University Advice Needed

Scythian

Scythian

Scythian

Associate
Joined
5 May 2011
Posts
705
Right, in a slight dilemma about what to do next in regards to university :(

Bit of a background:

Currently I've just started my 2nd year at college studying a BTEC (:()Level 3 Extended Diploma in Software Development. At the time this was because I was unsure about which A-levels to pick as only A-level computing interested me the most, as well as the fact that up until that point IT was my preferrered subject, and it seemed like the most technical thing they had (aside from A-levels of course) so I went with the BTEC. Over the past 6 weeks or so i've been looking at which universities to attend once I finish college and also which degree to aim for.

At first I was leaning over to studying Computer Science / Software Engineering or maybe Electrical Engineering. Though more recently i've been considering engineering over those subjects as from what I'm aware of careers involving those (with the exception of maybe electrical engineering) seemed like purely office work kind of jobs. So I was thinking of trying to study a General Engineering degree at Bristol (with hopes of doing a placement year then going onto a Masters as recommended on these forums) to keep doors open once I come out of university (maybe go into nuclear or civil after).

The problem is it seems like my current course is going to hold me back despite how good the grades are :(

I've e-mailed the admissions tutor at Bristol regarding their engineering (and computer science) degrees and I'd also need an A in A-level maths. Being in my second year taking this would be a problem, if I acted fast enough then I might be able to take it at AS this year at the cost of the extra workload but that doesnt seem like it will be enough either to get me into university. So i'm quite unsure what to do next.

I did think about considering a foundation year at university, but the thought of spending another year at university (on top of the 5 needed for the general engineering masters at bristol) doesnt appeal to me me as it seems a bit much. Then there is always the option of trying to find a starting role at an engineering related company and work my way up that way, but then it seems like I'd lose the ability to do well at 'changing industries' (say from transport engineering to civil to electrical etc) which is something I'd say is important.

Any thoughts GD? :(
 
I'm guessing that the requirement for A at A Level maths is to make sure that you can cope with the material on the degree. You could try asking if there are any other ways to prove your maths skills to your potential unis?

IMO BTECs are more suited to people looking to go straight into work rather than people going to university. Some of the people who were on my course managed to get places at university, so don't give up!

Also INB4 BTEC bashing.
 
Engineering involves a lot of maths, so having a good standard on entry is important. Plus, if a university wants its degrees to be accredited (so that you can become Chartered after you've finished), then there are certain minimum entry standards that they must adhere to.
 
Do the full maths A level in one year? Difficult but definitely possible.
The thing that may hold you back is that you won't have an AS grade if you are applying this year. Which could prove pretty problematic.
 
You certainly need a maths A level to get a decent engineering degree. Preferably A level further maths.

I think that A level maths is also a requirement for decent CS degrees too.
 
ticklemebougy said:
I'm guessing that the requirement for A at A Level maths is to make sure that you can cope with the material on the degree. You could try asking if there are any other ways to prove your maths skills to your potential unis?

IMO BTECs are more suited to people looking to go straight into work rather than people going to university. Some of the people who were on my course managed to get places at university, so don't give up!

Also INB4 BTEC bashing.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately for myself I didnt quite realise this at the time and thought either route would be suitable to get into university.

As for studying Maths i'm not against the idea, i'm just more concerned about how i'm going to be able to cram it all in (with maybe a part-time job) and still be able to focus on getting very good grades.
 
E-mail/speak to a few heads of department types, explain your situation and ask if something like a lvl 1 maths course at the OU would be sufficient to let you get onto a course you want.

If they said yes they you would need to ring up the OU and beg to get on a course as the deadline for enrollment was yesterday(but can't imagine its THAT important a rule).

It should do multiple things, indicate how serious you are, show(if you passed) that you can work hard, dedicate yourself, and you know, get what is basically a maths a-level equivilent... kinda.
 
ticklemebougy said:
I'm guessing that the requirement for A at A Level maths is to make sure that you can cope with the material on the degree. You could try asking if there are any other ways to prove your maths skills to your potential unis?

IMO BTECs are more suited to people looking to go straight into work rather than people going to university. Some of the people who were on my course managed to get places at university, so don't give up!

Also INB4 BTEC bashing.
Click to expand...

They say that but i have never seen an employer ask for a btec. About the only thing they are good for is moving onto HE, providing you also have maths a-level along with it. Places like Oxford or Cambridge will accept you if you also have the maths a-level. This is from someone with a btec, I tried to get a decent job with it and nope. I had to do a degree to get a professional/middle class job.

I have always thought the idea of lower standards on vocational qualifications is a bit odd. If your doing engineering, then you can't avoid the need for maths skills... No amount vocational education can get around that.

There have been people on my course(cs) at a pretty good university that have a btec in software + as level maths that have gotten in. It's cs though not engineering.
 
Last edited:
I always considered GNVQ's about as useless. I had no real issue getting on the course I wanted at uni though.

If the A-level is a requirement either accept you may need to do foundation year (some bright folks without the right bits of paper end up going this route, had a friend went foundation all the way through to doctorate without a break, it happens) or bust ass with the A-level.
 
If you were to look at it as two options (1. foundation year or 2. cram AS and A2 maths), I would suggest you go the foundation route.

