To or to not take Maths (and what to do if i don't)

So... some backstory.

I'm really good at Computer Science and this general line of work is my aim for my future career. I'm about to take my GCSEs and am currently achieving pass grades and entry requirements on everything BUT Maths.

My chosen A-Levels at the moment are CS, Maths and Engineering. Maths in my 6th form requires a Grade 7 AND to pass an entry exam in September, work at least at 90%. Now my most recent grade in Maths was a 6, and ive been told for reasons i accept that theres no tolerance for the Maths Department in my school for being relaxed on if someone gets a couple marks under boundary. On top of all this, im not exactly thilled about doing Maths for another 2 years.

I'm planning on going on to do a Degree Apprenticeship of some kind in the Software Development or Computer Science area, and my main reason for choosing a Maths A-Level is the fact it is sometimes required for applying.

My question, is do you believe that it is ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE that I have this Maths A-Level on my side, even though it is not always a requirement. And if i was to take something else, what might you reccomend in its place? And finally (yes alot of questions), If i do not get the entry requirement for the Maths course... WHAT DO I DO THEN???

Thanks! And do please let me know if i have posted this in the wrong place, im new and i have no idea where to post things :smile:

Reply 1

skippy_69

9

personally, from what I have seen, all universities and institutions require at least an A-Level in Mathematics, for some top universities such as Oxford further maths too, to take any sort of computer science related course. Revise as much mathematics as possible, my recommendation is past papers, and if for some reason you do not achieve a 7 (which seems unlikely due to your recent grade 6) you can always retake the exam in the october/november series and make arrangements for that. Keep revising your maths and you'll be fine. Any questions I would be more than happy to answer

P.S: may I ask what exam board you are taking your engineering A-Level with?

Reply 2

TitchDEV

OP

2

Original post by skippy_69

personally, from what I have seen, all universities and institutions require at least an A-Level in Mathematics, for some top universities such as Oxford further maths too, to take any sort of computer science related course. Revise as much mathematics as possible, my recommendation is past papers, and if for some reason you do not achieve a 7 (which seems unlikely due to your recent grade 6) you can always retake the exam in the october/november series and make arrangements for that. Keep revising your maths and you'll be fine. Any questions I would be more than happy to answer

P.S: may I ask what exam board you are taking your engineering A-Level with?

Exam Board for Engineering i THINK is Pearson for A-Level, not 100% however.

My main consideration or worry right now is, the entrance exam in September is miniscule and is like 5 of the Algebra topics from GCSE, its just to see if you can cope still, and getting a 7 for all intensive purposes isnt a stretch. I think the train of terror from today has been fueled by the fact that I simultaneously really would need to take it for future possiblities even if its not ALWAYS required, but also have heard deadly things about the course, stating if your not a massive fan of the subject to steer the hell away and im just like...

What if im both? LMAO

Reply 3

skippy_69

9

Original post by TitchDEV

Exam Board for Engineering i THINK is Pearson for A-Level, not 100% however.

My main consideration or worry right now is, the entrance exam in September is miniscule and is like 5 of the Algebra topics from GCSE, its just to see if you can cope still, and getting a 7 for all intensive purposes isnt a stretch. I think the train of terror from today has been fueled by the fact that I simultaneously really would need to take it for future possiblities even if its not ALWAYS required, but also have heard deadly things about the course, stating if your not a massive fan of the subject to steer the hell away and im just like...

What if im both? LMAO

My advice would be to go for the Maths A-Level. You'll find that the more you do the subject and the more assignments you go through, you will naturally become interested and immersed. Plus, when it comes to maths, I would say around 50% of people take it for necessity rather than enjoying the subject. Also, not sure of your sources, but the maths A-Level is not a "deadly" subject it's just another Level 3 qualification, which is required to be the same difficulty as every other A-Level by the government, so don't worry yourself :smile:

. Any other queries let me know

Reply 4

Baleroc

13

Original post by TitchDEV

My question, is do you believe that it is ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE that I have this Maths A-Level on my side, even though it is not always a requirement. And if i was to take something else, what might you reccomend in its place? And finally (yes alot of questions), If i do not get the entry requirement for the Maths course... WHAT DO I DO THEN???

You do not need A-level mathematics for some computer science courses, so it is not imperative, no.

However, A-level mathematics is more of a minimum requirement, rather than an arbitrary requirement set by universities purely to filter out students for their over-competitive and saturated degree. Math is not used by universities purely just to get rid of some students from the applicant process.

