Best unis for maths

[Dangermouse999]

DS is in y12 and we’re looking at going to some uni open days.

He’s planning to apply for Maths and is probably on track to get 4 A stars in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Comp Sci.

He's considering the following:

1st tier: Cambridge/Oxford, Warwick
2nd tier: Bath, St Andrews, Durham, maybe Edinburgh and Bristol
3rd tier: Exeter, Lancaster, Southampton, Loughborough.

He prefers a smaller to medium size town, definitely not London and he's not a big partying kind of person.

Does anyone have any experience of these unis / other suggestions / any advice in general for Maths degrees?

Can anyone explain which entrance exams are required for which universities? Someone mentioned step for Warwick but I thought they looked at TMUA.
I think it is STEP for Cambridge and MAT for Oxford?
Also interested to know how similar they are and whether it’s usual to do more than one, or is the preparation for each very different?
I also have a ds at a specialist maths school but he’s only just started y12 so this is all new to us. He has joined the lunchtime maths club and they are preparing for the UK senior maths challenge.

I think Warwick recently changed. The only way to know for sure is to look at university websites or email the admissions teams. None of the ones we looked at required it although some would lower their offer if you took it.

DS is so utterly obsessed with Maths that I don't think any other non-academic criteria will have much weight on his choices.
Hang on! What happened to the small/medium town requirement? This feels like an episode of Location Location Location where people say they want a 5-bed just off the High Street and Kirstie has to point out that you can either afford the 5-bed OR the just-off-the-High-St but not both.

Warwick and Cambridge are exceptions here.

How is his TMUA/MAT/STEP prep coming along?
Check out these booklets for once he's finished AS maths: https://pmt.physicsandmathstutor.com/download/Admissions/STEP/Advanced%20Problems%20in%20Core%20Mathematics%20(STEP).pdf
https://static.djalbat.com/companion.pdf

@Tkaequondo You obviously don’t agree and are ageist amongst other things! Rude really. it’s interesting how older people are sidelined by society as being of little worth and value. Of course many older people are wise and helpful. Experience does have its benefits.

Most of us can look at stats, eg on state vs private students and make relevant comments on HE today. Our brains don’t disintegrate with age! What makes you the thread police I’m not sure. Ego? Why not complain about 40 year old anecdotes then? Or is it just about trolling me?

TMUA is taken pre A level exam period, either October or January. STEP is taken with A levels. (Apologies if you know this!)

Warwick and Imperial now use TMUA for maths and computer science. However if a candidate has not taken the TMUA they may make an offer conditional on STEP instead.

I think Durham may use TMUA as well for maths.

The advantage of the TMUA is the universities get an idea of maths skills at application stage and the students have it done and dusted pre Exam period.

Cambridge use STEP for maths. So it is quite brutal for maths applicants as.they will have a Cambridge offer, achieve stellar grades but not achieve required STEP grade and lose out. (They use TMUA for computer science though!)

Yes, friend's son started a Chemistry course there in 2021 and only lasted a few months - he was very unhappy.

I know your DS is saying no to London, but like several PPs, I'm also going to say don't rule out Imperial. It is an absolutely fantastic place. DC1 recently graduated from there (not maths). Imperial consistently ranks as one of tbe world's top universities.

DC1 was sent to work with a research group at the University of Toronto one summer. Imperial gave them a bursary of £3000 to cover their costs.

DC1 also have many well paid student jobs both in term time and in the holidays. Some of them were actually intellectually very interesting.

Also, all UK students with a parental income below some quite high amount (£60k?) get bursaries of £2k and upwards.

@dizzydizzydizzy My son is starting next week at Imperial for maths and computer science so really really reassuring to hear this. We initially ruled London out but after a Cambridge rejection Imperial really stood out from his other offers, and I'm so excited for him to be in London. Obviously it will be more expensive but the outcomes and opportunities sound incredible. And to be fair first year accommodation in N Acton is cheaper than most of my friends kids elsewhere (obviously need tobuild in travel). So good to hear this!

Good luck to your DS! I’m sure he will
have a fantastic time. Ah the joys of North Acton! I was also going to mention that the Imperial halls are not too badly priced. DC2 went to another London uni and paid WAY more than DC1.

I would also add that DC1 only applied for 4 jobs and got one of them. They are now working as a scientist despite ‘only’ having a masters. Most of their colleagues have PhDs.

Durham encourages TMUA or STEP but don’t require it. If you achieve a high score (they don’t specify what that is) they then may give you a reduced offer.

