Further Maths?
I'm in the process of picking my A-levels and im really confused. my original plan was to pick Maths, Geography RS and economics. i wanted to pick a soft subject like RS (i was told it was considered a soft subject) so i could drop it in year 12 and continue with economics, maths and geography in year 13. i want to study economics in uni and i want to go to either LSE or oxbridge.
my teachers have told me that further maths is a good subject to study for economics, i am predicted an A* in maths but im still not sure if i should pick further maths and do 4 A-levels till the end of sixth form. would it be too hard to do all 4? would i be considered if i only do 3 A-levels that are Maths, F maths and economics (even though i enjoy geography).
Thank you in advance!
my teachers have told me that further maths is a good subject to study for economics, i am predicted an A* in maths but im still not sure if i should pick further maths and do 4 A-levels till the end of sixth form. would it be too hard to do all 4? would i be considered if i only do 3 A-levels that are Maths, F maths and economics (even though i enjoy geography).
Thank you in advance!
You can do four subjects till the end of A2, I know a few people who are and it does mean more work but it is completely doable. Also, don't take further maths unless you really love doing maths cause otherwise it would be horrible cause further pure is pretty hard
Original post by rainyrain
I'm in the process of picking my A-levels and im really confused. my original plan was to pick Maths, Geography RS and economics. i wanted to pick a soft subject like RS (i was told it was considered a soft subject) so i could drop it in year 12 and continue with economics, maths and geography in year 13. i want to study economics in uni and i want to go to either LSE or oxbridge.
my teachers have told me that further maths is a good subject to study for economics, i am predicted an A* in maths but im still not sure if i should pick further maths and do 4 A-levels till the end of sixth form. would it be too hard to do all 4? would i be considered if i only do 3 A-levels that are Maths, F maths and economics (even though i enjoy geography).
Thank you in advance!
my teachers have told me that further maths is a good subject to study for economics, i am predicted an A* in maths but im still not sure if i should pick further maths and do 4 A-levels till the end of sixth form. would it be too hard to do all 4? would i be considered if i only do 3 A-levels that are Maths, F maths and economics (even though i enjoy geography).
Thank you in advance!
I wouldn't really recommend doing 4 full A-levels because that'll put you under a lot of strain considering what you'll need for those universities.
I think it'd be best to do Maths, Economics, Geography and AS Further Maths. That way your application will look good and you won't be putting yourself under too much pressure
Original post by kathryng2305
You can do four subjects till the end of A2, I know a few people who are and it does mean more work but it is completely doable. Also, don't take further maths unless you really love doing maths cause otherwise it would be horrible cause further pure is pretty hard
maths is definitely my favourite subject and i find its really interesting. i just didnt know if i should do 4 hard subjects till year 13 because id rather have 3 really good results than 4 okay ones. i know it will be tough but i guess it will be worth it in the end
Original post by Indeterminate
I wouldn't really recommend doing 4 full A-levels because that'll put you under a lot of strain considering what you'll need for those universities.
I think it'd be best to do Maths, Economics, Geography and AS Further Maths. That way your application will look good and you won't be putting yourself under too much pressure
I think it'd be best to do Maths, Economics, Geography and AS Further Maths. That way your application will look good and you won't be putting yourself under too much pressure
thank you for replying! looking at the prospectus for some universities ive noticed that most like further maths as a full A-level. i have also had a meeting for my school and spoke to some friends who are currently at university. they both told me that AS is generally disregarded and so they only look at full A-levels, which is why i am considering to do Further maths till year 13 but as you said i dont want too much pressure.i dont know what to do and the deadlines are starting next week
At the Warwick open day, at the economics talk the guy said "Further maths is a waste of an A level" and that for economics they like a mix, i.e maths, english lit and 2 others like sciences/geog/history. Possibly wise not to do economics at A level as they reteach everything anyway and it's less respected than the ones previously mentioned.
Original post by rainyrain
I'm in the process of picking my A-levels and im really confused. my original plan was to pick Maths, Geography RS and economics. i wanted to pick a soft subject like RS (i was told it was considered a soft subject) so i could drop it in year 12 and continue with economics, maths and geography in year 13. i want to study economics in uni and i want to go to either LSE or oxbridge.
my teachers have told me that further maths is a good subject to study for economics, i am predicted an A* in maths but im still not sure if i should pick further maths and do 4 A-levels till the end of sixth form. would it be too hard to do all 4? would i be considered if i only do 3 A-levels that are Maths, F maths and economics (even though i enjoy geography).
Thank you in advance!
my teachers have told me that further maths is a good subject to study for economics, i am predicted an A* in maths but im still not sure if i should pick further maths and do 4 A-levels till the end of sixth form. would it be too hard to do all 4? would i be considered if i only do 3 A-levels that are Maths, F maths and economics (even though i enjoy geography).
