The Student Room Group

Scroll to see replies

Reply 3120
Hi, I want to study medicine at a fairly prestigious university, my short list so far is Cambridge, Ucl, barts and kings.

I am currently in year 10 and my predicted gcse grades are:
Biology a*
Chemistry a*
Mandarin Chinese a
English language a
English literature a
French a
Geography I gcse a
History a*
Maths a*
Physics a*
Psychology a*
Religious studies a*

And by the end of year 11 I will have admaths at as and as French. I do not know what to take at sixth form, I was thinking about the it because I think it is a better qualification but it is really hard.

If I take it I will probably do biology, chemistry and maths/psychology at higher and English geography/history/psychology/maths at standard level with Japanese or Spanish ab initio

If I do a level I think I will do biology, chemistry, maths and psychology and maybe bsl at as because I have a 101.1

Oh and I also play hockey, volunteer at beavers, am a st John cadet at have a part time job tutoring children.

Sorry about the essay but what should I take? :colondollar:
Reply 3121


Tl;dr and it sounds like you're just showing off your grades and ECs anyway.

So:

Bio + Chem + Anything you're confident in getting an A in.
Beware of saying 'prestigious' on this forum. All medical schools are prestigious. Debatably Oxbridge still has that aura around it which makes the public think it is way better (maybe it is, I'm not sure), but technically there is no major difference between London medical schools and elsewhere in the country except that they have some well known hospitals attached (doesn't mean teaching will be better).

I don't see what your ECs has to do with choosing subjects but okay they are good for applying to medicine. Your proposed choices seem good. Just take what you enjoy as long as that includes Chemistry and Biology at least to AS to keep more university choices open. If you want to apply to Cambridge then another science/maths should be taken. I don't know what BSL is?

Edit: Agree with above.
Sciences and Maths
Original post by TKB
Hi, I want to study medicine at a fairly prestigious university, my short list so far is Cambridge, Ucl, barts and kings.
I am currently in year 10 and my predicted gcse grades are:
Biology a*
Chemistry a*
Mandarin Chinese a
English language a
English literature a
French a
Geography I gcse a
History a*
Maths a*
Physics a*
Psychology a*
Religious studies a*

And by the end of year 11 I will have admaths at as and as French. I do not know what to take at sixth form, I was thinking about the it because I think it is a better qualification but it is really hard.

If I take it I will probably do biology, chemistry and maths/psychology at higher and English geography/history/psychology/maths at standard level with Japanese or Spanish ab initio

If I do a level I think I will do biology, chemistry, maths and psychology and maybe bsl at as because I have a 101.1

Oh and I also play hockey, volunteer at beavers, am a st John cadet at have a part time job tutoring children.

Sorry about the essay but what should I take? :colondollar:


And might I ask on what basis have you made the aforementioned choices?
Original post by TKB
Hi, I want to study medicine at a fairly prestigious university, my short list so far is Cambridge, Ucl, barts and kings.

I am currently in year 10 and my predicted gcse grades are:
Biology a*
Chemistry a*
Mandarin Chinese a
English language a
English literature a
French a
Geography I gcse a
History a*
Maths a*
Physics a*
Psychology a*
Religious studies a*

And by the end of year 11 I will have admaths at as and as French. I do not know what to take at sixth form, I was thinking about the it because I think it is a better qualification but it is really hard.

If I take it I will probably do biology, chemistry and maths/psychology at higher and English geography/history/psychology/maths at standard level with Japanese or Spanish ab initio

If I do a level I think I will do biology, chemistry, maths and psychology and maybe bsl at as because I have a 101.1

Oh and I also play hockey, volunteer at beavers, am a st John cadet at have a part time job tutoring children.

Sorry about the essay but what should I take? :colondollar:


Psychology is seen as a 'soft' subject by prestigious universities, and especially by medical schools; do not take it in any form, whether that be at A-level or IB. Similarly, if taking the IB, do not take an AB Initio language, as it is based at GCSE level for those who have not studied the language before, which again will be looked down upon by prestigious universities and medical schools.

No university will care about your hockey, beavers or tutoring; you'll want work experience in medical settings on your personal statement, and a lot of it.

See here for Cambridge's list of preferred subjects, with Psychology not being one of them: http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604 Psychology is listed as 'limited suitability'. Many people argue that if your other subjects are on the preferred list, then a subject from the limited suitability list is fine, but realistically for a competitive university like Cambridge, if one applicant has four subjects from the preferred list, and another has three from the preferred list and one from the limited suitability list, the university will be more likely to accept the student with the four preferred subjects.
Reply 3126
Original post by Flyteryder
Psychology is seen as a 'soft' subject by prestigious universities, and especially by medical schools; do not take it in any form, whether that be at A-level or IB. Similarly, if taking the IB, do not take an AB Initio language, as it is based at GCSE level for those who have not studied the language before, which again will be looked down upon by prestigious universities and medical schools.

No university will care about your hockey, beavers or tutoring; you'll want work experience in medical settings on your personal statement, and a lot of it.

See here for Cambridge's list of preferred subjects, with Psychology not being one of them: http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604 Psychology is listed as 'limited suitability'. Many people argue that if your other subjects are on the preferred list, then a subject from the limited suitability list is fine, but realistically for a competitive university like Cambridge, if one applicant has four subjects from the preferred list, and another has three from the preferred list and one from the limited suitability list, the university will be more likely to accept the student with the four preferred subjects.


This is literally the worst post ever. Ignore it.

Psychology isn't seem as 'soft' and as long as you meet the minimum A-Level requirements, on the whole it doesn't matter.

And yes, medical schools care a lot about extra curricular activities.

