Tell me about the Maths AEA

[Stockpot]

We just had parents’ evening for DD yr12. Her maths teacher suggested that she take the maths AEA exam at the end of the year. He said that it would with university applications.

DD is taking maths, further maths, physics and chemistry. She would like to study engineering. She is worried that if she takes the exam snd doesn’t do well, it will be worse on her applications than not taking it at all.

Any opinions or advice on this exam? I’d never heard of it until last night. Is there a risk to taking it? Does it strengthen stem applications?

Hi, OP -

As you may know, Maths is the only surviving AEA. A Distinction is worth 40 UCAS tariff points and a Merit is worth 20. Typically about half the candidates achieve one of these levels.

Your DD is obviously highly able; the AEA is recommended only to the top 10% of A level candidates. But she already has a very demanding set of A Levels, and it isn’t clear how interested she is in the AEA.

A Distinction or Merit is a wonderful outcome. An unclassified result doesn’t seem to me, a former Russell Group STEM admissions tutor, harmful to an application but it won’t help.

I’ve just had a very quick look and Imperial EE is the only Engineering programme that leapt out as using the AEA. Even they offered an alternative.

I think the question is: how strong is your DD’s intrinsic interest in doing the AEA? I would encourage her to base her decision on the answer to that question.

Thank you for taking the time to give me such a thoughtful answer @poetryandwine

I’m not sure that she has any intrinsic interest in taking the AEA exam. She is bright, but dyslexic and very unassuming. She wants to study engineerIng and really fancies Warwick after visiting on an open day. I think she is interested in whatever will help her get into a good engineering program.

numbers taking AEA have dwindled to about 300 nationally (from around 750 a decade ago) and grade boundaries have been all over the place since Covid.
In 2022 31% of the candidates scored a distinction whereas in 2023 it was only 12% (40 candidates). .

AEA past papers are a good source of tough questions - harder than standard A level, akin to A level questions from the 70's or early 80's, and a good warm-up for MAT and STEP. But as for taking the qualification - I frankly wouldn't bother.

Great to see you, @piisnot3 . OP, I think her numbers are a fairly definitive answerz, given that your DD has no great intrinsic interest in the AEA.

BTW, I also think Warwick is a great place. The students look happy and it just feels good whenever I visit. Also I am a happy witness to a marriage between two former UGs there.

Thanks for the insight @piisnot3

300 is so few that I am surprised that they still bother to run the test.