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How hard is a level further maths?

How hard is a level further maths?

How much work does it require?

How hard is it to get an a star?

Can I get an a star in a level further maths if i can get an a star in igcse maths and an a star with distinction in level 2 certificate of further maths - how hard would it be?

Would it affect my success in other subjects?

Cheers.
(edited 7 years ago)
It's more difficult than A-level maths. But difficulty is subjective and different people will handle it differently, sorry :dontknow:.

It requires as much work as necessary. They say a few hrs a week per subject!
For the A* point, refer to my 2nd sentence but it is one of the harder subjects.

It shouldn't affect your other subjects, no, if you put in the requisite amount of work. Your achievement at IGCSE has little bearing on what you'll get at A-level Further Mathematics. However if you're capable of getting an A*, at IGCSE level, then at least you'll be able to make a reasonable start to the subject as you'll have less gaps to fill than, say, a B student.

Many people can do it. It just depends on how much time and effort you're willing to put in! Good luck :smile:.
This really depends on you and your capability.

Rather than asking on TSR where nobody knows how well you're doing I think it would be best for you is to ask your Mathematics teacher at school and see what they think you should do.

If you like you can always borrow an A Level Further Mathematics book from your library, teach yourself the first few topics roughly and try to do an exercise. This way you'll have an idea of if this subject is suited for you.

I hope this helps. :h:
I think if there's one thing you have to take into consideration, then it's the amount of content that you will have to learn.

A lot of the time the topics aren't too hard to follow, providing you give yourself sufficient time to process and understand it all.
If you do plan on taking Further Maths, I would highly recommend you pursue revising and studying from very early on.

The Maths itself isn't always necessarily a brain ache, it's just people make it harder for themselves because there is so much content to learn and they don't seem to realise or come to terms with this until later on, and it is of course harder than the A-level maths, but not impossible.
If you leave it fairly late, then having to learn/revise for so much content in such a short time is what can really affect your grades and success. This is certainly what has affected my friends. They say it's not necessarily too hard, it's just there's a lot to do and they haven't given themselves that much time to commit themselves to it, so that is primarily what makes it hard.

As I said, set foot on the revision and studying from early on to allow yourself the time to prepare yourself and retain everything, and then it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

There's this whole "1 in 1 out" phrase that a lot of schools use.
For every 1 hour of lessons you have in school for a subject, you should be dedicating 1 hour of study outside for that subject. This should be fine for FMaths, but considering there is a fair amount, a little more may be required.

Considering you did iGCSE and FMaths, then you already have a slightly better grasp and understanding of it all than others, but it's best not to become too complacent as this could be your downfall.
I don't know you, but from the little you have said, I think it's suffice to say you have more than a reasonable chance of doing well if you commit yourself to it.

Providing you dedicate enough time to your other subjects, then it shouldn't cause a problem or shouldn't interfere with your success in other subjects.

As others have said, you can always browse a few of the topics and see how you cope with them.
If you're doing it in school, you always have the option of attending some lessons and seeing how you deal with that, so that you can make more of an informed decision as to whether you would like to continue with it.
This is what I did.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Coolme12345
How hard is a level further maths?
(...)


In comparison to what? GSCE? harder by far.

(...) Can I get an a star in a level further maths if i can get an a star in igcse maths and an a star with distinction in level 2 certificate of further maths - how hard would it be?


It depends on your understanding in mathematics. If you have a good one - after GSCE you should know how good it is - you have good chances to get a A*. Of course, you need a deeper one, that is the requirement. That is why bring yourself into question and ask how realistic this goal is.

(...) How much work does it require?


As I have written above, it depends on your understanding. The better, the lesser the work. But as a rule it is a huge efford to get an A* in A-levels, even for experts. To get this mark, you need a high understandig for logic, steps in calculations and mathematical relationships.
Reply 5
Original post by JaredzzC
I think if there's one thing you have to take into consideration, then it's the amount of content that you will have to learn.

A lot of the time the topics aren't too hard to follow, providing you give yourself sufficient time to process and understand it all.
If you do plan on taking Further Maths, I would highly recommend you pursue revising and studying from very early on.

