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Need help before starting maths at uni.

Hi I'm coming here as I'm in a bit of a conundrum right now.

I have just got back from travelling during my gap year and I start my maths degree in late september/october time.

I have done little/zero maths during the past year pretty much and was wondering what should I do over the next 2-3 months to get myself back into the swing of things.

I was going to start by going back over my a-level maths and f-maths as it appears I have forgot 95% of what I had learned.

Is there anything else I should do after that? As I imagine that will only take me 1-2 weeks.

Any topics I should look at before I start or any advice for me?

Thanks!!!!
lol. This is why in general Cambridge does not like gap years for maths students (Queen's a notable exception).
Reply 2
Original post by Old_Simon
lol. This is why in general Cambridge does not like gap years for maths students (Queen's a notable exception).


Good thing I'm not going to Cambridge then isn't it besides I'm not good enough to go there.

Why even bring it up I'm asking for a little advice if you're not going to post anything helpful to me then why bother posting at all.

I have 3 months before I start and that's more than enough time to get me back into the swing of things I think.

Completely useless post from yourself congrats.
Original post by alex2100x
Good thing I'm not going to Cambridge then isn't it besides I'm not good enough to go there.

Why even bring it up I'm asking for a little advice if you're not going to post anything helpful to me then why bother posting at all.

I have 3 months before I start and that's more than enough time to get me back into the swing of things I think.

Completely useless post from yourself congrats.

I simply make the point that Maths is a subject which is very easily forgotten.
Reply 4
Original post by Old_Simon
I simply make the point that Maths is a subject which is very easily forgotten.


Well done Sherlock. Very astute observational skills you have.

Do you think I was posting this because I had remembered everything with the up most clarity and was brimming with optimism about starting my course?

I was asking for help if you're just going to state the obvious then I suggest you should go elsewhere.
Original post by alex2100x
Hi I'm coming here as I'm in a bit of a conundrum right now.

I have just got back from travelling during my gap year and I start my maths degree in late september/october time.

I have done little/zero maths during the past year pretty much and was wondering what should I do over the next 2-3 months to get myself back into the swing of things.

I was going to start by going back over my a-level maths and f-maths as it appears I have forgot 95% of what I had learned.

Is there anything else I should do after that? As I imagine that will only take me 1-2 weeks.

Any topics I should look at before I start or any advice for me?

Thanks!!!!


Go through C1-C4 and the FP modules. That's all you would need to do tbh.
If you don't mind me asking, where are you going to do your maths degree? I ask because if I was you, I would look up what first year modules you are due to take and prepare for them by reading appropriate maths books. In my experience I found that A-level maths/further maths was not particularly useful for undergraduate mathematics. They are fundamentally taught in very different ways. If you find out what classes you are due to take I would be happy to recommend some books for you to read in those respective fields. Hope this helps.

Original post by alex2100x
Hi I'm coming here as I'm in a bit of a conundrum right now. I have just got back from travelling during my gap year and I start my maths degree in late september/october time.

I have done little/zero maths during the past year pretty much and was wondering what should I do over the next 2-3 months to get myself back into the swing of things.

I was going to start by going back over my a-level maths and f-maths as it appears I have forgot 95% of what I had learned.

Is there anything else I should do after that? As I imagine that will only take me 1-2 weeks.

Any topics I should look at before I start or any advice for me?

Thanks!!!!
Reply 7
Original post by WishingChaff
If you don't mind me asking, where are you going to do your maths degree? I ask because if I was you, I would look up what first year modules you are due to take and prepare for them by reading appropriate maths books. In my experience I found that A-level maths/further maths was not particularly useful for undergraduate mathematics. They are fundamentally taught in very different ways. If you find out what classes you are due to take I would be happy to recommend some books for you to read in those respective fields. Hope this helps.



Hi thanks for the reply. Here are the 1st year modules I will be taking some but not all I believe.

core calculus, algebra, discrete mathematics, mechanics, pure mathematics, statistics, computational mathematics, vectors, linear algebra

these are some of the topics!

I will also briefly go over my a level just to get a bit of practise in.

thanks


For the linear algebra course the standard book tends to be "Linear Algebra and its Applications by David C. Lay".

For Real Analysis the nicest introduction I have seen is a book called "Guide to Analysis by Mary Hart". This is the course that will essentially teach you how to correctly write mathematics and is massively important for later studies.

For Calculus I do not have one book I believe is better than the rest, as the market is over saturated in text books for this subject. However, you can use "Calculus by James Stewart".

Hopefully the descriptive course list you now have will show you what bits of A-level maths you need to focus on (i.e. complex numbers, induction, vectors etc) and what bits you can miss. Hope this helps and good luck with your maths degree.

Original post by alex2100x
Hi thanks for the reply. Here are the 1st year modules I will be taking some but not all I believe.

core calculus, algebra, discrete mathematics, mechanics, pure mathematics, statistics, computational mathematics, vectors, linear algebra

these are some of the topics!

I will also briefly go over my a level just to get a bit of practise in.

thanks


Original post by alex2100x
Hi I'm coming here as I'm in a bit of a conundrum right now.

I have just got back from travelling during my gap year and I start my maths degree in late september/october time.

I have done little/zero maths during the past year pretty much and was wondering what should I do over the next 2-3 months to get myself back into the swing of things.

I was going to start by going back over my a-level maths and f-maths as it appears I have forgot 95% of what I had learned.

Is there anything else I should do after that? As I imagine that will only take me 1-2 weeks.

Any topics I should look at before I start or any advice for me?

Thanks!!!!


Some unis make you do some sort of maths aptitude test during the first week of term usually (at least it was the case for me and a few friends at other unis). That usually covers everything from very basic maths to more advanced stuff. So if you could get your hands on one of those tests from your school, you could try it and see which topics you need focusing on.
Hmm I think you should go over all the stuff you learnt and even do a few past papers to see if you can still apply the knowledge well (the weirder questions). You could then look at the syllabus for the year and do a little extra reading and prep :smile:
Reply 11
Original post by alex2100x
Hi I'm coming here as I'm in a bit of a conundrum right now.

I have just got back from travelling during my gap year and I start my maths degree in late september/october time.

I have done little/zero maths during the past year pretty much and was wondering what should I do over the next 2-3 months to get myself back into the swing of things.

I was going to start by going back over my a-level maths and f-maths as it appears I have forgot 95% of what I had learned.

Is there anything else I should do after that? As I imagine that will only take me 1-2 weeks.

Any topics I should look at before I start or any advice for me?

Thanks!!!!


Focus on making sure you have C1-C4 and FP1-FP3 completely covered because these skills underpin everything else. Unis are aware that different people have different backgrounds in applied modules so they're less likely to make assumptions about those topics.

Have a look at Liebeck's Concise Intro to Pure Mathematics to get an idea of what you're letting yourself in for :smile:
Original post by alex2100x
Hi I'm coming here as I'm in a bit of a conundrum right now.


Thanks!!!!



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bridging-University-Mathematics-Edward-Hurst/dp/1848002890

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