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How Screwed am I for Applying at Maths?

Hello guys, at the moment I am applying for a course which is not Maths.
If I apply next year for maths, what are my chances?
I do not have Further Maths, only Maths.
I am predicted an A in Maths A level and have an A in Maths GCSE.
I was thinking if I achieve an A* in A level, and an A*A in my other A Levels, and self teach A2 Further Maths (and do AS maths at School) all in 1 year, would this be a wise idea? If I will not retake anything, will Universities mind? I would like to Apply to Oxford, UCL, ICL and so on. Will I be disadvantaged. (I would like to achieve an A* in Further Maths).
Note: I already achieved an A in AS Economics and am doing an EPQ.

Thank you guys, I appreciate any help I get =)
Reply 1
Why have you decided you want to apply for maths? You should note that only doing Maths A-Level (in fact, it's perfectly arguable for even those doing both M+FM) can give you a 'warped' view of what undergraduate maths entails. For example, making a decision to study undergrad maths because you do best in A-Level Maths, or you find it the easiest out of all your A-Levels, is not a good reason to want to continue with maths onto university.
Maths at university is legit the matrix.
Reply 3
Original post by Delta, Δ
Hello guys, at the moment I am applying for a course which is not Maths.
If I apply next year for maths, what are my chances?
I do not have Further Maths, only Maths.
I am predicted an A in Maths A level and have an A in Maths GCSE.
I was thinking if I achieve an A* in A level, and an A*A in my other A Levels, and self teach A2 Further Maths (and do AS maths at School) all in 1 year, would this be a wise idea? If I will not retake anything, will Universities mind? I would like to Apply to Oxford, UCL, ICL and so on. Will I be disadvantaged. (I would like to achieve an A* in Further Maths).
Note: I already achieved an A in AS Economics and am doing an EPQ.

Thank you guys, I appreciate any help I get =)


It's a bit hard to say with the information given - for example, an A at GCSE really doesn't give any sort of measure of a person's mathematical ability :smile:

Some things to think about:
Are you genuinely thinking of applying for Maths because you have a passion for the subject and can see yourself devoting 3 years of hard slog to increasingly abstract topics (Good Reasons), or is it just your 'next best option' because you've fallen out of love with your original subject choice (Bad Reason)?

Why are you only predicted an A at A level? (I'm not being funny here: most of the predictions I see quoted on TSR seem to be 'over-predictions' e.g. people with D's at AS level being predicted A*s on shaky grounds!)

What is your 'work ethic' like - i.e. how confident are you about self-teaching in an additional year, and what will you do for support if you get stuck?

Put yourself in the position of the universities and ask yourself "why should we take this person in preference to someone who's done double Maths plus something in two years and achieved something like A*A*A?"

Don't rule yourself out, but you need to take a step backwards and ask yourself what is motivating your consideration of a Maths degree at this point in time (and in particular, don't waste an application on somewhere like Oxford unless you are very, very serious about taking on an intensive and demanding course where you will be competing with top students from around the country!).

Hope this helps :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by davros
It's a bit hard to say with the information given - for example, an A at GCSE really doesn't give any sort of measure of a person's mathematical ability :smile:

Some things to think about:
Are you genuinely thinking of applying for Maths because you have a passion for the subject and can see yourself devoting 3 years of hard slog to increasingly abstract topics (Good Reasons), or is it just your 'next best option' because you've fallen out of love with your original subject choice (Bad Reason)?

Why are you only predicted an A at A level? (I'm not being funny here: most of the predictions I see quoted on TSR seem to be 'over-predictions' e.g. people with D's at AS level being predicted A*s on shaky grounds!)

What is your 'work ethic' like - i.e. how confident are you about self-teaching in an additional year, and what will you do for support if you get stuck?

Put yourself in the position of the universities and ask yourself "why should we take this person in preference to someone who's done double Maths plus something in two years and achieved something like A*A*A?"

Don't rule yourself out, but you need to take a step backwards and ask yourself what is motivating your consideration of a Maths degree at this point in time (and in particular, don't waste an application on somewhere like Oxford unless you are very, very serious about taking on an intensive and demanding course where you will be competing with top students from around the country!).

Hope this helps :smile:


Thank you for your kind advice :smile:

I really love maths, its one of my favorite subjects. I am always enthralled by maths, and always look forward to doing maths homework (sad, I know.)

I'm not sure if I want to carry on with my current carer aspirations. I am looking at what I really enjoyed, and pretty much the first thing that came to mind was maths. I achieved an A in AS maths (89% average).
I'm comfortable in self teaching. I self teach my self pretty much the whole time. I covered C3 over the summer holidays in about a month or so, because I wanted to get a head start.
In a recent C3 mock, I got 91% (I could have attained higher, 95% if it wasn't for a silly mistake at the last, easier question).

I wasn't able to do FM at the start of sixth form, as you need an A* at GCSE.
Maybe I could self teach A2 FM, and study AS FM at school (probably what my school will do, as there is no FM classes in this years year 12, so there is only AS FM next year I believe, if there is going to be FM classes) I'm sure the kindness of TSR and my teachers would be able to help me with trick questions.
I could also possibly do the AEA?
So what do you think?
Reply 5
Original post by Delta, Δ
Thank you for your kind advice :smile:

I really love maths, its one of my favorite subjects. I am always enthralled by maths, and always look forward to doing maths homework (sad, I know.)

I'm not sure if I want to carry on with my current carer aspirations. I am looking at what I really enjoyed, and pretty much the first thing that came to mind was maths. I achieved an A in AS maths (89% average).
I'm comfortable in self teaching. I self teach my self pretty much the whole time. I covered C3 over the summer holidays in about a month or so, because I wanted to get a head start.
In a recent C3 mock, I got 91% (I could have attained higher, 95% if it wasn't for a silly mistake at the last, easier question).

I wasn't able to do FM at the start of sixth form, as you need an A* at GCSE.
Maybe I could self teach A2 FM, and study AS FM at school (probably what my school will do, as there is no FM classes in this years year 12, so there is only AS FM next year I believe, if there is going to be FM classes) I'm sure the kindness of TSR and my teachers would be able to help me with trick questions.
I could also possibly do the AEA?
So what do you think?


OK, that sounds pretty promising :smile:

All I can say at this stage is do the best you can and see how things go.

And by the way, don't go into things thinking there are "trick" questions - there really aren't at A level (including FM). If you want to challenge yourself with the AEA then things get more interesting (in a good way), but it sounds as if you have the right motivation to do well with hard work!
Reply 6
Original post by davros
OK, that sounds pretty promising :smile:

All I can say at this stage is do the best you can and see how things go.

And by the way, don't go into things thinking there are "trick" questions - there really aren't at A level (including FM). If you want to challenge yourself with the AEA then things get more interesting (in a good way), but it sounds as if you have the right motivation to do well with hard work!


Oops, I think I was supposed to say tricky questions. Sorry about that.

Would doing this put me at a disadvantage for applying to Oxford, ICL, UCL etc?
Thanks!:tongue:
Reply 7
Original post by Delta, Δ
Oops, I think I was supposed to say tricky questions. Sorry about that.

Would doing this put me at a disadvantage for applying to Oxford, ICL, UCL etc?
Thanks!:tongue:


Not necessarily, but it would be a good idea to email their admissions department and see what they say.

Unis generally understand that not all schools offer FM, or restrict access to that course, so if you can demonstrate through self-teaching and actual results that you have what it takes, then that is a positive in your favour!

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