Is further maths required for maths and economics courses at uni?
Ive just started year 12 and have the option to change subjects. Ive heard the horror stories abt fm so im unsure whether to chose it or not. Some people have said top unis (Oxbridge,LSE, etc) require u to take fm and that ivy leagues dont require it but take it into account. I dont know what to do. i want to get into investment banking in the future and so really want to take these courses. Help please!
Reply 1
For Maths courses, virtually every top university will either require it (as Durham did which I’m off to in a few weeks) or give a lower offer to people who do it. I’m not sure about the specifics but I know Oxbridge, Imperial and Durham definitely require it whereas I believe Warwick, Bath and I think UCL (?) give reduced offers to people who do Further Maths but still accept people who don’t do it. Warwick’s standard offer for no Further Maths and no admission tests would be 3 A*s whereas their standard offer for Further Maths and a good grade in an admission test (TMUA, STEP etc) would be A*AA.
For Economics I think less universities require it, but particularly top-level universities would prefer it if you did do Further Maths. They might give you a reduced offer or just generally feel more inclined to make you an offer but I can’t speak too much about this as I didn’t apply for Economics. I heard some universities, particularly LSE, are a bit funny about Further Maths being one of 3 A-Levels, so I would maybe recommend doing Further Maths as a 4th subject if you were thinking about LSE. I regret not doing 4 A-Levels myself as I felt like what I learnt in my 2 years felt really narrow and the workload was, for me personally, more than manageable.
Further Maths is obviously hard but it’s definitely not as hard as what people make it out to be. A lot of this might hinge on the optional modules that you do, for example if someone was doing Physics they would naturally find any Further Mechanics easier, and I was at a bit of an advantage in Decision because I did Computer Science. It is one of those subjects that is all about practice, it’s concept-heavy but you will get out of it exactly what you put in. Grade boundaries can also be very volatile so please try not to compare how you do to them but just strive for as close to full-marks as you can. Good luck!
For Economics I think less universities require it, but particularly top-level universities would prefer it if you did do Further Maths. They might give you a reduced offer or just generally feel more inclined to make you an offer but I can’t speak too much about this as I didn’t apply for Economics. I heard some universities, particularly LSE, are a bit funny about Further Maths being one of 3 A-Levels, so I would maybe recommend doing Further Maths as a 4th subject if you were thinking about LSE. I regret not doing 4 A-Levels myself as I felt like what I learnt in my 2 years felt really narrow and the workload was, for me personally, more than manageable.
Further Maths is obviously hard but it’s definitely not as hard as what people make it out to be. A lot of this might hinge on the optional modules that you do, for example if someone was doing Physics they would naturally find any Further Mechanics easier, and I was at a bit of an advantage in Decision because I did Computer Science. It is one of those subjects that is all about practice, it’s concept-heavy but you will get out of it exactly what you put in. Grade boundaries can also be very volatile so please try not to compare how you do to them but just strive for as close to full-marks as you can. Good luck!
Reply 2
a8383
OP
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Original post
by GeorgeR2810For Maths courses, virtually every top university will either require it (as Durham did which I’m off to in a few weeks) or give a lower offer to people who do it. I’m not sure about the specifics but I know Oxbridge, Imperial and Durham definitely require it whereas I believe Warwick, Bath and I think UCL (?) give reduced offers to people who do Further Maths but still accept people who don’t do it. Warwick’s standard offer for no Further Maths and no admission tests would be 3 A*s whereas their standard offer for Further Maths and a good grade in an admission test (TMUA, STEP etc) would be A*AA.
For Economics I think less universities require it, but particularly top-level universities would prefer it if you did do Further Maths. They might give you a reduced offer or just generally feel more inclined to make you an offer but I can’t speak too much about this as I didn’t apply for Economics. I heard some universities, particularly LSE, are a bit funny about Further Maths being one of 3 A-Levels, so I would maybe recommend doing Further Maths as a 4th subject if you were thinking about LSE. I regret not doing 4 A-Levels myself as I felt like what I learnt in my 2 years felt really narrow and the workload was, for me personally, more than manageable.
Further Maths is obviously hard but it’s definitely not as hard as what people make it out to be. A lot of this might hinge on the optional modules that you do, for example if someone was doing Physics they would naturally find any Further Mechanics easier, and I was at a bit of an advantage in Decision because I did Computer Science. It is one of those subjects that is all about practice, it’s concept-heavy but you will get out of it exactly what you put in. Grade boundaries can also be very volatile so please try not to compare how you do to them but just strive for as close to full-marks as you can. Good luck!
For Economics I think less universities require it, but particularly top-level universities would prefer it if you did do Further Maths. They might give you a reduced offer or just generally feel more inclined to make you an offer but I can’t speak too much about this as I didn’t apply for Economics. I heard some universities, particularly LSE, are a bit funny about Further Maths being one of 3 A-Levels, so I would maybe recommend doing Further Maths as a 4th subject if you were thinking about LSE. I regret not doing 4 A-Levels myself as I felt like what I learnt in my 2 years felt really narrow and the workload was, for me personally, more than manageable.
Further Maths is obviously hard but it’s definitely not as hard as what people make it out to be. A lot of this might hinge on the optional modules that you do, for example if someone was doing Physics they would naturally find any Further Mechanics easier, and I was at a bit of an advantage in Decision because I did Computer Science. It is one of those subjects that is all about practice, it’s concept-heavy but you will get out of it exactly what you put in. Grade boundaries can also be very volatile so please try not to compare how you do to them but just strive for as close to full-marks as you can. Good luck!
Thank you so much! This was really helpful, goodluck in durham
Original post
by a8383Ive just started year 12 and have the option to change subjects. Ive heard the horror stories abt fm so im unsure whether to chose it or not. Some people have said top unis (Oxbridge,LSE, etc) require u to take fm and that ivy leagues dont require it but take it into account. I dont know what to do. i want to get into investment banking in the future and so really want to take these courses. Help please!
Depends on the uni. Restricting ourselves to UK unis, it's worth noting neither Oxford nor Cambridge offer a joint honours course in mathematics and economics. So it's a moot point there. For maths at either they would likely expect it if your school offers it, for economics at Cambridge I believe historically those with FM were statistically more likely to be succesful in applying, but there may be various reasons for that. I don't believe there's any such correlation for land economy at Cambridge or for PPE or history and economics at Oxford; I am uncertain how E&M fares.
For LSE they indicate that do expect applicants to take FM if their school offers it for single honours economics and joint honours economics courses with quantitative subjects (such as maths), and expect your academic referee to explain if your school offers it or not.
Note that you don't need to study either maths or economics to become an investment banker - you can go into investment banking with a degree in music, anthropology, Egyptology, or chemistry just as well as either or both of maths/economics. Also bear in mind investment bankers don't really do any maths beyond even A-level, if that. So a maths degree is certainly overkill anyway. Unless you have a specific joy of mathematics and drive to continue it (which if you're considering not taking FM, I suspect is probably not the case) there's no real reason to target a maths degree (single or joint honours). Likewise for economics.
Reply 4
Original post
by a8383Ive just started year 12 and have the option to change subjects. Ive heard the horror stories abt fm so im unsure whether to chose it or not. Some people have said top unis (Oxbridge,LSE, etc) require u to take fm and that ivy leagues dont require it but take it into account. I dont know what to do. i want to get into investment banking in the future and so really want to take these courses. Help please!
If you want to do maths at uni, DO FM A LEVEL. Maths at uni is so much harder than a level maths. Its all theoretical and proofs
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