What are the differences between the two if any, also I have seen threads on STEP papers and help for STEP papers but little for AEA.
Warwick ask for STEP or AEA for a mathematics degree. Which do you think people should take and why??
I have heard also that AEA is for the top 5% of maths students, whereas step is for the top 2%. Has anyone else heard this, as this suggests AEA is easier.
In terms of getting into Warwick, I would take both. Practice for the STEP and do all the AEA past papers. STEP will make the AEA easier, particularly if you 'only' want to get a merit.
AEA is easier. It requires C1 C2 C3 and C4 knowledge.
STEP I requires C1-C4, S1+, M1+
STEP II requires C1-C4, S1+, M1+
STEP III requires C1-C4, FP1+, S2/3+, M2/M3+
Don't quote me on that, it's just what I've picked up on from reading this forum. There's no exact number of modules you need to know for STEP, as it's meant to be accessible to all candidates from each exam board.
Take AEA and STEP I. It's your last chance to take the AEA, and STEP I is only a little harder.
also I would add that I am one of those not as fortunate as to have tuition in either, is this common, or do most of you get tuition for STEP or AEA.
I quite agree that doing both might be appropriate
Neither require extra teaching. Most people don't get extra tuition. It's the people from the bigger/better schools who have like 2/3+ further maths classes that get the option for extra tuition. I'll be doing STEP II and III next year and I won't get any tuition.
Apparently, you should treat some booklet (SIKLOS?) like your bible when studying for STEP.
also I would add that I am one of those not as fortunate as to have tuition in either, is this common, or do most of you get tuition for STEP or AEA.
I quite agree that doing both might be appropriate
A few people do. I did when I did it and whilst it was helpful, I don't think it will've made more than a few marks difference(which can be crucial if you're going for the higher grades...). You can definitely pass it without any help(especially if you go on here). Just do every STEP paper and don't rely on looking up solutions.
The fundamental difference is that there's no choice in the AEA, where as in STEP you can pick your favourite topics. If you're good at mechanics/statistics, that's a real bonus as the questions tend to be somewhat easier than the pure ones (the AEA has ONLY pure questions).
The other main difference is that the style of AEA is much more A-level like than STEP, which makes it more approachable.
AEA is easier. It requires C1 C2 C3 and C4 knowledge.
STEP I requires C1-C4, S1+, M1+
STEP II requires C1-C4, S1+, M1+
STEP III requires C1-C4, FP1+, S2/3+, M2/M3+
...
Take AEA and STEP I. It's your last chance to take the AEA, and STEP I is only a little harder.
I think you should do STEP II as well, though if it's going to exhaust you for when you come to taking the AEA then perhaps not(they seem to be on the same day)
As for your requirements, no mechanics or stats is required at all for any of them- most people stick to the pure questions. However, I think that having the Stats in particular was very helpful and others found the mechanics helpful. You would usually need S2/M2 for STEP 1 &2(though I needed S3) and S4 + a bit more and M4 + a bit more for 3. Additionally, the pure maths modules required for STEP 3 vary with exam board, but a knowledge of complex numbers(including demoivre, matrices, induction, hyperbolics and Differential equations up to the use of the integrating factor) would help alot.
I think you should do STEP II as well, though if it's going to exhaust you for when you come to taking the AEA then perhaps not(they seem to be on the same day)
As for your requirements, no mechanics or stats is required at all for any of them- most people stick to the pure questions. However, I think that having the Stats in particular was very helpful and others found the mechanics helpful. You would usually need S2/M2 for STEP 1 &2(though I needed S3) and S4 + a bit more and M4 + a bit more for 3. Additionally, the pure maths modules required for STEP 3 vary with exam board, but a knowledge of complex numbers(including demoivre, matrices, induction, hyperbolics and Differential equations up to the use of the integrating factor) would help alot.
Even though I think this was meant mainly for the OP, it helped me a lot. Could I trouble you to read my question in the "Big fat STEP" thread? I asked what I'd need for STEP III and stuff.
