Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

master of mathematics??? niamh's final fight for a first!

howdy partners and welcome to my SEVENTH and FINAL grow your grades blog! (jesus christ i'm so old)

i wasn't actually gonna make this, hence it being so late, but why fall at the final hurdle? this is my last year in education so let's try go out with a bang shall we

since i've been around for donkeys years you all probably know who i am (and are probs sick of me lol i promise i'll leave for good after this year) BUT for those who don't, i'm niamh, i'm 21 and i'm in my 4th and final year studying maths at newcastle uni!

my degree is 4 years long as i'm doing integrated masters, i could've finished last year and got a 2:1 in bsc maths but nooooo silly 17 year old me thought it would be wise to go for a masters (and 21 year old me regrets it but hey)

here's a little about my academic history if anyone cares - i know i'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but it is what it is innit

a level - abc (a maths, b further maths, c physics) also did an epq in which i got an e lmfao

1st year uni - 70.9
doesn't count towards final degree mark (unfortunately)

by module

2nd year uni - 69.7
counts towards 1/6 of my final degree mark

by module

3rd year uni - 65.8
counts towards 1/3 of my final degree mark (unfortunately)

by module

my 3rd year was absolutely horrific (you can read my previous blog if you're interested), genuinely hated every second of it but i just about survived and made it through to 4th year, so i'm determined to have a better year and tryyyyyy and salvage a first

i've done some maths (lol) and worked out that i need around 74% in my final year to come out with a first overall, which is gonna be DIFFICULT but i'm gonna try. if i don't make it i still get a 2:1 which in a masters degree in maths is still pretty impressive (and any degree for that matter)

anyway about this year, as part of the course i have to complete an mmath project on an area of maths - i've chosen to specialise in pure maths as you can see how terribly my 3rd year applied maths modules went lol. my project topic is simplicial homology - i wish i could tell you what that means but i guess i'll find out along the way

my modules for this year count towards 1/2 of my final degree mark and are as follows:

mas8091 mmath project (20 semester 1 + 20 semester 2 credits)
mas8713 curves and surfaces (10 semester 2 credits)
mas8714 topics in analysis and functional analysis (10 semester 1 + 20 semester 2 credits)
mas8715 algebraic topology and galois theory (20 semester 1 + 10 semester 2 credits)
mas8804 relativity and cosmology (10 semester 1 credits)

i would be doing 100% pure but i ran out of pure modules to choose from loooool. hence the tiny amount of applied (yuck) in the form of 8804. also why the 4th year modules start with 8 and not 4 is a mystery :iiam:

i'll try and update once a week. i'm now a veryyyy busy person so expect them to be quite jam packed and chaotic lol. i'll try and make them a little bit pretty at least (better than this)

i'll tag the old gang from last year, lemme know if you wanna remain tagged (and if you want adding if you're new)

the ogs

the shiny new people

updates for easy finding

(edited 1 year ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

englishhopeful98

go on you can do it :smile:

Reply 2

absolutelysprout

keep me tagged :smile:

Reply 3

Muttley79

Here to cheer you on :smile:

Reply 4

Sinnoh

Original post by niamhdoesmaths

howdy partners and welcome to my SEVENTH and FINAL grow your grades blog! (jesus christ i'm so old)

inb4 PhD blog
relativity shouldn't be that bad I think...?

Reply 5

niamhdoesmaths

Original post by englishhopeful98

go on you can do it :smile:

Original post by absolutelysprout

keep me tagged :smile:

Original post by Muttley79

Here to cheer you on :smile:

thanks all! :smile:

Original post by Sinnoh

inb4 PhD blog
relativity shouldn't be that bad I think...?

ABSOLUTELY NOT

yeah i've had 2 lectures so far and it seems ok. i did a bit of relativity in my physics a level and enjoyed it so hopefully it won't be too painful

Reply 6

MajorFader

So excited for this! Would love to be remain tagged 🎉

Reply 7

flaurie

Volunteer Team

Ooh good luck niamh!! (i changed my username, it's laura btw :ninja:

) pls keep me tagged :dance:

Reply 8

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Awww, seeing this tag put a HUGE smile on my face.

Sorry for being rubbish at saying hi generally :colondollar:

but please do keep me tagged :biggrin:

YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tag please!

Study Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

please keep me tagged! Soooo glad you made this!!

I need to find out what this simplicial homology is all about...and how to pronounce it.
(The voice in my head said no and ran away... :crazy:

)

Reply 11

niamhdoesmaths

Original post by MajorFader

So excited for this! Would love to be remain tagged 🎉

done!

Original post by flaurie

Ooh good luck niamh!! (i changed my username, it's laura btw :ninja:

) pls keep me tagged :dance:

ooh no worries, popped you in there :smile:

Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd

Awww, seeing this tag put a HUGE smile on my face.

Sorry for being rubbish at saying hi generally :colondollar:

but please do keep me tagged :biggrin:

YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

aw yay! i will do :biggrin:

thank youuuu!

Original post by furryface12

tag please!

will do!

Original post by brainzistheword

please keep me tagged! Soooo glad you made this!!

