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Additional Further Maths

jamesh_91

so the majority think it won't enhance my application to oxbridge to do maths? If you're doing it because you enjoy maths then I don't see why that matters?

Reply 21

IrrationalNumber

12

It's worth doing- you learn alot from it and it can be useful STEP preparation for STEP 3. Also, I think only a few schools teach it. S4 was definitely the hardest module, with questions that were roughly the same difficulty as some STEP 1 questions(albeit far more predictable)

Reply 22

im so academic

15

imo, does doing an extra a-level in AFM show independence in the subject? the aim of the game is not to get as many maths a-level at a grades... is to enrich you passion for mathematics like attending maths lectures at unis. but, I do understand you reason for doing AFM, because you like studying it, I assume? well if you do why not explore other branches of mathematics that's not the AFM sylabus e.g. topology. also I think STEP is much more worthwhile than AFM because STEP is aimed at britain's top 2% mathematicians whereas AFM is an extra qualification for 6 extra modules. but I respect you decision whatever you choose to do, but I really recommend STEP regardless if it's Oxford or Cambridge. good luck for your A2s! :smile:

Reply 23

Dadeyemi

13

You are in pretty much my exact situation, though I haven't dropped economics and am only doing AS AFM. In my opinion is it is worth doing, but you shouldn't do it think "Cambridge will like me doing this" but only do it I you think you will enjoy it.

Reply 24

Snobpence17

darkness9999

you guys are lucky ... that ur colleges offer FM and AFM... we had to force our college to do AS FM ...

Same here, sucks being at a comprehensive,

Reply 25

annarchy

10

jamesh_91

i see your point but the way i see it aswell is by studying extra modules then i am also furthering my experience in maths and learning new subject areas which interest me especially mechanics and pure :smile:

so the majority think it won't enhance my application to oxbridge to do maths?

If it's no further work as people have said, and you would love to. I doubt it would hinder your application. You are clearly capable of doing AFM as well as STEP and AEA, so if you CAN, I don't think you should be discouraged from doing so by anyone.
I think you should do it, you seem keen and capable. As for whether it will enhance your application is another story, but it certainly wouldn't hinder it in my view.

Reply 26

jamesh_91

OP

1

woah alot of replies since went to the fireworks with my gf... thanks for all your replies it has really helped and i spoke 2 my parents as i like to get their opinion on my academics and we decided we would talk to the head of math at school at parents evening

but i reckon i could do AS AFM and economics next year without pushing myself to hard so i might do that because it would mean i could do FP3

thank you all again :smile:

Reply 27

Simba

16

SimonM

Erm, last year Trinity actually stipulated in someone's offer that they would not accept an A in AFM

And indeed, I'm still really annoyed about it; this year there are 48 mathmos at Trinity, and so anyone who didn't get the grades ended up not getting accepted. Hence had I not got an A in physics, I wouldn't be at Trinity now, despite taking STEP II and III early and having an almost perfect score in maths and further maths when I applied (not to mention that I was part of the IMO squad).

Seems they didn't realise making me worry about getting an A in such a useless A-level (they actually specified physics!) would take a lot of time away from me doing maths :p:

... I'm not good at physics at all so getting an A (especially on an exam board where most questions were 'explain' or 'describe') was not trivial for me.

It's surreal when people talk about you like this :p:

!

Reply 28

JSX

SimonM

Erm, last year Trinity actually stipulated in someone's offer that they would not accept an A in AFM

Weird, the admission guide said this for entry into the Mathematics course.

The best advice is to do as much mathematics as possible. The normal minimum requirement for our
course is AS-level Further Mathematics (or an equivalent qualification) and most of our students have
studied beyond this. Nevertheless, applications from students whose schools do not provide mathematics
teaching to the full A2 Further Mathematics level are welcomed, and suitable allowance is made both
in the interview and in the conditional offer. Note that if your school does not offer teaching for Further
Mathematics modules, you may be able to get help from the the Further Mathematics Network
(http://www.fmnetwork.org.uk/).
If a choice of modules is available to you, it is best (from the point of view of our course) to take as much
pure mathematics and mechanics as possible, in preference to statistics and discrete mathematics.
Our mathematics course has a significant component of applied mathematics and theoretical physics, so
A-level Physics is useful (especially if you are taking few mechanics modules).
As for other A-level or AS-level subjects, you should just choose the subjects you enjoy most.

