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Maths A-Level

Good Morning,

I'm new to this forum, but thought I should try consulting with students who are facing a similar predicament to my own, I seem to have little idea of a future career, and mental mind games have been my forte over the summer, due to the fact that I am still deliberating whether Maths A-Level is a good option to take, especially when Maths is not my strong point. My reasons for taking Maths I shall disclose, as I'm also taking a Computing A-Level, something which is complimented and provides a sound foundation to Computing.

I'm worried because my background in Maths hasn't been exactly strong. In my GCSE Maths class, I was set 4/6, the bottom level of the eligible students taking the Intermediate paper, this is due to the fact that my SATS results were relatively poor, recieving a 6.2. I dedicated myself wholeheartedly to the subject for the next 2 years, and a Pilot exam was offered to our school, enabling me to access A and A*, up to the exam I had been working at High B Level, teetering on the Grade boundary between B and A, after self teaching myself the higher tier stuff, as best that I could, Seeing as provision could not be made to help me :s-smilie:

, I did the exam and am now, as you all are, waiting for the results. Considering the above, would it be wise for me to take A-Level maths? Considering I spent numerous days trying to drill key concepts into my head for GCSE? ...and the fact that my mind isn't exactly adapted to a logical mindset? Is it possible you could help me out here?

(I know it's a little cheeky pleading for advice on a first post, but i promise i will reciprocate by leaving advice to others who need it!)

Thanks in advance, Guys.

Bernard.

Reply 1

wackysparkle

14

Having done both GCSE and A level maths - I would say that the I found the former more taxing :s-smilie:

which is quite odd really and wouldn't be a general opinion.
What I would ask you though is why you want to do it really. It seems that you don't really want to approach it because you don't been confident enough which is understandable - but why do something you are not so keen on?

When choosing A levels you should choose subjects you are interested in/fill the requirements by universities for any particular course you wish to study/ can get a good grade in.

WS

Reply 2

Excalibur

15

keyperspective

Good Morning,

I'm new to this forum, but thought I should try consulting with students who are facing a similar predicament to my own, I seem to have little idea of a future career, and mental mind games have been my forte over the summer, due to the fact that I am still deliberating whether Maths A-Level is a good option to take, especially when Maths is not my strong point. My reasons for taking Maths I shall disclose, as I'm also taking a Computing A-Level, something which is complimented and provides a sound foundation to Computing.

I'm worried because my background in Maths hasn't been exactly strong. In my GCSE Maths class, I was set 4/6, the bottom level of the eligible students taking the Intermediate paper, this is due to the fact that my SATS results were relatively poor, recieving a 6.2. I dedicated myself wholeheartedly to the subject for the next 2 years, and a Pilot exam was offered to our school, enabling me to access A and A*, up to the exam I had been working at High B Level, teetering on the Grade boundary between B and A, after self teaching myself the higher tier stuff, as best that I could, Seeing as provision could not be made to help me :s-smilie:

, I did the exam and am now, as you all are, waiting for the results. Considering the above, would it be wise for me to take A-Level maths? Considering I spent numerous days trying to drill key concepts into my head for GCSE? ...and the fact that my mind isn't exactly adapted to a logical mindset? Is it possible you could help me out here?

(I know it's a little cheeky pleading for advice on a first post, but i promise i will reciprocate by leaving advice to others who need it!)

Thanks in advance, Guys.

Bernard.

lol, didn't know you can have decimal levels for SATs! :p:

So your incentive for taking Maths is because it complements computing - is that just for A level, or are you thinking of doing a computing-related degree at university? I think Maths is compulsory if you want to do computer science at uni, but to do Computing at A level, Maths is not a solid requirement. So if that's the only reason why you're thinking of doing maths, then maybe it's not worth it.

I think AS Maths won't be too much of a problem if you're capable of A or A* at GCSE; C1 is an extension of higher tier GCSE, and C2 is an extension of C1 with a few more advanced concepts. S1 is relatively easy and so is D1 (can't speak for M1 though). A2 maths gets quite a bit harder, so see how you fare with AS first to see if you want to continue for A2.

If you're thinking of anything like computing, engineering, economics, finance etc at university, then maths is a very good idea - if you come out with an A, A* or even a B, I think you can give it a shot :smile:

Reply 3

.ACS.

19

What do you want to do at university?

The most important thing when choosing A-Level subjects is to choose those which you enjoy and will allow you to follow your chosen career/university path.

What you are basically asking us is ‘Will I cope with A-Level Maths?’, and the reality is that we can’t really help you as we don’t know you or your level and we can’t predict how you will find A-Level Maths – some who are great at GCSE, have problems with A-Level, while others find A-Level more logical and cope better than they did at GCSE.

If you are willing to work hard, and put the effort in, then generally speaking you should do well. There are plenty of resources available, and if you’re ever stuck people will be very willing to explain things in the Maths Academic forum, and of course one of the most important factors to success is plenty of past papers.
How willing are you to put the time and effort in?

Reply 4

bruisepristine

Meh, I got an 8.3 in year 9 SATs yet struggled immensely with AS. I don't think they're as related as you think (indeed I think they're barely related at all). For me, AS maths was about having the mindset, and I just couldn't cope with it.

Reply 5

Mathemagician. Funny?

bruisepristine

Meh, I got an 8.3 in year 9 SATs yet struggled immensely with AS. I don't think they're as related as you think (indeed I think they're barely related at all). For me, AS maths was about having the mindset, and I just couldn't cope with it.

Now come on! AS isn't that hard as you are making it out to be. Even if someone wasn't naturally good at Maths, you could easily grasp the concepts by doing past papers. I mean the same questions come up over and over again but with different values in the question.

Reply 6

.ACS.

19

Mathemagician. Funny?

Now come on! AS isn't that hard as you are making it out to be. Even if someone wasn't naturally good at Maths, you could easily grasp the concepts by doing past papers. I mean the same questions come up over and over again but with different values in the question.

I think it’s a mistake to believe that AS-Level Maths is easy on the basis of past papers. Yes, a lot will do extremely well due to natural talent, others due to relying heavily on past papers, although there are those who even with plenty of time, effort, hard work and thousands of past papers will still fail at AS-Level Maths.

There are certain people who may be great at languages or certain other subjects, but are completely hopeless when it comes to numerate subjects.

Reply 7

Mathemagician. Funny?

Andrzej S.

I think it’s a mistake to believe that AS-Level Maths is easy on the basis of past papers. Yes, a lot will do extremely well due to natural talent, others due to relying heavily on past papers, although there are those who even with plenty of time, effort, hard work and thousands of past papers will still fail at AS-Level Maths.

There are certain people who may be great at languages or certain other subjects, but are completely hopeless when it comes to numerate subjects.

Fine well here is a question. If you knew which questions were going to come up in AS, do you, the Op, think you would manage?

Reply 8

phancy

Everybody I've asked - and I've asked a lot of people, being in much the same position as you are with not really having any clear ideas about I want to do - has said that natural talent can only take you so far, especially in bridging the gap between GCSE and AS.

The ability to motivate yourself and work hard without being constantly badgered is far more important and will stand you in far better stead than a naturally strong background in whichever subject - though of course it helps. It sounds like you do have those skills, from what you said about teaching yourself and working so hard at the Maths over the past two years.

Also, wait and see what results you get. That might make it more obvious as well. :smile:

Good luck!

Maths A-Level

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