Bsc Accounting and Finance @ City University of London

Hi, I am in Year 13 and currently studying BTEC Extended Diploma in Business. I applied to study for a BSc in Accounting and Finance at City University of London in September 2024 and received an offer.

However, I did not take A-level maths and it is not mandatory in the entry requirement unless you have a grade 7 and above in GCSE Maths, and I have got it above.
I am interested in studying this course, but unsure if the maths would be too difficult and whether I would struggle and fail in the first year.

I would like to know from current students studying the same or similar course and background whether the maths is difficult and would I receive help from tutors and others.
Thanks.

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

Original post

by Anonymous

Hi, I am in Year 13 and currently studying BTEC Extended Diploma in Business. I applied to study for a BSc in Accounting and Finance at City University of London in September 2024 and received an offer.
However, I did not take A-level maths and it is not mandatory in the entry requirement unless you have a grade 7 and above in GCSE Maths, and I have got it above.
I am interested in studying this course, but unsure if the maths would be too difficult and whether I would struggle and fail in the first year.
I would like to know from current students studying the same or similar course and background whether the maths is difficult and would I receive help from tutors and others.
Thanks.

I didn't do my accounting degree from City, but I did A Level Maths.

https://www.bayes.city.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/accounting-and-finance#accordion-v23-570233-header470241

The maths involved in accounting is generally laughably easy (basic arithmetic usually, with a bit of stats). The difficult part of the degree is understanding the issues of how to categorise items.

I don't know enough about the finance modules to comment on the level of maths involved, but it does involve a bit of economics and possibly financial mathematics, although I doubt they would be anything too demanding.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much; if they didn't ask for A Level Maths, then it's not likely the maths would be that demanding.

If you are concerned about the above, then the main maths you would be looking at would be in:

•

Logarithms and indices

•

Series and sequences (if that)

•

Hypothesis testing, normal distribution

•

Differentiation (possibly for the economics modules)

•

Covariances and standard deviations (portfolio theory)

•

Probability (expected values)

•

GCSE geometry (introductory microeconomics)

•

GCSE algebra (introductory macroeconomics and microeconomics)

Whilst you can skim over an A Level Maths textbook to get most of the above, the book I would recommend for the sort of maths that you can come across is: Mathematics for Economics and Business by Ian Jacques
See: https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mathematics_for_Economics_and_Business.html
It's a standard entry level book that you should be able to find in most universities that teach finance, economics, and accounting.

If you think Jacque's book is either too expensive (second hand) or inaccessible for you, then the next best thing would be the Schaum Outlines series for financial mathematics (more likely to be relevant), statistics (any one, since they overlap quite a bit), and mathematical economics (less likely to be applicable). See:
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Schaum_s_Outline_of_Mathematics_of_Finan.html
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Schaum_s_Outline_of_Introduction_to_Math.html
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Schaum_s_Outline_of_Statistics.html
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=paeOUPNlXeIC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Schaum_s_Outline_of_Probability_and_Stat.html
I'm a fan of Schaum Outlines because they are incredibly cheap second hand and they include all the answers to their practice questions (not a common practice for uni level textbooks, which tend to suck out a lot of money from you just for the answers via extra equally expensive books).

Another good textbook to get for statistics is Quantitative Methods: for Business, Management and Finance by Louise Swift, Sally Piff, which should be your standard textbook for your statistics modules. See: https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Quantitative_Methods.html

Otherwise, just get an A Level textbook and skim through it. You should quickly notice that barely 20% (30% if lucky) of the content would apply to your degree, so I wouldn't exactly go crazy on it and read everything cover to cover.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Thank you very much for your help, I really appreciate it :smile:

Reply 3

simongex

Original post

by Anonymous

Hi, I am in Year 13 and currently studying BTEC Extended Diploma in Business. I applied to study for a BSc in Accounting and Finance at City University of London in September 2024 and received an offer.
However, I did not take A-level maths and it is not mandatory in the entry requirement unless you have a grade 7 and above in GCSE Maths, and I have got it above.
I am interested in studying this course, but unsure if the maths would be too difficult and whether I would struggle and fail in the first year.
I would like to know from current students studying the same or similar course and background whether the maths is difficult and would I receive help from tutors and others.
Thanks.

Hey,
It's a Business School and not math-heavy. Trust me you'll be just fine!

