[DrMeredithGrey]

I'm in year 12, taking Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Lit. I want to do medicine at uni and I was hoping to apply to Oxford, Bristol, Kings, etc.
But, I'm not sure I'll be able to get the grades.
Firstly, I really don't know why I chose maths, considering I am now literally failing and absolutely hate it! So, I have to drop maths next year, if not before, meaning at A2 I will have to do English Lit, Chemistry and Biology. I need atleast AAA, and I just don't think thats going to be possible with these subjects. I'm not worried about the science subjects, its just English, as I've heard it is really hard. I also am really not enjoying english at AS, so I didn't particularly want to have to continue with it next year.
If I could choose my subjects again I would definitely choose psychology, as I think I would have been a lot better at it and hopefully would have found it easier to get an A than in English. So what do I do?
I could just continue at sixth form, drop maths and do english next year and hope that I can get AAA and apply for medicine.
Or I could resit year 12 next year at another college, and take psychology instead of maths, and then I can drop english at A2 and just be left with psychology, chemistry and biology which I think would be more achievable in terms of getting the grades.
The thing is I have heard that most universities don't like it if you've re-sat year 12. So I really don't know what to do. As if I don't re-sit, I could risk not getting the grades. But if I do re-sit, then my application will most likely be rejected because I've taken A levels over 3 years. Sorry for rambling! Any advice?

[myyrh]

(Original post by DrMeredithGrey)
I'm in year 12, taking Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Lit. I want to do medicine at uni and I was hoping to apply to Oxford, Bristol, Kings, etc.
But, I'm not sure I'll be able to get the grades.
Firstly, I really don't know why I chose maths, considering I am now literally failing and absolutely hate it! So, I have to drop maths next year, if not before, meaning at A2 I will have to do English Lit, Chemistry and Biology. I need atleast AAA, and I just don't think thats going to be possible with these subjects. I'm not worried about the science subjects, its just English, as I've heard it is really hard. I also am really not enjoying english at AS, so I didn't particularly want to have to continue with it next year.
If I could choose my subjects again I would definitely choose psychology, as I think I would have been a lot better at it and hopefully would have found it easier to get an A than in English. So what do I do?
I could just continue at sixth form, drop maths and do english next year and hope that I can get AAA and apply for medicine.
Or I could resit year 12 next year at another college, and take psychology instead of maths, and then I can drop english at A2 and just be left with psychology, chemistry and biology which I think would be more achievable in terms of getting the grades.
The thing is I have heard that most universities don't like it if you've re-sat year 12. So I really don't know what to do. As if I don't re-sit, I could risk not getting the grades. But if I do re-sit, then my application will most likely be rejected because I've taken A levels over 3 years. Sorry for rambling! Any advice?

Your best bet is to carry on with your current subjects and persevere. I always hated Maths and did terribly in my class tests. My teacher literally begged me to drop the subject because I was heading for a U. I just stuck at it and after lots of practice the subject became manageable. A levels are meant to be difficult and universities want to see that you can cope with the academic rigour of it. Don't be swayed by what others say about a subject, just believe in yourself, work really hard and you should achieve what you need. You still have the June exams to bump up your grades. If you don't get good AS grades, be prepared to take a gap year and just resit modules during your Year 13 and try and achieve AAA at the end of Year 13. Avoid resitting at ALL COSTS. Like you mentioned, universities don't like those who resit and those that do expect applicants to have serious extenuating circumstances behind their performance at AS level.

[Venomilys]

carry on and do the best that you can. At A2, drop maths seeing as you hate it so much and do some AS resits if required. You should still apply for med normally, but expect rejections as I assume you may not do so well at AS, in which case you would want to take a gap year.

You CAN do well at AS now anyway, you have more than enough time. I revised 4 weeks before the exams solidly. You have 2-3 months, just approach revision with a cool head and tell yourself that you can do it.

[Hippokrates]

What are your GCSEs because you have chosen two GCSE heavy unis. None of the unis mentioned accept resits without mitigating circumstances so the best bet is to pull your socks up now and put the work in.

[Helloworld_95]

For Oxford you could try taking SATs during the first few months of year 13 or in the next few months if they don't clash with your as exams, it'll cost a bit of money but providing you get a score of 700+ on each they will use those for entry rather than your a levels however you'll still need spectacular GCSE's.

