20 replies to this topic

[miniQ]

Got into college as expected but they would not let me onto A levels maths because i got a C grade in GCSE (higher paper) This is a real DELETED take as i want to go onto engineering in uni and maths would be very very helpfull... atm im doing physics,computing and the rest does'nt really matter but since they wont let me take A level maths i have to do lodes of support courses for computing and physics!!!! what the hell.... "programming support for AS computing BTEC".... sounds like a lode of DELETED and a waste of time...the annoying thing is i know ill ace the physics and computing and then at the end of 2 years ill be DELETED off that they didnt let me into a level maths... (i was 7 marks overall off a B grade in maths - needed 420 out of 600)... :'(

Rant over...

Edited by Dan, 01 September 2010 - 07:06 PM.
DO NOT try to avoid the swear filter. It's not here by accident, we choose to have it because we want it.

[RobFox]

A level maths is a whole new kettle of fish.
I did well in maths at iGCSE ( did international ) - scraped an A but I tried doing AS Level Maths last year and just got my results and I failed.

Im not saying its impossible but damn it requires a lot of commitment and extra learning to do well.
Unfortunatly I wasn't going to get B at A level or A at AS Level I had to look at different but close Uni courses.

I reccomend looking around Uni's to see which ones and what courses are available without maths in the engineering field. If not have a talk with your college, and failing that can you take it outside of college, like private tutoring?

Rob

[Hannioli]

You could retake your maths GCSE and then do Maths A level in a year if they'll let you?

To be honest, if Maths A level is still the same as it was when I did it, it's a lot harder than GCSE maths. If you found it difficult at GCSE you may well struggle at A level. I know several people who did Maths A level and got Bs at GCSE struggled with the A level, most didn't get a C or above.

I do have a friend who wanted to become a pilot and therefore needed Maths A level, he wasn't great at it though (think he got a B at GCSE), he struggled at A level but he had private tuition for it and got a pass grade (either C or B...can't remember which now) for A level and he is now a pilot So if it's what you want to do, then there are options...may be pricey though.

Edited by Hannioli, 01 September 2010 - 03:28 PM.

[miniQ]

I found GCSE not that hard put it into perspective: Never did any homework and barely anything in class... B in module 1 and 3 and C in algebra (module 5)//

[Midas Mk1]

I did my AS' levels last year too, and did Maths, Physics, Product Design and Business.
I found that As maths is completely different to that of GCSE, and was alot harder than I expected it to be. Even though I got an A at gcse in it , this is practically useless as the As course is completely different to gcse (which you've been building up on year by year at school)

Unfortunately i got a D in it, so ive had to drop it, something which im pretty dissapointed about as it means that some possible courses at Uni that I wanted to do have been crossed off, although some of the courses accept physics as an alternative, which I also do. Alot of my mates are in the same boat too, some being kicked out of college for doing poor in Maths

Id definately have a long think about it, I wish I had, as I might have chosen a different subject as its alot harder and different to the maths that you think of after doing gcse.

Edited by Midas Mk1, 01 September 2010 - 01:12 PM.

[newbambeeno]

I was the same as you. I did nothing in GCSE maths, I didn't even do the coursework, but I aced the exams and ended up with an A.
I went on to do Maths at A-Level, and, as much as I wouldn't want to put anybody off, it's a different ball game. You have to improve so much. I've always been gifted at maths but I struggled at AS level because I didn't think I'd have to work hard (arrogant, I know)

This meant I finished year 1 with a D (just)

I resat all my AS modules in year 2 and got an 80% A, but because I spent so much time working on AS, I neglected A2, and ended up with a C (albeit 3 marks off a B)

Now, I know it's what you want to do, and I'd hate to try and sway you away from doing something that interests you, but really consider whether you can step up. I completely understand why your college won't allow you to do it if you got a C. It is SO hard to catch up once you are behind *insert plate spinning analogy here*

Just as an example, at my 6th form, there was 14 people who started A-Level maths, nobody got lower than a B for GCSE, 6 people finished their Math A-Level, and only 4 passed.

I think it's great that you know what you want to do at your age and that you're doing the right things to get there, but don't despair. Most uni's want Maths or Physics A-Level for engineering degrees, so as long as you do well in Physics, you'll be fine.

[Jacko-lah]

Check with the universities you think you might want to study at. You will probabally find that without a GOOD grade in A level Maths you ain't going to be studying Engineering at Degree Level, at a top university. You might get into Engineering with Physics Instead, but at a Polytechnic in the East Midlands.

You should go back and explain why and how you are going to get an A* by working your arse off, and insist that they listen. All rules are guidlines, and you have to show how important it is to your future. And explain that you coasted in GCSE because it wasn't a challenge.

(That said I got an O level pass in Maths at A level, having got a grade A at O level 2 years before, and I ended up a Chartered Manufacturing Systems Engineer)

[Turbo Nick]

similar story here, i flew through gcse maths, got an A on the lower paper because they wouldn't let me take the higher one to be able to go for A+.

then i went on to do maths and physics A levels and the difference was unreal! this was 12 years ago but i'd bet its still the same.

