Engineering Degree - A-Level Maths

mufc802

mufc802

mufc802

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I am seriously considering doing an A-Level maths to go alongside my BTEC National Diploma in Engineering (Level 3). However I will only have one year to do the A-Level which is meant to last two years. Will it be possible for me to do this since I only do my BTEC three days a week?

I made a list of universities which do engineering and some of some require A-Level maths along with the BTEC while others just require the BTEC. I was wondering whether it's worth taking the A-Level or if the maths on my BTEC is sufficient. Some of the universities which require the A-Level are Warwick, Edinbrough, Southampton, Bristol, Sheffield and Strathclyde. There are many universities which don't require it such as Lancaster, Bath, Loughbrough, Leicester, Birmingham and Newcastle. All these universities are top 30 and do the course I want so is it worth taking A-Level maths or not?

I found a college which does it but I will need to ask if I can combine two years into one and if I could do the A-Level just one full day a week rather than an hour each day. If this isn't possible can you take night classes anywhere for A-Level maths? I would rather not have to self teach myself since I might get stuck so what should I do?
 
If you follow a path in engineering then maths is the most useful thing you can learn. You can cover A-Level maths in one year if you put the time in and practice daily. Especially since you only do 3 days a week atm.
I find it extremely helpful to search for online video lectures for any topic I'm not sure about. Youtube is the most obvious and easiest resource for this; there's lectures and tutorials available for pretty much any aspect of maths. Further searching on Google will find you even more.

Also I'd highly recommend this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engineering-Mathematics-K-Stroud/dp/1403942463

By far the most useful text book I've used. It covers everything from GCSE to degree-level maths, and is written in an easy to understand format with problems at the end of each section. Worth every penny. In fact I insist you buy it!

In summary, I say go for the A-level! Hard work now gives better results later :D
 
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I'm currently at loughborough doing engineering. I personally went the traditional route of A levels. Regarding A-level maths, whether or not you need it to get in, I think you may find it very useful, so if I were you I would do it. It will definately be of benefit to you.

What maths have you done in your BTEC? Integration, Differentiation, complex numbers etc etc????

Finally, Loughborough is pretty awesome!
 
Studying aero engineering at loughborough, doing A level maths will make your life easier when you get to uni,
 
I did' Fast Track' Maths in my first year of sixth form (the full A-level in a single year) then an AS in Further Mathematics the following year.

Its not really a question of whether its possible or not, its whether its doable, ie, if you think you're up to it and whether you think you have the time to do it. It would be well worth the trouble doing the A-level when it comes to applying for uni and actually studying at it but if you think you might not be able to cope with it you could just play it safe and do the AS which at least demonstrates ability.
 
Maths, even in basic A levels such as Electronics maths helps hugely. They should actually shift the requirements for Physics to require you to do A level maths, there is not one good student who does not do maths.
 
joemo13 said:
I'm currently doing A-Level Maths and Physics in a year. I did IB before and didn't do too well, I'm very bored as I find A-Levels easy. Maths is approximately 9-10 hours a week teaching for me but will depend on your timetable. Hopefully Ill be off to study automotive engineering at Loughborough in September.
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If you find a levels easy you should be aiming higher than Loughborough.
It's all down to what you want to do but if I was doing really well at A levels, I would consider something higher than Loughborough even though it is fairly good.
 
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Repta said:
Studying aero engineering at loughborough
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Me too, small world.

mufc802 said:
Algebraic methods, trigonometric methods and formulae, statistical methods & elementary calculus for the first year, not sure about next year.
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Find out next years topics and then look at the content from an A level maths course (think you can get this from any of the exam boards web sites such as OCR). A level maths usually consists of 4 core modules (C1 to C4) and 2 others where these can be mechanics (M1, M2), statistics (S1, S2) or decision (D1, D2) maths. It doesn't really matter which to be perfectly honest.

What sort of enginerring do you want to do? Civil, Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical?

chaosdestro0 said:
If you find a levels easy you should be aiming higher than Loughborough.
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Oooo get you!
 
No wonder there are no jobs, there are that many people in this thread alone studying aero engineering ><

Got my 2:1 from Sheffield last year :D
 
Evilsod said:
No wonder there are no jobs, there are that many people in this thread alone studying aero engineering ><

Got my 2:1 from Sheffield last year :D
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I graduated from Sheffield too, except that I did chemical engineering. The CFD code I'm developing now is an aero-code though! Stealing your job :p
 
Dave said:
I graduated from Sheffield too, except that I did chemical engineering. The CFD code I'm developing now is an aero-code though! Stealing your job :p
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You can take your CFD code and.... continue working on it. Just keep it the hell away from me :eek::cool:
 
C1/P1 or whatever they call it is extremely easy, C2/P2 is also pretty easy.

C3/P3 and C4/P4 is where it gets a bit tricky.

I'm doing all those modules in the summer.
 
lukext said:
Me too, small world.
Find out next years topics and then look at the content from an A level maths course (think you can get this from any of the exam boards web sites such as OCR). A level maths usually consists of 4 core modules (C1 to C4) and 2 others where these can be mechanics (M1, M2), statistics (S1, S2) or decision (D1, D2) maths. It doesn't really matter which to be perfectly honest.

What sort of enginerring do you want to do? Civil, Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical?
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Either Computer System or Electrical/Electronic but haven't decided. Are there night classes or anything if the college wont let me study the A-Level on just one day a week?
 
I can't speak to whether you'll be able to do the A-level in a year, but from the point of view of an Engineering degree / career, A-level maths would be very useful. In Engineering, maths is a powerful language that allows you to understand complex concepts in an elegant way. A lot of students struggle with their course because they have trouble with the maths, or are afraid of using it because they lack confidence. So, I would advise taking the course. Even if you don't end up seeing it through, you will have learned things that will be of great use to you in your degree.

For what it's worth, I work in a mechanical engineering department (post-doc), but did a first degree in maths.
 
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