[DrMeredithGrey]

Thanks everyone for your help!
I think I'll probably just stick with the A levels I'm doing now, and hope that I can do well enough to get into medicine

[DrMeredithGrey]

(Original post by Hippokrates)
What are your GCSEs because you have chosen two GCSE heavy unis. None of the unis mentioned accept resits without mitigating circumstances so the best bet is to pull your socks up now and put the work in.

9A*s and 2As
Thanks for the advice!

[DrMeredithGrey]

Oh and also - sorry to keep asking stuff, its just my school seems to know absolutely nothing about applying for medicine! - but would I have a disadvantage applying if I dropped AS maths now to focus on getting A's in my other subjects and then took up another AS next year instead? This would mean my UCAS application would only have results for 3 AS's and I'd have to put the other one as pending or something. Would universities mind this, particularly for such a competitive course as medicine?

[PeaceFreak]

You will need to do 4 AS levels but you can drop maths after that, if needs be just resit it, as most places only require a B in the 4th AS level.

[Wickersham]

For the universities you've chosen, you'd need 4 AS Levels as most universities require "3.5 A Levels" - as in 3 A Levels and a fourth AS in another subject. But I only did 3 AS Levels, and I applied to universities that accept only 3 AS Levels and I managed to pull through and get 4 interviews! 4 AS Levels are not a must.

If I were you though, I would drop English (next year, or this year if you're struggling that much), reassess my university choices and get a math tutor! I was predicted a C in my C2 exam, but I ended up getting about around 95%! With hard work and perseverance (and a tiny bit of luck), anything is possible. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true!

[bloomingblossoms]

(Original post by myyrh)
Your best bet is to carry on with your current subjects and persevere. I always hated Maths and did terribly in my class tests. My teacher literally begged me to drop the subject because I was heading for a U. I just stuck at it and after lots of practice the subject became manageable. A levels are meant to be difficult and universities want to see that you can cope with the academic rigour of it. Don't be swayed by what others say about a subject, just believe in yourself, work really hard and you should achieve what you need. You still have the June exams to bump up your grades. If you don't get good AS grades, be prepared to take a gap year and just resit modules during your Year 13 and try and achieve AAA at the end of Year 13. Avoid resitting at ALL COSTS. Like you mentioned, universities don't like those who resit and those that do expect applicants to have serious extenuating circumstances behind their performance at AS level.

Slightly late but do you mean resitting the modules or the entire year?

[digitalis]

(Original post by DrMeredithGrey)
I'm in year 12, taking Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Lit. I want to do medicine at uni and I was hoping to apply to Oxford, Bristol, Kings, etc.
But, I'm not sure I'll be able to get the grades.
Firstly, I really don't know why I chose maths, considering I am now literally failing and absolutely hate it! So, I have to drop maths next year, if not before, meaning at A2 I will have to do English Lit, Chemistry and Biology. I need atleast AAA, and I just don't think thats going to be possible with these subjects. I'm not worried about the science subjects, its just English, as I've heard it is really hard. I also am really not enjoying english at AS, so I didn't particularly want to have to continue with it next year.
If I could choose my subjects again I would definitely choose psychology, as I think I would have been a lot better at it and hopefully would have found it easier to get an A than in English. So what do I do?
I could just continue at sixth form, drop maths and do english next year and hope that I can get AAA and apply for medicine.
Or I could resit year 12 next year at another college, and take psychology instead of maths, and then I can drop english at A2 and just be left with psychology, chemistry and biology which I think would be more achievable in terms of getting the grades.
The thing is I have heard that most universities don't like it if you've re-sat year 12. So I really don't know what to do. As if I don't re-sit, I could risk not getting the grades. But if I do re-sit, then my application will most likely be rejected because I've taken A levels over 3 years. Sorry for rambling! Any advice?

Need to complete your A levels over two years.

[myyrh]

(Original post by bloomingblossoms)
Slightly late but do you mean resitting the modules or the entire year?

Entire year. Resitting modules is fine as long as it's within the two years of A levels.

[OSharp]

If it where that you couldnt achieve As in Bio and chemistry I would seriously consider why. Most if not all places need an A in chemistry at A2 and another science.

Don't resit the entire year, just some modules. It gets easier when you've done a bit more stuff.

[myyrh]

(Original post by bloomingblossoms)
Slightly late but do you mean resitting the modules or the entire year?

Entire year. Individual modules are fine as long as they're within the two years of A levels.

[bloomingblossoms]

(Original post by myyrh)
Entire year. Individual modules are fine as long as they're within the two years of A levels.

Thanks