Thank you in advance!
Check whether these unis ask for F maths - some do prefer it for Economics . For 'prefer' read 'you really are better off taking this A level if you want to come here'.
Original post by rainyrain
Imo, further maths is made out to be a lot more horrible than it really is
If you're quite good at maths and are really interested in it (the fact that you're even considering taking Further Maths is a good indicator that you are), I'd encourage you to take it up to at least AS Level. As long as you practice all the questions, have some mathematical ability, and ask for help when needed, you have the potential to do well 
I don't know an awful lot about econ courses, but I'm sure they wouldn't completely disregard a further maths AS considering econ is such a maths based subject. I'd say it'd enhance your application more than RS would... Heck you don't even need to have studied Econ at all, maths is the only req, so that's a good indicator of how important maths is in this
Be warned though that a predicted A* in maths GCSE is NOT a good indicator to go by. There are people in my further maths class who got 99% in maths who dropped out pretty quickly at the start of the year. But at the same time there is someone who got an A at GCSE maths and didn't do Additional Maths GCSE who is coping well (from what I can gather, he's doing 5 AS so I don't see him in my FM classes really).
With regards to workload, at AS I seem to be coping fine, but I'm told that at A Level the workload increases yet again. However I was also told that AS workload was more than for GCSE, and I'm finding AS easier... The point being workload is subjective. If you think you can cope then why not try. The option is always there to drop it. My school only allows you to do FM as a 4th A Level, so I'll be forced to take 4 anyway considering the uni courses I want all require FM...
Original post by rainyrain
maths is definitely my favourite subject and i find its really interesting. i just didnt know if i should do 4 hard subjects till year 13 because id rather have 3 really good results than 4 okay ones. i know it will be tough but i guess it will be worth it in the end
I have a friend taking Maths, Further, Biology and History so it is doable, it really depends on what you think you can cope with and whether you are willing to work really hard to get the grades you need. Looking at what universities want is also a good indicator, but don't rely on your GCSE predictions hugely to choose what you take, GCSE maths won't help you much past Core 1, I basically sailed through C1 cause I'd taken Further Maths GCSE but honestly go with what you enjoy more, and ask yourself whether you could endure at least 2 blocks of lessons of maths a week, I have 9 hours per week (3 on a monday morning) and it's properly tough
Original post by Xsk
Imo, further maths is made out to be a lot more horrible than it really is If you're quite good at maths and are really interested in it (the fact that you're even considering taking Further Maths is a good indicator that you are), I'd encourage you to take it up to at least AS Level. As long as you practice all the questions, have some mathematical ability, and ask for help when needed, you have the potential to do well
I don't know an awful lot about econ courses, but I'm sure they wouldn't completely disregard a further maths AS considering econ is such a maths based subject. I'd say it'd enhance your application more than RS would... Heck you don't even need to have studied Econ at all, maths is the only req, so that's a good indicator of how important maths is in this
Be warned though that a predicted A* in maths GCSE is NOT a good indicator to go by. There are people in my further maths class who got 99% in maths who dropped out pretty quickly at the start of the year. But at the same time there is someone who got an A at GCSE maths and didn't do Additional Maths GCSE who is coping well (from what I can gather, he's doing 5 AS so I don't see him in my FM classes really).
With regards to workload, at AS I seem to be coping fine, but I'm told that at A Level the workload increases yet again. However I was also told that AS workload was more than for GCSE, and I'm finding AS easier... The point being workload is subjective. If you think you can cope then why not try. The option is always there to drop it. My school only allows you to do FM as a 4th A Level, so I'll be forced to take 4 anyway considering the uni courses I want all require FM...
If you're quite good at maths and are really interested in it (the fact that you're even considering taking Further Maths is a good indicator that you are), I'd encourage you to take it up to at least AS Level. As long as you practice all the questions, have some mathematical ability, and ask for help when needed, you have the potential to do well I don't know an awful lot about econ courses, but I'm sure they wouldn't completely disregard a further maths AS considering econ is such a maths based subject. I'd say it'd enhance your application more than RS would... Heck you don't even need to have studied Econ at all, maths is the only req, so that's a good indicator of how important maths is in this
Be warned though that a predicted A* in maths GCSE is NOT a good indicator to go by. There are people in my further maths class who got 99% in maths who dropped out pretty quickly at the start of the year. But at the same time there is someone who got an A at GCSE maths and didn't do Additional Maths GCSE who is coping well (from what I can gather, he's doing 5 AS so I don't see him in my FM classes really).
