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Mathematics Applicants 2012

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Original post by LtCommanderData
Fair enough :smile:

So... Does everyone know about Legendre's constant? It's slightly amusing.


It must have been pretty awkward when it turned out to be just 1. Pretty cool though.
How's university?
Original post by Aristotle's' Disciple
That would be quite fun, and I can't speak for everyone, but you've pretty much finished and including myself, I think there are a fair few who have started STEP prep, so yeah, sounds like a pretty good idea! :biggrin:


I second this idea.
Original post by ben-smith
It must have been pretty awkward when it turned out to be

Spoiler

. Pretty cool though.
How's university?


Well Legendre was dead, so I guess he didn't mind much.

I just think it's a nice thing to know (not the dead mathematician bit), because it allows you to say things like "and that, of course, leaves us with the well known Legendre's Constant", and look at your audience's bemused faces as they either think "oh no, I'm way out of my depth!" (if they aren't mathematical), "oh no, how embarrassing, I don't know what Legendre's Constant is!", if they are mathematical and haven't heard of it, or "haha, I know what this guy's up to" if they have. Then, when you tell them, it leads to laughter as the awkward tension is broken.

University is pretty good; I'd recommend it.

EDIT0: Far more awkward, and funny, is the mistake Sir Arthur Eddington made that led to a funny nickname! Check it out on Wikipedia or something if you don't know about it.

NB: the humour is almost all derived from the nickname

EDIT1: Also, you spoilered it for everyone else!
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 1983
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deejayy
1
Original post by ben-smith
I'll create the thread if more people say they are interested.


Yeah I am up for it. We should try and set a few questions per week and then post solutions at the end and then discuss the questions. I.e. make the thread productive instead of just talking about questions here and there.
Original post by LtCommanderData
I just think it's a nice thing to know (not the dead mathematician bit), because it allows you to say things like "and that, of course, leaves us with the well known Legendre's Constant", and look at your audience's bemused faces as they either think "oh no, I'm way out of my depth!" (if they aren't mathematical), "oh no, how embarrassing, I don't know what Legendre's Constant is!", if they are mathematical and haven't heard of it, or "haha, I know what this guy's up to" if they have. Then, when you tell them, it leads to laughter as the awkward tension is broken.


:lol: I'm so doing that the next time I have to explain something in class.
Reply 1985
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twig
Original post by LtCommanderData
Just to be clear: I'm not advocating lack of work. I walked out of the room after taking the MAT and said to my two friends who took it with me "damn, I'd better get into Imperial because there's no way I'm getting into Oxford after that". They replied that they felt the same way. Yeah, I got in - but neither of them did. If we'd all prepared a bit better, maybe more than one would have got in.


Congrats on getting into Ox (especially if you only did 1.5 practice papers!). I guessing your interviews must have been excellent. Regarding preparation about the MAT, any ideas on how to prepare other than just past papers? I have been doing some STEP qs, but they follow a different style.
Reply 1986
Avatar for fGDu
fGDu
14
Original post by ben-smith
I'll create the thread if more people say they are interested.


Sounds interesting, count me in.
Original post by fGDu
Sounds interesting, count me in.


This :smile:
Original post by ben-smith
I'll create the thread if more people say they are interested.


Seems a good idea :biggrin:

(Just create the thread! People will warm up to the idea... :tongue:)
Reply 1989
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mpc1
Original post by twig
Got the response to the UCL module marks.:smile:





Wow, do they respond/acknowledge to every mail with the module marks? Even though its a FYI mail?

That is impressive
Original post by mpc1
Wow, do they respond/acknowledge to every mail with the module marks? Even though its a FYI mail?

That is impressive


It's probably automatically generated, or at the very least a stock e-mail. Still it's nicer than imperial who don't even acknowledge you.
Make a MAT thread, make a MAT thread! You might be able to tell this excites me a bit too much. But I'm not really sure what else I can do to prepare other than STEP papers which are, as someone else has already said, quite different. :biggrin:
Original post by Miller693
Make a MAT thread, make a MAT thread! You might be able to tell this excites me a bit too much. But I'm not really sure what else I can do to prepare other than STEP papers which are, as someone else has already said, quite different. :biggrin:


just do the MAT papers! :smile:
Original post by twig
Congrats on getting into Ox (especially if you only did 1.5 practice papers!). I guessing your interviews must have been excellent. Regarding preparation about the MAT, any ideas on how to prepare other than just past papers? I have been doing some STEP qs, but they follow a different style.


The actual required mathematical knowledge is easy, so I recommend being supremely confident with it. They'll try to frame the easy concepts in difficult settings, so if you're being caught out by the easy bit, you're putting yourself at a major disadvantage.

I also recommend laying it out well. I think they will be more inclined to favour someone who scores slightly lower but sets out their thoughts in such a way that suggests they have a mathematical mind to someone who gets things right in a less nice way. I don't know precisely how the marking etc works, but it's marked by people who will have a say in your admissions, so the details of what you write can have an effect, as well as the overall score.
Preparation thread
Thought you maths applicants may appreciate this:

This is probably the wrong place to post this, but if you get 90%+ in the Oxford MAT paper does that guarantee you a place?
Original post by jilebinator
This is probably the wrong place to post this, but if you get 90%+ in the Oxford MAT paper does that guarantee you a place?


No but it means you are so good that you are very likely to be accepted anyway.
Original post by jilebinator
This is probably the wrong place to post this, but if you get 90%+ in the Oxford MAT paper does that guarantee you a place?


As above. Did you actually get that in a past paper, or are you just asking? :tongue: (Note that MAT papers are much harder than A-level papers. Most people get more like 60%!)
Reply 1999
Avatar for 1sas09
1sas09
Hi just looking for some opinions,
applying for Maths Masters course, at durham, bath and liverpool is my backup. (im predicted A*AA for maths, further maths and physics and plan on sitting step) have 2 spaces to fill with either : nottingham, st andrews, york, birmingham. What would you do ? :confused: any advice would be appreciated

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