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MU123 & MST121 Anyone?

Hi,

I want to do the Maths degree, i want to do it part time over 6 years (60 credits a year) but most of the modules are 30 credits. Ive just spoken to someone at the OU and they advised me to not do the above 2 in the same year. I was hoping to do he MU123 from Oct 11 & then start MST121 in Feb 12 in order for me to be on track for the 6 years. Has anyone done this? I really need some help here please (ive not studied maths since GCSE at school (grade B) in 2000). Thank you.

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Reply 1
oh, and also how did you find them? I have 2 young boys and work 3 days a week...is this do-able? Thanks
Student at the Open University
Open University
Milton Keynes
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Reply 2
u could do 121 in oct, and ms221 in feb - the courses are designed so it can be done this way,,,,
Reply 3
when i spoke to ou they said i'm best starting on 123 as a lot of 121 follows on from this? Has anyone done these modules?
Original post by mummy22boys
when i spoke to ou they said i'm best starting on 123 as a lot of 121 follows on from this? Has anyone done these modules?


MU123 leads to MST121 which leads to MS221. Only the latter two are compulsory for the names Mathematics degree. MU123 credit can be counted towards the degree as part of the 'free choice'.

If you're not confident then you will likely be best starting with MU123. However, if you do feel a little more confident, I would cut out MU123. Just remember that MST121 only requires an average score of 40 to be counted as a pass - there are no other pass grades as it is just a level 1 course.

Look through Open Learn at the MU123, MST121 and MS221 material and judge for yourself what you can handle.

Don't take what the OU advise too seriously though. They mean well and it probably does make sense, but they don't know you and you must do what you feel you should do. I'm basically saying, try to do 60 credits whether it's MU123/MST121 or MST121/MS221.
Reply 5
MST1 i pretty much A Level standard - although there are differences. So as you already have a GCSE this might be the next logical course - you probably don't need MU123. They send revision material before the course starts, and advise a good book if you want more preparation, so you could get a head start. Alternatively, just get any GCSE revision material and see if you an do that - you might need a few reminders but should find it comes back to you.
Reply 6
Original post by Juno
MST1 i pretty much A Level standard - although there are differences. So as you already have a GCSE this might be the next logical course - you probably don't need MU123. They send revision material before the course starts, and advise a good book if you want more preparation, so you could get a head start. Alternatively, just get any GCSE revision material and see if you an do that - you might need a few reminders but should find it comes back to you.

Thank you! Would you recommend doing the mst121 and 122 together at same time? Or starting one in oct 11 and the other in feb 12? I do really want to complete 60credits a yr. This is equivalent to 16hrs study a week right? Have you done these modules? Thank you so much for your help x
Reply 7
Original post by mummy22boys

Original post by mummy22boys
Thank you! Would you recommend doing the mst121 and 122 together at same time? Or starting one in oct 11 and the other in feb 12? I do really want to complete 60credits a yr. This is equivalent to 16hrs study a week right? Have you done these modules? Thank you so much for your help x


There isn't a "122". There's MU123 which is the basic course, or MS221 which is a level 2 course and harder.

If you actually need MU123 then you won't have learnt enough to be able to go on to MST121 by February. If you don't need it you can consider that route, but might be better doing something else instead as you'll be taking a pointless course.
The quizzes to see if you have the prerequisite knowledge are here: http://mathschoices.open.ac.uk/quizzes/p1an.html

I went straight to MST121 (October start) and MS221 (Feb start, so they overlap), a few years ago off the back of C grade O level some 20+ years earlier.
Reply 9
Original post by matherrrrrmatician
The quizzes to see if you have the prerequisite knowledge are here: http://mathschoices.open.ac.uk/quizzes/p1an.html
I went straight to MST121 (October start) and MS221 (Feb start, so they overlap), a few years ago off the back of C grade O level some 20+ years earlier.

How did you find this? :smile:
There's a link in the ninth paragraph of the MST121 course overview page, here: http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/mst121.htm
Reply 11
Original post by matherrrrrmatician
There's a link in the ninth paragraph of the MST121 course overview page, here: http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/mst121.htm

Thank you! Lol! But i meant how did you find the 2 courses together when you hadn't studied maths for so long? X
Ah.

Leaping straight into MST121 and MS221 was difficult, and required more thinking from me than on any subsequent course.

