[Jed_]

Hi,

I am currently in year 12 and am yet to decide what a really what to do at university. All I know is that after doing a mechanics module in maths I have developed an interest in it. So I thought I would look for a degree with this in mind. However I can only find Maths or Physics, I don't study Physics at A-Level nor Further Maths so I think that I am automatically ruled out of those two degrees. So what I am really asking is that are there any courses that are "Mathsy" that involve Mechanics that I would be able to apply for and stand a chance of getting an offer? I would have loved to have studied maths but I am worried that not doing Further Maths would not allow me to compete with other applicants. Is it unheard of that people can do maths degrees at a good university without Further Maths?

Thanks for any replies in advance,

[ttoby]

Have a look at this list of typical offers for maths: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki...y_requirements

Although further maths is very helpful for applying to the top universities, there are still many universities that don't require it. However, it would be much better if you did have further maths so one option is to pick it up as an AS next year. Some universities would compensate for not having further maths by making a higher offer.

Unfortunately I can't really advise you about other maths-related courses as I don't know much about them myself. But have a look through their requirements on university websites to see what you would be eligible for and also think about if you could satisfy the requirements by picking up an AS.

What are your other subjects and predicted grades at the moment? Are there any you are planning on dropping?

[Jed_]

(Original post by ttoby)
Have a look at this list of typical offers for maths: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki...y_requirements

Although further maths is very helpful for applying to the top universities, there are still many universities that don't require it. However, it would be much better if you did have further maths so one option is to pick it up as an AS next year. Some universities would compensate for not having further maths by making a higher offer.

Unfortunately I can't really advise you about other maths-related courses as I don't know much about them myself. But have a look through their requirements on university websites to see what you would be eligible for and also think about if you could satisfy the requirements by picking up an AS.

What are your other subjects and predicted grades at the moment? Are there any you are planning on dropping?

I am currently taking:
Maths
Chemistry
Biology
History

I plan on dropping history and picking up Further Maths AS next year if it will help my application. I don't currently have any predicted grades,I don't think grades will be the problem in an application (not meaning to sound arrogant) as I think I will do well.

Thanks for the help,

[ttoby]

(Original post by Jed_)
I am currently taking:
Maths
Chemistry
Biology
History

I plan on dropping history and picking up Further Maths AS next year if it will help my application. I don't currently have any predicted grades,I don't think grades will be the problem in an application (not meaning to sound arrogant) as I think I will do well.

Thanks for the help,

If you are looking at getting high grades then you might consider looking at universities that require STEP as part of one of their offers. If you do then it's worth looking at some past STEP papers over the summer. You may only be able to answer a few of the questions at this stage but it's good to get used to the difficulty. Also you might want to read some books about maths over the summer to provide personal statement material.

With regards to the other subjects you're considering, you might want to post in the forums for those courses to get comments from people who know more about them.

[Carl Sagan]

(Original post by Jed_)
Hi,

I am currently in year 12 and am yet to decide what a really what to do at university. All I know is that after doing a mechanics module in maths I have developed an interest in it. So I thought I would look for a degree with this in mind. However I can only find Maths or Physics, I don't study Physics at A-Level nor Further Maths so I think that I am automatically ruled out of those two degrees. So what I am really asking is that are there any courses that are "Mathsy" that involve Mechanics that I would be able to apply for and stand a chance of getting an offer? I would have loved to have studied maths but I am worried that not doing Further Maths would not allow me to compete with other applicants. Is it unheard of that people can do maths degrees at a good university without Further Maths?

Thanks for any replies in advance,

There's always mechanical engineering. Obviously quite different in approach to a maths or physics degree though and the practical aspect of it isn't for everyone.

[cambio wechsel]

A university cannot require further maths if it is not taught at your school (but is that the case for you?)

[ttoby]

(Original post by cambio wechsel)
A university cannot require further maths if it is not taught at your school (but is that the case for you?)

Where did you hear that? If further maths isn't taught then there are other ways of taking it such as through http://www.fmnetwork.org.uk/ I wasn't aware of any restrictions placed on universities regarding this.

In any case, the OP has considered taking up further maths so presumably that means it's taught at their school.

[Jed_]

(Original post by cambio wechsel)
A university cannot require further maths if it is not taught at your school (but is that the case for you?)

Yes, it is taught at my school. But Maths wasn't the degree program I had in mind until I found I was interested in Mechanics. I was originally considering applying to medicine, which I still might consider. I am confused about what exactly I want to do.

Also Further Maths will not fit in my timetable at my school, would you say that it is self-teachable up to AS standard. Say if I was to do M2, S1 and FP1? I have already done M1 and I am doing D1 next year in regular maths.

thanks

[Tomcrease]

In my first year of college (year 12) I didn't do further maths. This was because I initially wanted to do medicine, however maths seemed far more interesting to me. So I self taught a few modules, and have now down the full further maths A level in a year, with my last set of exams coming up. Even though I didn't do further maths in my first year I still got a Cambridge interview for maths (Rejected ) and Warwick, Bath and Bristol Uni offers. So it is still possible if maths is really what you want to do. If you don't want to do this engineering is very mathematical I hear and in terms of mechanics it's one of the top ones.

Have a look into mechanical engineering and see what you think.

[Tomcrease]

(Original post by Jed_)
Yes, it is taught at my school. But Maths wasn't the degree program I had in mind until I found I was interested in Mechanics. I was originally considering applying to medicine, which I still might consider. I am confused about what exactly I want to do.

Also Further Maths will not fit in my timetable at my school, would you say that it is self-teachable up to AS standard. Say if I was to do M2, S1 and FP1? I have already done M1 and I am doing D1 next year in regular maths.

thanks

(Sorry double posting here I read this after commenting.)

How did you do in your january maths modules? If you got 90+ UMS I would definitely say that further maths AS is self teachable in a very short time span. M2 is really quite easy, not much different to M1. FP1 is shockingly easy (edexcel anyway) and I personally hated S1, but it's not too bad. I wouldn't recommend self teaching M3 however, it's quite a step up from M2.

Further Maths AS can be a good subject to take for any univeristy "sciencey" course. No one will frown upon it, it is considered a very valuable and somewhat difficult course. So I would recommend it even if you still plan to do medicine.

[king0vdarkness]

Go for Mechanical Engineering; if you get top grades, write a good personal statement you can get into the top russell group unis i think.

[gaw821]

if you like mechanics then various engineering courses would be good. I did a maths degree without having done further maths and tbh the only thing that they knew that I didn't was complex numbers. so they aren't at that much of an advantage. you can't get into the top 10 or so unis without it but i went to birmingham as they didn't require it. when i applied, cardiff, southampton, exeter and sussex also didn't require it (there will be loads more but they were my choices)