do I need further maths A level for a mechanical engineering degree?

Hi! I’m starting sixth form this september and I’m going to take Maths, Physics, Chemistry and French. I’ll probably drop down to 3 A levels to reduce the workload and get rid of Chemistry just because I prefer French to it and you need Maths and Physics for engineering degrees.

I’m looking to do a Mechanical engineering degree at uni and some universities recommend taking Further Maths A level. However this is only Cambridge and Oxford amongst a few others. Due to blocking at my school I can’t take both French and Further Maths. I really love French and want to take it at A level, meaning it would be hard for me to give it up.

Basically, does it matter that much if I don’t take further maths? Will universities still consider applicants who haven’t studied it but who have a good personal statement? I would like to apply to Cambridge but if I apply without further maths I don’t know if they would even consider my application.

Any advice would be really appreciated, thank you!

Hi! I’m starting sixth form this september and I’m going to take Maths, Physics, Chemistry and French. I’ll probably drop down to 3 A levels to reduce the workload and get rid of Chemistry just because I prefer French to it and you need Maths and Physics for engineering degrees.
I’m looking to do a Mechanical engineering degree at uni and some universities recommend taking Further Maths A level. However this is only Cambridge and Oxford amongst a few others. Due to blocking at my school I can’t take both French and Further Maths. I really love French and want to take it at A level, meaning it would be hard for me to give it up.
Basically, does it matter that much if I don’t take further maths? Will universities still consider applicants who haven’t studied it but who have a good personal statement? I would like to apply to Cambridge but if I apply without further maths I don’t know if they would even consider my application.
Any advice would be really appreciated, thank you!

Hi! I’m starting sixth form this september and I’m going to take Maths, Physics, Chemistry and French. I’ll probably drop down to 3 A levels to reduce the workload and get rid of Chemistry just because I prefer French to it and you need Maths and Physics for engineering degrees.
I’m looking to do a Mechanical engineering degree at uni and some universities recommend taking Further Maths A level. However this is only Cambridge and Oxford amongst a few others. Due to blocking at my school I can’t take both French and Further Maths. I really love French and want to take it at A level, meaning it would be hard for me to give it up.
Basically, does it matter that much if I don’t take further maths? Will universities still consider applicants who haven’t studied it but who have a good personal statement? I would like to apply to Cambridge but if I apply without further maths I don’t know if they would even consider my application.
Any advice would be really appreciated, thank you!

The reality is most universities will happily consider you with maths & physics, there are a small number of universities that potentially might have it influence decisions (Cam, Imperial etc) probably useful for the entrance exams & things as well. You would have to check their admissions data to see how much it influences admissions.
I strongly recommend further maths for engineering as if you don’t learn the content now, you’ll just have to learn it at university at a much faster pace. Maths is the ultimately the language of physics & engineering is largely applied physics.

You don't learn anwhere near all FMaths in an Engineering degree - perhaps you haven't seen the new A level content since it went linear? You need a small subset of knowledge which will be taught if the uni don't require FMaths.

Universities don’t require it, however it is undoubtedly in the interest of students.
I’ve just reviewed AQA syllabus and the further maths content is all extremely good background for an engineering degree and a career in engineering & most of the content is undoubtedly essential to learn at some point, it’s just a case of when if you pursue mechanical engineering. Id say it is probably the best preparation possible.
Id actually say further maths A-level is better prep than A-level physics.

I completely disagree with you. Lots of FMaths is not in many Engineering degrees - perhaps in the ones you are famiiar with but not the vast majority.
I love teaching FMths but other subjects like product design do appeal to some students who are more into the design side of Engineering so would never push it onto people.

The OP is interested in mechanical engineering, product design is great but that is about technology integration rather then technology solutions and a different field (yes engineers & designers work closely but at different stages of technology readiness). I am not aware of any engineering degree that doesn’t require this knowledge, and id be very wary of any mechanical engineering degree that didn’t.
If OP wanted to undertake a product design degree I would agree further mathematics is not necessary at all.

Engineering involves designing at it’s very core so 3D product design is a very relevant A level. Lots of my students get into this area of Mech Eng as Design Engineers.

Perhaps in academia you don’t see the range of projects Engineers deal with – lots of one-off stuff these days.

Im afraid you don’t really understand mechanical engineering as well as you think you do. I’ve been fortunate to work in academia, consultancy & OEMs across the energy sector, aerospace, automotive & motorsports as well as sitting on the industry boards at the Institute of Mechanical engineers so feel my background places me well to comment.

I disagree - you know different parts of the job - design is a key part otherwise nothing new would ever be made. Why are there design modules [solidworks, etc] in degrees if its not relevant?

I wont be further taking this thread of course after this post.
But design is an important part of technology development cycles. It is an important part of taking solutions and forming them into a product. However it is different to developing a solution & the essence of mechanical engineering.
Mechanical engineers do need to understand design & manufacturing and inevitably product engineers will work closely with designers however it is really what “engineering” flows into from a product perspective, id note 3D CAD tools are just a tool and both engineers and designers use them, engineers use 3D modelling tools to develop geometry which is used in engineering, product designers also utilise the same tools as part of their work flow to take develop the solution into a manufacturable product.
Id also note design modules in a mechanical engineering degree is short hand for a larger set of learning objectives that include developing a manufacturable solution. Design modules in mechanical engineering cover technical ideation, understanding product objectives & requirements, using that to conduct initial analysis and concept selection followed by detailed concept development & forming the solution into a design and typically finish with a technical drawing & then summarising everything in a report (physical analysis, testing and prototyping is part of some universities design modules but not all) these projects are almost always group projects (largely the design bits are roughly 1/3 of the module & the module is roughly 15 credits out of 120). From a mechanical engineering perspective these modules are more about teaching the processes & understanding how R&D feeds into a product development cycle rather than detailed product design.
Ive never said design isn’t a thing- it’s exactly what designers do & why product design is a career… they work alongside engineers.