[yashab]

matlab is the best software

[CocoPop]

(Original post by minifridge15)
the sort of electronics you do at school doesn't resemble university electronics at all I've found, it's been my favourite module really and it does involve a lot of maths, rather than the frustration of trying to put circuits together on a breadboard which was what our GCSE electronics consisted of.

So true. I hated electronics at school - it was so boring. All I remember is making silly circuits with switches and lightbulbs and drawing V-I diagrams. It's as if they included it on the syllabus to tick a box rather than actually teach us about some of the interesting applications of electronics. Completely different ball game at university. The applications of mathematical methods like FTs, Laplace, iterations etc. are fascinating, and especially important in electronics. I'll be specialising in it from next year!

I applied for mechanical/aeronautical engineering everywhere else. Now I'm quite thankful that my course was general for the first year because the mechanical module was the first thing I dropped!

[The_Gina]

(Original post by CocoPop)
So true. I hated electronics at school - it was so boring. All I remember is making silly circuits with switches and lightbulbs and drawing V-I diagrams. It's as if they included it on the syllabus to tick a box rather than actually teach us about some of the interesting applications of electronics. Completely different ball game at university. The applications of mathematical methods like FTs, Laplace, iterations etc. are fascinating, and especially important in electronics. I'll be specialising in it from next year!

I applied for mechanical/aeronautical engineering everywhere else. Now I'm quite thankful that my course was general for the first year because the mechanical module was the first thing I dropped!

Where else did you apply? Also why didn't you like the mechanical modules?


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[kaosu_souzousha]

(Original post by iluvmaths)
i really find peoples view on mathematics in engineering really narrow. the maths involved in engineering, especially in fluids is one of the most complex mathematics involved. what einstein used in his theory of reletvivity i.e tensors, are used to describe fluid flow and their dynamics in any system. hence, saying that maths involved in engineering is less is really an insult. foe example, material engineering find that in the fourth year, they also need to know tensors analysis for discribing certain material deformation.

maybe im saying this becasue i am also a math fanatic and doing aero! but, the truth is, if u really like maths, and its applications, try either theoretical physics or aero engineering. but if u really want to go to cambridge i would recommend their maths with physics or just natural science because a general engineering course will not equip u with the precise skills of other engineering disiplines becasue the first two years at cambridge are divided like this (as far as i know) :

first year:
mech eng=60%
elec. eng= 20%
civil eng= 15%
computer assignements=5%

second year:
mech eng=60%
elec eng= 20%
civil eng=20%
with computing skills equally distributed.

this was the reason why i didnt want to do eng. at cam. you cant specialise what u like most untill 3rd year.

and dont worry about the job prospects. at the uni site, they just tell u about what most of the people do after graduating. but u never know, u may even like research (trust me, nothings better than getting paid for what u love the most). just concentrate on acquiring knowledge, the jobs will come.!

I enjoy helping struggling maths students with their fluid dynamics. ^^

[CocoPop]

(Original post by The_Gina)
Where else did you apply? Also why didn't you like the mechanical modules?


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I should clear up that I'm at Oxford, not Cambridge. It was actually the materials that put me off mechanical engineering. There was so much of it that I would have to do in order to specialise in mechanical engineering and it simply didn't appeal to me. I wasn't particularly good at dynamics and found the electrical modules conceptually more interesting. I wouldn't have predicted it, though.

My other university options were Imperial (mechanical and aeronautical engineering, separately), Bristol (aeronautical), UCL (mechanical) and Berkeley in the US (college of engineering).

[iluvmaths]

(Original post by kaosu_souzousha)
I enjoy helping struggling maths students with their fluid dynamics. ^^

and i bet the aero students enjoy helping the mech eng students with their fluid dynamics!

[The_Gina]

(Original post by CocoPop)
I should clear up that I'm at Oxford, not Cambridge. It was actually the materials that put me off mechanical engineering. There was so much of it that I would have to do in order to specialise in mechanical engineering and it simply didn't appeal to me. I wasn't particularly good at dynamics and found the electrical modules conceptually more interesting. I wouldn't have predicted it, though.

My other university options were Imperial (mechanical and aeronautical engineering, separately), Bristol (aeronautical), UCL (mechanical) and Berkeley in the US (college of engineering).

Did you get offers for both the imperial courses?

[kaosu_souzousha]

(Original post by iluvmaths)
and i bet the aero students enjoy helping the mech eng students with their fluid dynamics!

We have mutual help with them ^^

EEE guys help us quite a bit but definitely not aero

[CocoPop]

(Original post by The_Gina)
Did you get offers for both the imperial courses?

Yup, but my (IB) offer for aero was slightly higher.

[3nTr0pY]

(Original post by The_Gina)
Hi,

I am stuck between applying for NatSci or Engineering at Cambridge.
I am doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics & Chemistry A Levels and am predicted 3/4 A*s. I like Maths the best, especially the core and mechanic modules. I also like the materials and quantum aspects of physics, aswell as physical and inorganic aspects of chemistry. I am not overly keen on electronics though however, nor the organic parts of chemistry.

