How hard did you find engineering degree compared to Alevel maths? or even physics

anyone who's done an engineering degree did you find it easier or harder than a-level maths?

Older brother is in his second year of Automotive Engineering and has said that it is much harder than A-Level Maths and Physics. However it seems that it's a different 'kind of difficult'. It's not hard because the exam will throw stupid questions at you like A-Level, but I think it's hard just because it genuinely is a hard degree if you get what I mean. The maths that engineering requires is more intense than A-Level and pretty sure you do harder maths than Further Maths A-Level. He seems to be enjoying it nonetheless and I would not put off an engineering degree just because it is hard :smile:

Reply 2

bigstu99

Original post by DJB2K

I think I sort of understand, so when u say a level throws stupid questions at you you mean they try to catch you out in weird ways and the mark scheme because they want only so many people to get a A* A B whatever so they try and make it harder or easier based on that. Whereas you mean engineering maths is genuinely more difficult to solve but it doesn't they don't try and be trixy with it?

Are you thinking about engineering btw? also where is he doing automotive at? Some of my mates done mech eng, 1 at Coventry cos it's near the F1 and lots of automotive and 1 somewhere else

Reply 3

DJB2K

Original post by bigstu99

Yeah exactly that, the university want to test their student's abilities to answer the questions correctly and to demonstrate their knowledge; not try and work out what the question is actually saying and try and de-code a poorly worded question like A-Levels (from what he's said to me).

Yeah I'm in A2 now doing maths physics and chemistry and have applied for Aerospace/Aeronautical (depending on the uni) Engineering. Oh and he's at Surrey

Reply 4

bigstu99

Original post by DJB2K

OK good luck with whatever you do next any idea where you want to go?

Reply 5

DJB2K

Original post by bigstu99

OK good luck with whatever you do next any idea where you want to go?

Applied for Bath, loughborough, surrey, southampton and coventry, will most likely go to loughborough. How about you?

much harder

I did Scottish highers rather than A-levels, but found my degree harder.

Reply 8

bigstu99

Original post by DJB2K

Applied for Bath, loughborough, surrey, southampton and coventry, will most likely go to loughborough. How about you?

No way m8 I'm hoping to get Loughborough or Coventry as well, visited Loughborough, really impressed, for campus, accommodation facilities and also employment links I think are top draw they got Airbus etc going there.

Also Coventry has really strong links with car manufacturers like JLR as well as F1 teams like Red Bull. So I'll be happy with either. It's in the city rather than it's own campus so different feel to Loughborough. Coventry probably easier to rent outside the Uni and commute also

Did you put surrey because you're brother is there?

Reply 9

bigstu99

Mechanics is brutal. what year you in? where at?

Reply 10

aerofanatic

So much harder. I do think it depends on where you do your Engineering degree though.

Reply 11

bigstu99

Original post by aerofanatic

So much harder. I do think it depends on where you do your Engineering degree though.

where u doing yours at?

where is easier do you think?

Reply 12

trapking

Are you still in your first year?

In the first term of first year I found the maths about the same difficulty as A-level just with a little bit extra material thrown in! In the second term it got way harder because they were new concepts I had never even heard of e.g. Convolution theorems, 3D integrals etc.

Second year advanced engineering maths was tough, it wasn't easy understanding probability theories, Laplace transforms, PDEs etc.

Reply 13

RogerOxon

Original post by bigstu99

anyone who's done an engineering degree did you find it easier or harder than a-level maths?

It's going to depend on the person. I found the maths in Engineering Science fairly easy - just more of the same level IMO, but my maths from 'A' level on, was always very good. I hated thermodynamics, but that shared a paper with fluid mechanics (1st year), which was basically maths.

Why are you concerned? University should stretch you, and make you think, but most manage.