Maths at University
I currently take A level Maths, Physics and Chemistry. I took maths because I was quite good at it at GCSE (I got a 9) but not because I had any real interest and due to the fact I wanted to take chemistry, I therefore didn't take further maths. However, at A level, the abstract nature of higher maths has really caught my interest to the point I want to take it at university. Seeing as I don't take Further Maths, how much difficuilty will I have in a) getting a place at a university and b) cope without the further maths knowledge?
Is it possible for you to self-teach FM or learn the AS or take it next year?
The best universities will want further maths and you will struggle without it but it isn't impossible
Original post by Carboxylic
I currently take A level Maths, Physics and Chemistry. I took maths because I was quite good at it at GCSE (I got a 9) but not because I had any real interest and due to the fact I wanted to take chemistry, I therefore didn't take further maths. However, at A level, the abstract nature of higher maths has really caught my interest to the point I want to take it at university. Seeing as I don't take Further Maths, how much difficuilty will I have in a) getting a place at a university and b) cope without the further maths knowledge?
There are lots of universities where FM isn't required. You won't be able to go to one of the top unis though.
Original post by Sir Cumference
There are lots of universities where FM isn't required. You won't be able to go to one of the top unis though.
I did read Oxford didn't specifically need Further Maths although it said it is highly desirable, so I guess I could technically go to a top uni although I doubt I would ever get into Oxford or suit the style of learning due to my relaxed approach to work.
Only two I know of have FM as a hard requirement (whether or not your school offers FM: warwick, cambridge), a few of the other top ones expect you to have it if your school offered it. You'll have plenty of choice without FM, but if you want access to slightly more universities you might want to research doing an AS in further maths. (some unis accept this for a reduced offer)
a) You don't need to worry about getting offers from many maths courses. If you have the right predicted grades, you will get an offer from most universities you apply to. (possible exceptions being oxbridge, imperial, durham, st andrews off the top of my head)
b) If a university does not require FM it won't assume FM knowledge and will cover the content from scratch. Even those who do will re-cover some A-level content in a more brief and university-style way assuming some existing familiarity. For example, you might be given an integration/differentiation identity and a proof (technically covering it from scratch) but you won't have loads of examples accompanying it similar to A-level, they'll assume you basically know how to use them and move on. (not sure if I'm being clear here so lmk) They will therefore accommodate to some extent people who didn't do FM. You might find that quite a few people will have FM regardless, so some prior exposure (say reading of important topics over the summer) will allow you to hit the ground running.
a) You don't need to worry about getting offers from many maths courses. If you have the right predicted grades, you will get an offer from most universities you apply to. (possible exceptions being oxbridge, imperial, durham, st andrews off the top of my head)
b) If a university does not require FM it won't assume FM knowledge and will cover the content from scratch. Even those who do will re-cover some A-level content in a more brief and university-style way assuming some existing familiarity. For example, you might be given an integration/differentiation identity and a proof (technically covering it from scratch) but you won't have loads of examples accompanying it similar to A-level, they'll assume you basically know how to use them and move on. (not sure if I'm being clear here so lmk) They will therefore accommodate to some extent people who didn't do FM. You might find that quite a few people will have FM regardless, so some prior exposure (say reading of important topics over the summer) will allow you to hit the ground running.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by Carboxylic
I did read Oxford didn't specifically need Further Maths although it said it is highly desirable, so I guess I could technically go to a top uni although I doubt I would ever get into Oxford or suit the style of learning due to my relaxed approach to work.
You will only get into Oxford for maths without FM if you are a child prodigy
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