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Is my friend right?

Hi,

So I'm currently doing BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Computing and projected to get DDD.

I'm looking to apply to unis for BSc Computer Science but I have a grade 4 in maths which limits my options.

however, my friend says that due to the fact that I'm doing A level Russian and projected to get a B, I could possibly join some of higher ranked unis due to how rare it is to have a Russian a level.

is he right?

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Original post by Dan192
Hi,

So I'm currently doing BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Computing and projected to get DDD.

I'm looking to apply to unis for BSc Computer Science but I have a grade 4 in maths which limits my options.

however, my friend says that due to the fact that I'm doing A level Russian and projected to get a B, I could possibly join some of higher ranked unis due to how rare it is to have a Russian a level.

is he right?

Hi,

I would reccomend that you contact the admissions teams for the universities you are looking at as they will be able to tell you straight away whether or not this is the case for them. You could also speak to your college/sixth form tutor as they may have an idea from previous students that have applied from your college.

Hope this helps,

Ellen :smile:
Student Ambassador
Reply 2
Avatar for Xarao
Xarao
20
He's wrong.

Also, you plan to do computer science with a grade 4 in maths? You do know there's a reason why computer science has one of the biggest drop out rates and that's because of the maths involved. If I were you, I'd look into business computing/software engineering, not computer science.
No he's wrong. try looking into a computing/ IT career
Reply 4
Avatar for Dan192
Dan192
OP
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Original post by Xarao
He's wrong.

Also, you plan to do computer science with a grade 4 in maths? You do know there's a reason why computer science has one of the biggest drop out rates and that's because of the maths involved. If I were you, I'd look into business computing/software engineering, not computer science.


yeah I plan to do it with a grade 4 but I enjoy maths - It's just I didn't really try in my GCSEs which led me into getting a 4. However, I believe I'll be capable of doing a computer science degree.

A lot of people say that they teach the basics in the first year and progressively get harder but with CS, you don't really have to go in with a lot of knowledge (at least from what I've heard)
Reply 5
Avatar for Xarao
Xarao
20
Original post by Dan192
yeah I plan to do it with a grade 4 but I enjoy maths - It's just I didn't really try in my GCSEs which led me into getting a 4. However, I believe I'll be capable of doing a computer science degree.

A lot of people say that they teach the basics in the first year and progressively get harder but with CS, you don't really have to go in with a lot of knowledge (at least from what I've heard)

The only way you'd get into a computer science course is if a university is desperate for the funding they get per student head. You don't have to go in with a lot of knowledge on the "programming" side, but if you merely got a grade 4 in math and you think you can suddenly do university level mathematics, you're crazy wrong.

You'll be part of the dropout statistic, if you even manage to get in to be frank.
Reply 6
Avatar for Dan192
Dan192
OP
11
Original post by Xarao
The only way you'd get into a computer science course is if a university is desperate for the funding they get per student head. You don't have to go in with a lot of knowledge on the "programming" side, but if you merely got a grade 4 in math and you think you can suddenly do university level mathematics, you're crazy wrong.

You'll be part of the dropout statistic, if you even manage to get in to be frank.


okay well thanks for your input :smile:
Reply 7
Avatar for Xarao
Xarao
20
Original post by Dan192
okay well thanks for your input :smile:

No worries, glad you came to your senses.
Reply 8
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Dan192
OP
11
Original post by Xarao
No worries, glad you came to your senses.


I mean you haven't changed my mind or anything. I'm still applying for Computer Science but thanks nonetheless
Reply 9
Avatar for Dan192
Dan192
OP
11
Original post by Xarao
No worries, I'll be here laughing when you drop out because you think you can do computer science with a grade 4 in maths in GCSE :rofl:


wow you really are ignorant
ngl you kinda need at least a B in GCSE maths (sure you may get accepted with a C but your gonna find it really hard) If 4 = d then ur highly unlikely to not get accepted. It even says on the UCAS website for CS - "you will also need at least five GCSEs (A-C) including science, English, and maths."
You will just have to email a couple of universities that you are interested in and ask them about grade 4 in GCSE.

What kind of maths do you do in your current diploma?
Cause the maths I'm doing now, I say is like A2 level maths. Not too hard as there are 2-3 topics that are new to me like sets and counting - permutations.
Reply 11
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Dan192
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Original post by kurro
ngl you kinda need at least a B in GCSE maths (sure you may get accepted with a C but your gonna find it really hard) If 4 = d then ur highly unlikely to not get accepted. It even says on the UCAS website for CS - "you will also need at least five GCSEs (A-C) including science, English, and maths."
You will just have to email a couple of universities that you are interested in about grade 4 in GCSE.

What kind of maths do you do in your current diploma?
Cause the maths I'm doing now, I say is like A2 level maths. Not too hard as there are 2-3 topics that are new to me like sets and counting - permutations.