I need to find out what this simplicial homology is all about...and how to pronounce it.
(The voice in my head said no and ran away... :crazy:

)

done! hopefully there will be some actual growing of grades this year :hide:

hahaha i wish i could tell you what its about but i still don't know myself oops. i can say it though

Reply 12

Starlight15

Study Forum Helper

Yes please keep me tagged 😁

Reply 13

niamhdoesmaths

update #1, sunday 3rd october 2021
week one is done!

heyyyy everyone, hope you've all had a good week! here's how mine has gone

attendance this week: 100% (8/8)
times cried this week: 0

uni stuff
mas8091 mmath project: had my first meeting with my supervisor on wednesday, i only expected it to go on for about 30 mins but it ended up lasting AN HOUR AND A HALF and i thought my brain had melted afterwards lol. but it was good to meet in person and get some stuff planned out. i left with a huge to-do list which i haven't actually made any progress with, oops, i really need to sort that out soon

mas8714 topics in analysis: only had one zoom and one in-person lecture this week. the zoom was on monday at 5 and was pretty introductory, we just looked at postulates of measuring and it was pretty easy to follow. then on tuesday at 10 we had an in-person lecture - my first since march 2020! my class size for my 4th year pure modules is only 7 when everyone shows up so they're really small. we did some stuff to do with sigma-algebras which i didn't really get. luckily he's given us notes with gaps so there's not loads to write in the lectures.

mas8715 algebraic topology: had a lot for this this week. had a zoom on monday at 3 which was the first revision of topology one, then had a 2 hour in person lecture on thursday at 12 which was more of the same. also had a zoom on friday at 4 in which she covered 2 lectures' worth of stuff in 50 minutes?? my brain felt like it had melted honestly. also she hasn't posted the slides for all the stuff after the first lecture so i can't fill in any of my gaps (there are so many, she goes so quick it's so annoying tbh). i'll bug her about that tomorrow

mas8804 relativity: had 2 lectures for this this week, both on tuesday. the first one was at 1 and was very introductory, very boring and i don't like the lecturer. the second was at 5 and was more of the same, we looked at metrics which i'd already done in a pure context so to see them in applied was a bit weird. then on friday had a zoom problems class at 9, i was actually somehow still drunk from thurs night but i still went and managed to take notes, i'm a machine lmao

mathsoc stuff
we had our first social of the year on monday! it was an animal kingdom themed bar crawl so we were all dressed in animal print and it was a really good night! didn't intend to drink much or stay out too late but ended up getting home at half 2 so uh that didn't go well lmao

as i'm once again publicity officer it's my job to make all the graphics for socials, so on wednesday i made them for next week's which is a pub quiz, and got them posted

also on wednesday, i went to trials for the mathsoc intramural netball team! i hadn't played netball in about 6 years and even then i wasn't good, so i wasn't expecting anything good but i really enjoyed it and the captain said she'd probably be able to get everyone onto a team! so apparently i'm now on a netball team. i've been put on the thursday team, and training is every wednesday. we're already getting kit sorted out and we've got our first games as well as the first social planned as well! never thought i'd do something like this but hey, new uni year new me apparently!

dance club stuff
so last weekend i went to tasters for ballet, street and tap (all beginner) and enjoyed them all, i also meant to go to the jazz one but i got my timings wrong and ended up missing it :frown:

i'm deffo joining the club again and for now i'm doing all 4 styles, but we'll see how that changes through the year

on monday i had tap at 7, i deliberately "forgot" my tap shoes as i didn't wanna take them out with me afterwards (as i was going straight from there to the bar crawl), but i did end up really banging my toe so it was a bit stupid of me. really enjoying it tho and i'm gonna audition for comps again on the 16th!

on tuesday i had jazz at half 6, as i missed the taster i struggled a bit compared to those who had gone but i still grasped it a little. it's very physically intense! still enjoyed it tho so i'm gonna keep going, even if i have to get a little better at rolling on the floor lol

then tonight i had ballet at 4 immediately followed by street at 5. ballet is so nice i really enjoy it, but street was a bit of a nightmare as they're teaching inter choreo for comps but after that it should get easier! so i've only got one more week of it being super hard before it goes back to the level of the tasters (which i could actually sort of do)

mental health stuff
actually doing alright for the moment, obviously i'm like super super busy but coping. will keep an eye on myself to make sure i'm able to stay above water when winter starts closing in

other stuff
had a zoom interview to become a student ambassador on wednesday, and i got it! not sure how much i'll be able to commit but i've got training this wednesday and then i should be able to start picking some stuff up

me and my bestie got convinced into joining physics society by their president, so we went to their first social on thursday night, but we weren't fans. in fact we ended up sneaking off to go to spoons instead LOL. we ended up getting way more drunk than we'd planned, and asking my sister and her friends if they wanted to come out with us and they did! so we ended up going out out and i didn't get back til really late lol, oops

uhhhh can't think if there's anything else i need to say so i'll leave it here for this week! lmk if you want adding or removing from the tag list :heart:

niamh xx

tags

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 14

Muttley79

Sounds like a great start :grouphugs:

