[adw10]

I am currently in year 10 and studying the basic core subjects (doing triple science, maths and english) and for my options am doing AS ICT, gcse electronics, gcse german, gcse pe, gcse full course re, gcse history and btech business.

I am targeted, working at and acheiving A-A*in most (maybe all) of these subjects (will try for a distinction is the btec business and am working at an A grade in AS ICT). In my first two maths exams i acheived 80/80 in unit 1 and 100/100 in unit 2 and will do unit 3 in november 2012 and will probably go on to do as maths for what would then be the rest of year 11. In my first set of science exams i got 88/100 in biology (A grade) 94/100 in chemistry (A*) and 92/100 in physics (A*), i take the next set (additional science) this May.

I am very sporty as well, i play football, golf and badminton and i go mountain biking (just saved up enough money to get and just bought from ebay a second hand scott bike ), snowboarding (started summer 2011) and running as often as i can. Furthermore i enjoy doing lots of activities like go-ape and go-karting but a main interest of mine is the Formula 1 championship.

The question - Would an engineering based career fit my personality and abilities and if so what should i take at A-level and what university should i target to get into and what course should i take there? thanks for helping

[multiplexing-gamer]

(Original post by adw10)
I am currently in year 10 and studying the basic core subjects (doing triple science, maths and english) and for my options am doing AS ICT, gcse electronics, gcse german, gcse pe, gcse full course re, gcse history and btech business.

I am targeted, working at and acheiving A-A*in most (maybe all) of these subjects (will try for a distinction is the btec business and am working at an A grade in AS ICT). In my first two maths exams i acheived 80/80 in unit 1 and 100/100 in unit 2 and will do unit 3 in november 2012 and will probably go on to do as maths for what would then be the rest of year 11. In my first set of science exams i got 88/100 in biology (A grade) 94/100 in chemistry (A*) and 92/100 in physics (A*), i take the next set (additional science) this May.

I am very sporty as well, i play football, golf and badminton and i go mountain biking (just saved up enough money to get and just bought from ebay a second hand scott bike ), snowboarding (started summer 2011) and running as often as i can. Furthermore i enjoy doing lots of activities like go-ape and go-karting but a main interest of mine is the Formula 1 championship.

The question - Would an engineering based career fit my personality and abilities and if so what should i take at A-level and what university should i target to get into and what course should i take there? thanks for helping

A lot of details included here aren't relevant, such as your Maths scores and hobbies such as Badminton. In regards to GCSEs you don't need all A*-As, I know people with B's in GCSE Maths who want to go into Engineering. A better question would be what University you'd like to do it at, places like Staffordshire don't even ask for Maths A-level and GCSEs don't really count, whilst places like Imperial require good GCSE scores. Cambridge admissions officer told me that you only need A*s in the subjects that matter - Maths and Science (take note, this isn't all Universities, so don't worry.)

For A-level the essential subjects needed are Physics and Maths. Helpful A-levels include Chemistry, Further Maths, Geography (For Civil Engineering), Electronics, Computing and Design Technology. Of these, Further Maths would be most useful.

You need to decide what Engineering procession you'd like to go in: General, Aeronautical (Designing aircraft etc), Civil (Designing buildings and large infrastructure), Mechanical, Chemical or Automotive. There are also some other fields which aren't as popular.

Interests in Formula 1 isn't really too helpful, many people are and you don't need to be an Engineering graduate to be a fan. Interests in other sports are not relevant, or helpful to applying for Engineering.

All University degree's in Engineering are equal in respectability if applying to Engineering jobs so Universities aren't really the 'be all and end all'. However, you want to be going to the best Universities because you can apply to top jobs such as Investment Banking. A degree in Engineering from a top Uni can get you a job pretty much anywhere, so don't take the attitude Uni's for Engineering don't really matter.

I'd suggest:
Oxbridge
Imperial College London
University College London
Warwick
Sheffield

American Uni's:
Harvard
Stanford
MIT

Lot's of other good Uni's as well. Message back if you want more info

[Rainingshame]

(Original post by adw10)
I am currently in year 10 and studying the basic core subjects (doing triple science, maths and english) and for my options am doing AS ICT, gcse electronics, gcse german, gcse pe, gcse full course re, gcse history and btech business.

