Can I drop Further Maths and still get an offer for Imperial Engineering?

Imperial is a very competitive place and you have to stand out from the rest if you want a place. I would suggest you keep with further maths and get tuition or extra support for it - unless you absolutely think you're going to fail and if you feel like it's consuming your life. If you drop it, you have to be quite confident that you'll get all A* in your remaining subjects then, as they may be reluctant to offer you a place if they see no further maths and not the top grades for 3 A levels. Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh but if you manage to get all A*s which you said you're likely aiming for anyway, I think the absence of further maths can be covered.

PS: it's not just about getting in but doing well at uni, so further maths is probably going to help you in your course therefore even if it feels like the end of the world now if you get that B/C, that content may crop up in the course anyway so it may be worth just doing. You know more about your situation than I do, so I guess you just have to make the right choice for yourself regardless of anyone else. Try talking to a career counsellor they will def. help.

Again, please don't be patronized by this post saying 'you have to get all A*s if you drop', but this is an honest opinion as my cousin also goes there for a different course, and it is pretty demanding! Good luck x

Thank you, don't worry I prefer a grounded answer like this. The fact that I might stuggle there if I didn't know the A2 FM content was a big worry for me hence why I took FM but say I got admittance could I possible self-teach it before I started so at least I have some idea of what I'm getting into? I am really only worried about a poor FM grade sullying my application. I'll talk to my careers advisor next week I think.

Sorry for the essay, TLDR: Just read the title.

For a bit of background, I managed to get a 9 in GCSE Maths to my surprise (I was not very good at maths until year 10) overall I had six 9's, one 8, one 7, an A and one 6. This allowed me to apply to take further maths at my 6th form but I had a lot of resistance as they did not think I was capable, perhaps they were right in the end but I wanted to try first to maximise my chances of going to Imperial for Aeronautical Engineering.

I started year 12 with Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology as my A-levels and I worked really hard throughout the year. Y12 was an extremely stressful year for me and I struggled with a lot of sleep issues and anxiety over work and barely had time to socialise since all my free periods and a lot of my free time was spent working, mostly on trying to keep up with FM.

I feel like all the time that I spent just to keep up with the pace of FM affected my performance in Biology and Physics and likely got me lower grades in my AS exams for them as a result. I struggled a lot in my Further Maths AS exams so all that work felt like a waste and I am worried that I am likely to get a B/C which is not terrible by any means but my school expects A*'s/A's in FM and the people in y13 that I know that are holding offers from Imperial have an A in further maths as part of their offer.

I will be waiting for my AS maths and further maths exam results til August.

Currently I am predicted A's in Biology and Physics but I am likely to get my physics bumped up to an A* and think I can also bump up Biology to an A* if I beg them and tell them that I am dropping FM so will have much more study time for Bio.

My parents suggest that I drop further maths at A2 and focus on getting the best possible grades that I can for Maths, Physics and Biology at A2. I'm aiming for between A*A*A and A*A*A* Imperial's minimum offers are A*A*A/A*AAA does anyone know if I will even get a look in from universities like Imperial College London for Aeronautical Engineering without further maths. They say that it is strongly encouraged (I assume that because some schools don't offer it they can't say necessary).

I hope that my question does not appear as a humble brag, I am genuinely extremely stressed out about what I should do next. The Aeronautical Engineering course at Imperial is my dream course so I just want to maximise my chances of getting in. The environment in my maths department is very toxic and elitist at times. My maths teachers throughout the year said I was clearly not talented in maths despite my work ethic (which they did not believe made up for said lack of talent) and the head of maths said that I had no chance of keeping up with the intensity at Imperial but they seem like overly pessimistic people so I wanted some perspective from some other TSR students/Imperial Engineering Students.

In the exact same position, really good GCSE's (did my math GCSE a year early and took GCSE further maths in yr 11). I have a genuine interest for the subject, I did really well through out the year, there was a period in time when I was getting consistent A's in my tests. Put in hours upon hours revising late into the night for the exams, but still managed to mess up big time in the exams. Really frustrating as the grade I will receive may not reflect my performance throughout the year ( also worried about getting a B for AS).