I'm not sure how linking a generalised document from one Cambridge college is meant to show that all medical schools somehow dislike Psychology, though...
Original post by Flyteryder
Psychology is seen as a 'soft' subject by prestigious universities, and especially by medical schools; do not take it in any form, whether that be at A-level or IB. Similarly, if taking the IB, do not take an AB Initio language, as it is based at GCSE level for those who have not studied the language before, which again will be looked down upon by prestigious universities and medical schools.

No university will care about your hockey, beavers or tutoring; you'll want work experience in medical settings on your personal statement, and a lot of it.

See here for Cambridge's list of preferred subjects, with Psychology not being one of them: http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604 Psychology is listed as 'limited suitability'. Many people argue that if your other subjects are on the preferred list, then a subject from the limited suitability list is fine, but realistically for a competitive university like Cambridge, if one applicant has four subjects from the preferred list, and another has three from the preferred list and one from the limited suitability list, the university will be more likely to accept the student with the four preferred subjects.


What experiences are you speaking from?

Just to clear things up for other potential applicants, the bold statement above is completely false.
How is applied health and social care A-Level seen by Universities? One of my friends keeps telling me it's hugely favoured (particularly by medical schools) but I have this gut feeling that it isn't, and that it's the A-Level choice of those who don't know what career they want and aren't looking at a career in medicine..

Thanks:smile: x
Reply 3129
Original post by Hellokitty112
How is applied health and social care A-Level seen by Universities? One of my friends keeps telling me it's hugely favoured (particularly by medical schools) but I have this gut feeling that it isn't, and that it's the A-Level choice of those who don't know what career they want and aren't looking at a career in medicine..

Thanks:smile: x


As long as you have Bio + Chem, your 3rd A level subject wouldn't matter. Applied heath and social care is not hugely favoured from what I know. As long as your A2 predictions meet with university requirements, you can take Fine Arts for your 3rd A level and the universities will not mind. (Speaking in general terms here as some universities will prefer you to have 3 science related A levels)
Original post by Vulpes
As long as you have Bio + Chem, your 3rd A level subject wouldn't matter. Applied heath and social care is not hugely favoured from what I know. As long as your A2 predictions meet with university requirements, you can take Fine Arts for your 3rd A level and the universities will not mind. (Speaking in general terms here as some universities will prefer you to have 3 science related A levels)


Thank you:smile:
Just thought id say seeing as psychology has been described as a 'soft subject' that i applied to foundation medicine this year with Biology, Psychology and Art and they're hardly the most ideal subjects but i did it and i got 2 offers at manchester and sheffield, so it can deffo be done whatever your circumstances :smile: just get awesome grades and a brill personal statement with lots of work experience and volunteering :smile:
I really just want to do Biology and Chemistry with two arts subjects (Philosophy, History or English Lit) - But have been strongly advised against this.

So now I'm taking Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Philosophy.

Anyone currently taking physics AS or has taken physics AS (I'm planning to drop it after AS) got any general advice?
Original post by Hellokitty112
I'm in Year 10 at the moment, and am thinking about a career in medicine since I am extremely interested in all aspects of medicine that I have come into contact with at the moment. I was thinking of taking biology, chemistry and phycology in college, but I'm not too sure about the 4th subject. One of my friends is trying to talk me into doing Applied Health and Social Care with her, but I'm not too sure... Although it probably would be interesting I think I've heard that it isn't really favoured by universities, in which case I would prefer not to take the subject.. Does anybody know if this is true?

Thanks! :smile:


You've still got plenty of time but don't do applied health and social care as it is not seen as academically rigorous wait until you get your results and then decide on the fourth (thats what I'm doing) :smile:
Do you need physics for your A-Levels if u want to do Medicine?? :rolleyes:

(P.S. What are the ideal subjects to pick?)
Original post by park1996
Do you need physics for your A-Levels if u want to do Medicine?? :rolleyes:

(P.S. What are the ideal subjects to pick?)


Nope, not at all.

What you need is chemistry. The majority of universities require biology as well.
I'm applying for medicine and I'm currently at AS doing chemistry, biology, english literature, geography, french. Btw you don't need 5 subjects (I speak french, if not i would have only taken four) Most people take four - Three is the minimum.
Many people say you need maths too. This is NOT true. The reason I did not do maths was because I only got a B at GCSE, and I'm also doing five subjects to compensate for that. But I know a few hopeful medics who did NOT choose maths, and got an A* at GCSE. Which proves that it isn't necessary.

Choose whatever you love doing (they love languages, history, a few other humanities - but NOT drama, art, etc.) along with the essentials (biology and chem). Choose physics if you want to. But it's best if you don't do it if you think you won't do well in it, because it's not needed.

I hope my advice helped. Good luck for the future! :wink:
Reply 3136
You need to take 4 at AS, 3 at A-level.

You must take chemistry, you should take biology also, otherwise you'll be restricted to a few schools you can apply to. Then you can take any other academic subjects.

The important thing is, pick subjects you enjoy enough/are strong enough in to get As, which you'll need to meet offers.
My definite subjects are: Chemistry, Biology and RS...which out of Maths or Physics, should I pick as my fourth subject?
Thanks:smile:
Reply 3138
Original post by SmileAway
My definite subjects are: Chemistry, Biology and RS...which out of Maths or Physics, should I pick as my fourth subject?
Thanks:smile:


Whichever you are more likely to get a higher grade in.
Original post by SmileAway
My definite subjects are: Chemistry, Biology and RS...which out of Maths or Physics, should I pick as my fourth subject?
Thanks:smile:

I would recommend Maths as it's easier to do as a standalone subject, whereas many people doing Physics will also have Maths, as Maths greatly eases the difficulty of Physics. That said, if you're liable to do better in Physics than Maths then by all means choose Physics; both are very respectable subjects and when applying for Medicine you want to get as high grades as possible.

Latest