Undergraduate Mathematics students’ views of their pre-university mathematical preparation

Abstract

In response to planned reforms to A levels, undergraduate mathematicians who had taken AS or A level Further Mathematics were surveyed. A total of 928 mathematics undergraduates at 42 British universities responded to an online questionnaire regarding their experiences of A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics, and their mathematical preparedness for undergraduate study. Students' responses suggest that Further Mathematics is a worthwhile qualification for undergraduate Mathematics applicants to take, in terms of the mathematical background with which it provides students. Participants described Further Pure Mathematics most favourably of all of the optional strands of study within Further Mathematics, with Statistics and Mechanics receiving positive feedback and Decision Mathematics receiving negative feedback. Participants who were not required to have taken Further Mathematics in order to be accepted onto their university course were generally more enthusiastic about their experience of it and of their perceptions of its usefulness than those who were required to have taken it. This suggests that it would be beneficial for prospective undergraduate mathematicians to study A level Further Mathematics, regardless of whether or not the universities they apply to require it for entry.