I am targeted, working at and acheiving A-A*in most (maybe all) of these subjects (will try for a distinction is the btec business and am working at an A grade in AS ICT). In my first two maths exams i acheived 80/80 in unit 1 and 100/100 in unit 2 and will do unit 3 in november 2012 and will probably go on to do as maths for what would then be the rest of year 11. In my first set of science exams i got 88/100 in biology (A grade) 94/100 in chemistry (A*) and 92/100 in physics (A*), i take the next set (additional science) this May.

I am very sporty as well, i play football, golf and badminton and i go mountain biking (just saved up enough money to get and just bought from ebay a second hand scott bike ), snowboarding (started summer 2011) and running as often as i can. Furthermore i enjoy doing lots of activities like go-ape and go-karting but a main interest of mine is the Formula 1 championship.

The question - Would an engineering based career fit my personality and abilities and if so what should i take at A-level and what university should i target to get into and what course should i take there? thanks for helping

For engineering:
Drop ICT
Take Physics
Maths
Further Maths
And if you want Chemistry

Then go to a university and do a general or mechanical engineering course. The universities to aspire for are:

• Cambridge
  Imperial
  Oxford
  MIT
  Caltech
  Ucal Berkely
  Stanford
  Harvard

That being said an accredited degree from ANY university is good, it's your grade(1st,2:1 etc) that matter more.
EDIT: oh and in maths/further maths make sure you end up doing ALL mechanics units.

[multiplexing-gamer]

(Original post by Rainingshame)
For engineering:
Drop ICT
Take Physics
Maths
Further Maths
And if you want Chemistry

Then go to a university and do a general or mechanical engineering course. The universities to aspire for are:

• Cambridge
  Imperial
  Oxford
  MIT
  Caltech
  Ucal Berkely
  Stanford
  Harvard

That being said an accredited degree from ANY university is good, it's your grade(1st,2:1 etc) that matter more.
EDIT: oh and in maths/further maths make sure you end up doing ALL mechanics units.

He's taking ICT as part of his GCSEs, so it won't effect him as he's taking the four conventional A-levels at College. For example, at my school, it was either AS level ICT or Cooking, so I chose ICT.

[adw10]

thanks for the replies, i can tell you seem to know what you're talking about and will consider what you have said when i need to make these choices.

In reply to what you said(multiplexing-gamer and Rainingshame, although feel free to post if you're someone else):
I was looking at vehicle engineering (not sure which route yet whether it be racing or car manufacture or even the plane one, out of interest which one of these routes would pay the best or would they all be similar)

Maths and physics were the two a-levels i was almost sure i would have taken anyway and further maths sounds like what the other one should be (if you can take four then i would probably go chemistry).

As far as the choice of university I am going on a trip with school this tuesday to oxford for an experience day with nine other students from our school and lots of other schools so i might learn more there. Targeting oxbridge i think would be the right choice from what has been said as if i just didn't get in i could try at somewhere like sheffield (which is local for me). American universities have been mentioned but i think i would only go there if it would make a big difference to me than targeting oxbridge.

Oh and finally, what do you mean by do all the mechanic units in the maths a-levels (i have no idea what you mean so please explain)

p.s. maths and physics are the subjects at school which do interest me the most, followed by chemistry.

[adw10]

(Original post by multiplexing-gamer)
A lot of details included here aren't relevant, such as your Maths scores and hobbies such as Badminton. In regards to GCSEs you don't need all A*-As, I know people with B's in GCSE Maths who want to go into Engineering. A better question would be what University you'd like to do it at, places like Staffordshire don't even ask for Maths A-level and GCSEs don't really count, whilst places like Imperial require good GCSE scores. Cambridge admissions officer told me that you only need A*s in the subjects that matter - Maths and Science (take note, this isn't all Universities, so don't worry.)

