Maths at A-level

Deehjay said:
So what if the Uni's don't offer a years placement? What would I then have to do?
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You can just take a year out to do one by yourself, but I wouldn't get too hung up on the year out.

One thing I would be wary of though is with the subject you pick (comp sci is a good one) many offer no placement years because there are simply no jobs out there in that subject i.e. sports science. This can (but certianly not always) be a guide for which courses are going to get you graduate work and not others.
 
I found maths Alevel to be hard to understand but as soon as you realise why these 'things; work, it becomes easy.

My flatmate has completed a math degree (NTU-Nottingham Trent university) It seemed complex but not too bad, more theoretical.
 
OpenToSuggestions said:
You can just take a year out to do one by yourself, but I wouldn't get too hung up on the year out.

One thing I would be wary of though is with the subject you pick (comp sci is a good one) many offer no placement years because there are simply no jobs out there in that subject i.e. sports science. This can (but certianly not always) be a guide for which courses are going to get you graduate work and not others.
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So you're saying it'll be hard to get a job within that area? :(
 
I loved GCSE maths and did great at it, really enjoyed it so took it to A-level, and my brain completely melted. Some bits were ok, but the differential stuff and derivatives and so on, I tried but I just couldn't get my head around them at all.

Still, final year of Uni now, so things have turned out ok :D
 
iviv said:
I loved GCSE maths and did great at it, really enjoyed it so took it to A-level, and my brain completely melted. Some bits were ok, but the differential stuff and derivatives and so on, I tried but I just couldn't get my head around them at all.

Still, final year of Uni now, so things have turned out ok :D
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What are you studying? :)
 
I'm self studying Higher Maths right now. It's not so bad. Some things blow your mind at first but so far derivatives and integrations haven't been too bad (I hate quadratics though. ALWAYS mess up the signs).

Going for a CS/Maths too. Eep.

Although my plan is to do all the number work at uni, and then at my free time develop creative skills (drawing, which I do have some natural talent at, writing, music, etc. Then, after uni, I can hopefully decide which path I want to go. (aka do ALL THE THINGS)
 
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Celestial Nostos said:
I'm self studying Higher Maths right now. It's not so bad. Some things blow your mind at first but so far derivatives and integrations haven't been too bad (I hate quadratics though. ALWAYS mess up the signs).

Going for a CS/Maths too. Eep.

Although my plan is to do all the number work at uni, and then at my free time develop creative skills (drawing, which I do have some natural talent at, writing, music, etc. Then, after uni, I can hopefully decide which path I want to go. (aka do ALL THE THINGS)
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Good luck mate :p
 
I am hoping to get a higher grade at a-level than I did at gcse maths.. It's all about how much effort you put in and in gcse i really didn't put much in. Just learn from the book, do past exam questions, use youtube if you dont understand something and you will probably pass.
 
mufc802 said:
I am hoping to get a higher grade at a-level than I did at gcse maths.. It's all about how much effort you put in and in gcse i really didn't put much in. Just learn from the book, do past exam questions, use youtube if you dont understand something and you will probably pass.
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Pretty much this. Maths isn't so bad if you actually try.

Up until my 6th year I never bothered. Got over 90% in General at my SGs, failed the credit so ended up with a 3. Didn't bother with any maths in 5th year. Realised I'm making a terrible mistake, so I do Int 2 in 6th year and A it. Am now doing self study of it this year on a gap year to make up for lost time.

Good thing Maths is pretty easy to self study.
 
A-Level Maths is not hard.

C1 is really really really easy, all you do is simple calculus and a few other things.
C2 is also really easy, a bit hard, but still easy.
C3 is a bit more hard, but still not impossible.
C4 is the hardest out of them all, but not impossible to get good marks if you work hard.
 
Dark Light said:
A-Level Maths is not hard.

C1 is really really really easy, all you do is simple calculus and a few other things.
C2 is also really easy, a bit hard, but still easy.
C3 is a bit more hard, but still not impossible.
C4 is the hardest out of them all, but not impossible to get good marks if you work hard.
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You can't really say that. You might have found it easy, but the subject itself is definitely hard.
 
When I took my GCSE Maths in school, I was in the intermediate set and only gained Grade C :(

I then went to college, retook GCSE Maths and got Grade A :)

Went on to do A Level maths and AS Level Further maths

A Level Maths Grade A
AS Level Further Maths Grade B :cool:

I did study a Statistics module and tbh never liked it. To this day I still don't understand conditional probablity:p , yet my uncle is phd in statistics.

Imo to succeed at Maths, you need mainly passion for the subject and an enjoyment in solving equations. This is how it was for me when I first sat GCSE maths. At that time I had difficulty in understanding some of the concepts and this made me lose interest in the subject.

However in college I then started studying the subject from scratch with simple fractions, percentages etc. This then motivated me further in the subject and I think college environment helped me in this regard aswell as it was more mature and a nice change from school kiddy noisy place. Btw this was more than 10 years ago ;)
 
If you enjoy maths, you will find the A-level relatively easy.

If you don't really enjoy maths that much, you will find it requires a lot of work.


Luckily, I enjoy maths.


Also, as others have said, do the further maths A-level as well. Makes the standard A-level a lot easier, and is crucial for getting into a good Uni for Maths. Studying the STEP papers is also a very good idea.
 
I just remember how I was frustrated by the teachers not being able to answer certain questions that I asked. For instance, when we were told about Euler's identity (e^(i*theta) = cos(theta) + i.sin(theta)), I asked why it was true and the response from the teacher was, "Well, it's a definition isn't it?"
 
PermaBanned said:
You can't really say that. You might have found it easy, but the subject itself is definitely hard.
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When I did my AS retake, I found it very easy and only did a bit of revision the night before the exams, where as the first time round it felt impossible. It is definitely a subject that can just click.
 
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