Day in the Life of a Cambridge Mathematics Student (Part III Mathematics)
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
- Lots and lots of maths....
For those that are new here... my name is Ellie and I'm a student at the University of Cambridge studying Part III Masters of the Mathematical Tripos (basically a fancy way of saying I'm studying a maths masters lol) and I am in Sidney Sussex College! I love maths, space and tech (I have a tech channel too!) and I'm so excited to share this new chapter with you all 💛
🔗 Social Media 🔗
📸 Instagram: / ellieinstem
🎵 TikTok: / elliesleightholm
🎶Spotify: open.spotify.com/user/1162825...
▶️My Coding UA-cam: / codeofthefuture
🎬 Filming Set-Up 🎬
📸 Camera: amzn.to/46wj66R
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📽️ Tripod: amzn.to/48YR2ec - Розваги
Love the idea of working/learning collaboratively, and regular breaks - something I look forward to seek/protect/encourage this fall :)
Wishing you the best for your results, Ellie, if you haven't received them already :)
Great video Ellie. I am glad that you are posting all the videos you made during this year, i thought I would watch them!!!
Loved this Ellie!
Thank you for the encouragement ❤️
This vlog is great since I can learn more about the Cambridge university student daily life in advance. Thanks for sharing! In my free time, I also walk around the garden to unwind.
I am a Chinese A Level student applying to Cambridge soon, so I have watched some videos related to university daily life.
Thanks for your videos Ellie! 😄
Thank you for your support!
It's a brilliant idea to make a video for all the modules which you took.I think it will give me some new ideas on which topics to study next
This was nice video, made me study
Thanks for the video! I'd be really interested to know more about your time at Cambridge outside of your studies...I know this is all filmed during the run up to exams, but before the course picked up a load were you part of any clubs/involved in any extra-curricular projects, etc?
Hi Ellie,
I’ve really been enjoying you video series recently. It’s amazing content - keep up the great work! ☺️
I feel like your twin from a year later - I’ve got a place at part iii and will be heading there in September. I plan to take all the ‘Continuum Mechanics’ modules as well as the “dynamics” type modules from the Astrophysics section, so I see a lot of similarities in your subject choices. Any videos on the modules you took would be brilliant, and your suggestion about doing individual videos for each subject would be much appreciated.
I’m in a bit of a pickle. Last years’ modules were distributed perfectly for my tastes, but this year there is a disproportionate amount of fluid dynamics in Michaelmas and not enough in Lent. I’m tempted to go heavier in 1st term and lighter in 2nd, or alternatively go out of my comfort zone and take another astrophysics module in Lent to have a more balanced experience. I come from a purely maths background so I’m a tad uneasy about the astrophysics modules. But I also don’t want to be burnt out in the 1st term. Any information you could give about preparation you think would be essential for the courses and also about the workload would be invaluable to me (and any other students on similar paths to us).
Again thoroughly enjoying your videos,and will also try out your coding channel 😊
Thank you so much for your comment, Karen! Congratulations on your place at Cambridge; you'll love it! I'll make sure to create a video on all of the modules I took this year before you start your first term!!
Do you have a list of the modules you want to take in Michaelmas and Lent? I can have a look and see what I think in terms of workload? One thing I would say is that I wish I'd taken more modules in Michaelmas so that it would ease the workload in Lent but then again, I had quite a difficult time in Michaelmas so that wasn't always possible. If you are wanting to do the Part III essay then that is usually written during Lent term so that's often counted as an additional module. I would 100% take the essay option because most people do a lot better in it compared to their exams! I'm also from a purely mathematical background and I didn't struggle that much with the physics knowledge needed for the Astrophysics courses. I'll let you in on a little secret (not really that secret when you get there lol) - the Part III Astrophysics course is offered to Cambridge maths undergrads (Part II) who don't achieve a high enough grade to get into Part III Mathematics so you'll find there are a lot of pure maths students on those courses too.
I'll try incorporate workload, how many modules you should take, etc. in my modules video and I'll try film that sometime next week so that it's uploaded before you head to Cambridge! I can also film an 'advice for Cambridge Part III' students if that would be of any help?
