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Original poster

STEP (maths at university)

64 replies

STEP234 · 26/10/2017 08:00

Hi all,

Long time member, but have set up a different account for this!

If you know of anyone in year 13 (or year 12) applying (or thinking of applying) to study maths at university then they should google "STEP support programme". This is a scheme run by the University of Cambridge to support students in preparing for STEP.

STEP is a maths exam taken at the end of year 13 which is MUCH harder than A-levels, and many schools cannot support their students (which is why the programme started up).

STEP forms part of offers to study Maths (and sometimes other subjects) at Cambridge, and quite a few other universities (including Warwick, Bath, Lancaster...) are making a reduced A-level offer if a student gets a certain grade in a STEP exam as well.

OP posts:
Allthebestnamesareused · 30/10/2017 17:53

STEP234 - not at the Cambridge college where I know the admissions tutor!

Very definitely 3 x A* plus a 1 in STEP 2 and 3.

Others may differ but they woukd have had to have performed spectacularly at interview.

user918273645 · 30/10/2017 17:35

I do worry that you are giving pupils the impression that STEP is essential/very important for studying maths at university and that therefore if they find STEP difficult/do not have time to study for it they shouldn't do maths at university. You may well be putting people off university maths at the higher tariff (but not highest tariff) universities.

In reality places like Lancaster aren't actually going to enforce their offers for Maths in August - they simply cannot afford to turn away students who miss a grade in their third subject and only a very tiny fraction of incoming maths students at Lancaster will have attempted STEP. Lancaster and places like it include STEP in their offers to attract very strong students from the region to put them as insurance i.e. to give the impression that they are interested in very strong students.

pericat · 30/10/2017 17:08

Ds1 is now doing the MMaths course at Warwick. Offers from other unis last year including STEP were Bristol and Southampton. Exeter did not include STEP in their offer.

Original poster
STEP234 · 30/10/2017 11:24

Allthebest the Cambridge standard offer is A A A and grades 1, 1 in STEP II and III. Usually there are some candidates who miss their STEP offer who still get accepted.

user918273645 I agree that it is rare, but it can happen!

Imperial will also ask for STEP if you missed taking MAT, and KCL say "Further Mathematics will be accepted at AS Level grade A only if you additionally achieve a 3 in any STEP paper or a Merit in AEA Mathematics." I picked Warwick and Lancaster as two examples!

OP posts:
user918273645 · 30/10/2017 10:44

The advantage of STEP for some is that if they are less certain of an A in their non-maths A-level they have a safety net.*

It is extremely rare for a student to get a strong grade in STEP and not get an A star in their non-maths A level.

BTW Lancaster and Warwick are not the only places giving alternative offers involving STEP - Bath, UCL, Southampton etc also do so.

Original poster
STEP234 · 30/10/2017 10:25

GHGN the standard offer for Warwick is A(Maths) A(F Maths) A (third A level) or A(Maths) A(F Maths) grade 1 in STEP (any paper) and an A in the third A-level, or A A Maths and F maths and AA in third and forth A levels - so they still need A A in maths and F maths whether they offer STEP or not. The advantage of STEP for some is that if they are less certain of an A in their non-maths A-level they have a safety net. I believe (might be worth double checking) that it doesn't matter which criteria you meet, so if you have A A A* and a grade 3 in STEP you still get in as you have met the first set of criteria.

At Lancaster the standard offer is AAA, but if you offer Further maths OR a grade 3 in any STEP paper this goes down to AAB and if you offer F maths AND a grade 3 in any STEP paper this goes down to ABB. The grade boundaries vary, but in 2016 the boundary for a grade 3 in STEP I was 41 (2 and a bit questions out of the 6 you are supposed to do) and in 2015 was 28 (1 and a half questions out of 6).

OP posts:
Allthebestnamesareused · 28/10/2017 14:52

It is so competitive for Maths now that you are unlikely to get maths offers for Cambridge or Warwick without 3x A* plus a 1 on STEP2 and 3.

GHGN · 28/10/2017 05:10

Please ignore some of my comment above as I didn't realise that Warwick need 3 A* as a standard offer. The students I taught had all been received lowered offers then. Lucky kids :)

GHGN · 28/10/2017 05:05

I only had students needing STEP for Warwick and Cambridge. All the Warwick offers so far have been AA or AA for Maths and Further Maths plus a grade in any STEP paper. A couple of years ago someone was offered AA for double Maths but it could go down to AA if he was to achieve a grade 1 in any STEP paper. I haven't been aware of anyone that receives an offer with a lower grade due to STEP rather than Maths. I am still waiting to know anyone only achieve an A in FM but manage a meaningful grade in any STEP paper.

Original poster
STEP234 · 27/10/2017 08:22

Wishful thinking no problem! Trying to make sure as many people know about them as possible (I am also haunting the Student Room).

OP posts:
Original poster
STEP234 · 27/10/2017 08:21

Thanks LittleHo, that's great! GHGN the reduced A-level offers tend to be more useful to those who are brilliant at Maths but might not get an A in French (say, random example). STEP I and STEP II (for the exams in 2018) are based on a single A-level maths spec (+ a couple of bits) whereas STEP III has some Further maths bits in (but not all, e.g. contains Hyperbolic functions but not groups or matrices). Current spec etc can be found on the "admissions testing service" website, which is linked to from www.maths.org/step.

Specifications will change for the 2019 exams to reflect the changes in A-level specs.

OP posts:
LittleHo · 26/10/2017 11:54

Thanks. ds wants to study maths and his school don't do STEP.

He is sending this to his maths class.

WishfulThanking · 26/10/2017 11:46

Thanks for this!

GHGN · 26/10/2017 11:18

Also STEP has 3 papers with different contents and level of difficulty. They require different strategies and planning. I don't believe that a student who misses out on their grade can ace a STEP paper to compensate for that but happy to be proven wrong with anecdotes.

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