For A-level the essential subjects needed are Physics and Maths. Helpful A-levels include Chemistry, Further Maths, Geography (For Civil Engineering), Electronics, Computing and Design Technology. Of these, Further Maths would be most useful.

You need to decide what Engineering procession you'd like to go in: General, Aeronautical (Designing aircraft etc), Civil (Designing buildings and large infrastructure), Mechanical, Chemical or Automotive. There are also some other fields which aren't as popular.

Interests in Formula 1 isn't really too helpful, many people are and you don't need to be an Engineering graduate to be a fan. Interests in other sports are not relevant, or helpful to applying for Engineering.

All University degree's in Engineering are equal in respectability if applying to Engineering jobs so Universities aren't really the 'be all and end all'. However, you want to be going to the best Universities because you can apply to top jobs such as Investment Banking. A degree in Engineering from a top Uni can get you a job pretty much anywhere, so don't take the attitude Uni's for Engineering don't really matter.

I'd suggest:
Oxbridge
Imperial College London
University College London
Warwick
Sheffield

American Uni's:
Harvard
Stanford
MIT

Lot's of other good Uni's as well. Message back if you want more info

not sure if i had to quote you to notify you (i'm new to this site)

[multiplexing-gamer]

(Original post by adw10)
thanks for the replies, i can tell you seem to know what you're talking about and will consider what you have said when i need to make these choices.

In reply to what you said(multiplexing-gamer and Rainingshame, although feel free to post if you're someone else):
I was looking at vehicle engineering (not sure which route yet whether it be racing or car manufacture or even the plane one, out of interest which one of these routes would pay the best or would they all be similar)

Maths and physics were the two a-levels i was almost sure i would have taken anyway and further maths sounds like what the other one should be (if you can take four then i would probably go chemistry).

As far as the choice of university I am going on a trip with school this tuesday to oxford for an experience day with nine other students from our school and lots of other schools so i might learn more there. Targeting oxbridge i think would be the right choice from what has been said as if i just didn't get in i could try at somewhere like sheffield (which is local for me). American universities have been mentioned but i think i would only go there if it would make a big difference to me than targeting oxbridge.

Oh and finally, what do you mean by do all the mechanic units in the maths a-levels (i have no idea what you mean so please explain)

p.s. maths and physics are the subjects at school which do interest me the most, followed by chemistry.

If you want to go into Car manufacture I'd suggest going into Mechanical or Automotive Engineering. Mechanical is the most broad, so that'd be better, because if you change your mind that's OK, you can apply for a different field, with automotive you'd be stuck

For Maths AS level it's split into three thirds. You have to take two modules called Core 1 and Core 2 and the third you can choose. You choose between a statistics module, a mechanics one and a 'decision' one. Pick the Mechanics one as that's more like Physics and Universities prefer it. Pick as many aspossible if you have the choice.

I think Oxford only offer general Engineering by the way

[Rainingshame]

(Original post by multiplexing-gamer)
If you want to go into Car manufacture I'd suggest going into Mechanical or Automotive Engineering. Mechanical is the most broad, so that'd be better, because if you change your mind that's OK, you can apply for a different field, with automotive you'd be stuck

For Maths AS level it's split into three thirds. You have to take two modules called Core 1 and Core 2 and the third you can choose. You choose between a statistics module, a mechanics one and a 'decision' one. Pick the Mechanics one as that's more like Physics and Universities prefer it. Pick as many aspossible if you have the choice.

I think Oxford only offer general Engineering by the way

I think there's is like Cambridge's where you take a general course but specify in the 2/3rd year

[adw10]

thanks guys

[adw10]

I went to an oxbridge taster day today at oxford-christ church and enjoyed the experience and would like to go there when i'm older and on the bus journey back i was looking at the course options in the prospectus and the course that pointed towards careers in car manufacture etc. was the Engineering, Economics and management course. Would this be a good course to take, i noticed that in the 2011 entries only 40% received interviews and just 8.4% of aplicants got into the course as they only take 11 students for the course!!!!