Sorry for the long message! I know how nerve-wracking it can be trying to prepare for Part III but honestly, you'll have an amazing time. As much as I say I had a difficult year, that was purely based on my seizures and physical health. The content I learnt and the teaching was incredible and I have no doubt you will do amazing! If you need any help, let me know! I don't always see replies to my comments so if you do have any other questions, just type a new comment on my video :)
Hi Ellie,
Thank you so much for your advice, it's so helpful and is greatly appreciated :)
And you're absolutely right, I am finding it nerve-wracking trying to prepare for part iii - I have no idea where to begin! As for my 1 month revision, I don't know whether to prioritise the mathematical methods side , such as ODEs, PDEs, Fourier transforms, complex variable techniques like residue calculus etc, or focus on getting context in fluid mechanics, such as going over topics like waves, viscous flow, boundary layers, vortex motion etc. Would you be able to add some information in your next video about what topics you think are most relevant to know for the dynamics and astrophysics courses at part iii? It would be so helpful to hear what advice you would give to your past self!
The modules I would like to take are
-Slow viscous flow (24M)
-Fluid Dynamics of Climate (24M)
-Perturbation Methods (16M)
-Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics (24M)
-Hydrodynamic Stability (16L)
-Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics (16L)
-Direct and Inverse Scattering of Waves (16L)
-Dynamics of Astrophysical Discs
I am also interested in most of the other Astrophysics subjects (such as Life and Death of Galaxies, Astrophysical Black Holes, Modern Stellar Dynamics etc), although I was a bit reluctant because of my lack of physics knowledge. But I'm so glad you've told me that some Part ii maths students go on to take Astrophysics Part iii- it must mean the modules are designed to be quite self contained which gives me so much more options. So, in summary, I will be looking forward to your personal take in the next videos on each of the modules you took. And also, if you could give any tips on which modules you think are more maths heavy or physics heavy (or just heavy in general!), it would be invaluable :) I never considered taking the essay in Lent, but since your advice I'm dead set on it! I'm not partial to stats in any way so if you could flag up any modules that require it (except for Astrostatistics of course) it would be most helpful.
I also would like to say I'm so sorry to hear what you've gone through with your health. You've done amazingly to even survive part iii with all your health set backs, let alone thrive as you have done!! As someone with a long term health condition that is episodic, you're an inspiration to many of us who are struggling to push through while fighting against our health. Keep up the good work, and many congratulations on your new career :)
(Also sorry for the long message, I don't usually leave comments, let alone long ones, but the stress of Part iii does strange things to people! XD)
@@karenschutz6110 always happy to help!! I'll make a note of everything you've said in this comment and I'll be sure to include it in my UA-cam video!!
As for the modules you're taking, they sound like good options. I'll give my opinion on each of the modules but please remember we may have very different tastes so don't worry if I didn't like something because you might end up loving it :)
SVF: I personally found Slow Viscous Flow a very hard module and it is possibly the hardest module of all the Continuum Mechanics course (in my opinion anyway). It is very much a course that continues on from undergrad Cambridge Fluids and I found it very confusing and hard. I followed along with it for the majority of the term but I eventually ended up dropping it because I didn't like it. That's not to say you won't like it but I thought I'd mention it in case you also find it hard.
FDOC: I loved Fluid Dynamics of the Climate. I had a great lecturer for it and he was always really helpful. The course content is quite easy to follow (in my opinion anyway) but the example sheets can be quite tricky. This module provided full solutions for the example sheets so don't worry if you don't understand them straight away. All in all, a great course!
Perturbation Methods: I never studied this module because it was running in Lent for me and I already had too many courses. I've heard it's a really well taught course but the exam is one of the hardest exams you can take - that's just what a previous cambridge student told me from last year. I've heard it's really interesting and well taught though.
AFD: Absolutely LOVED this course. To begin with there was a little bit of physics knowledge you needed but it's nothing major and easily learnt. The course was fascinating and I actually really enjoyed the exam😂example sheets aren't too hard and there's a lot of material out there for you to consolidate your knowledge. One of my favourite courses.
