Tag: Study

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First Year Academic Experience…

Photograph of Harry… by Harry / from China / BSc Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)

I am Harry, and I was born in China while attending high school in the United States. I am a first-year undergraduate student studying mathematics at the University of Edinburgh. 

The first-year Mathematics curriculum in Edinburgh consists of three courses: Introduction to Linear Algebra in the first semester, and Calculus and its Applications, and Proof and Problem Solving in the second. I am with ease on Linear Algebra and Calculus, as their contents overlapped with Advanced Math and AP Calculus courses I took in high school, while Proof and Problem Solving was more challenging. Yet, being attentive in workshops and diligently finishing all homework helped me go through all courses comfortably, while still leaving me with ample leisure.   Continue reading “First Year Academic Experience…”

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How I secured a summer internship, and how the University helped…

Photograph of Katrina… by Katrina / from Northumberland / BSc Mathematics and Statistics / 3rd Year (UG)

After starting university, the once scary question of “what are you going to study at university and where are you going to study?” quickly becomes the even scarier question “so what are your plans after university?”. For many, including myself, starting university I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do but what I did know was that studying maths gave so many opportunities upon graduating, which in fact can sometimes make it harder to choose! This is why I started to look for opportunities to explore and try different fields so I could start to rule things out!

I am going to go through a few of the different ways the University of Edinburgh helped me go from a confused 1st year, to a 2nd year with a spring week at JP Morgan, to a 3rd year with a place as a technology summer analyst at Morgan Stanley. Continue reading “How I secured a summer internship, and how the University helped…”

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Swap subject to maths? No problem…

Photo of JoJo… by JoJo / from China / MSc Statistics and Operational Research / PG (2021-22)

This is the subject that I want to talk about for quite a long time. At the time I’m writing this blog, it is already the second semester of my MSc studying Statistics and OR. The first semester was certainly hard and super intense, but we managed to surpass the phase, and here I am, trying to pull a blog out telling you what is it like to change subject from a different disciplinary to statistics. I do appreciate that this post may not target at all the audience, but I believe it is useful for students who are from different discipline who wants to come to do statistics.

We have many students who did not come from a statistics or mathematics background, so for those of you who are unsure about whether you should apply because you are afraid that your background may not be good enough, do apply. As long as you can get an offer from the admission, you will be doing just fine. Continue reading “Swap subject to maths? No problem…”

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Third Year and Full-Time Mathematics…

Photograph of Fionnuala… by Fionnuala / from London / BSc Mathematics and Statistics / 3rd Year (UG)

After two years of studying in Edinburgh, a global pandemic, not being able to make it to Spain for my year abroad and many more obstacles – I’ve finally completed the first Honours semester of my degree (minus a few exams in the next week!). Returning to Edinburgh in September after not living there for almost a year due to the pandemic was a very scary experience. Although I had lived there before, had friends on my course and societies to get back to, I couldn’t help but feel just as nervous as I was before I started in first year. These last few years have been a challenge for all of us but as I look back on the past semester, I can honestly say that I’ve really enjoyed third year so far. 

Continue reading “Third Year and Full-Time Mathematics…”

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Living on the tails: studying as a mature student…

Photograph of Azfarul… by Azfarul / from London, UK / MSc Statistics with Data Science / PG (2020-21)

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

In addition to “Sorry, I was on mute!”, this is what I heard most throughout 2020. After a decade of working, leaving behind a fascinating job during global uncertainty to pursue a Masters might have seemed like foolishness. Fast forward more than a year and – after what felt like drowning in hundreds of hours of coursework, endlessly playing and re-playing recorded lectures, dealing with the eerie silence of virtually-conducted examinations, and three intense months of industrially-liaised project work – I still find it difficult to believe how this time flew as it did.

Continue reading “Living on the tails: studying as a mature student…”

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Expectation(Uni Life) ≠ Reality…

Photograph of Morgan… by Morgan / from Fraserburgh / MMath Mathematics / 3rd year (UG)

Hi, I’m Morgan and I’m a 3rd year Maths student at the University of Edinburgh. So far, I’ve really enjoyed my time at university; however we all know no tale is without its adversities. It’s perhaps a little cliché to say that “the transition from school to university is so difficult!” but that saying wouldn’t be repeated so frequently if it weren’t true (although my statistics lecturer may tell me that I’m a victim of observation bias…)

Continue reading “Expectation(Uni Life) ≠ Reality…”

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What’s it like to do a joint honours programme?..

Photograph of Jie Xin… Jie Xin / from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / BSc Mathematics and Music / 4th Year (UG)

Having completed my first three years of my undergraduate studies as a maths and music student, I hope I could share a little about my experiences with anyone curious or prospective students.

Some comments and questions I always get when telling people about my programme include: “oh, I didn’t know that existed!”, “what made you decide on this particular programme?”, “you must be so good at both music and maths!” and “how do you combine maths and music?” Well, it does exist, I absolutely love both mathematics and music, and yes, I would love to think that I am good at both music and maths. For the question about combining maths and music, there are a variety of courses which do so, but it’s not a requirement for me to take them.

Continue reading “What’s it like to do a joint honours programme?..”

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If I Could Talk to my First Year Self…

… by Rory / from Peebles / MMath Mathematics / 5th Year (UG)

I am about to enter my 5th and final year of an MMath degree, with the start of the semester only a couple of weeks away. I thought it might be interesting to cast my mind back to this time four years ago and examine how my approach and preparations for the semester have changed over the years. Hopefully this will be a useful reference for those just starting out and on a personal level I am curious to see what I’ve done differently and why. Continue reading “If I Could Talk to my First Year Self…”

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A Day in the Life of an MSc Student (during Covid-19)…

Mike sat at his desk holding up a glass… by Mike / from Greece / MSc Statistics with Data Science / PG (2020-21)

Hello there!

My name is Mike, I am from the lovely country of Greece and currently am an MSc Statistics with Data Science student at The University of Edinburgh. In this post I will try to describe what my typical, more relaxed, work days as a PGT student look like.

Continue reading “A Day in the Life of an MSc Student (during Covid-19)…”

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A Year of Hybrid Learning…

A photograph of Anna… by Anna / from Larbert / BSc Mathematics / 1st Year (UG)

I think every new first year student is a bit uncertain about what university learning will actually be like. And thanks to the pandemic and the arrival of hybrid learning, it’s even harder than usual to imagine how your academic life will look. Because of this, I wanted to sum up what online and hybrid learning has been like for me as a first year maths student, and share some tips for how to get the most out of it.

Continue reading “A Year of Hybrid Learning…”

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Ten Things I Learnt from my MSc…

… 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…”

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Things to do in Self-Isolation…

… 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…”

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Being a Maths Curriculum Ambassador…

… 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…”

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My Weekly Workload in my First Semester…

… 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…”

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What Contact Hours at University are Really Like…

… 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…”