Also looking to apply for aerospace eng. but now doubting my chances at a school like Imperial.



Also out of curiosity, what exam board was your FM exam?

My daughter is at Imperial. Tbh I think if you are struggling at FM you may not be right for Imperial - they are extremely pushy and only the very academic seem to go there.

Have you considered other universities - an engineering degree from virtually any other university will be "easier" than Imperial. If you are feeling the pressure now - it is gonna get a whole lot worse at Imperial. Obviously aim high but don't burn yourself out

Thank you for the inside perspective. I was strongly considering the University of Bristol. My further maths class has a few of those "very academic" types and I noticed that my performance pales in comparison to theirs and they just seem to learn much more quickly/effectively than I can so I'm focusing on improving my study techniques this year. I feel like I tend to be motivated to work much harder by a high pressure environment but it does cause me a lot of stress so you may be right about it not being a good environment for me since a pushy environment may not be very good for my mental health.

I'm going to an Imperial Open day today so I'll ask the current students about the work environment and how they cope with the pressure. Thank you for the advice.

Sorry, but if you struggle with maths, why do engineering which is almost all maths? There are so many other options - what about Biology? Also, why Imperial? Almost everyone else there doing engineering will have that A* or A in FM. They're the most academic people in the country. Imperial's minimum offer for Aeronautical Engineering is A*AAA or A*A*A - I checked on their website. FM is strongly encouraged.

When I said I struggled in Maths I meant that I was likely to get an A* in single and a B in further Maths. I struggle compared to my classmates and what I imagine a typical imperial student would be but I definitely don't believe that I struggle so much that Engineering would be a poor career choice for me. For the vast majority of universities an A* in single maths is enough to prove that you can handle the maths component of the course.

I also have doubts about whether Imperial would be the best place for you if you struggle in any way with FM. My son did Mech Eng at Birmingham uni and he found the maths component very difficult - admittedly he didn't have FM as they don't require it, but lots of the other students on his course did have it, at least to A/S level.

You seem to have your heart set on Imperial but I feel that you would probably be happier at a less demanding uni. As you get 5 choices on the UCAS form, I don't see a problem with you applying to one that is aspirational and knowing that you might get rejected. My concern is more about what might happen if you do get accepted, and then don't enjoy the elitist environment which you have already said you struggle with at school.

Ha... make no mistake....the engineering degree at Bristol may be easier than imperial but it won't be easy. You will be pushed academically. If you work hard and make connections and contacts and graduate with a decent degree it won't matter where you go.

Thanks for the advice I appreciate it. I'll just apply and see what happens I trust the admissions team to determine whether I'm good enough to manage the course. But Imperial is definitely an aspirational choice so I'll definitely be looking at 'less-demanding' courses. Looking at the experience your son had, FM does seem to give you a significant advantage in year 1 so I'll make sure to go over the A2 content even if I drop it I want to minimise my struggle in 1st yr as much as I can.

Sorry for the essay, TLDR: Just read the title.

For a bit of background, I managed to get a 9 in GCSE Maths to my surprise (I was not very good at maths until year 10) overall I had six 9's, one 8, one 7, an A and one 6. This allowed me to apply to take further maths at my 6th form but I had a lot of resistance as they did not think I was capable, perhaps they were right in the end but I wanted to try first to maximise my chances of going to Imperial for Aeronautical Engineering.

I started year 12 with Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology as my A-levels and I worked really hard throughout the year. Y12 was an extremely stressful year for me and I struggled with a lot of sleep issues and anxiety over work and barely had time to socialise since all my free periods and a lot of my free time was spent working, mostly on trying to keep up with FM.

I feel like all the time that I spent just to keep up with the pace of FM affected my performance in Biology and Physics and likely got me lower grades in my AS exams for them as a result. I struggled a lot in my Further Maths AS exams so all that work felt like a waste and I am worried that I am likely to get a B/C which is not terrible by any means but my school expects A*'s/A's in FM and the people in y13 that I know that are holding offers from Imperial have an A in further maths as part of their offer.

I will be waiting for my AS maths and further maths exam results til August.