In terms of modules taken in Michaelmas, the School of Maths advises you to start with 5-6 courses and then drop down to around 4 after a week. This means you get a flavour of a lot of different modules and you can decide which you like best. My biggest regret was not trying out some more astro courses in Michaelmas - I jumped straight in with 4 courses and 2 of them I really didn't like (SVF and Biological Physics). I would say in terms of work load, 3 or 4 of the 3 unit modules is more than manageable but don't worry if the workload gets a lot - you are studying Part III. Usually the example sheets are a lot harder than the exams so that you're well prepared so don't worry if you do find it challenging. Don't burn yourself out taking too many - a lot of my friends in Part III dropped down to 3 courses in Michaelmas so don't worry if you do this too.
As for Lent:
Hydrodynamic Stability wasn't running the year I went which I was gutted about because I learnt it in my undergrad at Leeds and I loved it. I did some past papers from Cambridge when I was learning it at Leeds (you might have seen in one of my videos) and it was an awesome module. I wish it was available because I think I'd have loved it!
Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics & Direct and Inverse Scattering of Waves - I don't think these were available for me to take either. I don't know much about these courses unfortunately.
Dynamics of Astrophysical Discs - LOVED this! One of my favourite courses. Best lecturer and I learnt some awesome things. Definitely recommend.
Some additional modules I studies:
Astrostatistics - took this as an aside and was the module I did the worst in. I'm glad I took it to learn but regret taking it towards exam.
Exoplanets: Atmospheres and Interiors: my favourite module at Cambridge. The maths and physics weren't hard and the lecturer was just amazing!
As for revision, the School of maths give you some revision stuff to do before starting Continuum mechanics which is designed to get you up to speed with cambridge undergrads. I didn't really find it that helpful but it did refresh a couple of things I needed for my courses. If I could go back and do it all again, I'd tell myself to relax😂 don't worry about exams or any of that until April - enjoy the courses and the wonders that Cambridge has to offer. Don't burn yourself out trying to do everything - make sure you have a life outside of maths too. Trust me, you need it to keep sane! In terms of revision, I'd tell you to just start learning the course content but don't worry too much if you don't understand it. There's a reason you have lecturers ;) I know there are AFD notes out there (don't try learn the whole course because you only cover certain sections in the course) and there are some FDC notes too. In my video I'll link to relevant modules/lecture notes.
The final thing I'd say is that Part III is as easy or as hard as you make it. At the end of the day you only need to take 17-19 units towards exams if you want to be in the chance of being awarded a distinction. That's around 6 courses (including your essay) so don't burn yourself out trying to take on too many courses or worrying if one course is too hard - you don't have to take it to exam! That's something I loved about Part III - you can literally choose any module to learn and you don't have to decide what modules you want to take towards exam until May!!
I'm thinking of filming my modules video soon so send me a list of questions you want me to answer and I will do!
Thank you so much for your detailed comment!! It’s really changed my perspective.
I’ve always found astrophysicists interesting but I never thought in could be accessible at master’s level to someone with my (our) academic background. But hearing that you were not only able to understand the material but actually excel in the subject is really exciting. I never even looked at ‘Exoplanets’ as an option, but now it’s quite near the top of my list, as well as some other Astrophysics modules. I also never thought to take more subjects at the beginning and then drop them later (I wasn’t able to do that in my undergrad), so thanks for letting me know this, I’m definitely going to do that. I’m making note, and will be aware of slow viscous flow. It was a definite in my original plan but I’ll take care to see the lecture notes in the 1st week and make a smart decision about it (instead of picking it just because the title sounds cool!). Any lecture notes you could link in your videos would be much appreciated :)
Really looking forward to your next videos :) will definitely be making lots of notes!
