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Durham NatSci Maths Exam

Students who don't have AS or A-level Further Maths can apply for Maths in Durham NatSci as long as they get an A* in standard Maths and take an exam when they get there.

I didn't take AS or A-level FM due to personal events and what my school offered, but got a strong A* (279 raw score) in Maths, have already self-studied most of the FM A-level, am going to Durham and am now more passionate about Maths than Chemistry, I want to take that exam to switch from Biology and Chemistry to Biology and Maths.

Issue is, I can find basically zero information about it online. James Blowey told me that hyperbolic functions can be on it, which makes me think AS and A2 topics are on it, and I imagine there'll definitely be pure, likely optional bits for stats/mechanics and unlikely there'll be any decision.

The current plan is to finish self-studying FM (Edexcel core 1&2, stats 1&2 [i'm intending on mainly doing stats in the maths in my degree]), do past A-level FM, STEP and TMUA papers and also start going through a couple uni-level books I have for fun (most likely first ones would be How to Prove It: A Structured Approach [velleman] and the first few chapters of Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos - With Applications to Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Engineering [strogatz]).

Given in I'm going virtually blind, I'm trying to go as wide and thorough as I can. If you could provide more concrete information about what to expect or advice on my plan I'd be very greatful! If you want more info, just ask.

See ya

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 1

AimfulWanderer

Okay so I've since received info from Durham, and am leaving this here in case a future student in my situation stumbles across this.

Near the start of September, the Maths department will release a workbook detailing various subjects. These will cover the topics in the test taken near the end of the month. There are 20 multiple choice questions, all must be answered and they are in the style of the workbook. The AMSP Transition to University course is considered good material to cover as it is available before the workbook is.

If they did sufficiently well on the diagnostic test, the person then goes through an informal interview to determine if they can then join. If they can, select modules that the student previously chose are changed to represent this.