Benefits of doing an EPQ

Hi, I’m Robbie, and welcome to the University of Bath. This online course has been designed to help you to reach your potential by achieving the best possible grade in your EPQ We’ve put together a fantastic set of resources to support you in developing your skills, improving your ability to learn independently, and to ensure you make the most out of this opportunity to dive into a topic that really interests you. One of the great things about the EPQ is how well it prepares you for studying at university. Admissions tutors love reading about the things you’ve learned and the skills you’ve gained. Some universities love it so much, they’ll reward you for your hard work when you apply.

For example, here at Bath, most of our offers to prospective students like you will be reduced if you get an A star or an A grade. That’s why it’s so important for you to do the best you can. And we want to make sure you do. I really hope you enjoy working through this course and wish you the very best of luck for your studies. And now, over to Molly.

Hi, I’m Molly. I’m a second year Psychology student at the University of Bath. During my A levels, I took an extended project qualification and have found it really helpful at university. One of the aspects I enjoyed most about the EPQ was that you’re free to write it on anything you want. This is quite different to any other project or assessment you have at A level, where there are curriculums to follow. This freedom means you can write your EPQ on something you’re really interested in and that gave me the motivation to research and write it. It’s also a longer piece of writing than most A level work, so you can really write in-depth on the subject.

Also, not only have you written something completely different and new, but you also have done independent study. This is a really good experience to have coming into university, where learning is more independent. Being able to research and write critically on that research is fundamental to university-style writing. And so having done an EPQ really put me a step ahead of my peers. So not only does an EPQ look impressive when you apply, as Robbie mentioned, but it actually helps you in your studies when you get to university. For example, doing an EPQ was the first time I had to use referencing and write a bibliography.

This is academic convention for university-level essays and so I feel really confident with referencing because I had that head start. Being able to reference well and having those research skills gives me more time to work on and improve on other aspects of my assignments. So as you can see, it is really useful to do an EPQ, as you can tackle university with more confidence and be one step ahead.