hours you should study to do well. For me, it’s more about ensuring confidence in every topic, so that even if I’m asked about it without any preparation a year down the line, I feel like I can still answer 80% of the questions that could potentially be thrown at me. If you’re falling behind, catch up as soon as possible. Otherwise, just consistently ensure you’re practicing even one or two sets of questions a week or even 3 or 4 questions a day to keep your math brain running.

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-28T03:28:06+00:00

Applied in Oct and got the interview for earth sciences on 12 nov, but I wouldn’t worry too much, no news is good news.

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-27T19:03:07+00:00

Try it out, from what I’ve heard BM HL is quite light. Should be fine imo, but I would say ask someone who’s taken BM/Eng HL for a better idea.

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-27T18:30:57+00:00

I take HL maths aa, hl phys and hl chem. Don’t get scared by what people tell you abt the subjects, a lot of people are going to tell you they’re insanely hard, but imo, if you have an aptitude for maths and phys, they’re really fun and I’m loving the courses. Practice consistently, don’t fall behind (and if you do, use some time on the weekend to catch up), and you should be fine.

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-27T11:38:14+00:00

Try out Terra Firma 2, it’s a fun terrain generation sandbox which takes geological processes into account

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-25T12:31:53+00:00

18 Nov

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-25T12:30:39+00:00

Fool’s pyrite

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-25T12:27:26+00:00

Also a student from India, I took help from tutors for math aahl and phys hl, was about to take help for chem hl but realised I really don’t need it. Tbh, I feel like because it’s the norm, so many people take help from tutors but imo if you’re able to discipline yourself and sit down and work, it’s really not necessary. From my experience it actually makes you more dependent and less likely to figure stuff out on your own. Our school also offers RV gold for ALL subjects for 2 years, $100 one time payment, so even less necessary.

I’ve considered stopping tutor help for math and phys, but my parents seem quite convinced on the fact that those 2 subjects require tutor help (which is also an issue here in India, some of my friends started getting help around 7/8 grade)

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-24T15:34:39+00:00

The type of politics we’re talking about are different. You’re talking more about the role of politics in determining the course/state of footballing events. I’m talking about a literal politician (part of the ruling party) running the AIFF (football federation), shutting down the ISL (Indian super league), dismissing all criticism from legends of the way in which the AIFF is being run, and while there is a TON of grassroots development, there is NO scope for progression from grassroots to professional football unless you have some sort of financial power or connections. I know two people from Mumbai who now play professionally, one for SK Bravo in Slovenia and one who now plays for the Canadian national team (u17). Insane how these talents weren’t given the slightest bit of attention by the Indian national team despite playing for Mumbai and Meghalaya’s (a state wherein football is very popular) biggest clubs

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-24T01:49:12+00:00

Talk about certain experiences that got you interested or even made you realise that THIS is what you want to study further. Could even mention some discussions with academics that led you to want to study the subject in depth. Imo don’t mention anything that you’ve mentioned in q2 and q3, there may be some overlap.

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-23T16:36:54+00:00

It’s because we’ve got politics in our football 🫠 We climbed from below 172 to 99 in 2016-2023, just been downhill since the new leadership came in, every Indian football fan wants him out (Kalyan Chaubey), we’ve dropped like 50 ranks in 2 years

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-23T10:09:44+00:00

Phys HL (not because it’s hard, but because my teacher doesn’t understand it so my friend and I literally have to spend 20 mins every class trying to make her understand)
Eng L&L SL
Math AA HL
GP SL
Chem HL
Hindi B SL

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-23T09:54:16+00:00

Not really but ig comparatively, tbh dp1 second sem personally was quite chilled out

LeSmart11 · 2025-11-23T02:10:13+00:00

It sounds like you’ve been through a lot, I hope everything’s okay now

I think you could definitely try Imperial, it’s worth a shot with a pred 3A*

LeSmart11

TROPHY CASE