DS doesn't know what to do?

[ariadne1]

DS1 has in teh past struggled with maths, he was in the 4th out of 5 sets for maths at his Grammar school. His GCSE grades weren't earth shattering 2 As 7 As and a B. (As in physics and chemistry)
he is doing AS in Maths, chemistry and physics and (because he couldn't think of anything else, Biology) However since he has started A levels he has really lifted his game .It is entirely possible that he will finish his A2s with 2A*s (chem and phys as he has had 100 UMS in his AS modules) and probably an A in maths (comfortable A at the moment)
The trouble is he doesn't know what to do at Uni.He has since found out that he really should have done further maths to do physics of engineering which seem to be the things that interest him most
I am sorry it is so vague but he really doesn't know where to start!

should he be looking at doing AS maths in Y13 ?
How do they know whether they wiull like a course, where is good for that course etc?
We are complete newbies to all this

[cardibach]

ariadne those GCSE results are excellent. It's a bit irritatinhg when people run down results like that.
As for the Further Maths, most schools don't actually offer it, so it isn't necessary for the courses he fancies. Lots of students from my school have gone on to study those subjects without Further Maths.

[mummytime]

See if he can do one of the Mech modules from Further Maths, there is one that top Unis really like you to have. Even Cambridge etc don't demand Further Maths, but it helps.

[JustGettingByMum]

He doesnt need the FM to sudy engineering or Physics, but if he has the opportunity to take it to AS then I think that it would look good on his UCAS application, and more importantly, would help with the maths in his first year at uni

(that's what my DS thinks and he's just finished the first year of an engineering degree)

[sashh]

He does not have to go to uni at 18, he can have a gap year or 2 or 3 and take an AS in that - or an OU module.

He could do a degree with a foundation year.

BTW his grades at GCSE are outstanding.

[Barbeasty]

Lots of engineering and physics students won't have further maths, and universities will have their courses set up accordingly.

With an A at A level maths, and A* for physics, his maths is obviously good enough.

He should have a look at universities and their open days to see what courses they offer and what they involve.

If he has any ideas of companies he might like to work for, or types of job then have a look at graduate recruitment websites and see what qualifications they are looking for.

Have a look at something like the Smallpeice Trust. They do lots of taster courses, although he might be too late for those, but also have a careers section on their website all about engineering.

If he decides to go for engineering, the most important thing is to make sure the course is accredited by the relevent institution. Also look at where major employers go for careers fairs (most will list on their websites).

There are some universities who run their course with a first year of general engineering and then you specialise. That can be good if he isn't sure what field he wants to go into (used to be Cambridge and Exeter, but don't know about now).

If he would be interested then look for somewhere that does the Erasmus scheme, where he could do part of his degree abroad. I did my disertation project in France, and friends went all over Europe (plenty of places don't ask for language skills either) - although a friend who went to the US had to repeat the credits when he came back to the UK after choosing to major that term in soccer...

I should say I am an engineer, so know less about going down the physics route!

Either option opens up all sorts of career paths though, not just in physics/ engineering. Accountancy and finance spring straight to mind, but lots of others too.

[PooshTun]

I can understand the OPs comments about feeling that her DC's GCSE grades aren't earth shattering.

We constantly read stories about how GCSEs are being dumbed down and how an increasing proportion of students are scoring A and A*. We also read stories about how some kid with straight As couldn't get a place at any of her preferred universities.

As a result of the above, many pushy parents see anything less than a clean slate of A and A* as being a less than stellar performance.

[JustGettingByMum]

Op realised you also asked for info on courses

I would second trying to get onto a smallpeice intro to engineering course, if poss, phone them up & see if there are any places left, you/he may get lucky.

Also I know Exeter are running a 3 day pre-U physics taster course, there are probably other unis doing the same, BUT these all take place in the next few weeks so you need to contact them ASAP and check if there are any places left.

Re the GCSEs, your DS has 9 A/A grades, that's fab results, I am sure he will get lots of uni offers specially with A/A predictions in his A2 exams.

[cardibach]

Trouble is, PooshTun, they are just stories. Results like that are beyond all but a very small proportion of young people, and, esoecially when many people on here are encouraging their DCs through GCSEs having results like that called 'not earth shattering' is borderline offensive. Sorry.

[BikeRunSki]

I am a civil engineer with a Physics degree, and I don't have Further Maths A level either! Although, I did graduate 20 years ago this month.

I don't think any of the graduates I have ever interviewed at work have had Further Maths either. If your DS is interested in river and coastal engineering (my field), the Environment Agency offers a foundation degree in this field. The students are paid about £11K a year, and work from EA offices, with block placements at the University of the West of England. There is the option of later topping this up to a "full" degree (I think there is some cost to the students for this).

[PooshTun]

cardibach - first off, I would be happy if my DCs got those grades. But I would defend the OP's rights to express disappointment, if that is what she feels.

Or are you saying that a DC that failed to get an Oxbridge offer for example shouldn't be alllowed to express disappointment because others have not got an offer at all?

MN would be a boring place if we weren't allowed to discuss whether £x was a fair salary for a manager because it might offend people on low incomes. Or tutoring strategies because it might offend someone with DCs at sink schools.

Rant over. Off to make dinner now.

[ariadne1]

I would like to make clear that I am not disappointed in DS1's grades, just that for his school (which perhaps gives me a skewed perspective) they are very average.

[cardibach]

PooshTun - not at all. If someone had the specific intention of getting into Oxford of course it would be disappointing not to. THe OP originally (although I take your point, ariadne) and then you appeared to be a little scathing of those results regardless of what was needed/hoped for. THat's what is a bit offensive. OP, thanks for clearing up your meaning - but I think your school has skewed your perspective. You said your DS was in set 4 out of 5 for Maths and got - well you don't say, but at least a B. Set 4 out od 5 in DDs school would be lucky to get a grade at all - and I mean a G, not a C by that. Top set or set 2 would be where B grades would be found. THat is a more normal distribution.

[mumeeee]

Those GCSE results are fantastic and I would say he did very well. I get very cross when parets think results like that are not that good. My friends son is doing engineering at Bath and he didn't do further maths at school

[teacherrk]

Does your son want to be an engineer? Has he talked to anyone about other careers that value strengths in maths and physics,eg. financial analyst, video games developer. Careers info sites like icould.com (free) or //www.Careers4u.tv may give him inspiration. C4U.tv isn't free but has excellent peer-to-peer style information filmed in the workplace including dozens of engineering interviews. Hope this helps. :)

[ariadne1]

Thankyou very much for all your comments.I think he is definitely going to look into further maths AS next year.For one thing he seems to have way too many free periods which he finds very boring and a waste of time.
Thank you for those links teacherrk- they are very interesting and informative.