What A-levels should I do?
- Thread starter mufcmark
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Just so you know, Further Maths isn't needed for practically any Engineering course. The first year of Uni Maths modules are even easier than Further Maths. Yes, doing it will make life easier, but that's not necessarily a good thing... you will get bored. I'd keep something like history in the mix instead of Further Maths.
I did business studies instead of Further Maths and although people will say it's stupid.. stuff like that is nice to have as a break from the hardcore stuff. And it's still worthwhile.
I did business studies instead of Further Maths and although people will say it's stupid.. stuff like that is nice to have as a break from the hardcore stuff. And it's still worthwhile.
I have noticed that in my school -it seems that anyone who does science/maths A levels and gets good marks wants to do medicine/dentistry (one or two maths/nat. sci./Law as well). I think it seems like a bit of a waste tbh, and their aptitude would be put to better use doing engineering but that's just me. (I'm going to do an engineering degree).
But as for choosing a field, you don't actually have to chose to start with - I decided that without actually doing a specific engineering degree I would find it very difficult to accurately predict which branch would suit me best, So I decided to apply for 3 general engineering courses (and 2 civil ones). I think a general 1st and 2nd year (before specialised 3rd/4th year) will be really useful, so I'm glad that I'm going to do a general course.
I think a little break can be useful - I do D&T, and it is fun to have lesson time to just mess around with lathes and acetylene and stuff, it just helps break up the maths/science and keep some excitement in the day. However, I do further maths as well, and even if many courses (not all) will not require it, I think it will make the maths at uni more straightforward. (I have a mate who is in 2nd year on engineering degree, and he's said he thinks people who didn't do further maths are at a disadvantage and found it all harder (he didn't do it)). It's mostly the higher end unis that might expect at least AS further maths for engineering.
If I was only doing 4, then I'd recommend doing all maths/science - 2 maths, phys, chem, rather than using a slot to do some english course or something (unless you really enjoyed it, so maybe use one of your options on an arts/humanities choice, but then I'd wonder why you were doing an engineering course anyway).
Out of those two I'd do option 1 for the flexibility. Both have good solid A levels, so sound good... But if possible I would change the biology for further maths. Maybe you could do a biology AS, then also a Further maths AS the year after? I think for engineering, at least having a further maths AS could be quite helpful in both application and course content terms. You could probably do AS further maths in your spare time if you drop biology for the A2 year... But both options look OK to me, option 1 just appeals to me personally more as it keeps it nicely science/maths focused, and for the flexibility.
That's completely untrue. You don't just need to get a 'good grade' in those to 'easily get a place at Oxbridge'. What you actually need is to do well in interview, showing off quick thinking etc, do well at a relevant aptitude test, again testing how you think, and also, to be the average offer holder an average UMS of 96% in all your AS exams. (that was the case for Cambridge engineering this cycle). You might say that I'm biased, being pooled/rejected, but getting good (even excellent) scores is not enough.
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Soldato
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Still, considering how competitive it is, surely having further maths will always advantage and never disadvantage him?
Why do you say electronic engineering is horrific?
True, but it's a balance of getting some programming knowledge perhaps from computing and get some electronics knowledge from Electronics.
Personally, I decided to do Computing and electronics, they are both Easy A's and give you a bit of a taster of what is to come. I probably will drop computing for As further maths and just learn another language outside of class.
Soldato
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EDIT: wrong thread
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The sheer amount of abstract maths was something I hated for 3 years, really didn't enjoy my studies at all. Thankfully it paid off though and landed me a decent job in an unrelated field, but I wouldn't want to go through that again for anything!
This is why I have a problem with plumbers calling themselves 'Engineers'.
True, but now that the fees have gone up it'll may be less competitive
Further Maths was never mentioned when I was applying for Engineering courses.Maybe at Oxbridge it could sway things.... dunno!
True, but now that the fees have gone up it'll may be less competitive
Maybe at Oxbridge it could sway things.... dunno!
Actually, I have heard from admissions departments that they are expecting the same amount of candidates next year as this September, perhaps even higher.
Definitely Maths and Physics. Further Maths is great if you're up to it - it'll be great CV candy when you're looking for a job. History is a decent fourth choice, but I'd take economics if you can. It's a seriously easy A-level that's reasonably well-respected - the fairly low level of effort required will give you more time to concentrate on the other three.
Soldato
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True, but now that the fees have gone up it'll may be less competitive
Maybe at Oxbridge it could sway things.... dunno!
I highly doubt that the fees going up will affect subjects such as engineering or medicine too much. Considering the career prospects for graduates of these disciplines, 9k fees isn't really that much.
Bear in mind that generally 7/8A*s at GCSE are seen as a minimum for Oxbridge successful applicants, and that's coming from a Westminster perspective.
Of those two options, I'd go with the second. I'm not going into a science though. For what it's worth, I'm doing Maths, Further Maths, Economics and Art.
Of those two options, I'd go with the second. I'm not going into a science though. For what it's worth, I'm doing Maths, Further Maths, Economics and Art.
Soldato
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For Oxford, yes you need lots of A*s. But Cambridge doesn't actually consider GCSEs as much as Oxford. It's just that people who apply to Oxbridge are the smartest and therefore will have lots of A*s. But it's entirely possible to get into Cambridge with lesser GCSEs. Oxford much less so. However for Cambridge you need really amazing A Level marks, 90%+ in all AS subjects.
I heard from someone who got into Oxford that Cambridge were much more snobby and Oxford was more Diverse.I would have thought that they would have been more picky for GCSe's than that. How do they actually see your UMS though? I thought that with UCAS they can only see your actual results not your UMS mark.
Universities look for relevant subjects, if you are going to do Engineering or any science subject for that matter it is a waste.
It does not matter if you can demonstrate your wonderful writing skills, or regurgitating two centuries of history, they still won't care as much as another science.