Reply 15

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Yay for mental health being OK atm - long may that continue :penguinhug:

And YAY for in-person 1:1 and lecture! That must have been a nice change after the past 18 months, even if the 1:1 was looooooooooooooong :eek2:

Wow, you've really been throwing yourself into dance stuff - go you! :biggrin:

Hoping this week is going well for you so far :h:

PS. SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONS :coma:

Reply 16

niamhdoesmaths

update #2, sunday 10th october 2021
can i pretend this week didn't happen pls

hey guys, hope you've all had a good week. mine has been quite frankly horrendous lol, i'll just get into it

attendance this week: 56.25% (4.5/8)
times cried this week: 4 (all on tuesday lol)

uni stuff
mas8091 mmath project: cancelled my meeting this week lollllll. it was meant to be on wednesday at 11:30 (as always) but i emailed my supervisor asking if we could cancel and he was very good about it. i still haven't done any work for it. well, i've read through the bits of the book that are relevant but i don't understand any of it, and i've made a latex document to write stuff up in but it's still empty. got a lot to do tomorrow lmao

mas8714 topics in analysis: had a zoom on monday at 4 which i really couldn't focus much on at all. i kept up and filled in the gaps but didn't understand any of it. then on tuesday at 10 we had an in-person lecture which was more of the same except i couldn't even keep up. guess my mind was somewhere else. then on thursday we had a zoom "problems class" which i didn't understand a single thing that was going on so i just left halfway through bc i was on the verge of tears. lmao 4th year is going so well

mas8715 algebraic topology: i!! hate!! this!! module!! had a zoom at 3 on monday which was awful as she once again sped through about 2 lectures worth of stuff in an hour, i had gaps everywhere. then on thursday we had a 2 hour in-person lecture which was awful, for a start i had a coughing fit in it and had to leave for like 10 mins which was embarrassing but i also just don't understand a thing. then on friday we had another zoom lecture at 4 but i didn't go cos i wasn't in the mood

mas8804 relativity: was meant to have 2 lectures on tuesday, one at 1 and one at 5, but i didn't go to either of them lololol. lots of catching up to do before this tuesday

mathsoc stuff
we had our first pub quiz of the year on tuesday, surprised i actually went tbh but i didn't drink, just did the quiz and went home lol. it was a really good quiz, our social secs smashed it and everyone seemed to have a good time!

tomorrow's social is a scavenger hunt which ends somewhere for food, i probs won't be able to go because i don't finish dance til 8 but i'll try lol

had our first netball training session on wednesday which was really good, i was playing as GS which i hadn't done before but i think it suited me best out of those i'd tried! (last week i was C and GK and dreadful at both lol) and then that evening we had our first netball social, it was wild west themed so we were all dressed as cowgirls and it was good fun!

dance club stuff
went to tap on monday 7-8 where we finished learning the choreo for comp auditions, so tomorrow we'll just be going over it loads. i'm a bit nervous about going for comps as i feel so much worse at the choreo this year compared to last, also the class is much bigger so i'm pretty doubtful i'll get on the team. still gonna give it my best shot tho

skipped jazz on tuesday cos i wasn't in the mood, skipped ballet and street today cos i'm not well

mental health stuff
what a bloody week. i was in an absolutely foul mood all day monday cos i was meant to meet someone who never showed up, so i was in town for no reason whatsoever and carrying around my laptop and a bag of their stuff and it just wound me up. not to mention the weather was awful. so monday was a bad day. then on tuesday i got bRoKen uP wItH in caffe nero which was embarrassing and also sad so i spent a lot of tuesday down in the dumps. and i guess that's carried on into the rest of the week. and then i've felt guilty about cancelling a project meeting already as we're only in week 2, even though he said it was fine, i still feel awful. and on wednesday i didn't really speak to many of the netball girls on the walk between pres and the first bar so they all probably think i'm weird. and then there's the obvious about uni going awfully. i'm actually the dumbest person alive. i leave every lecture/zoom wanting to cry cos i just don't understand a thing. but it's fine i guess, i always feel awful at this time of year its just normal i'll get over it

other stuff
somehow after only just recovering from freshers flu i managed to get ill AGAIN. this time it's just the most horrendous cough that's showing no signs of improving and it's so annoying, i'm so breathless and keep having coughing fits and it's so mortifying. even just in morrisons today i couldn't stop coughing and everyone kept giving me death stares cos it's illegal to cough in public. but like i needed to do a food shop so i didn't have much choice (it's not covid)

been applying to a few grad schemes and stuff that have opened, nothing too exciting i just want a job next year lol. doubt i'll get any of them but it's good experience i suppose

oh my god so remember last week how i got the student ambassador job? well there was training on wednesday that we had to go to, i got all the way there and wasn't until i noticed it was weirdly quiet so i checked the email again to realise i'd turned up a whole WEEK EARLY so that was mortifying, but also annoying as i'd just walked half an hour for no reason and immediately had to go back home again

erm yeah that's about it, hopefully next week is better cos it surely can't get much worse than this lol

lmk if you want adding or removed from the tag list :heart:

niamh xx