Coming to terms with my ability?
I'm studying Mathematics and Physics in first year at Bristol currently. I just sat my first year Analysis January exam and it didn't go well, I'm expecting a fail grade. Though during the year I can't confess to have had putting a crazy amount of work into the unit because all the pressures of first year like finding people you like and a place to live and such but did try and understand it and go to the tutorials, I don't learn particularly well in lectures. But I feel like I put considerable work into it for the week prior to the exam, perhaps on average 8 hours a day. I felt like I grasped the material well enough to pass the exam upon entry as I passed my mock I took at home (54%) then revised more and sent questions to my tutor. But in the exam on a lot of questions I just didn't know how to tackle them and sent me into a slight panic. Did sound like a fair amount of people found it hard to, but that doesn't re-assure me much.
If it turns out that I fail this exam (i.e. get under 40%) and must retake it after what i feel was adequate work for it, should I consider whether mathematics is the right course for me? I wonder whether I have the natural talent to progress to second year. Maths as a degree already significantly limits you free time at university in terms of going out and societies you can be part of and I feel like putting in a huge amount more work into the subject might leave me feeling like I was badly missing out and sad. I do enjoy my subject and always have done but I didn't come to university to get a low grade degree.
Should I consider switching to something like an Economics degree which is far less demanding mathematically but still quite employable? Or perhaps engineering of some kind? Or maybe just to pure Physics? Or should I just suck it up and have no life to get this degree? This question I would like answered as coldly and logically as possible if anyone has any thoughts, re-assurance where it shouldn't be I feel could be a damaging thing I think.
Thanks in advance to anyone who replys.
If it turns out that I fail this exam (i.e. get under 40%) and must retake it after what i feel was adequate work for it, should I consider whether mathematics is the right course for me? I wonder whether I have the natural talent to progress to second year. Maths as a degree already significantly limits you free time at university in terms of going out and societies you can be part of and I feel like putting in a huge amount more work into the subject might leave me feeling like I was badly missing out and sad. I do enjoy my subject and always have done but I didn't come to university to get a low grade degree.
Should I consider switching to something like an Economics degree which is far less demanding mathematically but still quite employable? Or perhaps engineering of some kind? Or maybe just to pure Physics? Or should I just suck it up and have no life to get this degree? This question I would like answered as coldly and logically as possible if anyone has any thoughts, re-assurance where it shouldn't be I feel could be a damaging thing I think.
Thanks in advance to anyone who replys.
Original post by Goldiniac
I'm studying Mathematics and Physics in first year at Bristol currently. I just sat my first year Analysis January exam and it didn't go well, I'm expecting a fail grade. Though during the year I can't confess to have had putting a crazy amount of work into the unit because all the pressures of first year like finding people you like and a place to live and such but did try and understand it and go to the tutorials, I don't learn particularly well in lectures. But I feel like I put considerable work into it for the week prior to the exam, perhaps on average 8 hours a day. I felt like I grasped the material well enough to pass the exam upon entry as I passed my mock I took at home (54%) then revised more and sent questions to my tutor. But in the exam on a lot of questions I just didn't know how to tackle them and sent me into a slight panic. Did sound like a fair amount of people found it hard to, but that doesn't re-assure me much.
If it turns out that I fail this exam (i.e. get under 40%) and must retake it after what i feel was adequate work for it, should I consider whether mathematics is the right course for me? I wonder whether I have the natural talent to progress to second year. Maths as a degree already significantly limits you free time at university in terms of going out and societies you can be part of and I feel like putting in a huge amount more work into the subject might leave me feeling like I was badly missing out and sad. I do enjoy my subject and always have done but I didn't come to university to get a low grade degree.
Should I consider switching to something like an Economics degree which is far less demanding mathematically but still quite employable? Or perhaps engineering of some kind? Or maybe just to pure Physics? Or should I just suck it up and have no life to get this degree? This question I would like answered as coldly and logically as possible if anyone has any thoughts, re-assurance where it shouldn't be I feel could be a damaging thing I think.
Thanks in advance to anyone who replys.
If it turns out that I fail this exam (i.e. get under 40%) and must retake it after what i feel was adequate work for it, should I consider whether mathematics is the right course for me? I wonder whether I have the natural talent to progress to second year. Maths as a degree already significantly limits you free time at university in terms of going out and societies you can be part of and I feel like putting in a huge amount more work into the subject might leave me feeling like I was badly missing out and sad. I do enjoy my subject and always have done but I didn't come to university to get a low grade degree.
Should I consider switching to something like an Economics degree which is far less demanding mathematically but still quite employable? Or perhaps engineering of some kind? Or maybe just to pure Physics? Or should I just suck it up and have no life to get this degree? This question I would like answered as coldly and logically as possible if anyone has any thoughts, re-assurance where it shouldn't be I feel could be a damaging thing I think.
Thanks in advance to anyone who replys.
Everyone feels this way after their exams. Wait until your results come out before you make any decisions.
Also I wouldn't be worried about your mathematical ability of you don't do so well in one module/area of maths - we can't be amazingly good at everything. It's okay to have areas of maths that you don't enjoy and don't perform as well in. (Mine is statistics. Bloody hate it!!)
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Original post by rayquaza17
Everyone feels this way after their exams. Wait until your results come out before you make any decisions.
Also I wouldn't be worried about your mathematical ability of you don't do so well in one module/area of maths - we can't be amazingly good at everything. It's okay to have areas of maths that you don't enjoy and don't perform as well in. (Mine is statistics. Bloody hate it!!)
Posted from TSR Mobile
Also I wouldn't be worried about your mathematical ability of you don't do so well in one module/area of maths - we can't be amazingly good at everything. It's okay to have areas of maths that you don't enjoy and don't perform as well in. (Mine is statistics. Bloody hate it!!)
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Statistics and probability ❤️
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Original post by MathsLover28
Applied mathematics. ❤️❤️
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Original post by rayquaza17
I love applied maths (as you've already heard from me
)Original post by Goldiniac
But I feel like I put considerable work into it for the week prior to the exam, perhaps on average 8 hours a day.
Analysis takes time and doing well requires serious (mathematical) maturity. Just revising the week before is a huge mistake in general for mathematics; you must not try to 'memorize' proofs, etc. I know its sounds cliched but you need to understand them - i.e. ask yourself what happens if you remove a particular assumption why do you need it.
For most people, there will be that one area that they just don't do as well as they feel they should. I have the same issues with analysis (and it's annoying epsilon - delta arguments). It is definitely worth learning how to do and important to understand because no doubt you will have a module next year in complex analysis where you will need all the standard results relating to limits and continuity from real analysis to prove stuff in complex space. It's a massive pain but is important none the less.
I've got friends who find analysis ok and do fairly well in it but struggle in numerical analysis while others are completely baffled by quantum mechanics. Point is everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Just because you find a particular area hard does not make you any less of a mathematician.
I've got friends who find analysis ok and do fairly well in it but struggle in numerical analysis while others are completely baffled by quantum mechanics. Point is everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Just because you find a particular area hard does not make you any less of a mathematician.
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