4 A-Levels: Maths, Physics, Further Maths, Economics

What are you hoping to do in future?

So i think i overestimated my abilities, as you can see i chose maths, further maths, physics and economics as the subjects i will study next year. A lot of people have been saying its really difficult to do 4 alevels let alone further maths as one. I hope i can receive some advice, i really do love maths like it is the one subject i have always liked.

it is yet undecided, all i know is i do like maths and my job must mostly be maths.
Im hoping to do a joint degree of economics and mathematics at uni

it is yet undecided, all i know is i do like maths and my job must mostly be maths.
Im hoping to do a joint degree of economics and mathematics at uni

If you like maths, then A Level Maths is a good subject to take. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean A Level Further Maths is or that your subject combination is the right fit.

Questions:

Have you done GCSE Further Maths and if so, did you enjoy it?
Have you started self-teaching the syllabus and do you like it so far?
What do you do when you come across difficult maths-related topics?
Are these your strongest subjects?
Are you a high achieving student?
Do you wish to pursue a maths-related career in the future?
Do you believe, knowing yourself, that you will be happy with this subject combination?
Have you investigated every subject you’re taking and are you happy with the content that you’ll be studying?
Which subject would you drop if you had to? If so, why?
Would you be satisfied having 3 maths lessons and 2 hours of maths revision a day, if need be?

A Level subject combinations require a lot of deliberation and consideration if you don’t want to end up regretting your choices 3 months in and being unable to change them. Hopefully, the answers to these questions create a clearer picture as to whether you’re making the best decision or not.

So i think i overestimated my abilities, as you can see i chose maths, further maths, physics and economics as the subjects i will study next year. A lot of people have been saying its really difficult to do 4 alevels let alone further maths as one. I hope i can receive some advice, i really do love maths like it is the one subject i have always liked.

1. No my school did not offer GCSE Further maths but i have started teaching myself the content since december.
2. My teacher advised me against looking at New a level content but said i could look at the cross over between gcse and alevel maths and i did every single question in the textbook in the respective sections. For some me and my friend decided to figure out by ourselves how to get the answer, we combined our maths knowledge and did it - both me and her are taking the same a levels with the exception of her taking computer science and me economics.
3. to be honest when i come across difficult maths questions i simply read the question a few more times and start to write the key information and the goal im supposed to reach, then i work my way backwards.
4. My strongest subjects are the sciences and maths, recently english has become one too. English is my third language and spanish my 4th. English has been a bit more difficult for me to achieve a grade 9 in than the any other subjects.
5. I think i am a high achieving student i got a 9 in the mock for every subject (maths, geography, biology, chemistry, physics, business) but english language, literature and spanish (i got an 8 in all 3) and a 7 in RE.
6. Yes, maths is my focus, i do not wish to do a job that is not heavily dependant on maths.
7. Knowing myself i will regret not taking any of these subjects, i spent weeks on trying to choose between the 4 alevels and came to the concusion that i will just do all 4.
8. Honestly i do not wish to drop any subject but if i had to it would be economics because i would just self-teach it at home.
9. Currently i can do 4 hours of revision afterschool, sometimes 8 on each day of the weekend so i think i can manage.

It doesn’t sound anything like “my parents are forcing me to”, so I would say that these are all good signs Good luck with your subject combination!

So i think i overestimated my abilities, as you can see i chose maths, further maths, physics and economics as the subjects i will study next year. A lot of people have been saying its really difficult to do 4 alevels let alone further maths as one. I hope i can receive some advice, i really do love maths like it is the one subject i have always liked.

4 A levels including both Maths and FM is about the only situation where its make sense to take 4 subjects - and along with Economics and/or Physics that gives you many options at degree level.

Hi there,

I am a third year Mathematics and Statistics student at Lancaster University. I took Maths, Further Maths, Geography and Psychology so it definitely is possible to take 4 A-Levels and do well. I found that studying both maths and further maths together did not feel as much as I expected 2 A Levels to feel because working on one helped me revise for the other a lot of the time.

As well as straight maths degrees we offer a variety of different courses that may interest you:
- Economics BSc Hons (Requirements: AAB with A level Mathematics grade B)
- Economics and Mathematics BSc Hons (Requirements: AAB with A level Mathematics or Further Mathematics grade A)
- Theoretical Physics with Mathematics BSc Hons (Requirements: AAA with A level Mathematics and Physics grade A)
Alongside these there is options to do integrated masters, a year in industry or study abroad. One of the things I would like to highlight is that to study Maths and economics at a lot of universities you do not need to have studied economics previously. Therefore, there is the option to drop the A-Level if something does go wrong but still continue with your degree plans.

Please feel free to ask me any questions that you have.

- Amy (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

So i think i overestimated my abilities, as you can see i chose maths, further maths, physics and economics as the subjects i will study next year. A lot of people have been saying its really difficult to do 4 alevels let alone further maths as one. I hope i can receive some advice, i really do love maths like it is the one subject i have always liked.

Heya!
How did you find GCSE maths? If you are aiming to go into top unis then having FM would be helpful with your application People often choose 3 alvls + FM so you should be fine if you are already taking maths!

I hope this helps!
Milena
UCL PFE
Study Mind

Regarding the masters, do i do it in my last years or have to do it separately

My eldest daughter did Maths FM Physics and Chemistry Alevel. She was glad she took 4 alevels but she could have dropped Chemistry as she wanted to do physics. Physics is full of maths, and if you went down this route, the FM really does help for first year and students find the course easier. But you can still do the physics without FM alevel, you are just moving it along to first year studies. If you want to do a joint honours of economics and maths, then dump the physics.

If you are going to do the 4 alevels, be prepared for hard graft. Start making your revision notes as you go along, maybe flash cards, watching videos, and develop a plan to study / revise, but also take a break. Be prepared for year 12 not to be as great at year 13. Eldests tests was coming out at D's in year 12 and like many of her classmates they too was the same, but by year 13 it really improved. Give it until Mid to end of October. If you really do find it full on, then ask if you can drop the physics.

So i think i overestimated my abilities, as you can see i chose maths, further maths, physics and economics as the subjects i will study next year. A lot of people have been saying its really difficult to do 4 alevels let alone further maths as one. I hope i can receive some advice, i really do love maths like it is the one subject i have always liked.