When I messed up my AS levels, I ended up cramming an AS and A2 subject into a single year. It wasn't exactly a walk in the park, but it wasn't horrendously difficult because of the subject I was doing (3D Product Design & Manufacture). Unless you had a real passion for maths and were naturally strong at it, I would expect you to struggle to keep up and understand all the principles - from my experience you really needed to pass the AS exam in order to progress on to the A2 topics - they flowed.

As much as you may not like the idea of having to do an "extra" year at university, if you're sure this is the degree path you wish to take then you shouldn't have an issue with it - you want to get there and this is the best way to do it.

As other people have said, see if you can get in contact with heads of departments and get their input, as ultimately they are the people that know best.

All the best with whatever you do decide though!
 
UK-AL05 said:
They say that but i have never seen an employer ask for a btec.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've only seen one job advert that has even mentioned BTECs. For me it meant in interviews I often had to explain my BTEC, how it was graded and the units undertaken. Which I wouldn't say is a bad thing as it made it easier to relate my experience to the required skills for the job.

For me it was a choice between a BTEC in IT or an IT A-level which would be mostly Microsoft Office and 3 other A-levels subjects I had no interest in.

Diagro said:
A btec is useless.
I had to do a gcse maths and a year zero course at uni to do my degree... Fk u B Tec
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you did a level 2 course as to even get onto a level 3 course (A-Level equivalent) you need to have both GCSE maths and English at grade C.
 
Last edited:
Do be aware that you can't just "change" disciplines of Engineering - if for example you study Mechanical Engineering, then you can't decide to do Electrical Engineering - while the basic modules are the same/similar, the specific modules for each type of Engineering are vastly different.

You need to decide which discipline of Engineering you're interested in pursuing, then go from there. Perhaps a Foundation year at Uni may be a good idea - it'll give you experience in the different fields and allow you to make an informed decision.
 
I'm not able to comment in the engineering side of things but with just to regards the BTEC bashing, they ate useful but it highly depends on what sector or industry you go into.

I'm in Design/Arts and a BTEC is far better than A Levels in this sector, it leads you to a far better university at a better standard usually. Most people whom do A Levels in this sector also have to go and do a Foundation year to have work of a good enough standard to be accepted into the better Universities.

But as I said I couldn't comment on how it'll do for engineering, I can imagine not so great though :(
 
I'm not particularly against the idea of doing a foundation year, but if I went on to aim for a masters degree with a year in a placement (which I've heard is very important for engineering graduates) then i'd be looking at 6 years at university, which seems a bit much :(

When I mentioned changing I wasnt on about immediately changing discplines, I was more so on about later on in my life when I wanted to try and change industries I hoped that taking a general engineering degree would make it 'easier' to try and get into a different industry, my apologies if I came across a bit confusing.

As for my own mathematical ability, I can't comment really on 'how' good I would be at it. Back when I took it at GCSE I got a C, but at the time did not decide to retake and used the extra time to push my other grades higher. But when I was studying it at GCSE (considering I had a teacher who I got on with well) I seemed to do well, had little difficulty picking stuff up and was happy to revise. Difference being that A-level maths is vastly different. I'm confident I could achieve an A in A-level maths (maybe with some encouragement and a good tutor) but i'm unsure if I could fit it in one year.

Certainly a lot of uncertaincy.

I'll have to ring on Monday and see if it would be possible to take AS-level maths then see if I could take some extra modules for maths at university, if this would be a possibility?
 
Scythian said:
I'm not particularly against the idea of doing a foundation year, but if I went on to aim for a masters degree with a year in a placement (which I've heard is very important for engineering graduates) then i'd be looking at 6 years at university, which seems a bit much :(

When I mentioned changing I wasnt on about immediately changing discplines, I was more so on about later on in my life when I wanted to try and change industries I hoped that taking a general engineering degree would make it 'easier' to try and get into a different industry, my apologies if I came across a bit confusing.

As for my own mathematical ability, I can't comment really on 'how' good I would be at it. Back when I took it at GCSE I got a C, but at the time did not decide to retake and used the extra time to push my other grades higher. But when I was studying it at GCSE (considering I had a teacher who I got on with well) I seemed to do well, had little difficulty picking stuff up and was happy to revise. Difference being that A-level maths is vastly different. I'm confident I could achieve an A in A-level maths (maybe with some encouragement and a good tutor) but i'm unsure if I could fit it in one year.

Certainly a lot of uncertaincy.

I'll have to ring on Monday and see if it would be possible to take AS-level maths then see if I could take some extra modules for maths at university, if this would be a possibility?
Click to expand...

Honestly, if you're going to get through an Engineering degree, you will be able to do full A-Level maths in one year. I say this because a lot of people going onto Engineering will have done maths and further maths at A-Level - and a lot of colleges do A-Level maths in the first college year, and further in the second. The mathematics involved in an engineering degree will make A-Level maths look like a personality questionnaire.
 
I am currently doing a CS degree at a decent university but it did take me a little while to find one which was lenient with the A level maths requirement - while I wasn't awful at algebra/equation stuff in school we were forced to do a mechanics module (which I was terrible at and it ended up pulling my final grade down to a D), so I thought going for a course which didn't require maths was probably better than not going to uni at all.

I'm sure if you email the universities about a CS course with what computing related study you are doing they will be more lenient. Quite a few of the universities I contacted actually said they didn't mention A level computing in place of maths simply because it is so rare in sixth forms nowadays.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom