Applying to Study Mathematics at University
🕒 Read time: 6 mins
Hi, my name is Rawan and I am a first-year Mathematics student at the University of Birmingham. When I decided to apply to study maths at university, I knew that I was committing to a subject that I have always loved, but has never failed to challenge me and shape the way I think. However, the application process was difficult and at times, I felt like I was drowning in personal statement drafts and entrance exam preparation. For those of you who are in that position now, I hope this article helps.
Why do you need to stand out?
According to UCAS, over 78,000 students applied to STEM subjects for the 2025 cycle, with mathematics continuing to be a strong contender among them. Although there weren’t exact numbers for maths alone in 2025, historical data suggests that maths typically attracts around 20,000 to 25,000 applicants annually, with acceptance rates varying widely by university. Almost everyone who wants to study Maths at degree level, has a passion for the subject and is likely to have strong predicted and achieved grades in maths related subjects, this meant that I had to stand out against thousands of similar applicants. I needed to show that I had a true passion for maths, and that I would be able to thrive in the challenge of degree level maths.
Showing Passion- The Personal Statement.
The personal statement was my opportunity to communicate my love of maths to the universities. An important thing to note is the key difference between supercurricular and extracurricular activities, while both are activities outside of your curriculum, supercurriculars need to take up a lot more of your personal statement than extracurriculars. Extracurriculars are things like sports, music and hobbies, whilst these help present you as a well-rounded and balanced, supercurriculars will highlight your passion for your subject. A supercurricular activity is an activity which “extend, or stretch your knowledge beyond what you do within the school curriculum”. (betterunichoices.com) Examples of supercurricular activities for maths would be watching videos and listening to podcasts about various mathematical ideas, or even reading books and articles about maths. It is important that when you include these activities in your personal statement, you ensure that you include information about what you learnt from these activities. What fascinated you? What questions do you have? And most importantly, why did these activities fuel your passion to study Mathematics at university. One supercurricular that really stands out amongst others, is partaking in optional Maths competitions such as the Senior Maths Challenge. Not only does this show that you enjoy maths more than the average applicant, doing well in such challenges also goes a long way to show off the strength of your problem solving skills. My Top Tip for a maths personal statement is to pick one or two areas of maths which intrigue you the most, talk about which books and podcasts you read/listened to in order to learn more about these topics and link them to why you want to study maths further.
Showing Skill- Admission Tests
The next big hurdle in the application process was the admissions tests. Every applicant to a Top UK university has extremely high predicted grades and GCSEs, so admissions tests are used to separate the applicants. The main maths admissions tests are the MAT, TMUA and STEP, you need to decide which universities you are applying to and check which admissions test they require. Out of the 3, the exams I sat were the TMUA and STEP.
The TMUA
The TMUA, which stands for the Test of Mathematics for University Admission, is based on higher level GCSE maths content and AS level content. It is usually sat in October or January of Year 13. Despite the fact that it contains no new content, per se, the TMUA asks multiple choice questions that have a slightly different style to what you are used to from A-Level. Paper 1 tests calculation and problem solving, but most people struggle with Paper 2, which tests reasoning and logic. However, the biggest difficulty in the TMUA is arguably the timed conditions as you are expected to answer 20 questions in 75 minutes. The best way to study for the TMUA is honestly practice. Use the maths section from the ESAT (a similar test for engineering and science) , as well as the multiple choice section of the MAT to begin with. As the exams get closer, practice the full past papers from 2017 under timed conditions. R2Drew2 on Youtube has detailed walkthroughs for every TMUA past paper, which I found very useful when preparing for the TMUA.
The STEP
The STEP- which stands for the Sixth Term Examination Paper- is arguably the hardest Mathematics entrance exam of the three. It is sat alongside your A-Levels at the end of year 13, this is because across STEP 2 and STEP 3, knowledge of the entire A-Level Maths and Further Maths syllabus. Most candidates sitting the STEP, are sitting it as part of an offer to study Mathematics at Cambridge, I was one of those applicants. I missed my offer to study at Cambridge on results day due to how I had performed in STEP 3. I can honestly say that looking back now, my biggest mistake was not starting early enough. I started preparing for STEP when I received my Cambridge offer in late January which in reality, was far too late. The STEP consists of a whole new style of questions, which were completely different to what I was used to from A Levels and even the TMUA, and I needed a lot more practice to get used to this change. If I was to do it all again, I would start STEP preparation in late year 12, even if I wasn’t sure that I would sit it. The University of Cambridge has a STEP Support Programme, which contains modules to practice tailored to year 12 students. Now that I have started university level maths, I am already drawing a lot of similarities between STEP questions and the style of questions in our lectures and problem sheets, which further indicates how advanced STEP problems can be. My number one insight from my experience of STEP, is that the only way to get better at answering 20 mark questions, is to answer 20 mark questions. Try to avoid checking markschemes or solutions unless you absolutely have to, keep trying at a question until you get somewhere. Over time, provided you start early enough, you’ll start getting used to STEP questions and the ways of approaching them will become second nature.
To conclude, applying for maths is no easy feat, you need to make sure you stand out, and there's a lot more to standing out than you would expect. I hope this article provided some insight into the application process and the various aspects of it, making the whirlwind of applications just that little bit easier. Thank you for reading, and if you are applying soon : I wish you the best of luck!
References
UCAS (2025) 2025 cycle applicant figures – 29 January deadline. Available at: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-releases/applicant-releases-2025-cycle/2025-cycle-applicant-figures-29-january-deadline?hash=6uUNPk0rtbSb_ThwLZ_0npfhCLlWARrPUniB8rbrOVQ (Accessed: 6 November 2025).
Better Uni Choices (2023) What exactly are super-curricular activities, and why should I be bothered? Available at: https://www.betterunichoices.com/articles/what-exactly-are-super-curricular-activities-and-why-should-i-be-bothered (Accessed: 6 November 2025).
R2Drew2 (no date) R2Drew2 [YouTube channel]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/@rtwodrew2 (Accessed: 9 November 2025).
University of Cambridge, Faculty of Mathematics (2025) STEP Support Programme. Available at: https://maths.org/step/ (Accessed: 9 November 2025).
Rawan is a dedicated Maths and Science tutor currently pursuing a degree in Mathematics at university. As both a Tutor and Content Writer for Learn Science Together, Rawan combines academic excellence with a passion for inspiring others. Having achieved A* grades in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, and Chemistry at A Level, she writes engaging, insightful articles that help students gain confidence, deepen understanding, and master the skills needed to achieve top grades.
