Having to do four A levels if studying further maths

@pinkginfizz9 that's right which takes a lot of focus&work hence the decision not to take a 4th A level and focus on STEP.

The are incredible hard.

I wonder how the OPs DD is getting on and what A Levels she decided to do

Do you? I didn't, but things may well have changed in 35 years.

They are both dependent on a good STEP result though so its relatively easy to get an offer .STEP is the ' decider' for Cambridge and about 50% do not make the STEP grades needed

You need to write a final year dissertation or research project though

Some sixth forms/colleges teach the whole Maths A level in the first year (sitting exam in the Summer of Year 12) and the whole Further Maths A level in the second year rather than side by side.

Not read the whole thread so hopefully not repeating but something to be aware of.

My son has applied with only 3 A Levels - Maths, FM and Economics and so far has offers from Warwick, Bath and Exeter. If she is looking to study Maths I would say the most important element will be the results in the maths entrance exam - MAT, TMUA or STEP. This has far greater importance than taking 4 A Levels as the results show what the student is capable of rather than what has been predicted. Oxbridge and the more elite unis require a certain grade, and other less elite unis often offer a grade reduction if a good mark is achieved.

Quick look at Imperial: they are all completely different. So naked ms wonder if identical courses save money. Where they do a shared curriculum it’s much narrower.

@Ethelswith
No they certainly do not all do exactly the same first year modules. I’ve looked at Bristol and they have some the same but, for example, electrical and electronic engineering is different. Sheffield is all completely different and I looked at Civil, Mechanical, Aeronautical and Electric snd Electronic. I think it bakes better sense to teach for the precise engineering discipline because it gives greater depth of learning. Obviously there are transferable units and skills but clearly top universities don’t all think the same, and that’s good.

Back in the 1970s when I did a levels we were expected to do a fourth to stretch, so I was an arts type _ and subsequently an English lit degree. I did chemistry as my fourth. I only got a C grade, but I was so proud of myself because I had to work so hard against my natural abilities.

Maybe something that requires essay writing would be usefully challenging and against the grain? How about English lit?

Eg interested in "cyber crime" - should she look at computer science?

In which case double maths, then (new spec) computer science and/or physics, and if casting around for another subject, then psychology - extremely useful subject, eg in cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and biological perception

He is doing an MA in engineering so 4 year degree and hasn’t decided on a specialty yet

In that case, get him to check which universities have a common first year for all engineering disciplines - you have to apply for a particular course with UCAS, but it's much easier to switch when there's a unified first year. I know Warwick does that, not sure about others (ready to look a fool if they all do it but I'd never quite noticed!)

I meant chemistry for the fourth!!

@DontKeepTheFaith
Engineering degrees are usually MEng. Not MA. 3 year degrees are BEng.

Very many engineers do know what sort of engineer they want to be. That’s why most courses specialise. Even allowing for that, the amount of learning is broad. Just look at the syllabus for 3 or 4 years!

There are plenty of engineering grads who don’t go into engineering at all. They go into finance, banking snd city jobs. There are many avenues of work outside engineering.

[quote CollagenLady]@DontKeepTheFaith

Congratulations to you and your son!

That's very interesting to hear.

What engineering did he want to specialise in if you don't mind me asking?

Thank you! [/quote]
Thanks CollagenLady, we are really proud of him.

He is doing an MA in engineering so 4 year degree and hasn’t decided on a specialty yet.

Good luck to your Dc with whatever they decide to do, it’s an exciting but scary time, choosing University courses and going through admissions.

@CollagenLady
Bristol is just about too for Aerospace engineering. BAe systems nearby. Bristol also allow you to do French if your gcse is a high grade so you can do 3rd year in France which opens up employment options. If the links are still there of course! I know they use top class unis in France including a Grande Ecole for Engineering. It’s a first class uni for Aerospace.

Cambridge and Oxford and Durham (I believe) are general engineering. Some areas of engineering can be better learnt by specialising earlier.

Wanting to study maths and wanting to enter the police seems an unusual combination. Has she particular reasons to be interested in policing that may have some bearing on her choices? Eg interested in "cyber crime" - should she look at computer science?

Just how strong is her maths, has she lots of evidence already that she is very good at it? Probably the biggest worry starting maths/FM/ only one other subject, is if she finds FM more of a leap than she'd realised, she won't have the option of dropping it down the track if necessary. In choosing where to do her A levels she should make sure she is choosing somewhere that is strong in maths teaching and support, and able to help her prepare for other maths tests if needed for where she applies for uni.

@CollagenLady - not sure on locations for aerospace engineering - I'm sure those more knowledgeable than me can advise. Loughborough has an Aerospace faculty (saw it yesterday but didn't go in) and I know DS has friends who have applied to Imperial for it, but beyond that I don't know. DS has applied for either mechanical or design engineering.....

@gogohm

Thanks very much!

Ps in engineering you have to write 10,000 word reports, be aware!

I had the same thought about having to write reports. Also, my eldest is doing a maths degree and although they don't write essays, they do sometimes do projects where producing a report is part of the process. They say the fact that they had done an essay subject at A level made that significantly less painful than it was for some of their peers.

Although I'd also agree that something like Psychology would be spot on for the Police force.

@CollagenLady

Look at Southampton. Really good for engineering and a nice university generally. Dd loves it

The three A Levels will be fine as others have said, but I’m a bit taken aback that her some reason for not choosing Biology was because she would have to write a longer answer in one of the exams! She does know that police officers routinely have to write reports and so on, doesn’t she?!

Will she not have to write reports etc being a police officer?

Hi, my daughter did maths, further maths and physics a’ levels but always knew she wanted to do a maths degree (she graduated last year)
She did start 4 a’ levels, physics being the fourth but just did the A’s level and dropped it after that.
Something to bear in mind though, if your daughter wants to carry on with maths, she will still have to essay write. My daughter had to complete a dissertation as part of her degree.
If she really likes maths then she should go for it but she may be putting all her eggs in one basket. On the other hand, maths is a well respected subject and she’ll still have brilliant qualifications.