Am I good enough for a maths degree?

(Note: I'm not going to apply to Oxbridge or Imperial but I am looking to apply to Warwick or LSE or Nottingham. )

The thing is I am predicted an A* in maths but only an A in further maths- I narrowly missed the A* prediction criteria at my school but I am confident that if I retake my C3 and M2 exams I can get an A* in FM as well. However, I'm not a genius and I am not usually top of the class (although I go to a grammar school so there are some clever guys here) .

I really like maths and I usually get near 100% or slightly less when I do excersises in school but the pressure of exams pushes my scores down to around the 85 to 95% range. I make silly mistakes in every exam.

I've learnt some of the basic algebra and analysis stuff that they teach in first year university maths and I've done some exercises on those and it's been really interesting and I get the questions right. I know that the second and third years will be a lot harder.

So I am looking to apply to maths and economics courses at either Warwick (MORSE) or LSE and some others like Nottingham and Surrey. What I am worried about is: will I struggle with a maths degree? I am finding a level maths pretty easy and further maths is all right so far (although I struggled at the start of fp1) but should I bother applying for a maths (and economics) degree? I'm not really that good at other things and maths and economics are the only subjects I'm passionate about at the moment. I'm confident about my economics ability but it's the maths I'm a bit worried about...

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

Ladbants

The main maths kings on TSR that I've seen are @SeanFM and @Zacken maybe they can help you decide if it's for you.

Most of the people I know who are doing maths degrees are the types of people who get close to 100 UMS on every maths test. But with determination I'm sure you could do it. It's a joint honours course anyway- there won't be that much math

Reply 2

Livvyxo

Quite simply,

Yes, you are good enough.

Reply 3

cogito.

Consider doing some STEP I paper, normally doing well in STEP does not indicate anything significant, however doing bad in STEP would indicate a poor performance in a maths related degree.

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Reply 4

Doones

Original post by cogito.

Consider doing some STEP I paper, normally doing well in STEP does not indicate anything significant, however doing bad in STEP would indicate a poor performance in a maths related degree.

Except that attempting STEP from a standing start could scar someone for life... just about everyone finds STEP rather challenging until they have practiced for quite some time.

Reply 5

cogito.

Original post by jneill

Except that attempting STEP from a standing start could scar someone for life... just about everyone finds STEP rather challenging until they have practiced for quite some time.

I agree, but unlike AEA, there are lots of skills one can learn from STEP (which coould be a good way to spend your time in summer)

Reply 6

Doones

Original post by cogito.

I agree, but unlike AEA, there are lots of skills one can learn from STEP (which coould be a good way to spend your time in summer)

That's fair. :wink:

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Reply 7

swervybang

Original post by cogito.

Original post by jneill

Except that attempting STEP from a standing start could scar someone for life... just about everyone finds STEP rather challenging until they have practiced for quite some time.

Hi guys. I did one or two STEP 1 questions (from the pure maths section) and tbf they weren't as hard as I expected. I took a long time to complete the questions but they were doable and I think I could do well with some practise. It wasn't as hard as some of the UKMT maths challenge questions in the sense that these questions could be done with practise.

Reply 8

Doones

Original post by swervybang

You've answered your own question then :smile:

Reply 9

swervybang

Original post by jneill

You've answered your own question then :smile:

I still feel like I might not be suited for a maths (and/with economics) degree though. In my AS exams, quite a few people from my further maths class are confident that they got every question right after checking the unofficial mark schemes but I definitely didn't get 100 UMS in anything (except C1-2) and I might have even got below 90 UMS in M2 and M1 (I'm not great at mechanics) because I make silly mistakes.

Reply 10

Doones

Original post by swervybang

You honestly don't need 100 UMS to be "good enough" to enjoy a maths degree.

Many universities ask AAA (or below), not even A*, for their maths courses. Don't get hung-up on UMS. Not "even" Cambridge expects you to have 100 UMS.

Reply 11

username1162972

Original post by cogito.

How does doing well not indicate anything significant lol?

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Reply 12

username1162972

Original post by Ladbants

Not man lyk me.
S2 49
D1 10 probs D2 probs about 55
S4 lyk 40 bruv
Bangin.

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Reply 13

cogito.

Original post by physicsmaths

How does doing well not indicate anything significant lol?

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One of my friends got 59/60 in BMO yet too lazy to practice for STEP and failed.

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Reply 14

username1162972

Original post by cogito.

One of my friends got 59/60 in BMO yet too lazy to practice for STEP and failed.

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What year was this? This year?

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Reply 15

cogito.

Original post by physicsmaths

What year was this? This year?

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at least 5 years ago, he got into Cambridge nevertheless

Reply 16

monkyvirus

I've always been an 85% person and I got a very high 2:1 and a PhD offer so I wouldn't stress about it!

If you have an A somewhere will 100% accept you, actually multiple places will! Passion will take you further than anything else so when you can align that with great grades (which you have!) you are the perfect package for any university :smile: