Mathematics or engineering?

Hey , I’m really lost in what degree I should pursue , I’m in year 12 and I currently study maths, physics, psychology and Italian. I’m aware I need further maths for a maths degree mostly but my school doesn’t offer it, I self studied AS fm but I’m not sure if my school will let me sit the exam. But the bigger problem is that I love maths, I love the proof, the thinking skills , algebra and pure, however, mechanical engineering seems amazing as well. If I was taking further maths then I wish,d have applied for maths , I want to know which degree is good based on my situation and I’m thinking of applying to Oxford , Bristol , Warwick and uob. I will be talking to my teacher about further maths tomorrow and if you are saying I’m maybe late , the point is that I did talk to my teacher at the start of the year as I was thinking of doing maths back then but he told me I wouldn’t be able as it’s really hard and my very first maths test was bad, but now that I’m done with mocks and got 90/100 which is good but not great maybe? Got full makes in all my tests or above 90% I’m confident I’ll be able to achieve an A at least if I self studied Further maths and sat the exam. And also the employment rate after engineering and maths is something I would like to know. Thanks

You could still apply for mathematics at university, as far as I’m aware no university formally requires further maths at A level as not all schools can offer it. Most top end unis just have a strong preference towards you taking it, since your school couldn’t offer it, it shouldn’t damage your application very much if at all especially considering you have taken time to self study some of the further maths content.

I saw on some websites saying if your school doesn’t offer further maths you can enroll in programmes , support programmes where they help with fm , allowing me to sit the exam ? If I want to apply to Oxford I will have to make my decision soon .

Hey , I’m really lost in what degree I should pursue , I’m in year 12 and I currently study maths, physics, psychology and Italian. I’m aware I need further maths for a maths degree mostly but my school doesn’t offer it, I self studied AS fm but I’m not sure if my school will let me sit the exam. But the bigger problem is that I love maths, I love the proof, the thinking skills , algebra and pure, however, mechanical engineering seems amazing as well. If I was taking further maths then I wish,d have applied for maths , I want to know which degree is good based on my situation and I’m thinking of applying to Oxford , Bristol , Warwick and uob. I will be talking to my teacher about further maths tomorrow and if you are saying I’m maybe late , the point is that I did talk to my teacher at the start of the year as I was thinking of doing maths back then but he told me I wouldn’t be able as it’s really hard and my very first maths test was bad, but now that I’m done with mocks and got 90/100 which is good but not great maybe? Got full makes in all my tests or above 90% I’m confident I’ll be able to achieve an A at least if I self studied Further maths and sat the exam. And also the employment rate after engineering and maths is something I would like to know. Thanks

Hey , I’m really lost in what degree I should pursue , I’m in year 12 and I currently study maths, physics, psychology and Italian. I’m aware I need further maths for a maths degree mostly but my school doesn’t offer it, I self studied AS fm but I’m not sure if my school will let me sit the exam. But the bigger problem is that I love maths, I love the proof, the thinking skills , algebra and pure, however, mechanical engineering seems amazing as well. If I was taking further maths then I wish,d have applied for maths , I want to know which degree is good based on my situation and I’m thinking of applying to Oxford , Bristol , Warwick and uob. I will be talking to my teacher about further maths tomorrow and if you are saying I’m maybe late , the point is that I did talk to my teacher at the start of the year as I was thinking of doing maths back then but he told me I wouldn’t be able as it’s really hard and my very first maths test was bad, but now that I’m done with mocks and got 90/100 which is good but not great maybe? Got full makes in all my tests or above 90% I’m confident I’ll be able to achieve an A at least if I self studied Further maths and sat the exam. And also the employment rate after engineering and maths is something I would like to know. Thanks

If you want to apply for Oxford maths, you need to start looking at past MAT papers now. Also have your school reference make clear FM was not available to you.

I suggest that you apply to study whichever subject you feel the most enthusiasm for.
Graduate employability at present is subject to many variables which have nothing to do with the subject that you study and the university where you study. Major shifts in the global economy, and developments in technology, are forcing many graduates into a form of educated proletarianism, undertaking poorly paid and unsatisfying work.
But either a maths degree or an engineering degree from Oxford is likely to make you a reasonably competitive candidate for a wide variety of jobs, whether related to maths and engineering or not. You have plenty of time to discover what sort of career you might wish to have, and need not commit to a particular path early on.
There are some who regard degrees in crude utilitarian terms, and some who incorrectly contend that only degrees which involve work experience are of value, but I suggest that you pay no heed to such Gradgrindian notions, which are based on misguided theories, or on second hand observations and rigid views based on a narrow dataset mistakenly viewed as representative.