[multiplexing-gamer]

(Original post by adw10)
I went to an oxbridge taster day today at oxford-christ church and enjoyed the experience and would like to go there when i'm older and on the bus journey back i was looking at the course options in the prospectus and the course that pointed towards careers in car manufacture etc. was the Engineering, Economics and management course. Would this be a good course to take, i noticed that in the 2011 entries only 40% received interviews and just 8.4% of aplicants got into the course as they only take 11 students for the course!!!!

It's a very good course. Do you thnk you like Ecnomics and Management? You didnt mention it in the above. Press the quote button when you speak to people btw..
I mit consider that course, not many uni's offer it though. Very difficult i hear...

[chad_bro_chill]

(Original post by adw10)
I went to an oxbridge taster day today at oxford-christ church and enjoyed the experience and would like to go there when i'm older and on the bus journey back i was looking at the course options in the prospectus and the course that pointed towards careers in car manufacture etc. was the Engineering, Economics and management course. Would this be a good course to take, i noticed that in the 2011 entries only 40% received interviews and just 8.4% of aplicants got into the course as they only take 11 students for the course!!!!

I would recommend going for mechanical engineering instead of vehicle/automotive engineering. Mech eng is a bit more general and will open more doors for you (wider range of jobs) while you would still be able to apply to all the automotive engineering jobs.

That course at Oxford sounds interesting but you need to figure out what you'd like to do later on. It sounds like it has some serious econ and management modules so it won't be as focused on the technical side of engineering as the other "pure" engineering courses.. It could give you a better shot at working as a manager / some business-related role within an engineering firm but if you're just looking to apply the technical engineering skills then I would suggest focusing on a proper engineering degree

[chill543]

loughbrough is meant to be good for engineering aswell,
its worth seeing what kind of engineering you whant to do (im applying for chemical) and see what a levels they ask for. (have a look at aeronautical that looks really good! )
usaully its maths and physics i think that you HAVE to have... but it worth checking as sometimes you dont need phyisc

BTW there are some really good reults you got in your exams (and sorry i only read opening post )

[adw10]

(Original post by multiplexing-gamer)
It's a very good course. Do you thnk you like Ecnomics and Management? You didnt mention it in the above. Press the quote button when you speak to people btw..
I mit consider that course, not many uni's offer it though. Very difficult i hear...

I don't really get what economics and management includes (maybe you could explain) but in the description that course led to the jobs i was looking at rather than the other engineering courses offered which were engineering science, engineering and philosophy and i think that was it

[Smack]

(Original post by adw10)
I don't really get what economics and management includes (maybe you could explain) but in the description that course led to the jobs i was looking at rather than the other engineering courses offered which were engineering science, engineering and philosophy and i think that was it

What jobs are you looking at?

[adw10]

(Original post by Smack)
What jobs are you looking at?

car related jobs, more on the racing side than the manufacture side

[4RealBlud]

(Original post by multiplexing-gamer)
I'd suggest:
Oxbridge
Imperial College London
University College London
Sheffield
Manchester
Bristol
Southampton
Edinburgh
Warwick - perhaps

American Uni's:
Harvard
Stanford
MIT
There are a lot of good unis america for engineering tbh, these are just the absolute cream of the crop

Lot's of other good Uni's as well. Message back if you want more info

If Automotive engineering is what you're looking for, i think Hertfordshire is supposed to be a specialist in that i think OP. Loughborough supposed to be good for that if i'm not mistaken.

(Original post by multiplexing-gamer)
If you want to go into Car manufacture I'd suggest going into Mechanical or Automotive Engineering. Mechanical is the most broad, so that'd be better, because if you change your mind that's OK, you can apply for a different field, with automotive you'd be stuck

IMHO, i think mechanical would be better, because you have a greater breadth of knowledge, however you certainly wouldn't be stuck with automotive, your knowledge is still very applicable to a lot of things. There was an automotive engineering graduate from Hertforshire in my old workplace working as part of the projects team for a theatre automation company. If you really think you'd enjoy the automotive course better, go for it OP