Maths at uni

[the tree]

I'm currently in the first year of my Maths A-level (alongside English, Theatre and ICT) and at the moment maths seems to be my best subject and I might be thinking about taking it on to university.

 

How good at maths would I have to be to study it at university? (would I need an A?) If I were to, then what types of courses are there avaliable?

[ecoli]

Depends what university you want to get into, doesn't it (and how good you do on your A-levels, I'm sure)

[the tree]

O.k. then I add, which Universities should I be looking at?

[ecoli]

If you're looking to stay in the UK, here's a whole list of universities.

http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/ukinfo/alpha.html

 

I don't know what kind of student (grade-wise) you are, but the best schools are (I think) Cambridge, Imperial, etc...

 

But please keep in mind, I'm American who's only slightly aware of how the eduational system works in your country.

[5614]

These are the "very good unis":

http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/index1.html

 

To study maths at one of those you would most probably (well, certainly) need an A at maths.

[the tree]

Thanks, that is really helpful. At the moment I'm taking Maths A-level with Mechanics modules, I'm also taking a Further-Maths AS.

I'm pretty sure that I'm capable of a B in A-level maths but I am hoping for an A.

If anyone reading this has studied maths at uni, I don't suppose you could tell me what courses you took, where and why?

[Dave]

I took A-level Maths and Further Maths and got AA after exams. I chose to study Maths at Warwick University, and I can say that it is a real challenge. You'll find that Maths at university is a lot different to A-level. I strongly advise that you go to some open days, and maybe pick up some introductory material. Do the AEA practice papers (or STEP if you really feel like punishing yourself ) and see how it goes.

 

Hope this helps a bit. Just let me know if you need some more advice.

[Yggdrasil]

Studying math at a university is actually pretty different from math in high school. What most people don't realize is that the farther up you go in math, the less numbers you use. For example, if I flip to a random page in my abstract algebra book, the only number's you'll generally see are 1 and 0 (and these don't necessarily represent numbers but rather the concept of the identity). A lot of higher-level math (at least theoretical math) is about learning definitions, concepts, and proofs, whereas lower-level math is about evaluating equations and solving problems.

 

I'd say if you enjoy solving problems and working with number's you'd be more suited studying engineering, physics (or another science) or even applied mathematics. However, if you like deriving equations instead of memorizing them and if you would rather prove that a solution to a problem exists than solve the actual problem, you would be well suited to theoretical math.

 

However, I'm only majoring in math and I've only taken the basic lower-division math courses (single-variable and multi-variable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations) and a few upper-division courses (group theory and linear algebra). Perhaps someone who has taken a little more math can provide more insight.

[Dave]

It's really more of the same from there onwards. Things like Analysis I found rather testing, but the important thing is that it does help you change the way you think about maths problems. In my opinion, by far the most important thing besides a reasonable amount of ability is a passion for the subject. You have to find the subject interesting in order to do well in it.

[the tree]

What most people don't realize is that the farther up you go in math, the less numbers you use.

I've already managed to realise that, I do enjoy abstract algebra more than just doing sums anyway.

 

You have to find the subject interesting in order to do well in it.

I do

 

Do the AEA practice papers (or STEP if you really feel like punishing yourself ) and see how it goes.

I don't think I've heard of these but I'll look into them.

 

Thanks all.

[aj47]

If your still undecided on where to go, the times league tables are really helpful as they give you the average A-level entry score and how good the universitys are by subject etc, it helped me loads when applying.

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,6734,00.html

[the tree]

Thanks, I notice that Bath is high on the list and that you are in Bath. I don't suppose that's because you attended/are attending there?

 

I looked at thier website and they look pretty good, although I was a little put off by the emphasis on statistics which isn't really my main interest.

 

If you were/are a student there, what's it like?

[aj47]

I would like to say i'm responsible for Bath uni being so highly rated for maths but no, I only live here and i'm going to Uni next year. However I do know a few students who go to the uni and i have lived in bath all my life so i can give you some advice

 

One thing friends have told me is that with any science or math related subjects at bath, the courses are really oversubscribed to, with about 10 times as many applicants as places. So even if the average entry grade is something like BBB, the actual requirments are a lot higher.

 

Also with the statistics I would visit them or email them as i'm sure you would have the option to take different modules and opt for something different but that would probably be in the second year so you would have to endure it for at least the first.

 

Bath as a city is a really nice place to live and has some really beautifal parts.

The only problem is it is small and apart from the few nice and cosy pubs, it is slightly lacking the night life that most students expect.

However personally I just travel to bristol as its only 20mins away and has one of the best musics scenes in the UK so its not that bad really.

[the tree]

I e-mailed Bath's maths department, they send it shouldn't matter about not having a grounding in stats as they would start from the very basics anyway and that a good gounding in pure maths would be a lot more important. I've borrowed a stats textbook from school just to have a flick through, for good measure.

 

Loads of the people I've talked to have said what a beautiful city Bath is and it looks like it's going to be at the top of my list.

 

Thanks again for the help.