University of Edinburgh Blogarithms
Current mathematics students share their experiences of university life at Edinburgh.
… by Thea / from Peterborough / BSc Mathematics / 2nd Year (UG)Hi everyone! I’m Thea and am currently in my second year at Edinburgh University. I thought I’d talk a bit about what your average Maths lecture is like at the University and how best to prepare!
Continue reading “What My Average First Year Lecture Looked Like…”
… by Luming / from Shanghai, China / MSc Computational Mathematical Finance / PG (2019-20)Hey, I am Luming and I am going to share my experiences about my MSc life in Edinburgh – when those beautiful, unique memories come back, I feel there is something worth sharing!
Continue reading “MSc Experience: Virtual Placement During a Pandemic…”
… by Arran / from Glasgow / BSc Mathematics / 3rd Year (UG)Obviously we can’t travel at the moment due to Covid-19, which has made me think back on some of my recent trips. Under normal circumstances, Edinburgh University has lots of opportunities to get involved with things outside of just studying your course. I am going to tell you about one of many fantastic opportunities that you can get involved with.
… by Belen / from Ecuador / MSc Operational Research with Data Science / PG (2019-20)Coming from a background of Logistics and Transportation engineering and work experience in the transportation industry, I was looking for a MSc programme that could be tailored to my interests in optimization and data analytics. I found the MSc in Operational Research with Data Science at the University of Edinburgh, which was the perfect option for me since it offers a diverse pool of courses that balances perfectly both theory and application.
… by Clare / from Livingston / MMath Mathematics / 3rd Year (UG)How to balance committee roles with a maths degree.
What’s crackin’ everyone! Wanna know how to be on the committee of your favourite society and study maths at the same time? Cool, I can tell you all about that… Here are all the steps needed to be a successful committee member AND maths student. Continue reading “Committees vs Calculus…”
… by Belen / from Ecuador / MSc Operational Research with Data Science / PG (2019-20)The Analytics Challenge, sponsored by Edinburgh Airport, was a unique experience; not only for the academic merit, but also the team building, cultural exchange and- most importantly- all the fun!
… by Fionnuala / from London / BSc Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)Choosing which university to apply to, firm or insure on UCAS can be a very daunting experience. I can remember submitting my application, which I had spent ages preparing, to then realise there would be harder decisions to make once I had received answers from my five options.
Choosing a university is a very personal decision. What one of your best friends at school might love when choosing somewhere just might not do it for you. There may be something small, but which will be really important for you during your time there so my main piece of advice is to make sure you don’t base your decision off somebody else’s. The two biggest factors which affected my decision were; the degree programme itself and the city which I would be living in.
Continue reading “Why I chose to study Maths at The University of Edinburgh…”
… by Joe / from Oxford / MMath Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)Hi! I’m Joe, and my first year as a Mathematics student finished (prematurely) a few weeks ago. Since then I have done a lot of reflecting on my first year at Edinburgh University so I thought I could share these thoughts with you all.
Continue reading “Looking back on my First Year at Edinburgh…”
… by Kevin / from Hong Kong / MSc Computational Applied Mathematics / PG (2018-19)My name is Kevin, I had completed an undergraduate degree in maths at Warwick before pursuing a Masters in Computational Applied Mathematics at Edinburgh (2018-19). Now I’m doing a PhD in Medical Informatics at the Usher Institute in Edinburgh.
Here are the 10 things I learnt during my MSc programme. Continue reading “Ten Things I Learnt from my MSc…”
… by Rachel / from Isle of Arran / BSc Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)A lot of things have changed these past weeks and we’ve had to adjust to working from home and doing all our classes online. (For those of you struggling to work in your rooms I personally find I am more productive working in the hallway than on my bed). However, the harder adjustment is figuring out how to stay entertained and connected with our friends so I thought I would share some of the things my flatmates and I have been doing to make our days a little more interesting. Continue reading “Things to do in Self-Isolation…”
… by Ellen / from Rye / BSc Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)I’m Ellen, a first year mathematics undergraduate at Edinburgh University. Today I thought I would talk about a day in my life.
7am: Wake up. I live at Darroch Court which is 2 minutes away from the Pleasance Gym, meaning I can get my training in early and still have rest of the day free. I’m a member of the Hares and Hounds (the running club) and I couldn’t recommend joining enough. I have made such good friends from both the training and regular socials, and also think it’s great how they cater for all abilities.
