Econ degree without further maths

Thanks so much for replying!
We've actually finished all of A-Level Maths, but I’m struggling and falling behind in some Year 2 content, especially since our school goes at double speed to finish normal A-Level Maths in Year 12 and Further Maths in Year 13. And obviously, I'm a bit worried how I will do in further maths if I'm already falling behind in normal maths ygm. I often end up focusing too much on Maths and neglect my other subjects unless there's a test for them. That being said, I do want to have really good predicted grades, all A* if possible.
I am planning on revising for the TMUA early to get a good score, and maybe dropping Further Maths could give me more time to do so? I’m just a bit scared of how it might affect my application, though.

thanks so much for this, it’s honestly really reassuring to hear. i’ve been debating it for a while but yeah i think i’m gonna drop further maths and just really solidify my maths + tmua stuff over summer. appreciate the advice + the yt playlist too – will defo check that out
btw are you applying for econ too or already at uni? would be cool to know what subjects you took and how you’re finding it

I just wanted to get someone’s honest opinion about dropping further maths. I currently take Chemistry, Further Maths, Maths, and Economics at A-level and I’m on target for A*-A grades. I achieved eleven 9s at GCSE and have completed multiple work experiences and extracurriculars related to Economics. I’m also a senior prefect and an Economics subject prefect at school.
I’ve been considering dropping Further Maths as the workload is becoming quite overwhelming — especially since my school only offers it as a fourth subject and we only start doing the course in year 13. I’m worried that dropping it might put me at a disadvantage when applying to universities like Warwick and UCL for Economics, even though I’ve heard from several institutions (including Warwick, UCL, Bath, Bristol, Manchester, and KCL) that Further Maths isn’t required.
Given everything I’ve mentioned, do you think I’d still have a strong chance at getting into these unis without Further Maths? I’m not planning on applying to Oxbridge or LSE.
Also, if anyone is already studying Economics at Warwick or UCL, I’d love to know what subjects you took, whether you did Further Maths, and what kind of stats you applied with. It would really help me to get a sense of what worked for others!
Thanks

I just wanted to get someone’s honest opinion about dropping further maths. I currently take Chemistry, Further Maths, Maths, and Economics at A-level and I’m on target for A*-A grades. I achieved eleven 9s at GCSE and have completed multiple work experiences and extracurriculars related to Economics. I’m also a senior prefect and an Economics subject prefect at school.

I’ve been considering dropping Further Maths as the workload is becoming quite overwhelming — especially since my school only offers it as a fourth subject and we only start doing the course in year 13. I’m worried that dropping it might put me at a disadvantage when applying to universities like Warwick and UCL for Economics, even though I’ve heard from several institutions (including Warwick, UCL, Bath, Bristol, Manchester, and KCL) that Further Maths isn’t required.

Given everything I’ve mentioned, do you think I’d still have a strong chance at getting into these unis without Further Maths? I’m not planning on applying to Oxbridge or LSE.

Also, if anyone is already studying Economics at Warwick or UCL, I’d love to know what subjects you took, whether you did Further Maths, and what kind of stats you applied with. It would really help me to get a sense of what worked for others!

Thanks

i'm in year 13 rn (applied for econ this UCAS cycle). i do the exact same subjects as you rn. i hated chemistry in the beginning but now i've acc come to like it. i've realised that things aren't as hard as they seem - i thought further maths would be crazy hard but it isn't that bad. the worst part about it is actually the grade boundaries icl, the actual content seems fine once you go over it enough since it feels like questions repeat a lot.
try and get a draft of your personal statement done before summer holiday. put in all the things you've done towards econ and if you have LinkedIn i'd find people that study at UCL and Warwick and ask them if they wanna review your personal statement. if you wanna show me im willing to read too. i think UCL would care about it but Warwick not so much.
i applied to Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Bristol, Bath. got rejected from Cambridge, waiting on LSE and have offers from the other 3. i think what got me the UCL offer mainly was my grades, so i believe personal statement seems to matter more to them when your grades aren't as good (i could be very wrong about this though). since you plan on applying to UCL and Warwick i'd also recommend Bath.
feel free to ask anything else