It's quite a common question: why do you need math in computer science? Well, let me tell you what would happen if you didn't know math:

- You can't do mathematical induction, proofs, probability theory, statistics, functions, exponentials, logarithms, etc.
- You can't learn statistics, graph theory, computer graphics, computer vision (not the same thing as graphics), high performance computing, big data, data mining, machine learning, complexity theory, deep learning, data science, artificial intelligence (general), natural language processing, augmented reality, cryptography and information theory, optimisation, computational geometry, quantum computation and quantum mechanics, robotics, and much more.

So, what can you do?
You can do software engineering; make a website, php, Javascript, database developer, hardware technician, mobile app developer, network engineer, cybersecurity; those types of roles.

So, what you can see from this. It is not essential to do computing with mathematics. However, you are severely disadvantaged, missing out the majority of topics if you don't.

Up to you which you decide, are you willing to spend the rest of your life in computing without ever having the background needed to explore in 90% of the topics in CS? That is your decision depending on how much you hate mathematics.

Reply 5

lalexm

16

Original post by TitchDEV

So... some backstory.

I'm really good at Computer Science and this general line of work is my aim for my future career. I'm about to take my GCSEs and am currently achieving pass grades and entry requirements on everything BUT Maths.

My chosen A-Levels at the moment are CS, Maths and Engineering. Maths in my 6th form requires a Grade 7 AND to pass an entry exam in September, work at least at 90%. Now my most recent grade in Maths was a 6, and ive been told for reasons i accept that theres no tolerance for the Maths Department in my school for being relaxed on if someone gets a couple marks under boundary. On top of all this, im not exactly thilled about doing Maths for another 2 years.

I'm planning on going on to do a Degree Apprenticeship of some kind in the Software Development or Computer Science area, and my main reason for choosing a Maths A-Level is the fact it is sometimes required for applying.

My question, is do you believe that it is ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE that I have this Maths A-Level on my side, even though it is not always a requirement. And if i was to take something else, what might you reccomend in its place? And finally (yes alot of questions), If i do not get the entry requirement for the Maths course... WHAT DO I DO THEN???

Thanks! And do please let me know if i have posted this in the wrong place, im new and i have no idea where to post things :smile:

Maths is a subject where there is a high correlation between GCSE results and A-level results, as the A-level essentially builds on what you learned at GCSE. Sorry to be blunt, but there are many people with grade 7 and even grade 8 that struggle with A-level maths, so I would not even think about doing it unless you get a 7 minimum. Try your best now at GCSE, doing as many past papers and practice questions you can get a hold of, and see from there.

Reply 6

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

Original post by TitchDEV

So... some backstory.

I'm really good at Computer Science and this general line of work is my aim for my future career. I'm about to take my GCSEs and am currently achieving pass grades and entry requirements on everything BUT Maths.

My chosen A-Levels at the moment are CS, Maths and Engineering. Maths in my 6th form requires a Grade 7 AND to pass an entry exam in September, work at least at 90%. Now my most recent grade in Maths was a 6, and ive been told for reasons i accept that theres no tolerance for the Maths Department in my school for being relaxed on if someone gets a couple marks under boundary. On top of all this, im not exactly thilled about doing Maths for another 2 years.

I'm planning on going on to do a Degree Apprenticeship of some kind in the Software Development or Computer Science area, and my main reason for choosing a Maths A-Level is the fact it is sometimes required for applying.

My question, is do you believe that it is ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE that I have this Maths A-Level on my side, even though it is not always a requirement. And if i was to take something else, what might you reccomend in its place? And finally (yes alot of questions), If i do not get the entry requirement for the Maths course... WHAT DO I DO THEN???

Thanks! And do please let me know if i have posted this in the wrong place, im new and i have no idea where to post things :smile:

Hi! I'm not so knowledgeable in Degree Apprenticeships for Computer Science but I'm currently a Computer Science university student so hopefully, I can help to provide some insight. I think it would be a good idea to have a look at some Degree Apprenticeships you like and see what their entry requirements are, whether they're looking for a Maths A-Level. If the majority are, it would probably be a good idea to take it.

If you don't get the entry requirements for Maths, then it'll be up to you to decide if you want to retake the Maths GCSE to get a higher grade or just leave out Maths altogether. Just like university, I'm sure there'll be some degree apprenticeships that don't require A-Level Maths. You've just got to have a look around I guess!

If you realise you don't want to spend 2 years doing a Maths A Level, then that's fine too! Maybe set up a LinkedIn to find some more opportunities or attend fairs to network and engage with companies that interest you and will be willing to take you on.

Best of luck for the future!

- Sophia (Student Ambassador)

To or to not take Maths (and what to do if i don't)

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