Hello, I am a 17-year-old Bolivian student, I have a year left to finish high school and lately I have been feeling lost in terms of being productive in my studies either by reading or withholding information but in the end after watching some videos I see that I have wasted time watching many productivity youtube channels since I spend most of my time watching that kind of videos, I think those would be some of the reasons why my grades went down, I feel that if I continue like this I will not get anywhere and they will eat me live when abroad; I dream of being a mathematician and studying at a top 100 university and that it be Asian, anyway I am writing to you because I saw your videos of life advice for teenagers and I felt very identified since I am antisocial and I hardly do anything more than see do my homework and watching TV, the only good thing I do is exercise and meditate; I used to watch youtube videos with the idea of creating a system that would help me improve my grades and at the same time really learn but I'm not achieving any of that so I unsubscribed from those youtube channels and now I'm looking for study vlogs and trying to find one with a style similar to mine in such a way that I can keep up with it and be productive once a day, in short, I am just writing this to you in the hope that you will answer me and maybe help me reorganize my life since my life is not about the screen and although if I am learning I feel that I do not dedicate anything to learning a skill and so far the youtube channels that I have seen do not resemble my reality and that is why I found a channel dictated by a Hindu who I inspire myself to be better but I feel that I am not applying it, that is why I think I am looking for Indian channels because their situation is similar to that of Latin Americans and therefore I identify myself better, I also look for Asian channels that hopefully I can translate into Spanish through s subtitles since even though I take English courses I still need to practice listening anyway I hope you answer me
Hello! Thank you so much for your message. I'm sorry to hear that you've been struggling recently with your grades and the impact UA-cam has had on your life at the moment. One thing I would say is that UA-cam is not always reliable - I always say that you should not watch a studytube video and automatically think you should be doing the same. People will post 15 hour study days and doing that every day is not realistic - trust me, I tried it and I burnt out. I would say to try and find a routine that works for you. Maybe listen to podcasts while discovering new youtube channels. I hope this helps answer your comment. If you have any other questions, just let me know!!
@@EllieSleightholm Hello, thanks for your answers, you are the first youtuber with whom I identify myself but if you want I would like to know a little more about you if you feel comfortable to compare me, but in a good way since I do not intend to match myself but I would like to know what kind of person I intend to aspire to university life since I am now a closed person, if you do not want to tell me anything then you could make a list of lessons for teenagers that you learned so that I can apply them, there are already videos like that but analyzing it does not help me much because its reality is different from mine, anyway thanks for reading
Hi Ellie! Firstly, congratss on doing so well on your Part III Maths degree! Incredible achievement ! Been really enjoying these amazing videos of your part III journey! I'm teaching myself AFD and I wanted to know if you could please share the name of the book you mentioned in this video that you used to learn about the conservations laws in astrophysical fluid dynamics?? It sounds like a really helpful book to learn AFD
Hey! Thank you so much! Of course, it was 'Magnetohydrodynamics and Fluid Dynamics: Action Principles and Conservation Laws' by Gary Webb in 'Lecture Notes in Physics Volume 946'. I'll see if I can find a link! :)
Here's the link!
link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-319-72511-6.pdf
I've also linked below the AFD notes for the course I took at Cambridge. We didn't cover everything in these notes - it's basically just a compilation of everything covered in the course since it first began (a long time!!). The lecture notes are by Professor Gordon Ogilvie (my thesis supervisor) but my lecturer this year was Dr Roman Rafikov who works closely with Professor Ogilvie in DAMTP :)
arxiv.org/pdf/1604.03835.pdf
Hope these help!!
@@EllieSleightholm Thank you so much Ellie! Yes I'm aware of the AFD notes by Prof Gordon. Lucky lucky youuuu, both of them are amazing scientists and you're so fortunate to be able to work/study with them!! :)
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Hii Ellie I have a question for you.
Dear Ellie
I am a Master's student in Stanford University USA. I want to do PhD from Cambridge University.
What tips give you me .I am Indian
Hi, I am planning to study undergraduate maths at Cambridge. Did you apply for Cambridge undergraduate maths course or did you directly apply for the masters?
I applied to just masters :)
Is there any reason why you didn't apply for undergraduate maths at Cambridge?
@niharikarajanala9454 never thought I was good enough to get in! Classic imposter syndrome 😂
If I didn't get into Cambridge this time, do you think reapplying would affect my application for masters?
I highly doubt it. I know lots of people who got in after applying more than once!
Hello, thanks for your answers, you are the first youtuber with whom I identify myself but if you want I would like to know a little more about you if you feel comfortable to compare me, but in a good way since I do not intend to match myself but I would like to know what kind of person I intend to aspire to university life since I am now a closed person, if you do not want to tell me anything then you could make a list of lessons for teenagers that you learned so that I can apply them, there are already videos like that but analyzing it does not help me much because its reality is different from mine, anyway thanks for reading