I am drawn towards Natural Sciences as it keeps my options open, so I can do Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Materials, and specialise in one of them, or even switch to Chemical Engineering in the 2nd year. My only issue is with the career prospects, as it seems to be that you would go into teaching, research or finance.

Engineering interests me due to the maths involved, but I am not a very 'hands-on' person, preferring to design things on a computer, rather than make and build things. I have heard that alot of what you do in an engineering degree is hands-on making things, rather than calculations and designing on a computer (which is what I would like to do).

In terms of the maths involved in engineering, and in physics, what is the difference? I really like calculus and applying it to solve problems, but don;t want to be learning useless things like proving that 1=/=0 (in a maths degree).

I would very much appreciate help as I am stuck as to which degree to do.

From the things you say, it sounds like you'd find specialising in the physics part of the Nat Sci tripos very rewarding. You would maybe have to do some organic chemistry in first year but would have to do minimal electronics (a bit in the first year that's not very hard and virtually nothing afterwards). I always thought that the physics course is more interesting that the engineering, just from speaking to people, but I guess that's why I did physics and not engineering!

So ultimately, the only thing holding you back is career prospects. But I think if you do something you enjoy and excel at it you should be able to find a good career down the line. If you don't want to do research (academic or industry), teaching, or finance there are other options too, such as setting up your own business or squeezing into engineering somehow. That said, your concerns are not entirely without merit. I haven't really tried to get a job yet though so I'm not too sure about how limiting/door opening a physics degree is...



EDIT: Oh yeah, and the maths in physics is a lot harder than that in engineering. That said, the range of mathematical ability of engineers would be a lot greater than that of physicists as they have a much larger range of options to choose from. So some of them are pretty terrible at it whereas others are rather good.

[526540828]

hi, I just received my IB result, I got 5 in physics HL, 6 in chemistry HL and 7 in maths HL, 7 in language B HL, i did meet the condition of 776 in highers, but not total score 40, (only have 37), do i still have chance??? is chemical engineering popular in Downing, Cambridge??

thanks for any advice....!

[CocoPop]

(Original post by 526540828)
hi, I just received my IB result, I got 5 in physics HL, 6 in chemistry HL and 7 in maths HL, 7 in language B HL, i did meet the condition of 776 in highers, but not total score 40, (only have 37), do i still have chance??? is chemical engineering popular in Downing, Cambridge??

thanks for any advice....!

You can only wait and see. I know of someone who still got in with 37 but it's rare. Also, the 5 in physics HL will not bode well for an engineering course, but there's no point in musing over it too much. Contact the college and hope for the best. Good luck!

[526540828]

(Original post by CocoPop)
You can only wait and see. I know of someone who still got in with 37 but it's rare. Also, the 5 in physics HL will not bode well for an engineering course, but there's no point in musing over it too much. Contact the college and hope for the best. Good luck!

thanks. will it be helpful if my school sends letter to the college to back up? explain my level of physics?

[526540828]

(Original post by CocoPop)
You can only wait and see. I know of someone who still got in with 37 but it's rare. Also, the 5 in physics HL will not bode well for an engineering course, but there's no point in musing over it too much. Contact the college and hope for the best. Good luck!

what about A level chemistry and physics? r they hard this year?

[CocoPop]

(Original post by 526540828)
thanks. will it be helpful if my school sends letter to the college to back up? explain my level of physics?

It might help although I'm not too sure about the procedure when you don't meet your offer. I imagine anything to reinforce that you're worthy of your place will help.

With regard to your question about A levels, I really don't know...

[The_Gina]

(Original post by CocoPop)
I should clear up that I'm at Oxford, not Cambridge. It was actually the materials that put me off mechanical engineering. There was so much of it that I would have to do in order to specialise in mechanical engineering and it simply didn't appeal to me. I wasn't particularly good at dynamics and found the electrical modules conceptually more interesting. I wouldn't have predicted it, though.

My other university options were Imperial (mechanical and aeronautical engineering, separately), Bristol (aeronautical), UCL (mechanical) and Berkeley in the US (college of engineering).

What did you study about materials? Is it a large part of the materials specialism?


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[CocoPop]

(Original post by The_Gina)
What did you study about materials? Is it a large part of the materials specialism?


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From what I can vaguely recall from first year there was a lot of stress and strain analysis, fractures and cracks, molecular/atomic structures, merit indices etc...

You need to do a fair bit of materials if you want to specialise in civil and (to a lesser extent) mechanical engineering.

[The_Gina]

(Original post by minifridge15)
Hi, I've just finished my first year of engineering at Cambridge and I'll be starting Chemical Engineering in October. .

Hi!
I have just received an offer for Engineering, and would like to thank you for your help, it proved to be useful! How are you finding Chemical Engineering?




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