A 4 = C

And in my BTEC we currently havent really done any maths.
Original post by Dan192
A 4 = C

And in my BTEC we currently havent really done any maths.

If it's a C then your probs gonna get accepted but depends on the uni ranking, I really doubt the top 10-15 would accept you with a C 0.o idk for sure tho, rank 25 and below you can as my friend got a C and got into Swansea (25th currently)
were you in higher or foundation for maths GCSE? (unless they changed the system again lmao) cause if your in higher you would have been exposed to harder topics but it's still gonna be hard for you :/

I suggest when you're in uni go over the maths lecture when you get back home and keep practicing questions and past papers. Or you could check the uni topics and try to get the basics during the summer or even now.
(edited 4 years ago)
Reply 13
Avatar for Dan192
Dan192
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11
Original post by kurro
If it's a C then your probs gonna get accepted but depends on the uni ranking, I really doubt the top 10-15 would accept you with a C 0.o idk for sure tho, rank 25 and below you can as my friend got a C and got into Swansea (25th currently)
were you in higher or foundation for maths GCSE? (unless they changed the system again lmao) cause if your in higher you would have been exposed to harder topics but it's still gonna be hard for you :/

I suggest when you're in uni go over the maths lecture when you get back home and keep practicing questions and past papers. Or you could check the uni topics and try to get the basics during the summer or even now.


I did higher for maths GCSE and I know I won't get into the higher ranked unis - All I asked was that if A level Russian wud kind of give me an edge/possibly reduce the grades I need to get :smile:

I'm looking at unis that require a grade 4 and there is a few out there
Original post by Dan192
I did higher for maths GCSE and I know I won't get into the higher ranked unis - All I asked was that if A level Russian wud kind of give me an edge/possibly reduce the grades I need to get :smile:

I'm looking at unis that require a grade 4 and there is a few out there

They won't reduce your grades cause of that, but it is an advantage. It will give you an edge in terms of application, but then again it's not gonna be useful for coding, maths, etc. So quite frankly it's not much use for your course unless you finesse your way in by making some intricate ass explanation for how Russian goes hand in hand with CS :wink:
Reply 15
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Dan192
OP
11
Original post by kurro
They won't reduce your grades cause of that, but it is an advantage. It will give you an edge in terms of application, but then again it's not gonna be useful for coding, maths, etc. So quite frankly it's not much use for your course unless you finesse your way in by making some intricate ass explanation for how Russian goes hand in hand with CS :wink:


ahahhaha yeah lol 😂 thanks
(edited 4 years ago)
Reply 16
Avatar for kq03
kq03
16
Original post by Xarao
The only way you'd get into a computer science course is if a university is desperate for the funding they get per student head. You don't have to go in with a lot of knowledge on the "programming" side, but if you merely got a grade 4 in math and you think you can suddenly do university level mathematics, you're crazy wrong.

You'll be part of the dropout statistic, if you even manage to get in to be frank.


flipping hell man leave the guy alone. do you get a kick out of putting people down? get a life weirdo.
Original post by kurro
If it's a C then your probs gonna get accepted but depends on the uni ranking, I really doubt the top 10-15 would accept you with a C 0.o idk for sure tho, rank 25 and below you can as my friend got a C and got into Swansea (25th currently)
were you in higher or foundation for maths GCSE? (unless they changed the system again lmao) cause if your in higher you would have been exposed to harder topics but it's still gonna be hard for you :/

I suggest when you're in uni go over the maths lecture when you get back home and keep practicing questions and past papers. Or you could check the uni topics and try to get the basics during the summer or even now.


Actually here are the grade conversions:
9=A**
8=A*
7=A
6=B
5= high C/low B
4= high D/Low C
3=E
2=F
1=G
U=U
Okay, so you're looking to do computer science, not maths so I think that you can do computer science for sure and yes the Russian a level gives you an upper hand deffo because universities slove that kinda stuff. You could call up a few unis and ask as well but don't get put down by what others are saying. You wanna do computer science so go for it because trust me when I say that ALOT of people got a grade 4 for maths but went on do to science and stuff that required a 6/7 in Maths! Good luck with everything and ignore the ignorant people eho think its okay to pull people down! :smile:
Reply 19
Avatar for Dan192
Dan192
OP
11
Original post by AngelwithaHalo
Okay, so you're looking to do computer science, not maths so I think that you can do computer science for sure and yes the Russian a level gives you an upper hand deffo because universities slove that kinda stuff. You could call up a few unis and ask as well but don't get put down by what others are saying. You wanna do computer science so go for it because trust me when I say that ALOT of people got a grade 4 for maths but went on do to science and stuff that required a 6/7 in Maths! Good luck with everything and ignore the ignorant people eho think its okay to pull people down! :smile:

Thanks, I appreciate your message :smile:

Hardest part for me right now is trying to find universities with my low GCSE maths grade and the deadline is almost due and I have yet to choose all 5 of my choices

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