Currently I am predicted A's in Biology and Physics but I am likely to get my physics bumped up to an A* and think I can also bump up Biology to an A* if I beg them and tell them that I am dropping FM so will have much more study time for Bio.

My parents suggest that I drop further maths at A2 and focus on getting the best possible grades that I can for Maths, Physics and Biology at A2. I'm aiming for between A*A*A and A*A*A* Imperial's minimum offers are A*A*A/A*AAA does anyone know if I will even get a look in from universities like Imperial College London for Aeronautical Engineering without further maths. They say that it is strongly encouraged (I assume that because some schools don't offer it they can't say necessary).

I hope that my question does not appear as a humble brag, I am genuinely extremely stressed out about what I should do next. The Aeronautical Engineering course at Imperial is my dream course so I just want to maximise my chances of getting in. The environment in my maths department is very toxic and elitist at times. My maths teachers throughout the year said I was clearly not talented in maths despite my work ethic (which they did not believe made up for said lack of talent) and the head of maths said that I had no chance of keeping up with the intensity at Imperial but they seem like overly pessimistic people so I wanted some perspective from some other TSR students/Imperial Engineering Students.

Sorry for the essay, TLDR: Just read the title.

For a bit of background, I managed to get a 9 in GCSE Maths to my surprise (I was not very good at maths until year 10) overall I had six 9's, one 8, one 7, an A and one 6. This allowed me to apply to take further maths at my 6th form but I had a lot of resistance as they did not think I was capable, perhaps they were right in the end but I wanted to try first to maximise my chances of going to Imperial for Aeronautical Engineering.

I started year 12 with Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology as my A-levels and I worked really hard throughout the year. Y12 was an extremely stressful year for me and I struggled with a lot of sleep issues and anxiety over work and barely had time to socialise since all my free periods and a lot of my free time was spent working, mostly on trying to keep up with FM.

I feel like all the time that I spent just to keep up with the pace of FM affected my performance in Biology and Physics and likely got me lower grades in my AS exams for them as a result. I struggled a lot in my Further Maths AS exams so all that work felt like a waste and I am worried that I am likely to get a B/C which is not terrible by any means but my school expects A*'s/A's in FM and the people in y13 that I know that are holding offers from Imperial have an A in further maths as part of their offer.

I will be waiting for my AS maths and further maths exam results til August.

Currently I am predicted A's in Biology and Physics but I am likely to get my physics bumped up to an A* and think I can also bump up Biology to an A* if I beg them and tell them that I am dropping FM so will have much more study time for Bio.

My parents suggest that I drop further maths at A2 and focus on getting the best possible grades that I can for Maths, Physics and Biology at A2. I'm aiming for between A*A*A and A*A*A* Imperial's minimum offers are A*A*A/A*AAA does anyone know if I will even get a look in from universities like Imperial College London for Aeronautical Engineering without further maths. They say that it is strongly encouraged (I assume that because some schools don't offer it they can't say necessary).

I hope that my question does not appear as a humble brag, I am genuinely extremely stressed out about what I should do next. The Aeronautical Engineering course at Imperial is my dream course so I just want to maximise my chances of getting in. The environment in my maths department is very toxic and elitist at times. My maths teachers throughout the year said I was clearly not talented in maths despite my work ethic (which they did not believe made up for said lack of talent) and the head of maths said that I had no chance of keeping up with the intensity at Imperial but they seem like overly pessimistic people so I wanted some perspective from some other TSR students/Imperial Engineering Students.

Of course, I hope I didn't give the impression that I thought that it would be easy at Bristol (or any other top uni tbh). It was simply the strict entry requirements (people rejected for 1 ums under offers, A*A*A standard offer etc) and admissions process of Imperial that made me fret over Imperial more but you're right, the courses will be of similar quality and difficulty.

I was mistaken about the importance of your university in your employability thanks for clearing that up.

I do have a question though, I hear that some universities have stronger links with certain industries/companies e.g. Formula 1 or Mech Eng companies than others because they like the way the course is taught at *insert uni here* therefore making it easier for students at said unis to break into certain fields of engineering through internships/grad jobs etc. should I factor this into my decisions on where I go or are they just rumours/not that significant?