Education Anyone done a degree course in maths/science/engineering...

Anyone done a degree course in maths/science/engineering... and forgotten a lot of stuff between their A Levels and the degree (MSc in Engineering for me) course starting?

I'm now realising I've forgotten a lot of maths stuff. Should I be worrying as much as I am? Or is there going to be a chance for me to catch up a bit when the course starts (i.e. will the lecturers be expecting some people to know less/to have forgotten some stuff and therefore re-teach it to even the playing field?).

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

 

I've forgotten a fair bit about my course after a Gap Year. But then I only need to be shown the info and it comes flooding back.

 

daily basis for me....

As long as the kettle isn't moved anywhere else i can just about cope.

 

I found I had forgotten a lot of stuff, but in our lectures they started really basic and went through a lot of stuff I'd already been taught because they wanted to make sure people that had done different courses or were international all had the same base knowledge before moving on to new material. They did go through the earlier stuff much quicker than the new material though.

Probably not much help seeing as you will probably be at a different uni and different course.

 

I would not worry so much, I went to Uni when I was 30. Hadn't done any form of learning since doing my HNC years and years before. I did however do a foundation year which did really help.
I thought that I would be surrounded by fresh out of college brain boxes, but there was a wide range of competence levels and I was glad that I wasn't floundering at the bottom.
I am sure there will be plenty of time for you to get back into the swing of it.

 

I took a maths degree, but as I didn't take a gap year I didn't find forgetting things a big issue. The course was the issue

 

People doing engineering where I went (Southampton) all were put onto a compulsary maths course which they had to pass or get kicked off their degree course. They put on lectures and tutorials to make sure everyone was up to speed.

I wouldn't worry too much. Once freshers week is out the way you can relearn it in parrallel to your lrctures. Why not just go over all your notes from A level? Obviously you can skip the stats!

 

I'm going back through my notes now and doing some questions, but unfortunately unlike Pieface, it isn't all just "coming back" like I thought it would. Stupid 15 months of doing nothing...

I do in fact have to pass a maths for scientists and engineers so I know I will have to get good at this stuff again (I'm having a hard time figuring out how I managed to get an A though!) but I was just looking for a little reassurance I guess.

Unfortunately it's in my nature to worry! I'm getting a little stressed out at the moment; it's probably just my nerves though.

 

Nope. I did a BS in Forestry, an AA in Culinary Arts and another Bachelor's in Hellenistic Religions. I pretty much use everything everyday.

 

electric engineering, just graduated. same experience as Domestic_ginger, maths course in first year.

really don't need to worry about anything. because university has a wide range of people coming from all kind of background they have to spend at least first half of first year getting people onto the same level.

to tell you the truth, i went through uni without looking back at notes once, except for exams of course. the most important thing for engineering degree is to gain experience, know how to start on a task and know where to look for information.

 

I forgot a lot of maths - I suggest buying a big book of maths and keep yourself refreshed whenever you get to a problem you can't quite remember how to solve. Might take a bit of time but if you're struggling it's definitely worth it. I had Engineering Mathematics by K.A. Stroud and found it pretty helpful to look things up quickly, has loads of examples and works through them very simply.

 

Civil engineering here at Bristol here, we did compulsory maths units in the first two years - first year was basically further maths A-Level to get everyone up to the same level. If you're doing engineering then Stroud as above, E. Kreyszig and G. James textbooks' were on our reading list, they're all decent enough.

 

Don't worry, you'll just forget everything you learnt at uni between leaving and finding a job anyway.

 

Hopefully not otherwise: A, why am I spending all this money on a degree; and B, I'd worry about doctors...

 

you are spending the money on degree for that graduate piece of paper, experience and get a feel of how stuff is done in the industry before stepping into it.

not sure about doctors. i had already forgotten my VHDL (for an electronic engineer, that's the most basic thing). currently 2nd week into my new job, just reading up on it.

understandable to forget stuff, but im pretty sure a graduate will learn a lot faster in their field due to their experience with projects.

remember: going to university is NOT about learning stuff, it's about learning how to learn and where to find information.

 

Got a few friends who are doing Engineering and do Molecular Biology myself and the first year is basically just redoing the stuff you will have done from last year of School.

Wuyanxu's post reminds me of what i got told by i guy at my old athletics club who'd at the time just started a job as a civil engineer after an Engineering degrre.

"I've just spent five year learning heaps of fancy equations and how to work things out and all i do now is enter numbers it a computer and it does it all for me"

 

I spent a year at university learning how to design optics by hand. Lots of differential equations and matrix math. Then I spent two months learning how to use a software program that does all of the calculations itself. The point of the prior exercises wasn't for me to learn how to solve the equations, it was for me to learn how the equations worked, and what data I needed to enter into the equations.

Right now, I'm designing a power supply. I don't know the equations I learned in Circuits in my first year at university. But I know what electrical components do, I have a general idea of how a power supply works. I have the capability to read a reference book about power supplies and understand it. I have all of the background knowledge to be able to figure things out that I don't know.

 

Every time I start a new 'coding class', I am terrified I forgot everything I learned from before. It's usually true, but it doesn't matter because I understood the concepts at some point, and that's what's important. Learning it all over again takes a fraction of the time and effort.

 

or just copy and paste the last project files, delete stuff you don't need, then write in the stuff you want.

i always do that, so if you were to ask me to write a SystemC file from scratch, i would have no idea.

Altron and knuck are spot on, took the words right out of my keyboard

 

When i tried and failed to do electronic engineering there was lots and lots of maths stuff. I've now forgotten all of it again.