That's because the jump from my then current knowledge to what was expected of me on MST121 and MS221 was comparatively huge. While the subsequent courses MST209 and M208 were much more advanced than MS221, the comparative leap up wasn't so great when compared to the chasm that is a long-forgotten O level and MST121.

And that's because all I could essentially remember of "maths" from school was fractions and percentages. I couldn't even remember what a surd was, or how to solve a linear equation.

Hence, I was in for a rude shock upon embarking on MST121 and MS221 with their calculus, affine transformations, conics, complex numbers, number theory, etc.

So, there are two ways of thinking about this:

Either it was a foolhardy risk, and I would have been better off starting with MU120 as it was then, or it turned out to pay dividends by stretching my grey matter from day one.

It would certainly seem odd to the average outsider that I scored in the high 80s in most MS221 assignments, yet managed a raft of perfect 100s on MST209 - but I firmly attribute that to stretching myself by taking MST121 rather than MU120 as my first course.

If I re-did it all, I'd still have opted for MST121 over MU120, but would send a message back in time to expect to roughly double the number of hours I expected to put in.
Reply 13
that was very in depth. You've done really well. I've got 2 young boys (4yrs and 1yrs) and work 25hrs a wk. I thinki could manage 15hrs a wk study-but your saying i'd need2put in more if i did 121 and 221? I just really dont know what to do! I need 60 credits a yr to get my degree in 6yrs. I'm really struggling... :frown:
Believe in yourself a little.
I think you'd be fine.
If you could manage, say, 12 hours a week for the first five months of MST121 to give you good practise at solving problems and thinking mathematically, and, say 18 hours a week while MST121 and MS221 overlap (assuming you choose Oct and Feb starts), you'll find you can drop the hours back down again once MST121 is out of the way.
From memory, MST121 is done and dusted by June, so you'd only have four months of overlap.
I say go for it with a positive mind.
In fact, why not go to www.khanacademy.org right now and watch a load of maths videos for free? Whet your appetite, so to speak.
You can do it.
Reply 15
ah thank you so much for your help! Glad i posted my concerns now. I take it you have a degree in maths now then? What are you hoping to do with it if you dont mind me asking? Did you complete your degree in 3yrs? I love the fact you can do this at your own pace-makes it so appealing to me x
You're welcome.

IMO, three years is only really feasible if you already have Further A level maths and are basically doing the degree full-time. I didn't, and wasn't.

Part-time students are much better suited to 60 or 90 points per year.
I hope to have my degree in a year's time, with some extra courses above the prerequisite number.

I'm planning to take an MSc in financial engineering/financial risk/financial computation from September 2012, but that's subject to me finding an extra £10,000 I don't have right now. :confused:

Failing that, I plan to do the OU's MSc in maths at a leisurely pace, while continuing to work full-time in a non-maths job, and doing some A level and further A level tutoring in my "spare time".

Have you been to khanacademy yet? :biggrin:
Reply 17
Original post by matherrrrrmatician
You're welcome.

IMO, three years is only really feasible if you already have Further A level maths and are basically doing the degree full-time. I didn't, and wasn't.

Part-time students are much better suited to 60 or 90 points per year.
I hope to have my degree in a year's time, with some extra courses above the prerequisite number.

I'm planning to take an MSc in financial engineering/financial risk/financial computation from September 2012, but that's subject to me finding an extra £10,000 I don't have right now. :confused:

Failing that, I plan to do the OU's MSc in maths at a leisurely pace, while continuing to work full-time in a non-maths job, and doing some A level and further A level tutoring in my "spare time".

Have you been to khanacademy yet? :biggrin:

No not had the chance to check it out yet-busy with work as work mon tues and weds! I'm wondering if it would be best to sign up to both 121 and 221 together to start in oct?so then they'd both finsi in june. My reason behind this is because my son starts school this yr so would have summer hols, think i'd rather have no study to do. But then i think that would mean a hard slog from oct to june. I just dont know what to expect!
Reply 18
Original post by matherrrrrmatician
yet managed a raft of perfect 100s on MST209 -


Impressive! It's one thing to understand all the material but it's another to avoid silly mistakes in the TMAs. I doff my cap to you.
Reply 19
can anyone answer this please? I think i'm gonna go with the mst121, do we get books to revise from? Or is it all reading online? Thanks

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