@dizzydizzydizzy thats great about Imperial and the bursaries - as London is so expensive. I would dispute £60k as a "quite high" amount of parental income tho – if you have two parents working, that's only £30k each – virtually on the breadline in MN terms and indeed well below the national median salary.

In fact that is around the HH income where your DC only get minimum loan which makes me spit – it’s such a low bar. Most ppl who have DC going to uni are in their 40s + so have maybe been working for 20 years – surely most of them earn more than £30k (I am going with a two-parent HH here tbf). It’s definitely disenfranchising many DC from going to uni – you almost need to be very low-earning (max loan) or fairly high earning (parental support).

Anyway, rant over, as you were

I meant apart from location LOL.

DS is also at one of the specialist maths schools.

I'm sure the schools are very well placed to advise on the various entrance exams and will offer a lot of support to children preparing for STEP etc.

Some of those schools have a very high proportion of students going on to Oxbridge, Warwick etc and are very experienced in the uni admissions process.

So I don't think you have much to worry about.

Thank you for this post - DD is also in exactly the same position as your DS, but not had time to research universities much (she has a part-time weekend job and all week at college).

We only managed to visit Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial. We liked Cambridge and Imperial the most so far, even though she is not a fan of London (too busy). We would love to visit Bath, Edinburgh and Bristol but it might have to be a virtual tour (so sad!).

Loving the advice so far.

College should authorise leave to visit universities on college days. My daughter wanted to go see Durham, but the only date she was able to go was a Friday. She put the forms in and they authorised the absence.

Where do you see that students preparing for STEP can skip TMUA for Imperial or Warwick in order to use their STEP scores?

I agree with you, which is why I put the it in inverted commas. But there will be a decent number of students who will get this bursary: And actually, I have looked it up and it is for families with an income under £70K, not £60K as I originally said.

https://warwick.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/admissions-tests/
Scroll to maths

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/2026/mathematics-bsc/
Under general entry requirements

I assume from your various posts that you have a mathematics background so will agree with me that the use of statistics on Mn is appalling. Headline figures only. No attempt to drill down. No consideration of causology.

I am not sure older people know more, but believe that some think they do. 19th hole wisdom. People around them agree with them, ergo they must be right.

Permission to visit universities will probably depend on the school's absence policy.

DS’s school makes it very clear that only two days maximum will be authorised for weekday uni visits across Year 12 and 13.

Imperial is great for people for people who love their subject and want to be surrounded by others who feel the same. There is a huge amount going on research wise and lots of opportunities. A friend of DS' got involved in one of the subject societies which was strongly supported by world leading academics and which helped him win a scholarship to a leading University in Asia, and move on to a very successful career. Unfortunately DDs experience, a year long interaction, was in the middle of Covid, but despite this her experiences were very positive. The University was well organised and responded well to Covid challenges, support for her dyslexia was good and practical, and the intellectual culture, stimulating.

Two reservations. The work pace is high, so if you are 18 and your priority is "a University experience" you could quickly find yourself lagging behind your peers. Whilst what you are getting is depth not breadth. Imperial actually has great sports facilities and lots of very competent musicians, but obviously it is more difficult to meet people studying humanities.

If accommodation is not too expensive, London can be cheap. Because people live all over the place, student social life tends to be centred on campus. Public transport is good and lots of people walk or cycle, and London is full of free things. DS was at LSE but had the same sort of work opportunities as dizzydizzydizzy. There is a lot of research money flowing into Imperial and so scope for vacation research assistant jobs. As well of the old but well paid standby of tutoring GCSE/A level maths to kids from nearby private schools.

(There may be a problem of accessing private rental in later years, as various legislation and licensing is making it harder for landlords to rent to students. My advice would be to cultivate friendships with final year students and see if they can introduce you to their landlord.)

Hello, speaking from personal experience here last year. My YP excellent at maths, love from a young age, wanted to go to Cambridge from 11 yo. Read STEP books from year 11, lots of extra curricular going above and beyond, lucky enough to get an offer from Cambridge for maths. No support from state school with step prep but we thought it was in the bag as always excelled and was very confident and capable. Results day got the A* A levels but missed the step offer, it was a really difficult time.
Have a good insurance and look around them as just because peers/forum posters like the uni/course your YP may not. League tables are a guide and do differ/change. We also discounted anything too far North but had a last minute change of heart just in case as unexpectedly didn’t like Imperial 🤪
The whole experience emphasised the importance of YP happiness over everything else and ensuring this for the next 3/4 years, of course we can support and guide but they will have a feel looking around them and it’s their journey, not ours! Good luck! 😊