Cambridge or Warwick for maths

Hi, I could really do with some advice from current/past Cambridge maths students about how they are finding the content of the course. My son has been lucky enough to get a place at Cambridge for 2014 but is not sure whether to accept it as he says he prefers the content of the Warwick course.
His problem is a dislike of mechanics, which he feels there is an awful lot of in the first year at Cambridge, unlike Warwick. At he moment his main area of interest seems to be statistics, but may of course change in the future.
One of his maths teachers at school, an oxford man, has tried to reassure him that the mechanics he would study at Cambridge would bear little resemblance to what he is currently studying at school, but he is still unconvinced.
Obviously I want him to be happy with the course but at the same time the prospect of him declining an offer from Cambridge fills me with horror.
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Reply 1

Lunch_Box

Original post by proudmum2

This is Cambridge Maths we're talking about. The most renowned maths course in the world. Why did your son apply here in the first place if he wasn't up to the challenge? Gaining a Cambridge maths offer is only half of the deal. He still needs to make the (incredibly difficult) offer. I'm also pretty sure that you can specialise in years 2 and 3, taking as little mechanics as he wishes. But of course it's still a necessary part of mathematics.

However, if he wholeheartedly prefers Warwick, then take it by all means. You can't force him otherwise, but I'd encourage you to tell him to take Cambridge and insure Warwick. If it is the STEP requirement that he is scared about, get a private tutor or something.

Reply 2

username1042689

Cambridge is an incredible maths degree, and most of the maths he's doing there won't be much like what he's doing at school. I don't like mech either, but he won't be able to avoid it; and there is plenty of supervision time in Cambridge that will help him get his head around it. Plus, it's only for the first year - he can specialise after that.

If he doesn't believe he'll be happy at Cambridge, then he should go to Warwick; but this wouldn't seem a conclusive reason. Does he like the rest of the Cambridge course, and the university itself?

Reply 3

proudmum2

[QUOTE="Lunch_Box;45841006"]This is Cambridge Maths we're talking about. The most renowned maths course in the world. Why did your son apply here in the first place if he wasn't up to the challenge? Gaining a Cambridge maths offer is only half of the deal. He still needs to make the (incredibly difficult) offer. I'm also pretty sure that you can specialise in years 2 and 3, taking as little mechanics as he wishes. But of course it's still a necessary part of mathematics.

However, if he wholeheartedly prefers Warwick, then take it by all means. You can't force him otherwise, but I'd encourage you to tell him to take Cambridge and insure Warwick. If it is the STEP requirement that he is scared about, get a private tutor or something.[/QUOTE

It has nothing to do with "Being up to the challenge", he is clearly a talented mathematician otherwise why would he have been offered a Cambridge place, and STEP is not an issue, it's required for Warwick too.

Reply 4

proudmum2

Original post by paradoxicalme

Hi, thanks for your reply, I think he does like he rest of the course and obviously he recognises that Cambridge is the best maths degree one could get. I suspect he is a bit worried by the amount of lectures compared to Warwick and the fact that you have Saturday morning ones too. Lazy child!

Reply 5

davros

Original post by proudmum2

There's no right answer to this one.

Certainly the Cambridge course contains more first-year mechanics / applied maths than a lot of other courses - that's why the Tripos is considered excellent preparation for those who may be intending to go on to study theoretical physics in the future.

It is also true to say that the approach to mechanics will be different from that at school (it's especially vector-based, and that may turn out to be an issue if your son dislikes vector algebra!).

I believe (and this didn't exist in my day!) that Cambridge now offers a "catchup" module for those students who didn't cover at least M3 at school, to get everyone up to a common level at the start of the 1st year.

The bottom line is that you want your son to be happy for his 3 years. A Cambridge offer means nothing at the end of the day if your son is unhappy about the balance of the course, and a Warwick Maths degree is perfectly respectable to anyone who understands the nature of maths education in the UK.

I'm not sure if any of this helps, but it's really important that your son comes to his own decision based on all the information available :smile:

(Oh, and he will need to get used to 9a.m. lectures on a Saturday!)

Reply 6

Robbie242

Wouldn't mind swapping places with your son :tongue:

but really, at the end of the day if your son believes he prefers Warwick over Cambridge then he should reject the Cambridge offer

Reply 7

proudmum2

Original post by davros

(Oh, and he will need to get used to 9a.m. lectures on a Saturday!)

Many thanks, that's a great help and I'm sure he will get used to early starts, he has to get up at 6.15 as it is now for school.

Reply 8

und

Original post by proudmum2

It has nothing to do with "Being up to the challenge", he is clearly a talented mathematician otherwise why would he have been offered a Cambridge place, and STEP is not an issue, it's required for Warwick too.

The Cambridge STEP offer is many times more difficult to meet than the Warwick STEP offer, which is why a lot of the Cambridge offer holders who miss the offer end up going to Warwick. The statistics are that around 50% of offer holders don't actually get into Cambridge. It is not a mere formality.

Reply 9

username219321

Original post by proudmum2

I suspect the timetable of a typical Warwick student is very similar to that of a Cambridge student (minus the Saturday lectures).

It is true there's a fair amount of compulsory mechanics at Cambridge (compared to none at Warwick) but I don't think that's really a strong reason to turn it down. I think the main area that Cambridge comes ahead of Warwick is that you get regular 2-on-1 tutorials (rather than mostly just two hours of 5-on-1 supervisions a week at Warwick). The main advantage Warwick has is that there's a lot more course flexibility in terms of taking things outside of maths - this mostly means business, economics, computer science and language modules, whereas Cambridge I don't think they let people on the straight maths course do anything other than maths, physics and stats courses.

Everything else being equal I'd say it'd be a bad idea for anyone to turn down Cambridge for Warwick, but they are both world-class courses and employers know this. I know Warwick doesn't have the Oxbridge name but it really is on the same level for maths.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 10

Baylo97

I understand reputation and that.. but in reality, is a Warwick maths degree better worse or equal to cambridge and by how much? And the same question for Oxford and Warwick, and Warwick and Imperial

Reply 11

ubisoft

Original post by Baylo97

I understand reputation and that.. but in reality, is a Warwick maths degree better worse or equal to cambridge and by how much? And the same question for Oxford and Warwick, and Warwick and Imperial