I think the main thing that ruined A levels for me though was getting a part time job which gave me money for cars, beer and drugs, lol. ended up failing the first year, then starting from scratch in the 2nd year and then quit after 6 months or so. I would say it was a mistake not trying harder, but i've had fun and i'm doing ok now so no regrets from me

[joewb]

not going to lie to you, if you want to be able to get a decent grade at A-Level maths, you cant get any lower then an A in GCSE maths.
GCSE is nothing at all compared to anything in A-Levels, A-Levels will actually reteach you things you where sure was right and turn out instead to be different once you get more advanced.

[M J W J]

No offence intended but if you can only manage a C at gcse then you won't be able handle university level maths. All forms of engineering require maths (at least all that I can think of at the minute). You also need to have done the separate statistics paper at gcse and at A level it is highly advisable to do further maths if you wish to do an engineering course at uni.

When I did my gcse's at school I got an A in maths and an A at statistics (well actually a disqualification because someone's phone went off in the exam, they couldn't find out who's it was and so had to disqualifie the who year in my school from that exam, thankyou very much you for wasting three hours of my life!) At A level I got a B in both maths and Further maths. Now I am at uni and have just done my second year. First years maths I managed 65% and this year after a bad exam got 46% which lowered my average enough to drop me down onto a BEng course. I am struggling.

If you wish to do engineering at uni you will need to be up to speed on matrix manipulation, complex numbers, differentiation and integration both by substitution and parts plus more by the end of college. They do not go over this at uni. They expect you to know it and use it straight away.

At Uni you can look forward to fourier series, laplace transforms, ODE's, vector calculus and more. This is what I have had to learn so that I am able to computer program which then allows me to do finite element analysis in solid mechanics. I also have to use Laplace transforms in my control systems lectures. When you get to university level maths you will start to realise that everything you have been taught in maths so far actually does have a use.

By university you will have to remember most equations as you don't get formulae sheets like you do for gcse and A level exams for most maths based subject (for example 6 of the 8 subjects I did this year). You will also most likely have to contend with lecturers who can barely speak English, 200 odd other students, text books which can cost up to (and I am not joking here) £200 and at no point is a lecturer going to tell you that you need to do something. It is up to you.

I apologies if I make you feel bad but I would look at it this way if your college doesn't think you up to doing As level maths then they are most likely going to save you from wasting a lot of time in the long run. Alternatively if you re-sit you gcse and get an A or very high B then good luck with pursuing your engineering education.

Also as Joewb said not everything is true they told you at gcse. There is a square root of a negative number. i (or j depending whether your doing dynamics) is a very important number.

Mike

[joewb]

As annoying as it is to accept j as a number, surds make it simple.
Also when having to choose a number for things such as a team shirt it's handy being able to be awkward and choose pi or j haha

[wardyxxx]

Retake your GCSE. Your school should let you.

[miniQ]

Way ahead of you wardy...

[LuckyThe1275]

I wouldn't start college/sixth with that attitude... Trust me, A-Level maths and physics especially are a completely different ball game mate.

I got an two A*'s in my Science double award GCSE, and an A* in Maths. I hated the maths department and the way they taught, and got rid of maths, taking only physics. Anyway, I got an E in my first year. It's bloody hard, even though I pick things up pretty quickly. I probably would have found it easier if i'd taken maths, but it still wouldn't be a walk in the park.

I want to do motor sport engineering (always have done, shame every other so and so wants to now!) and I either need to restart my first year again, taking maths and physics (most uni's put maths as a priority for motor sport engineering unfortunately, wish a careers advisor had helped me!) taking a punt, or carry on, doing my (current) best subjects, Computing, Business and Economics, so overall I have higher a-level grades hopefully, and do an engineering foundation year first, and try to get a really solid understanding of the maths and physics ready to start my degree.

A couple of crap uni's will take me with a physics pass, and no maths, but I won't have a great understanding of it all, and anyway, i'd much rather spend an extra year nailing the required physics and maths (important!) and doing my degree somewhere much more highly regarded, like Brookes.

But yeah, don't start college with that attitude, I had the same attitude, and within two weeks I realised I barely understood any of the physics at all, cause I was so complacent, and not working hard enough... I instantly sharpened up though, yet I still got an E... it's harder than you think. Don't let GCSE grades let you become complacent, it's the first downfall.

Matt

[RelyTM251]

You might not want to hear this, but if you got aC first time round then retaking might not make a difference. Nearly always your first is your best attempt. If you do retake then you will have to put alot of effort into doing better. And you would have to continue putting more and more effort in as the modules got harder, now ask yourself are you capable of putting that much effort in.

P.sMy suggestion would be to talk to a connextions advisor on the best way to do what you want to do.