Worth doing A-level maths?

4

I'm doing chem, economics and geography. Thinking of doing chemistry and management/ finance and accounting/ economics at university but I don't really know for sure.
I never enjoyed maths and got a grade 7 for GCSE, just worried if I take it up I will struggle a lot.
Please leave you opinions

Reply 1

RandomOneOhOne

15

Look at the uni course you are interested in, is maths a requirement? It would definitely be extremely useful for all the courses you mentioned and may even be necessary depending on the specific university and the course content.

Reply 2

Iqster

11

Hey, I took completed a-levels maths, chemistry, and geography this year (going to study chemistry at uni)

I would say that maths a-level is useful to essential for the uni courses you’re considering (especially economics and chemistry since you dont take a second science subject). But if you didn’t enjoy the subject at gcse, maybe watch a few a-level maths videos and take a look at the spec to see what you think? A grade 7 at gcse is definitely good enough to take the subject at A-Level but you may struggle at first since you’d be starting late
Maybe you could pick up a-level maths as a 4th subject for some time?

Reply 3

speeding-zation

OP

4

Definitely a russel group no matter what I do.
I’m just curious as to how much I would struggle as I only got a 7

Reply 4

speeding-zation

OP

4

Original post

by Iqster

Hey, I took completed a-levels maths, chemistry, and geography this year (going to study chemistry at uni)
I would say that maths a-level is useful to essential for the uni courses you’re considering (especially economics and chemistry since you dont take a second science subject). But if you didn’t enjoy the subject at gcse, maybe watch a few a-level maths videos and take a look at the spec to see what you think? A grade 7 at gcse is definitely good enough to take the subject at A-Level but you may struggle at first since you’d be starting late
Maybe you could pick up a-level maths as a 4th subject for some time?

Hi thanks for replying. I’m not too keen on taking 4 as I’d have much more limited free time to study. I just want to make sure an A or A* is achievable from a grade 7, as that is wha most top unis are asking for.

Reply 5

Iqster

11

Original post

by speeding-zation

Hi thanks for replying. I’m not too keen on taking 4 as I’d have much more limited free time to study. I just want to make sure an A or A* is achievable from a grade 7, as that is wha most top unis are asking for.

Hey, a lot of people in my school achieved a 7 at GCSE and an A at A-Level for Maths, but you will need to work hard. Year 1 maths starts of at around grade 8/9 gcse difficulty (like the questions at the end of gcse papers) and Year 2 gets harder and you may struggle at first since you’re a bit behind but there’s loads of free resources online for maths so it’s definitely self-teachable coming from a grade 7 at GCSE and having a good teacher and/or tutor would make an A/A* more than possible

Reply 6

Camer0nR

11

A couple top unis need maths for chem and the same for finance, so it would be useful and worth considering. In terms of whether an A or A* is achievable, it's really hard to know until you start and do it a while. Some people take to the A level better than others despite not doing as well at GCSE, and there is a lot to be said for the power of hard work, but if you got a 7 chances are you will find getting a top grade slightly harder. The other thing is some unis have lower offers for more science subjects eg Bath for chem is AAA with chem, AAB for chem and a science and ABB for chem and 2 sciences, so even if you ended up with a B in maths you'd be fine for some unis. If you don't want to do 4 for the whole 2 years you could do the AS and drop it and that would give you a grade for your application to showcase mathematical ability. Have you spoken to teachers?

Reply 7

Camer0nR

11

Original post

by Camer0nR

A couple top unis need maths for chem and the same for finance, so it would be useful and worth considering. In terms of whether an A or A* is achievable, it's really hard to know until you start and do it a while. Some people take to the A level better than others despite not doing as well at GCSE, and there is a lot to be said for the power of hard work, but if you got a 7 chances are you will find getting a top grade slightly harder. The other thing is some unis have lower offers for more science subjects eg Bath for chem is AAA with chem, AAB for chem and a science and ABB for chem and 2 sciences, so even if you ended up with a B in maths you'd be fine for some unis. If you don't want to do 4 for the whole 2 years you could do the AS and drop it and that would give you a grade for your application to showcase mathematical ability. Have you spoken to teachers?

If you want an idea of the statistics of grade progression from GCSE to A level you can look those up, but bear in mind those don't limit what you can get or mean you'll definitely get higher than a certain grade.

Reply 8

mycalsuite

11

Original post

by speeding-zation

I'm doing chem, economics and geography. Thinking of doing chemistry and management/ finance and accounting/ economics at university but I don't really know for sure.
I never enjoyed maths and got a grade 7 for GCSE, just worried if I take it up I will struggle a lot.
Please leave you opinions

It's worthwhile to find out how much maths is required for the courses you are thinking about taking if you lack confidence in the subject. Degrees in management typically involve less maths than those in economics and finance. You could succeed if you're willing to practice, given your strong GCSE grade, but consider whether you'd enjoy math before committing.

Reply 9

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

20

Original post

by speeding-zation

I'm doing chem, economics and geography. Thinking of doing chemistry and management/ finance and accounting/ economics at university but I don't really know for sure.
I never enjoyed maths and got a grade 7 for GCSE, just worried if I take it up I will struggle a lot.
Please leave you opinions

At lot of unis will ask for maths a level for chem or economics degrees. This is because you need the mathematical knowledge and aptitude which are part of a level maths in order to access the content of that degree. It’s fine to dislike maths or not be strong at it but you need to consider whether these degrees are suited to you if this is the case.

Reply 10

speeding-zation

OP

4

I swapped to Maths guys! Already struggling but i am putting that down to being a month behind everyone else.

Worth doing A-level maths?

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