You mentioned De Moivre. I know for a fact that's in FP3 for WJEC and my school doesn't teach it, and I won't have time to teach myself FP3 because we won't finish FP2 until a few weeks before the exams start! Ugh.
I chose STEP(I,II), simply because of the 'choice' you get. I never really bothered revising for it though as for me others exams were more crucial. I never really bothered to use the Siklos booklet all that much, for me anyway it's more of a distraction than it is a help. Don't worry about that "STEP aimed at 2%" rubbish as it's clearly false. I got a B in Further Maths (so i'm not in the top 2%) but did fine in STEP. Another reason why i like STEP is the amount of time you get to do it, as i'm error prone i found with 3 hours to do the exam in you can relax a little. I recommend looking at as many past papers even if your not going to fully do them.
I chose STEP(I,II), simply because of the 'choice' you get. I never really bothered revising for it though as for me others exams were more crucial. I never really bothered to use the Siklos booklet all that much, for me anyway it's more of a distraction than it is a help. Don't worry about that "STEP aimed at 2%" rubbish as it's clearly false. I got a B in Further Maths (so i'm not in the top 2%) but did fine in STEP. Another reason why i like STEP is the amount of time you get to do it, as i'm error prone i found with 3 hours to do the exam in you can relax a little. I recommend looking at as many past papers even if your not going to fully do them.
Did you cock-up the exams, or was it just general bad luck?
(I'm asking because i'm self-teaching OCR MEI Further Maths - and you've made me quite worried!)
I messed up one exam, namely FP2 (MEI). I got the exact UMS for a B, when i should have done alot better. Generally as i've mentioned above i'm quite error prone, so i was advised to work slowly through the exam. This advise while probably correct backfired, as i ended up just finishing the third question (out of four) with about 10 minutes to go, i rushed through the last question but realised i had made an error in pretty much all of the questions. This particular FP2 exam was a nasty one though, a few questions were challenging, while i probably should have left them i didn't move on until i had done them. Also while being in my opinion the most challenging paper it was also the most difficult to complete in the time space. Anyway, i did better in FP3 (was about 3 UMS off an A) and certainly MEI FP3 is quite a difficult exam (so don't be too worried), i still made a massive error in that too. STEP on the other hand is a really nice 3 hour exam. So you don't necesserily have to rush through it, there is time to relax. I'm not saying STEP is easy but the pressure of time is generally off.
I messed up one exam, namely FP2 (MEI). I got the exact UMS for a B, when i should have done alot better. Generally as i've mentioned above i'm quite error prone, so i was advised to work slowly through the exam. This advise while probably correct backfired, as i ended up just finishing the third question (out of four) with about 10 minutes to go, i rushed through the last question but realised i had made an error in pretty much all of the questions. This particular FP2 exam was a nasty one though, a few questions were challenging, while i probably should have left them i didn't move on until i had done them. Also while being in my opinion the most challenging paper it was also the most difficult to complete in the time space. Anyway, i did better in FP3 (was about 3 UMS off an A) and certainly MEI FP3 is quite a difficult exam (so don't be too worried), i still made a massive error in that too. STEP on the other hand is a really nice 3 hour exam. So you don't necesserily have to rush through it, there is time to relax. I'm not saying STEP is easy but the pressure of time is generally off.
All I know is that OCR MEI destroys WJEC in terms of difficulty - where as WJEC was totally recipe, OCR MEI try to mix things up a bit
Did your paper happen to be the one with the C +jS series that takes like two pages of algebra? :|
AEA seems much easier. STEP requires a lot of preparation while you could probably do ok in AEA as long as you know the syllabus and the formula book. AEA is also quite fun.
The thing that struck me when doing both was how different practicing STEP was and doing it for real. It was scary picking up the paper and not knowing which questions to do. AEA didn't have that.
Maths revision, coursework or discussion you will find help in here.
Useful Resources:
AEA or STEP