… by Emma / from NJ, USA / BSc Mathematics / 2nd Year (UG)One of the beauties of being a student in a city is that more often than not, the students become influential in the city. This is certainly the case here in Edinburgh. Back home, as a high school student, I was also able to be quite integrated in the city I went to school in. For instance, I was not only a peer tutor at my high school for math, but I also tutored younger, primary-school students at a local church. So, when I came to Edinburgh, I was ultimately keen for a similar opportunity. Continue reading “Being a Maths Curriculum Ambassador…”
… by Eunwoo / from Yongin, South Korea / BSc Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)Hello everyone! I am a first-year maths student from Korea. I remember reading the blog posts before coming to university and becoming both excited and nervous about what lies ahead. Now it’s my turn to provide a glimpse to what it is like to be a maths student here.
To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of Edinburgh as a city at first. I grew up in Newcastle up to primary school and so would visit Edinburgh quite often since it’s near. But, at least in my memory, the city was so grey and the weather was so wet. However, now I’ve realised there are so many lively and energetic aspects of Edinburgh that adds a lot to your student life.
… by Katrina / from Northumberland / BSc Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)Before starting university, one of my main concerns was the workload being unmanageable. After around 3 months off for summer I wondered if I even remembered how to schedule my life and manage my time effectively. However, I soon found that the workload could be managed easily and was helped by having weekly deadlines. Continue reading “My Weekly Workload in my First Semester…”
… by Fionnuala / from London / BSc Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)I can remember, not that long ago, how nervous I was to start University. I was excited for the new adventure, meeting new friends and trying new things but it was slightly daunting not knowing what the teaching would be like. I understood that it would be completely different to school as that’s what everyone tells you but exactly how- I had no idea. Continue reading “What Contact Hours at University are Really Like…”
… by Benedicty / from Romford /What I did right, the mistakes I made and what you can learn from it.
Finding a flat in first and second year was pretty much a piece of cake. Barely any work was put in and I always seemed to manage to find a flat that I liked.
Third year was where the trouble began, as I found myself in quite an awkward and unusual position. After complications with my year abroad, I had to find somewhere and someone to live with over the summer, before I went back up to Edinburgh for Year 3. Here are some things I learnt whilst attempting to secure my third-year home: Continue reading “The Flat Hunt…”
… by Rebecca / from Lincoln / BSc Mathematics [2nd Year Entry] / 3rd Year (UG)If a lecturer can see that only 5% of the students on their course read their assessment feedback, then should staff bother to write it for every student?
Or, if a lecturer can see that one of their lecture recordings has had far more views than the others, might they want to find out why that is? Was the content of the lecture too difficult?
Answering these kinds of questions was the purpose of the internship I did last summer. The University provides around 60 summer internships based at the university, exclusively for Edinburgh students, called Employ.ed on Campus internships. My internship was one of these; I worked in the School of Health in Social Science as a Learning Analytics Intern. Continue reading “Employ.ed on Campus Internship…”
… by Harry / from Dalgety Bay / BSc Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)As anyone who has dyslexia knows, the special circumstances given to you for having a learning disability is crucial for both the exams you sit and your overall learning. If you are like me, one of my biggest worries in coming to university was losing the special circumstances I get as I would not be able to finish any exam without them. Thankfully the University has an extremely simple system in order for you to obtain the support you need for your studies. Continue reading “Managing Dyslexia at University…”
… by Loana / from Hermannsburg, Germany / BSc Mathematics / 3rd Year (UG)Hello everybody, today I’d like to talk about MathSoc and what it has to offer.
Who would’ve thought that Maths people can be sporty! As of this year, MathSoc has seven teams registered within the intramural leagues (meaning that the league is organised by the university): two men’s football, one women’s football, one women’s netball, one mixed hockey and two mixed basketball teams. The intramural option is a less competitive way to play sport compared to the main university clubs, and there’s no experience needed. I’m part of the women’s football team and am the only one who’s ever played competitive games when I was still in school. But this is not a must have, as we are the team with the greatest turn out every week. Continue reading “MathSoc: How to Get Involved…”
… by Jaden / from CA, United States / BSc Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)You just got back from football practice. Maybe you’ve been playing for a year or almost your entire life. Nonetheless, you love it and that’s what’s important. Regardless of what passions you have, or if you want to discover new ones, it’s natural to have worries about balancing life with studying. In fact, it’s natural to have a bit (or a lot) of anxiety about University in general! However, despite the anxiety you may have, it’s important to know that there’s time for both in University if you play your cards right. Continue reading “Balancing Student Life and Studies…”