For maths degrees is it worth doing STEP if i can successfully....

... teach myself M2+3 FP1+2 C3+4 S1+2 and D1????
since many(good) uni's say that they take STEP into consideration if you do do it.

Reply 1

Charles III

Original post by Big white

... teach myself M2+3 FP1+2 C3+4 S1+2 and D1????
since many(good) uni's say that they take STEP into consideration if you do do it.

Hey!

Just moved this to Maths for you which is a more appropriate section. :smile:

Reply 2

black1blade

Wait so are you only doing AS in maths in then?

Reply 3

B_9710

It's really does depend. On where you're applying on the top universityis Oxbridge actually require STEP. For other universities it may boost your application if you do STEP.
I would say do STEP if you can, but I'm sure everyone will agree that it is much more difficult than A-level. But just attempting STEP questions will improve your mathematical skills and I think that it probably helps develop your skills and so it may even help you boost your A-level grade.

Reply 4

Big white

Original post by iEthan

Hey!

Just moved this to Maths for you which is a more appropriate section. :smile:

Thanks, didn't really know where to post this xD

Original post by black1blade

Wait so are you only doing AS in maths in then?

Accidently i though i'd rather do physics instead but that was a bad choice and now i have 1 year to correct my mistake

Original post by B_9710

It's really does depend. On where you're applying on the top university's Oxbridge actually require STEP. For other universities it may boost your application if you do STEP.
I would say do STEP if you can, but I'm sure everyone will agree that it is much more difficult than A-level. But just attempting STEP questions will improve your mathematical skills and I think that it probably helps develop your skills and so it may even help you boost your A-level grade.

Lol i'm not that smart but for uni's such as nottingham it'd improve your standing and STEP would be taken into consideration when considering an offer to you

Reply 5

user 42005

STEP 2 and 3 is only a requirement for Cambridge, unis such as UCL, Warwick and Imperial can make STEP 1 as part of an offer, Nottingham won't really care tbh but it might make your application stand out if you think you can do it. Oxford don't use STEP since they have the MAT instead.

Reply 6

techfan42

Original post by Big white

... teach myself M2+3 FP1+2 C3+4 S1+2 and D1????
since many(good) uni's say that they take STEP into consideration if you do do it.

Is this for A2 maths and further maths?

Reply 7

black1blade

Original post by JRKinder

Is going STEP 2 and 3 for Cambridge harder than doing MAT for Oxford?

Reply 8

poorform

Yes it is worth doing as long as you will 100% meet any offers you have it would be bad for you to miss out on an offer because you got a C in Physics for example because you spent too much time doing step. (although it would undoubtedly make you better at maths). If you are aiming for top universities then it is definitely worthwhile tbh.

Reply 9

rxns_00

Original post by black1blade

Is going STEP 2 and 3 for Cambridge harder than doing MAT for Oxford?

I'm sure the MAT is designed to be of equal difficulty. If the MAT was easier, Oxford would just use STEP also. The purpose of the entrance exam is to select the best candidates, so really, there's no easy way in.

Reply 10

B_9710

Original post by black1blade

Is going STEP 2 and 3 for Cambridge harder than doing MAT for Oxford?

Yes. I've seen someone it is supposed to be not as hard as STEP.

Reply 11

black1blade

I mean it seems like you need less knowledge for the MAT, just C1 and C2 but it's more abstract problem solving and stuff, IDK.

Reply 12

Big white

Original post by techfan42

Is this for A2 maths and further maths?

No this is for my own good...
well technically yes since i didn't do FM and did physics instead so i'm deciding to make up for the time i didn't do FM in 1 year

Original post by poorform

I see makes sense so i'll go for it then?

Reply 13

TheLifelessRobot

Original post by black1blade

Is going STEP 2 and 3 for Cambridge harder than doing MAT for Oxford?

STEP in general (even STEP 1) is much much harder than the MAT.

Reply 14

RichE

Original post by rxns_00

MAT definitely isn't designed to be of the same difficulty as STEP. For one thing it is taken 8 months earlier. For another, it is used to halve (approximately) Oxford's field of applicants for shortlisting to interview, whilst STEP is designed the select half of the offers they make. So it's used very differently.

Reply 15

sweeneyrod

Original post by black1blade

Is going STEP 2 and 3 for Cambridge harder than doing MAT for Oxford?

Yes, much harder. The MAT is designed to test people before interview when they have only done AS Maths. People do prepare for the MAT, but not that much -- there isn't much time between choosing to apply to Oxford and sitting the MAT, and it isn't the only factor affecting whether you get an Oxford offer.

In comparison, STEP 2 and 3 is designed to test people who have done the whole of A-level Maths and Further Maths. You have much longer to prepare for it, and it is the main factor in determining whether you get in or not.

Reply 16

user 42005

Original post by black1blade

Is going STEP 2 and 3 for Cambridge harder than doing MAT for Oxford?

Yeah STEP 2 and 3 are much harder, even STEP 1 is supposed to be a bit harder because it's a post-offer test rather than pre-offer. Some people don't think there's too much of a difference, but neither are a walk in the park. In theory you'll only need core 1 and 2 knowledge for the MAT (and some mechanics and stats knowledge for STEP) but the questions force you to think much more innovatively whereas A level questions are much more linear 'do that...do this' type things. In STEP you probably won't know how to do the problem when you immediately see it and will have to spend a bit of time thinking and messing around with various methods before you get the right answer. I'd definitely recommend looking at some papers alongside their markschemes, it'll help you see how to approach some of the problems.