Reply 29

Kolya

17

SimonM

Erm, last year Trinity actually stipulated in someone's offer that they would not accept an A in AFM

Hmm, If I were a maths admissions tutor - and I emphasise that I am not an admissions tutor, God forbid - then I would actually probably consider A/A/A in M/FM/Eco to be more desirable than A/A/A in M/FM/AFM, so I can see where they are coming from.

Reply 30

Simba

16

Kolya

Hmm, If I were a maths admissions tutor - and I emphasise that I am not an admissions tutor, God forbid - then I would actually probably consider A/A/A in M/FM/Eco to be more desirable than A/A/A in M/FM/AFM, so I can see where they are coming from.

Why? Economics isn't as relevant to a maths degree as AFM is; by definition, AFM is maths, economics is not! It's wrong to say the material covered in AFM is irrelevant too; the later mechanics modules are certainly relevant to me this year at university, as would be the decision modules if I were to take the course on optimisation (I don't plan to, eww :p:

...) And as for the later stats modules, I have a friend doing part III and he showed me some stuff that I wouldn't have understood had I not done S4.

Reply 31

Kolya

17

Simba

Why?

Firstly, while the topics in the extra modules may be studied at university, the important point to remember is that they will be covered again at university, and not in anyway assumed. They will also be covered in the university style in the context of a course, and so a few particular students having prior knowledge of various topics in some courses is not going to change the course in any way. As lots of students will not have that prior knowledge, it will not be possible to rewrite the course to suit them, and so a student who has studied a few mechanics, statistics and discrete topics at a superficial level is not a great gain for the university over someone who has not.

Secondly, Economics will be a more difficult and time-consuming A-level than AFM. AFM is an easy option for those students. It would be nice to see students that can attack topics that they are less comfortable, and to see that they can take on a heavier workload, consisting of both work which they find easier and work that they find more difficult.

Thirdly, the Economics A-level is more likely to develop skills that are important in mathematics, but that are not touched on in AFM. For example, in Economics you have to communicate in written English, which is a skill that is extremely important as one progresses in mathematics, but which is not given much importance at A-level. It is more likely that the student will have been involved in discussions in Economics than when studying AFM on their own, which demonstrates that they have some ability in working within a team - something which is important in Maths. Finally, it shows an appreciation of applications of mathematics in other quantitative subjects, which is important as the student will likely progress on to employment in a quantitative field outside of university, or may do research involving the application of mathematics. In other words, they are willing to diversify their interests to gain skills that could be extremely important for their future, and so the student is showing an awareness of direction, and focus, that it is nice to see in a potential member of the university community.

Reply 32

neomilan

17

if you can cope do every unit possible in maths... dropping any a level wont look good even though you just want to do mathematics...

take c1-4 fp1-3 m1-5 s1-4 and d1-2 and STEP 1 2 3 and AEA
woah... that's a lot

Reply 33

.x.alexa.x.

Additional Futher Maths :| WOW.. Didn't know it existed...

Reply 34

SimonM

18

neomilan

if you can cope do every unit possible in maths... dropping any a level wont look good even though you just want to do mathematics...

take c1-4 fp1-3 m1-5 s1-4 and d1-2 and STEP 1 2 3 and AEA
woah... that's a lot

You'd have to take STEP I and III separately, but it is feasible

Why bother?

Sorry what? I don't understand how you are qualified to judge the ability of the OP.

More generally, I have the opportunity to take up the challenge of all modules, STEP I, II, and III + AEA, but meh...

Reply 37

SimonM

18

I think the OP is wanting to do this over the course of two years. Highly feasible

Additional Further Maths

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