Reply 4

menial-peppermin

Original post

by Anonymous

Hi, I am in Year 13 and currently studying BTEC Extended Diploma in Business. I applied to study for a BSc in Accounting and Finance at City University of London in September 2024 and received an offer.
However, I did not take A-level maths and it is not mandatory in the entry requirement unless you have a grade 7 and above in GCSE Maths, and I have got it above.
I am interested in studying this course, but unsure if the maths would be too difficult and whether I would struggle and fail in the first year.
I would like to know from current students studying the same or similar course and background whether the maths is difficult and would I receive help from tutors and others.
Thanks.

me too whats ur ddiscord

Reply 5

231Joeee

Original post

by Anonymous

Hi, I am in Year 13 and currently studying BTEC Extended Diploma in Business. I applied to study for a BSc in Accounting and Finance at City University of London in September 2024 and received an offer.
However, I did not take A-level maths and it is not mandatory in the entry requirement unless you have a grade 7 and above in GCSE Maths, and I have got it above.
I am interested in studying this course, but unsure if the maths would be too difficult and whether I would struggle and fail in the first year.
I would like to know from current students studying the same or similar course and background whether the maths is difficult and would I receive help from tutors and others.
Thanks.

in a similar situation, did they accept you for BTEC for your course, and what was your requirements?

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

Original post

by 231Joeee

in a similar situation, did they accept you for BTEC for your course, and what was your requirements?

The entry requirements for BSc Accounting and Finance at City uni of London are DDD. I achieved D*D*D, an accepted offer, and I chose this uni as my firm choice. A-level maths was not necessarily required for the entry requirements when I looked at their website, so it would be fine if you didn't study A-level maths, as long as you meet DDD for the requirements.

Reply 7

231Joeee

Original post

by Anonymous

Hi what about gcse maths requirements the normal application it is grade 6 in GCSE maths, however clearing states Grade 4 or above in GCSE maths for Econ and Accounting would I still be able to apply through clearing since it does not state BTEC? Also what did you get in gcse maths, the same as a normal application need or lower for clearing?

Reply 8

Anonymous #1

Hey,

I got an 8 in my GCSE Maths, and the normal/ standard entry requirement for the bsc accounting and finance course is a 7 in GCSE Maths. I checked the clearing application for your course and if you achieved a grade 4 and above in your GCSE maths, then you should be fine. Also, it requires 88 UCAS points and above. If your BTEC grades are 88 points and above, then you can still apply.

Reply 9

Anonymous #3

Original post

by Anonymous

Hey,
I got an 8 in my GCSE Maths, and the normal/ standard entry requirement for the bsc accounting and finance course is a 7 in GCSE Maths. I checked the clearing application for your course and if you achieved a grade 4 and above in your GCSE maths, then you should be fine. Also, it requires 88 UCAS points and above. If your BTEC grades are 88 points and above, then you can still apply.

so you can get into City through clearing?? What if i get rejected and its my Firm choice?, would i still be able to apply through clearing?Someone please clear this up with me, im intrigued.

Reply 10

Anonymous #4

Original post

by Anonymous

so you can get into City through clearing?? What if i get rejected and its my Firm choice?, would i still be able to apply through clearing?Someone please clear this up with me, im intrigued.

Yes, even if you were rejected the first time, as long as youhave the reduced grades you can apply again throughclearing.

Reply 11

City UoL Rep 4

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

Hi, I am in Year 13 and currently studying BTEC Extended Diploma in Business. I applied to study for a BSc in Accounting and Finance at City University of London in September 2024 and received an offer.
However, I did not take A-level maths and it is not mandatory in the entry requirement unless you have a grade 7 and above in GCSE Maths, and I have got it above.
I am interested in studying this course, but unsure if the maths would be too difficult and whether I would struggle and fail in the first year.
I would like to know from current students studying the same or similar course and background whether the maths is difficult and would I receive help from tutors and others.
Thanks.

Hey! 😊

Congrats on your offer, that’s already a big step, and it’s great that you’re thinking ahead about what to expect!

I’m not on the Accounting and Finance course myself, but I study at City St George’s, University of London and from what I’ve seen across different departments, the university spends a good part of first year making sure everyone is up to speed. This is especially helpful for students coming in with different qualifications like BTECs.

While you can expect some maths in the course like stats, financial maths, or data analysis it’s not assumed that everyone has done A-Level Maths. Since you’ve got a strong GCSE Maths grade and met the entry criteria, you should have the foundation you need.

That said, the content and style will vary slightly from course to course. To get a better idea, I’d recommend:

•

Checking out the module specifications on the course page

•

Looking at the special admissions info if you’re unsure about anything

•

Using Unibuddy to chat with current students on the course

•

And attending Open Days to speak with professors and hear first-hand what the teaching and support are like

City also has a lot of academic support available: workshops, office hours, and sometimes even drop-in maths help so there’s always someone to reach out to if you need it.

Hope that helps a bit! Feel free to drop any more questions if you’re unsure, happy to help 😊

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