Please be kind ... I need some advice

... ...

Chemistry is generally tough compared to other subjects for a lot of people doing A level,

BUT ... she is finding Chemistry really hard ... we have discussed the reasons with teachers and some of it is down to the poor GCSE teaching ... she is aiming for at least a B in AS and thinks she can get the A but is scared of A2 being even harder

K2

Hi, sorry to hear your daughter is having a hard time with chemistry.

I myself was quite upset when I tried to study for chemistry. When I decided that I wanted to pursue medicine, I knew chemistry would be a challenge.

I had always been a visual learner - diagrams, pictures, charts helped me understand certain topics better than regular words. For chemistry, I decided to go on YouTube and search for the topics I didn't understand because I was a visual learner. There were many channels that used various methods to help the students to grasp the concept.

Khanacademy was probably the channel I used the most when I was trying to grasp any chemistry concepts.

My main point is - she should really think about her learning style and use the online resources available in order to fully understand the topic she may have problems with. I have always had troubles with chemistry, but by utilizing the resources available around me, I was able to achieve my milestone and successfully got into the medical school of my choice.

Make sure to provide her with encouragement and support (which I am sure you already are), and motivate her to overcome that challenge and reach her final goal.

As many have said, do not concentrate on the problem - concentrate on finding the solution.

Best of luck to your daughter and your family!
K2

I'm a first year medic and I went to a comp. on special measures. I stayed there for 6th form so essentially had to teach myself most of A-level chemistry. It was HARD but, so far, I don't think I've encountered anything quite as hard during my time at medschool. If your daughter really wants to study Medicine, I recommend she gives chemistry all the work and time that it requires to get the best grade - my medschool says that it is a compulsory part of the offer because this is the level of chemistry required for medicine and that they don't have any time to teach it - so finding chemistry hard should definitely not detract people from studying medicine.

Also, may I ask which exam board she is on? For OCR, it's a hell of a lot easier to retake the AS exams in year 13 once you have cemented the basics - many of my friends got D/Es at AS then went on to get A/B at a-level through retaking the earlier exams.

To be honest, that is not an excuse. Everyone finds A level chemistry hard...that is why it is one of the required subjects to get into medicine, not because you really need it, but more because it 'separates the men from the boys'. GCSE chemistry wasn't very helpful for A levels.

Chemistry is generally tough compared to other subjects for a lot of people doing A level, I'd say keep working at it if she really wants to do medicine - it's not impossible to get an A; if other people can get it, so can she.

It's worth trying to get that A anyway, what's the point in giving up.

My daughter is in Y12

Bright ... went to a Comp that was in Special Measures but achieved 3A* and 6A grades ... best results in the school

Moved for 6th form to a very good school ... she had to do an admissions test and score in the top 10% so this reassured us that she was better than the GCSEs suggested

Studying Biology Chemistry Maths History (and FM AS over 2 years)

She wanted to go into medicine


BUT ... she is finding Chemistry really hard ... we have discussed the reasons with teachers and some of it is down to the poor GCSE teaching ... she is aiming for at least a B in AS and thinks she can get the A but is scared of A2 being even harder



So ... my question ... if Chemistry is hard for her should she give up on medicine or could she consider a Medical Science or Biomedical Science degree and look for graduate Medicine ... is this a viable route


I want to support her whatever she aims for but am scared of being a pushy Mum who is focussed on medicine even though that is not sensible

Any advice would be welcome

Thanks for reading

By what measure is she 'struggling' - have you actually had poor test results, or is it just how your daughter feels, which may be unfounded.

People only find Chemistry difficult because they don't understand the basics (like you said). Have you considered getting her a Chemistry tutor?

Would help to know what parts of Chemistry she is finding difficult. I thought AS was a bit more difficult than A2 because of all the organic reactions I have to memorize for my exam board... In my exam board there's more emphasis on physical chem in A2 which is easier for me.