Hello there,
As someone who is doing Motorsport (mechanical) engineering at Coventry University now I can tell you that if you don't manage to successfully apply to a maths based course at one of your chosen universities then may I recommend looking at Coventry for Maths or Engineering as both courses are industry leading and all taught by experts with real world experience. We also have slightly lower entry requirements than other Russell Group Universities so the Further Maths AS level may be less of an issue (if it proves to be one at all) and engineering offers years in industry (year long paid work experience) to help with career prospects.
https://www.coventry.ac.uk/course-structure/ug/eec/mathematics-bsc-hons/
https://www.coventry.ac.uk/course-structure/ug/eec/mechanical-engineering-mengbeng-hons/
Hope this helps and best of luck
Dan - Student Ambassador

Hey , I’m really lost in what degree I should pursue , I’m in year 12 and I currently study maths, physics, psychology and Italian. I’m aware I need further maths for a maths degree mostly but my school doesn’t offer it, I self studied AS fm but I’m not sure if my school will let me sit the exam. But the bigger problem is that I love maths, I love the proof, the thinking skills , algebra and pure, however, mechanical engineering seems amazing as well. If I was taking further maths then I wish,d have applied for maths , I want to know which degree is good based on my situation and I’m thinking of applying to Oxford , Bristol , Warwick and uob. I will be talking to my teacher about further maths tomorrow and if you are saying I’m maybe late , the point is that I did talk to my teacher at the start of the year as I was thinking of doing maths back then but he told me I wouldn’t be able as it’s really hard and my very first maths test was bad, but now that I’m done with mocks and got 90/100 which is good but not great maybe? Got full makes in all my tests or above 90% I’m confident I’ll be able to achieve an A at least if I self studied Further maths and sat the exam. And also the employment rate after engineering and maths is something I would like to know. Thanks

Hey , I’m really lost in what degree I should pursue , I’m in year 12 and I currently study maths, physics, psychology and Italian. I’m aware I need further maths for a maths degree mostly but my school doesn’t offer it, I self studied AS fm but I’m not sure if my school will let me sit the exam. But the bigger problem is that I love maths, I love the proof, the thinking skills , algebra and pure, however, mechanical engineering seems amazing as well. If I was taking further maths then I wish,d have applied for maths , I want to know which degree is good based on my situation and I’m thinking of applying to Oxford , Bristol , Warwick and uob. I will be talking to my teacher about further maths tomorrow and if you are saying I’m maybe late , the point is that I did talk to my teacher at the start of the year as I was thinking of doing maths back then but he told me I wouldn’t be able as it’s really hard and my very first maths test was bad, but now that I’m done with mocks and got 90/100 which is good but not great maybe? Got full makes in all my tests or above 90% I’m confident I’ll be able to achieve an A at least if I self studied Further maths and sat the exam. And also the employment rate after engineering and maths is something I would like to know. Thanks

I saw on some websites saying if your school doesn’t offer further maths you can enroll in programmes , support programmes where they help with fm , allowing me to sit the exam ? If I want to apply to Oxford I will have to make my decision soon .

Thank you , my head of maths did suggest me to apply to Coventry as well due to their wide range of expertise they have. I might then apply definitely.

I suggest that you apply to study whichever subject you feel the most enthusiasm for.
Graduate employability at present is subject to many variables which have nothing to do with the subject that you study and the university where you study. Major shifts in the global economy, and developments in technology, are forcing many graduates into a form of educated proletarianism, undertaking poorly paid and unsatisfying work.
But either a maths degree or an engineering degree from Oxford is likely to make you a reasonably competitive candidate for a wide variety of jobs, whether related to maths and engineering or not. You have plenty of time to discover what sort of career you might wish to have, and need not commit to a particular path early on.
There are some who regard degrees in crude utilitarian terms, and some who incorrectly contend that only degrees which involve work experience are of value, but I suggest that you pay no heed to such Gradgrindian notions, which are based on misguided theories, or on second hand observations and rigid views based on a narrow dataset mistakenly viewed as representative.

You could still apply for mathematics at university, as far as I’m aware no university formally requires further maths at A level as not all schools can offer it. Most top end unis just have a strong preference towards you taking it, since your school couldn’t offer it, it shouldn’t damage your application very much if at all especially considering you have taken time to self study some of the further maths content.

Every state school in England and Wales can offer Further Maths and you are at a major disadvantage if you have not studied it as some universities

Not true

Not true

Yes it is - in England tuition can be arranged via AMSP https://amsp.org.uk/teachers/a-level-further-mathematics/student-tuition/
In Wales an equivalent organisation organises it. https://www.rhgmc-mspw.cymru/
Your school isn't being truthful if it says otherwise. This offer has been available to state schools for over 20 years!

Did you read the first sentence on the link you sent