Should I swap physics for fm

Hello, I currently take Maths Physics and Computer Science. I hope to do either Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at Uni or a Data Science/Cs degree apprenticeship as I aspire to be a Machine Learning Engineer. I am wondering what would be better for me out of physics and FM, as I don't think taking 4 a levels would be a good idea for me. Also what would be regarded as 'easier'? got 9 in maths and FM GCSE so the entry requirements for a level FM aren't an issue for me.

Reply 1

Rufus The Red

The way you're saying it, I think changing to further maths might be better, but not necessarily appreciably so.
Further maths would be slightly better aligned with what you aim to do, though physics isn't a poor choice. I should think a better grade in physics would be better than a worse grade in FM (I think Oxford CS is very maths heavy so they might require FM, but most I believe don't).
If you have aptitude for and interest in mathematics already then it may be easier for you than physics. I found it easier than physics, but I enjoy maths a lot more and it's probably the other way around for most people. Physics has more of a memorisation element - not a lot - but a good memory for facts is useful there in a way that it isn't for FM.

TL;DR, they'll look pretty similar, do whichever one you think you'll prefer/feel more confident in.

Reply 2

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

Original post by tiomor

Hi @tiomor ,

I'm Joshua, and I'm in my 3rd year of CompSci at Southampton.

If you are looking at CompSci, Ai, and Data Science I would definitely recommend taking further maths! I didn't take it and I kind of wish I did, as there is a lot more maths in CompSci and Ai than I realised when I was picking my A levels. There's a lot of high level linear algebra, calculus, and more in those fields. In my first year we had a module to teach us the level of maths we needed, and my friends who did further maths said it was very similar to what they learnt in A level further maths, whereas I found it really tricky.

However, further maths isn't a hard requirement to actually study CS at uni, it just meant I had slightly more to learn than the others who took further maths. If you prefer physics as a subject, that is always the more important thing, so go with that.

Your enjoyment of the subject should always come first.

Hope this helps! Any other questions feel free to ask 😊

Joshua
3rd year CompSci rep