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Foundation year or straight to first year

I've applied to do EEE and put to study straight onto first year BEng as my firm choice. I also applied to do the foundation year first as well as my insurance choice at the same uni. I knew that my grades wouldn't be good enough to go straight into the first year but just applied anyway.

Somehow I've been offered a place for both courses starting September. The only problem is I haven't done A-Level maths (I took the 'rubbish' BTEC route) and I'm just wondering how disadvantaged I'd be if I started straight into the first year with no A level maths but have study some modules from it.

Will some of the time in first year be getting everyone up to the same speed with the maths so they know how capable everyone is. Or should I just take an extra year and extra 9k and do the foundation year anyway
Reply 1
Original post by craggerss
I've applied to do EEE and put to study straight onto first year BEng as my firm choice. I also applied to do the foundation year first as well as my insurance choice at the same uni. I knew that my grades wouldn't be good enough to go straight into the first year but just applied anyway.

Somehow I've been offered a place for both courses starting September. The only problem is I haven't done A-Level maths (I took the 'rubbish' BTEC route) and I'm just wondering how disadvantaged I'd be if I started straight into the first year with no A level maths but have study some modules from it.

Will some of the time in first year be getting everyone up to the same speed with the maths so they know how capable everyone is. Or should I just take an extra year and extra 9k and do the foundation year anyway


Hmm tough one but it really depends on your ability as the pace of first year is quite fast. In my experience the people who did Btec (my friend did Btec) he really struggles with the maths which in turn also affected him in other modules.

So I would say firm the first year offer and put the foundation year as insurance and if you make the first year offer come results day then go into first year but if you fail to then do the foundation year.
Reply 2
Thanks for the input. Yeah I'm pretty sure I'll get my grades for the first year as I find the maths easy enough, I took the BTEC route as on an apprenticeship to make sure I like engineering first and they wouldn't allow me to do a level maths.
I know someone who is an a level maths teacher so he maybe able to help me learn a few things over the summer before I start. Just wasn't sure if I was jumping into something way out my league and then struggle and potentially drop out for the sake of an extra year


Posted from TSR Mobile
It will probably be different for other places but at my university, the maths in the first semester were pretty much just a recap of A-level stuff. It was only in January that we started going into stuff I hadn't done before. That said, it's a fairly quick recap so you might struggle a bit if it's the first time you're seeing the material.

If you're willing to work a bit harder to keep up and are able to learn some stuff over the summer, I think you'd be ok going straight into first year.
Reply 4
Original post by craggerss
I've applied to do EEE and put to study straight onto first year BEng as my firm choice. I also applied to do the foundation year first as well as my insurance choice at the same uni. I knew that my grades wouldn't be good enough to go straight into the first year but just applied anyway.

Somehow I've been offered a place for both courses starting September. The only problem is I haven't done A-Level maths (I took the 'rubbish' BTEC route) and I'm just wondering how disadvantaged I'd be if I started straight into the first year with no A level maths but have study some modules from it.

Will some of the time in first year be getting everyone up to the same speed with the maths so they know how capable everyone is. Or should I just take an extra year and extra 9k and do the foundation year anyway

what uni?

if they gave you an offer for the first year then they think you are able to do it, i went from BTEC IT to fist year Computer Science and it is basically the same except with more maths - so the electronics/engineering stuff in first year will be stuff that you will have done before. but the maths is not too hard to understand because the teach it from the ground up, if they dont require A level Maths they will assume you dont have it even though some obviously will

it would be silly to waste a year and like you said the extra tuition and maintenance loans
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 5
University of nottingham is the uni. Yeah I'm sure it states in the entry requirements a level maths and science and a additional subject required. I'm just hoping they go back over the maths content to refresh everyone's mind over the summer break etc.
I'll have 3 years practical engineering experience by the time I start so maybe they're willing to accept me based on the experience or something I don't know haha. Gonna try my best give it a shot


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 6
Original post by yt7777
but the maths is not too hard to understand because the teach it from the ground up, if they dont require A level Maths they will assume you dont have it even though some obviously will


Interesting how you can make this assumption and you don't even study engineering?

Universities won't accept anyone onto an engineering course who hasn't done maths in any way. They were probably satisfied that whatever maths the OP is doing in his Btec qualification is sufficient enough for entry into the first year.

Also with regards to the electronics learnt it is mostly all fairly new stuff (with a lot of maths involved) which you wouldn't have touched at A-level (apart from the real basic principles which are always the same i.e. Ohms Law etc.)
Reply 7
Original post by a10
Interesting how you can make this assumption and you don't even study engineering?

Universities won't accept anyone onto an engineering course who hasn't done maths in any way. They were probably satisfied that whatever maths the OP is doing in his Btec qualification is sufficient enough for entry into the first year.

Also with regards to the electronics learnt it is mostly all fairly new stuff (with a lot of maths involved) which you wouldn't have touched at A-level (apart from the real basic principles which are always the same i.e. Ohms Law etc.)

i was comparing my experience, CS also has a lot of maths, obviously its not the same sort of maths I was just trying to re-assure the OP that if they work hard enough they will be okay.

also if they have taken the units Maths and further maths for Engineering then they will have covered a lot of the maths from the first year of an EEE degree, well at least thats what the University of York told my friend before he applied
Original post by yt7777
i was comparing my experience, CS also has a lot of maths, obviously its not the same sort of maths I was just trying to re-assure the OP that if they work hard enough they will be okay.

also if they have taken the units Maths and further maths for Engineering then they will have covered a lot of the maths from the first year of an EEE degree, well at least thats what the University of York told my friend before he applied


I'm far from an expert on BTECs but from what I've seen, the maths content you learn only covers half of the first year of university at best. Maybe my university puts more maths into its first year than others but I'd be wary of becoming too complacent if I was the OP. Also, the maths content in EEE is generally more advanced than that of computer science.

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