STEP Prep Thread 2017

The integral on the LHS involves $f(g(x))$ for some $g(x)$. The integral on the RHS involves $f(t)$. That is a big hint in itself.

I'm trying to do STEP I 2006 Q7, i've done the sketch and hence the deduction but having trouble working out the integral, please could someone point me in the right direction in dealing with the modulus thanks very much


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I would strongly advise you to attend the course you're already booked on and see how you get on. Maybe ask these questions of the tutor(s) there, they will both have a better idea of your strengths and weaknesses than anyone here can have, and they will also have seen a lot of students at this stage in the prep-cycle.

As for the rest of it: I've answered much of this for you already, but you've introduced one new point, and IMHO taking STEP after the A-levels is going to make it more likely you get asked for S grades rather than 1s.

I'd also say to you that Cambridge is not the only decent maths university in the UK. The maths course and exams are pretty unforgiving, and a lot of people end up sinking, or at best treading water and looking hopefully towards the shoreline (end of degree).

That's not meant to be a put down - I did pretty damn well at Cambridge, and I still wonder if I'd have been better going somewhere else where I'd have focussed more on mathematics and less on exams, so to speak.

This isn't gonna happen, mate. Everyone on this planet thinks they're clever, but just don't work hard enough. You've already mentioned you don't work particularly hard, but even if you change that, you're simply not smart enough either. You're struggling with things Cambridge mathematicians can do in their sleep. I'd take Djfranklin's advice and aim for a good, but not impossible uni, then kick on from there. You're trying to aim for the stars and land on the moon. At this rate, you're gonna end up crashlanding in your back garden instead. Better to aim for the sky and end up in geostationary orbit.

I'm sure there are some but I don't think there are many Cambridge students who found step dead easy. Maybe I am wrong but I was always under the impression that most of them found it really hard

True, but really hard means people saying "I can hardly do any of the questions", not "I have not managed to solve any of the step questions yet" as you posted earlier. Similarly, they would not be worrying about their maths grades, or making the number of mistakes you've talked about in other posts. So I'd say you are behind the typical successful applicant at this point.

This possibly counts in your favour, but It's really hard to interpret what this means for you, given previous history, life experience etc. You've already got a degree in a numerate subject - that should put you in a very strong position to pull this off.

Firstly, no-one at Cambridge is going to care about your IQ, (though if you keep going on about it they may think you an idiot). IQ (if anything) is an indication of potential, at this point in your life you really should have some actual accomplishments to talk about instead.

Or, as Stephen Hawking more pithily put it when asked about his IQ:



Also, as you suggest, I'd suspect the average for maths is a lot higher - not that mathmos are necessarily cleverer, but the skill set maps well onto the typical IQ test. I suspect there aren't many mathmos with measured IQs below 140. But again, I don't think IQ doesn't really means anything when it comes to Cambridge maths (see anecdote later in this post).

So this is advice I'd give to anyone:

If you are sure you'll be in the bottom 3rd of the cohort at Cambridge and your primary concern is to learn mathematics, you would probably be better off going to another university. (Cambridge still has other advantages, such as prestige, facillities, etc. that may make you still prefer Cambridge if learning maths is not your primary concern). I feel the way the courses and exams work very much pushes people towards concentrating on areas they can do well in (and conversely getting hopelessly befuddled in courses they find difficult). I absolutely know people who ended up only doing 2 or 3 courses in the final year.

And also a comment for your particular case - you wrote:



If you are in the bottom 3rd at Cambridge, you're going to be face-to-face with the reality that you are struggling, and everything is hard, and there are people in your college who are finding it a breeze in comparison. My first supervision partner (IQ of 184 by the way - he definitely let people know about it) found everything a lot harder than he expected, and he had me as a supervision partner, who'd say "Let me know what questions you've done the day before the supervision and I'll do them too", and then spend 3 hours on what had taken him 20, and get twice as many marks on the questions as he did. I didn't mean to be a dick (and to be honest, not sure what else I could have done), but the discrepancy was very very obvious.

Many many people find this situation very hard to deal with, when they've always been "the best" at maths in every previous class they've taken. Given what you've written, I think you need to think very seriously about whether you'd actually be happy, or even able to cope in this situation.

In 2011 STEP 1 question 12 (iii), why should I consider the first 5 people in the queue (according to the solution)? I don’t exactly understand the logic of the solution. Can anyone help me please? Thanks a lot!

Haven't tried the problem myself, but after the 5th person, there's either
case 1 .2 or less 2 pound people who already came, meaning there's at least 3 1 pound coins accumulated (and possibly given out already) so you will never run out of 1 pound coins or
case 2. 3 2 pound people had already come in which case you would've failed to give them back change already, terminating the situation?

It makes sense to me internally but reading my above explanation confuses myself... I must really practice solution writing

Okay some good points so Where is appropriate Warwick or imperial or is that aiming too high too?

I think imperial would reject me flat out but I think if I scored A*A* this year I'd likely get an offer from Warwick which would only need a grade 2 in step

Which if I spent the summer studying and got an advance on should definitely be doable.

But then they might reject me because of my past too?

So is bath ok? Or is that been to ambitious if I score A*A* this year where is realistic to apply for?

Haven't tried the problem myself, but after the 5th person, there's either
case 1 .2 or less 2 pound people who already came, meaning there's at least 3 1 pound coins accumulated (and possibly given out already) so you will never run out of 1 pound coins or
case 2. 3 2 pound people had already come in which case you would've failed to give them back change already, terminating the situation?

It makes sense to me internally but reading my above explanation confuses myself... I must really practice solution writing

I got it!!Thanks a lot for the help!

How many questions did people who were successful in step(1,1+) actually answer in the given time?