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Opinions on A-Level Maths?

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Reply 20
Original post by ruthlessv
if you found GCSE maths even a little bit hard - don't do it.

if however you did nothing and got an A/A* then you'll be fine with a little practise.


Okay thank you

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Reply 21
Original post by emcat
I got a B at AS and am continuing on to A2. It's fairly hard but all I will say is ask your teacher the moment you start to struggle, because once you fall behind it's a lot of work to catch up. Make sure to keep note of formulas taught to you by your teachers because they sometimes vary from those in the formula booklet and are far easier to use. And finally, past papers really are the best way to revise. All in all, it's not too much work as long as you try and keep up with the work and get in plenty of practice. My biggest problem this year was not putting enough work in outside of school and I was actually failing earlier this year.


Okay, I have heard that from many people so I'm definitely going to do my best to make sure I understand everything.

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Reply 22
Original post by joeymr
I did OCR MEI maths and I really enjoyed it :smile: it was by far my hardest subject and as a result I ended up with a C in it at AS (I got AAAC at AS just for comparison). This was purely my fault as I didnt work hard enough for maths (I did D1 as my applied module and absolutely hated it haha so couldnt get motivated to revise for it) and so I didnt do as well as I would have liked. I ended up taking it at A2 because I enjoyed it more than psychology, which was actually the best decision I've ever made :tongue: After the kick in the ass I got on AS results day I worked harder for maths than any of my other subjects (bio and chem) and ended up finishing the subject with an A (6UMS off an A* unbelievably!) :biggrin:

So my point is A-level maths is a fantastic subject, but you really need to work hard for it! I got 2A*s at GCSE for maths (normal and additional maths) and so I thought it would be a cakewalk- damn was I wrong! Keep up with the classwork, go over past papers until you can do them with your eyes closed and most importantly ask for help when you need it and you will do amazingly! :biggrin:


Thank you! And well done for getting your grade up so much!

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Reply 23
Original post by Kcash
I achieved an A in A-Level maths and compared to my other a levels of English lit and history it is a lot easier. Can judge how well you've done as the marking is consistent and fair, plus as long as you know the methods you can do well. I got AAA in my A-levels but my maths was close to an A*


Okay, thank you! I gathered that marking would be good, as unlike written exams there is no grey area you either got the answer right or wrong I guess? How did you find literature? As I am considering taking it too.

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I wouldn't reccomend maths A-Level if you don't get an A* (or at least an A) at GCSE. I got an A* at GCSE and found AS maths really difficult, but managed to get a high B at AS. However, I found the jump from AS to A2 HUGE and found core 4 almost impossible. Ended up with a C overall in the end, even though I worked really hard:frown: Thankfully, I got A*s in my other subjects so got into uni. Lots of my friends did well though, maybe it was more of a natural subject for them? Essays are much more my thing. So overall, I'd say if you are a science person, and really commited, to go for it, but if you have any doubts at all, then I wouldn't suggest it.
Reply 25
Original post by Blobar
If you find AS level quite hard dont take it to A2. I got 90% at AS and found A2 pretty difficult. Did manage to get an A overall though :smile:.

I did OCR MEI btw and hear it is the most difficult so see which exam board you'll be doing.


Thank you, okay I will keep that it mind, I think I'm going to be on AQA.

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Reply 26
Original post by Whitemouse
I found A level maths quite different from GCSE. It wasn't too much harder but there is a lot more focus on trigonometry and calculus and pure maths like that than at GCSE. But I thoroughly enjoyed studying maths at A level, it was nice that there was always a right answer. Plus at AS all of the question styles are rather repetitive so if you do the past papers and make sure you understand them you should be fine. :smile:


Okay thank you! That's also another reason I was considering it, there is no grey areas you either got it right or you didn't.

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Reply 27
Original post by Meg321
Okay, thank you! I gathered that marking would be good, as unlike written exams there is no grey area you either got the answer right or wrong I guess? How did you find literature? As I am considering taking it too.

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Lit was a lot more of a struggle for me. Last year the aqa lit 1ac exam went terribly, I believe it was marked harshly. I ended up with a C overall. Retook that exam this year and managed to get an A overall. Coursework is worth 40% so that's really beneficial as you can then get b's in the exams and still achieve an A overall if you get over 90% in coursework.
Original post by Meg321
Okay thank you! That's also another reason I was considering it, there is no grey areas you either got it right or you didn't.

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Year 12 FM Student who did A2 Maths early. It's REALLY, REALLY easy (non exag) if you make sure you understand the fundamental mathematics, rather than mechanically learn techniques, this is so important because after all A level maths isn't supposed to test you whether you can memorise formulae and simple methods (for C grade candidates it does) but test whether you can actually do maths in some new situations, so in every paper there will always be a few questions which catch those who only practice but fail to understand.