i was in this situation last year, i was really struggling to keep up with maths in year 12 coz of some personal stuff but our school did the whole of a level in year 12 and whole of fm in year 13, but i managed to get predicted a*a*a*a with an a in further maths. i applied to lse warwick ucl st andrews and manchester, and even though i did okay in my tmua, i still didnt get an lse offer, and now its the end of year 13 and im ropping further maths 3 weeks before my exams because it got too much. ive still got offers from the other 4 tho, so my point is dont take further maths just for a uni, take further maths if you have a genuine interest an you genuienly think u can keep up. there's such a marginal difference between unis like oxbridge and lse compared to ucl and warwick (many of my friends got econ offers without further maths at these two unis) and after youve done an internship or two, which wont be too hard to get at a uni like ucl or warwick, it really comes down to you and not what uni u go to.

i'm in year 13 rn (applied for econ this UCAS cycle). i do the exact same subjects as you (kept fm). i hated chemistry in the beginning but now i've acc come to like it. i've realised that things aren't as hard as they seem - i thought further maths would be crazy hard but it isn't that bad. the worst part about it is actually the grade boundaries icl, the actual content seems fine once you go over it enough since it feels like questions repeat a lot.
try and get a draft of your personal statement done before summer holiday. put in all the things you've done towards econ and if you have LinkedIn i'd find people that study at UCL and Warwick and ask them if they wanna review your personal statement. if you wanna show me im willing to read too. i think UCL would care about it but Warwick not so much.
i applied to Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Bristol, Bath. got rejected from Cambridge, waiting on LSE and have offers from the other 3. i think what got me the UCL offer mainly was my grades, so i believe personal statement seems to matter more to them when your grades aren't as good (i could be very wrong about this though). since you plan on applying to UCL and Warwick i'd also recommend Bath.
feel free to ask anything else

Warwick do state that FM isn't necessary or advantageous in applications on their website (or at least, used to), although their course is very mathematical so I can't say to what extent that plays out in the reality of the successful applicant statistics.
UCL doesn't state anything I can see although their course is also pretty mathematical so my instinct is it may be better to have it than not, but there's no obvious barrier unlike with e.g. LSE (which specifically states they expect it) or Cambridge (where as I recall the success rates are skewed towards FM applicants).
Note Oxford for PPE and History & Economics they certainly don't have any special preference for A-level FM and historically those with FM haven't been any more successful than those without statistically. I don't know how much it may be preferred for E&M at Oxford (and haven't looked at any FOIA requests to gauge this although I suspect there are many with ample data you can sift through at your leisure) although I think on the whole they aren't quite as mathematical there as at LSE or Cambridge anyway...?
The real potential barrier here is if you drop FM now, as you state they don't start that until year 13, presumably that means you will take A-level Maths this summer, then your 2 other A-level subject exams in year 13. Which means at no point are you taking a full set 3 A-level exams in a single exam sitting, which is a problem for some universities and may make you less competitive (or completely non-competitive).
I would be very careful about making this choice and confirm if this would affect your application to any of those unis now - if it is not unambiguously stated on their webpages they will accept A-levels taken in multiple sittings in that manner I would strongly recommend you contact their admissions teams to enquire before you make any decisions about this.

what was ur tmua

Thanks for the detailed reply, it’s really helpful! Just to clarify — at my school, even though we finish the A-Level Maths content in Year 12 and FM in Year 13, we actually sit all of our A-Level exams together in May/June 2026, so it would still be a full set of three(or 4 if I keep fm) A-levels in one sitting. Hopefully that clears up that concern! Appreciate you pointing it out though

Thanks for the detailed reply, it’s really helpful! Just to clarify — at my school, even though we finish the A-Level Maths content in Year 12 and FM in Year 13, we actually sit all of our A-Level exams together in May/June 2026, so it would still be a full set of three(or 4 if I keep fm) A-levels in one sitting. Hopefully that clears up that concern! Appreciate you pointing it out though

omg im shocked u havent got an offer especially considering how hard it was this year, it'll defo come in the next few days, mine was a 4.2 so defo cooked but eh we move