The Student Room Group

A levels for CompSci W/Foundation year

Originally I was going to aim to get into a university to study CompSci without A level maths. After some research I learned that, without maths, the course can become very tricky. So I then looked at Foundation courses which teach you the maths you would've studied at A level. So I wanted to know if these A levels would be suitable for the Foundation course and what grade I should aim to achieve: ICT, Physics/biology (undecided), Business Studies and Core maths (it's a maths AS offered by my school which is spread over two years). Any helpful feedback would be appreciated. Thanks
dump ICT and Business studies. Is there a reason why you can't do A level Maths? Also, Physics > Biology
Could you possible take just AS level Maths?

Like the person said above me - drop Business Studies and ICT. Many universities regard subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, and D&T quite highly. Since you're doing a foundation year the universities will get you up to speed with the mathematics used in their CompSci course.
Reply 3
Original post by Bobjim12
dump ICT and Business studies. Is there a reason why you can't do A level Maths? Also, Physics > Biology


The thing is, in my school, you had to show that you have been working at an A grade throughout the year. I am a B grade student and even though it's possible to do A level maths they recommend you don't take it. I'll have a hat with my teacher and see if I'm able to.
Original post by Jjme123
The thing is, in my school, you had to show that you have been working at an A grade throughout the year. I am a B grade student and even though it's possible to do A level maths they recommend you don't take it. I'll have a hat with my teacher and see if I'm able to.


The full A level is really good for any CompSci course but can be challenging, the AS may be sufficient for a foundation course but Physics + AS Maths is too few qualifications.
Reply 5
Original post by Killerpenguin15
Could you possible take just AS level Maths?

Like the person said above me - drop Business Studies and ICT. Many universities regard subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, and D&T quite highly. Since you're doing a foundation year the universities will get you up to speed with the mathematics used in their CompSci course.


I could do AS maths. My school strongly advises that people who take a full A level in maths have a grade A at GCSE. I'm a B grade student and there has been B grade students study at AS. I'll ask my teacher and see if he thinks I'll be capable of AS maths.
Reply 6
Some strong universities such as Birmingham allow you to have either A level maths OR A level computing so I'd strongly suggest you take Computing A level. It's a decent intro to compsci without getting too mathematical.
Reply 7
Original post by TVIO
Some strong universities such as Birmingham allow you to have either A level maths OR A level computing so I'd strongly suggest you take Computing A level. It's a decent intro to compsci without getting too mathematical.


I would've taken Computing if I could. My school stop offering it about 4 years ago and are now offering it for next years students, which is really annoying.

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