The Maths itself isn't always necessarily a brain ache, it's just people make it harder for themselves because there is so much content to learn and they don't seem to realise or come to terms with this until later on, and it is of course harder than the A-level maths, but not impossible.
If you leave it fairly late, then having to learn/revise for so much content in such a short time is what can really affect your grades and success. This is certainly what has affected my friends. They say it's not necessarily too hard, it's just there's a lot to do and they haven't given themselves that much time to commit themselves to it, so that is primarily what makes it hard.

As I said, set foot on the revision and studying from early on to allow yourself the time to prepare yourself and retain everything, and then it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

There's this whole "1 in 1 out" phrase that a lot of schools use.
For every 1 hour of lessons you have in school for a subject, you should be dedicating 1 hour of study outside for that subject. This should be fine for FMaths, but considering there is a fair amount, a little more may be required.

Considering you did iGCSE and FMaths, then you already have a slightly better grasp and understanding of it all than others, but it's best not to become too complacent as this could be your downfall.
I don't know you, but from the little you have said, I think it's suffice to say you have more than a reasonable chance of doing well if you commit yourself to it.

Providing you dedicate enough time to your other subjects, then it shouldn't cause a problem or shouldn't interfere with your success in other subjects.

As others have said, you can always browse a few of the topics and see how you cope with them.
If you're doing it in school, you always have the option of attending some lessons and seeing how you deal with that, so that you can make more of an informed decision as to whether you would like to continue with it.
This is what I did.


Long!
Reply 6
Depends on you. Everybody thinks of it differently. For some people, it's a free A* without needing any work, for others its the bane of their existence.

Original post by Coolme12345
...
Reply 7
Original post by Coolme12345
How hard is a level further maths?


It's all relative - some people might find it piss and others will struggle with FP1. I suggest you try it out for AS and see what it's like.

How much work does it require?


Again, depends on how quick you adsorb content and you often you'll practice. All the practice you'll do for FM will end up making regular maths really easy, so you'll be practising maths less.

How hard is it to get an a star?


90% average across 3 A2 modules; make of that what you will. Just note that further maths papers have high boundaries so you get punished severely for errors.

Can I get an a star in a level further maths if i can get an a star in igcse maths and an a star with distinction in level 2 certificate of further maths - how hard would it be?


Extremely hard to predict, but you'll be in a very good position after doing an FMSQ - a lot of people will have done only GCSE Maths and you'll definitely be in a better position than them.

Would it affect my success in other subjects?


If anything, it'll make you appreciate the mathematics behind subjects like physics, chemistry and economics a little more. Maths + FM only feels like one subject to be frank, so it doesn't hamper much especially if paired with something like physics.
Original post by undercxver
This really depends on you and your capability.

Rather than asking on TSR where nobody knows how well you're doing I think it would be best for you is to ask your Mathematics teacher at school and see what they think you should do.

If you like you can always borrow an A Level Further Mathematics book from your library, teach yourself the first few topics roughly and try to do an exercise. This way you'll have an idea of if this subject is suited for you.

I hope this helps. :h:


This. You have everything said to it what can be said about it. I think so too that teachers are better in estimating students than strange members from TSR.
Original post by Coolme12345
Can I get an a star in a level further maths if i can get an a star in igcse maths and an a star with distinction in level 2 certificate of further maths - how hard would it be?


It sounds like you have the right mathematical background to go on to be successful.

Original post by Coolme12345
Would it affect my success in other subjects?


It will certainly improve your marks in A level mathematics.
Reply 10
I did further maths and found some of the topics difficult however I found it useful to have the background (even if I didn't understand it all at the time) when I studied Maths at university. If you plan on studying Maths at university, then given your background I'd recommend it. It's not a prerequisite but it makes first year a bit easier while others are playing catch up.

It also helps improve your Maths grade as well, as by comparison it's easier and you'll be doing more practice. The downside for me was that it lowered my UCAS points given I got a lower grade in further maths then what I could have got doing an easier subject. It all depends on what you plan to do post A levels.

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