With regards to workload, at AS I seem to be coping fine, but I'm told that at A Level the workload increases yet again. However I was also told that AS workload was more than for GCSE, and I'm finding AS easier... The point being workload is subjective. If you think you can cope then why not try. The option is always there to drop it. My school only allows you to do FM as a 4th A Level, so I'll be forced to take 4 anyway considering the uni courses I want all require FM...
thank you for the reply!
i definitely like maths and really enjoy it. the idea of taking further maths was suggested by my statistics teacher. i definitely agree that GCSE maths and A-level Maths are completely different, but i am willing to put the hard work in because of how much i like maths.
its a lot of pressure picking A-levels because i dont want to regret anything and end up saying 'i wish i picked this instead'. im just trying to get everything right.
i guess im also scared about taking further maths because of my current secondary school. they only offer maths at A-level and are not a grammar school. i dont think i will be staying but im still going to apply. will i be good enough for the new school?
Original post by Patrick2810
At the Warwick open day, at the economics talk the guy said "Further maths is a waste of an A level" and that for economics they like a mix, i.e maths, english lit and 2 others like sciences/geog/history. Possibly wise not to do economics at A level as they reteach everything anyway and it's less respected than the ones previously mentioned.
thats confused me even more
haha.i think i will be taking economics becuase of the fact that some universities want it, becuase i havnt completed decided on what uni i want to go to, and what one i will be able to go to by the end of sixth form.
i absalutely HATE english. i cant wait to get rid of it haha. and as for history, i didnt take it for GCSE and some of my friends are struggling with revision for it because they cant balance it with the other subjects. i get good results in science and i guess i find it interesting, but i dont think i like it as much as i would need to to do it at A-level.
My sister's studying economics at uni at the moment and for her a-levels she did Economics Maths English lit and Biology (but she dropped bio after AS)
Original post by rainyrain
Do you do GCSE Further/Additional Maths? I've only done C1 and started C2 in normal Maths A Level but so far it's pretty much a reiteration of the GCSE FM course, and looking at the spec for M1 it looks the same too. Don't worry if you don't do FM GCSE though, if you're willing to work hard like you say then you'll sail through it. You might need FM GCSE for to do further maths though? Unless you can convince the school otherwise hehe.
With regards to making the right choice, don't worry! Whatever subjects you put down now is in no way final, except if you want to take up an oversubscribed AS Level (eg Maths and Sciences in my school), and even then you're very likely to be able to swap to them. I was VERY undecided with what I wanted to do. I'd decided on Maths, Physics, Biology and Psychology, but come results day I mulled it over with my parents for an hour and changed to Maths, Physics, Further Maths and French. A week into the school year I changed French back to Biology (an oversubscribed subject). Sure 2 weeks ago somebody joined my Further Maths class!
Point being you literally have at most an entire year to decide on your subjects, so fret not
I can't reallyyy help you with the 'applying to a new school' thing though, sorry - I attend a grammar school haha
but perhaps some stats will help? To get into my grammar school you only needed 11 points - 4 Bs and 3 Cs, and most subjects required a B in the GCSE subject (or B in English Language and Maths or something like that if new subject). Further Maths required an A in GCSE FM. Obviously all grammar schools and colleges will be different, but hopefully that'll help put things into perspective for you Original post by Patrick2810
At the Warwick open day, at the economics talk the guy said "Further maths is a waste of an A level" and that for economics they like a mix, i.e maths, english lit and 2 others like sciences/geog/history. Possibly wise not to do economics at A level as they reteach everything anyway and it's less respected than the ones previously mentioned.
The economics guy, Sounds like a good description of somebody to ignore f111111ck out of. If he has anything interesting to say about maths, which I doubt, he is quite welcome to say it.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Patrick2810
At the Warwick open day, at the economics talk the guy said "Further maths is a waste of an A level" and that for economics they like a mix, i.e maths, english lit and 2 others like sciences/geog/history. Possibly wise not to do economics at A level as they reteach everything anyway and it's less respected than the ones previously mentioned.
Is this from that tutor that studied at LSE, and claims Warwick is likely to surpass LSE and Cambridge for Economics in 20 years times?
Original post by Raiden10
The economics guy, Sounds like a good description of somebody to ignore f111111ck out of. If he has anything interesting to say about maths, which I doubt, he is quite welcome to say it.
Okay i just foundhis name and its the head of department so make of what he said what you will http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/amuthoo/
Original post by vd12345
Is this from that tutor that studied at LSE, and claims Warwick is likely to surpass LSE and Cambridge for Economics in 20 years times?
I think so yes
Original post by Patrick2810
Okay i just foundhis name and its the head of department so make of what he said what you will http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/amuthoo/
I think so yes
I think so yes
Head of economics. Yeah thats the guy 😂
Original post by vd12345
Head of economics. Yeah thats the guy 😂
If you check his resume the guy taught at Harvard, Cambridge and LSE and is now head of department at Warwick, i wouldnt throw away what he says haha.
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