For all people planning on doing STEPs, check out this course!

Hi everyone!

So my teacher enrolled me on this course/programme last June that helps students with the STEPs. It is organized, I think, by the same people who actually make the STEPs! It's been brilliant so far. However I'm not sure if they're enrolling people right now. BUT, you can download all the assignments and the postmortems (Hints and feedbacks without actual solutions) and post in the forums designated even if you aren't enrolled. The only actual benefit to enrollment is the fact that you get personalized feed back on your work. I REALLY recommend you go check it out and do the assignments from the beginning, you'll be surprised how much you learn and gain confidence.
Anyways this is the website: https://correspondence.maths.org/

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

Zacken

Original post by gagafacea1

Quite a few of us have heard of this (I think it'd be best if you post this in the STEP Prep 2016 thread, as that's where it'll be seen by the people concerned).

I've checked the course out and, in my opinion, it spoils a STEP question by making you work through the preliminary work so that when you get to the STEP question, you kinda already know how to attack it, etc...

I think that it's much more beneficial to start working from the older past papers and then work your way through, trying to do at least 7+ questions on each paper and if possible, every question on the paper (at least for I, II).

Reply 2

username1599987

Original post by Zacken

Quite a few of us have heard of this (I think it'd be best if you post this in the STEP Prep 2016 thread, as that's where it'll be seen by the people concerned).

Oh I didn't know that. And inside a big thread, it could easily go by unseen after a few pages of replies and comments. Not all people check that thread religiously, including myself.

Original post by Zacken

I've checked the course out and, in my opinion, it spoils a STEP question by making you work through the preliminary work so that when you get to the STEP question, you kinda already know how to attack it, etc...

I think that it's much more beneficial to start working from the older past papers and then work your way through, trying to do at least 7+ questions on each paper and if possible, every question on the paper (at least for I, II).

I totally see where you're coming from, but I'm finding myself much more comfortable with the questions that are NOT on the assignments as well as the ones that are on. And that is the whole point of the course.

Plus you'll still have many many more questions that aren't spoiled, since these questions are only from STEP I (I think) and they post an assignment every two weeks. PLUS you get those warm ups and warm downs that are really nice to think about and would be extremely beneficial to people who haven't been exposed much to maths outside the A-levels, and they are very general in nature and will help people in the long run. Not everybody did limits and calculus from grade 9.

Reply 3

Zacken

Original post by gagafacea1

To each his own, of course. :tongue:

Although, slight correction there: they've started doing STEP II questions on the latest assignments now. :smile:

I'm more of the kind of person to just dive into the deep end and get the hang of STEP by doing STEP instead of getting used to it gradually by trying easier questions in the build-up, etc... But that's just me. :smile:

I will admit to finding the warm-down questions quite enjoyable and of a different style to STEP completely though, those are fun, well, at least some of them are, the geometry ones not so much. :tongue:

Edit: although I will wager that most people who are doing STEP have been exposed to maths outside the A-Levels, or at least the ones I've gotten to know over the past year or so have been.

Reply 4

username1599987

Original post by Zacken

To each his own, of course. :tongue:

True! Sorry for being a bit defensive :colondollar:

, but some people here, not you, need to come back down to earth every now and then. Being in a college with only a few people with good maths background made me realize that the general attitude towards maths isn't very positive unfortunately.

Original post by Zacken

Not gonna lie, I AM like that. But the STEPs just frustrates me even though I'm good at it, I did get a 1 in STEP last year. But I found the course really helpful with that.

Original post by Zacken

Geometry is THE worst :angry:

. I'm sorry, but on its own, it's so lifeless to me. (I'm talking about Euclidean geometry)

Original post by Zacken

Edit: although I will wager that most people who are doing STEP have been exposed to maths outside the A-Levels, or at least the ones I've gotten to know over the past year or so have been.

Well then you're lucky! I know zero people who have even half as much interest as me in maths :frown:

. So you probably know better about the average STEP taker.

Reply 5

Zacken

Original post by gagafacea1

Oh, I'm in a more dire situation than you, I sat STEP I last year and I was the only person in my country to have done so. :rofl:

But I've made a bunch of friends on TSR, so that's where my 'experience' comes from, school is still incredibly frustrating, half my class can't add fractions. :tongue:

Reply 6

username1599987

Original post by Zacken

Oh, I'm in a more dire situation than you, I sat STEP I last year and I was the only person in my country to have done so. :rofl:

But I've made a bunch of friends on TSR, so that's where my 'experience' comes from, school is still incredibly frustrating, half my class can't add fractions. :tongue:

lmooooooooo turns out I'm the "lucky" one here. So how does it feel? Being the only person in the country to do the STEP? Special or nerdy-on-a-whole-'nother-level? :tongue:

Reply 7

Zacken

Original post by gagafacea1

lmooooooooo turns out I'm the "lucky" one here. So how does it feel? Being the only person in the country to do the STEP? Special or nerdy-on-a-whole-'nother-level? :tongue:

Just weird, a huge exam hall and I'm there all alone by my lonesome. :rofl:

Reply 8

username1599987

Original post by Zacken

Just weird, a huge exam hall and I'm there all alone by my lonesome. :rofl:

Oh no I had people doing geography or some other A-level which was like 2h30 long, so it wasn't bad for me. But like people looked at me with sympathy, like I was dying or something lol.

Reply 9

Zacken

Original post by gagafacea1

Oh no I had people doing geography or some other A-level which was like 2h30 long, so it wasn't bad for me. But like people looked at me with sympathy, like I was dying or something lol.

You were doing a STEP paper, to them that's dying. :lol:

Reply 10

username1599987

Original post by Zacken

You were doing a STEP paper, to them that's dying. :lol:

Very true, I once showed a question to one my friends, I think he was never the same since! :s-smilie:

Reply 11

Doones

Original post by gagafacea1

Yes it is the official support course and is fully endorsed (and produced) by Cambridge.

https://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/step-preparation-support-widening-participation

Edit to add: I think @Jordan\ and a few others are also taking it.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 12

ubisoft

Thanks for that. Just looked through the questions and they seem a bit easier than Step, so should be a good starting point.