53 replies to this topic

[RWDwanted]

Im doing commercial photography at bournemouth. Currently second year. If im honest im not loving it and the course is just making me want to do something else.

Edited by RWDwanted, 07 February 2012 - 04:30 PM.

[Black.Ghost]

MJWJ, I agree with your long post but not so much your second. If you have just spent a year doing a-levels, you really don't want to spend a whole summer studying Maths and then doing a foundation course in it as well. You could potentially burn yourself right out. Take the break that you need.

I was definitely stupid with my choices. I did go back with the intention of studying but it was even worse than the first time. I was just bored of studying and couldnt concentrate for more than 5 minutes.

Whatever decision anyone makes, research research research. And do it because you want to not because someone wants you to. I

[chrisandsarah]

Year 4 - Web Design and Development @ Abertay University Dundee

[M J W J]

MJWJ, I agree with your long post but not so much your second. If you have just spent a year doing a-levels, you really don't want to spend a whole summer studying Maths and then doing a foundation course in it as well. You could potentially burn yourself right out. Take the break that you need.

If you have done a level maths then you will most likely be fine so you won't need to spend the summer studying, but most people do a foundation course as they haven't done a level maths. Most likely if you have been at college and have not done a level maths then the last time you did any was over 2 years ago at school. I would then recommend that you refresh your memory. Your university isn't going to wait for you to catch up.

[RsSpyder]

I'm studying Automotive Engineering (BEng) at Oxford Brookes University. However I'm doing mine part time (6 years!) while working in a job closely related to the subject. Currently in my second year of the 6, going ok so far but a 6 year course is pretty daunting!

[Black.Ghost]

MJ, I see your point and I understand where you are coming from, and some people would want to do it.

For me, I'd want the break, regardless of subject. I would argue its important not to burn yourself out too early. Everyone is different though.

[The_Mistro]

dont worry about polishing up on your maths if your doing foundation mate, its pretty much what it is there for, that and physics! if your "behind" when you come to christmas, thats when id consider getting a tutor to be honest with you!

I completely disagree. You want to make sure that you can easily work with Cartesian co-ordinates, trigonometry and rearranging basic algebra. All of these were taught a gsce and foundation/a level maths will build on this. At college and university they assume that you know everything from a subject if you got a good grade in it.

Maybe a tutor may be going a bit far but reading through some text books and doing the exercises at the end of each chapter would definitely be a good thing.

i disagree, if you know everything you wouldnt be doing a foundation degree in the first place! the foundation degree is there to bring you up to speed with maths and physics mainly, the foundation degrees offered at my uni also helped with basic CAD/CAM and a few other smaller units! and from experience, the students in my lectures that had done foundation, were better at the maths than students like me who had gone straight onto the BEng course and had been taught the maths we knew at school! my Uni lecturer makes my school teachers look rubbish at their job! the uni lecturers will make you understand fully without having a one on one conversation with you and just stood at the front of the lecturer room drawing on the board!

[Black.Ghost]

From my very limited experience, I would agree the Uni teachers are much better. But it's a different audience and at very different levels. The subject is taught so differently at school. We studied trig at school which I found straight forward and easy. Got to Uni, it was explained differently and I had to follow it a bit more than school! The methods taught at Uni showed why things were as they were instead of just saying its so.

I barely went to any lectures though. My recent boss in the army had been to Oxford to study Maths and was a teacher in a private school!

[reallybig]

Just finished BSc Geology at Portsmouth uni