Looking at proofs of A level material, even if they are not provided by the teacher and are not technically in the syllabus, is the BEST way forward; it improves your maths and makes the actual questions seem like a joke once you understand fundamentally why a mathematical proposition is true.
Original post by Kcash
I achieved an A in A-Level maths and compared to my other a levels of English lit and history it is a lot easier. Can judge how well you've done as the marking is consistent and fair, plus as long as you know the methods you can do well. I got AAA in my A-levels but my maths was close to an A*


I found history a walk in the park compared to maths! Shows how everybody's different, doesn't it?
Reply 30
Original post by subjunctivehistorian
I did OCR MEI maths AS level, it's generally recognised as one of the hardest but I found it fine! I think if you did well at GCSE (either an A or an A* preferably) than you should do fine. Also, my teachers suggested that we did as many questions in the textbook as possible throughout the year, as these tended to be harder than the ones in the exam!

I really enjoyed it as a subject, it becomes quite fun to revise for as opposed to English and my other subjects which were all essay based, because the answer is either right or wrong, which makes it relaxing and easier to revise for in my opinion.

I would definitely recommend AS maths even if you are looking at an arts based degree like I am. It's relaxing and very logical, which helps you in many areas of life!

Good luck with your A levels! :wink:


Thank you! I think I'm going to be on AQA, I just need to work hard this year on my GCSE maths to get an A/A* now :smile:

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I'm surprised people are saying A level Maths is hard. If you practice enough questions then you can easily get an A, if you want an A* then you need to have some natural talent.
I got an A in my A-level Maths and scrapped an A in Further Maths AS.

I'm not that good at maths, I have no natural ability and don't see how the concepts work together. However I can easily say that I didn't revise for maths more than any other subject.
Reply 32
Original post by fortunaisland
I wouldn't reccomend maths A-Level if you don't get an A* (or at least an A) at GCSE. I got an A* at GCSE and found AS maths really difficult, but managed to get a high B at AS. However, I found the jump from AS to A2 HUGE and found core 4 almost impossible. Ended up with a C overall in the end, even though I worked really hard:frown: Thankfully, I got A*s in my other subjects so got into uni. Lots of my friends did well though, maybe it was more of a natural subject for them? Essays are much more my thing. So overall, I'd say if you are a science person, and really commited, to go for it, but if you have any doubts at all, then I wouldn't suggest it.


Okay thank you, well done with getting into uni! You got fantastic grades at A-Level.

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Reply 33
Original post by AJCSShp
I'm surprised people are saying A level Maths is hard. If you practice enough questions then you can easily get an A, if you want an A* then you need to have some natural talent.
I got an A in my A-level Maths and scrapped an A in Further Maths AS.

I'm not that good at maths, I have no natural ability and don't see how the concepts work together. However I can easily say that I didn't revise for maths more than any other subject.


Okay thank you, I think it also depends on what peoples exam boards were, apparently the difficulty varies.

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Reply 34
Original post by Omghacklol
Year 12 FM Student who did A2 Maths early. It's REALLY, REALLY easy (non exag) if you make sure you understand the fundamental mathematics, rather than mechanically learn techniques, this is so important because after all A level maths isn't supposed to test you whether you can memorise formulae and simple methods (for C grade candidates it does) but test whether you can actually do maths in some new situations, so in every paper there will always be a few questions which catch those who only practice but fail to understand.

Looking at proofs of A level material, even if they are not provided by the teacher and are not technically in the syllabus, is the BEST way forward; it improves your maths and makes the actual questions seem like a joke once you understand fundamentally why a mathematical proposition is true.



This is soooo true! I did'nt know anything about the actual maths behind the 'techniques', so when the exam came and the questions were unfamiliar to the ones in the past papers- I flopped and ended up with a C. At A2 I'm going to turn it all round by learning the maths properly this time!:smile:
I got a B at as level and ended up with an A* at A2. Compared to my other subjects it required the least amount of work.
Original post by 2en1
This is soooo true! I did'nt know anything about the actual maths behind the 'techniques', so when the exam came and the questions were unfamiliar to the ones in the past papers- I flopped and ended up with a C. At A2 I'm going to turn it all round by learning the maths properly this time!:smile:


Best of luck, it will be easy to turn round! Yes make sure you properly understand it all, although the proofs become substantially more difficult to follow in C3/C4, prove what can be proven :smile:
Original post by Meg321
Okay thank you, I think it also depends on what peoples exam boards were, apparently the difficulty varies.

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OCR MEI is suppose to be the one of the harder boards for maths. I did most of the AQA and OCR (just OCR) papers, and found AQA slightly harder, OCR doesn't even introduce integration till the 2nd module.
I recommend choosing your optional module carefully though.
For me decision modules were the easiest, but some people find them really hard. If you are good at physics, then mechanics is the way to go.
Reply 38
Original post by fortunaisland
I found history a walk in the park compared to maths! Shows how everybody's different, doesn't it?


Well I'm actually taking history as my degree subject so I love history but it's a lot more revision than maths which was just purely past papers
Reply 39
Original post by AJCSShp
OCR MEI is suppose to be the one of the harder boards for maths. I did most of the AQA and OCR (just OCR) papers, and found AQA slightly harder, OCR doesn't even introduce integration till the 2nd module.
I recommend choosing your optional module carefully though.
For me decision modules were the easiest, but some people find them really hard. If you are good at physics, then mechanics is the way to go.


That's what I've heard too. Okay thank you, I will look into it before I decide.

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