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A level Options

Im stuck on my a level options. I have chosen geography and biology because they are my favourite subjects and i perform well in them. My third a level choices are maths or chemistry. My passion is in science but im afraid i wont be able to do chemistry as my school only do double award science but im predicted AA. The chemistry is also done at another school so thats another obstacle. Idk what to do😭

Reply 1

130398

What do you want to do in university? If it's geography and geology then chemistry is the better bet. You can also go into medicine with bio and chemistry.

Reply 2

Jamiemcq17

Original post by 130398

What do you want to do in university? If it's geography and geology then chemistry is the better bet. You can also go into medicine with bio and chemistry.

Im interested in biomedical engineering or pharmacy degree which both require chemistry but i wouldnt not be uninterested in finance or economics. Im predicted an A/A* in maths and my teacher wants me to do it at a level but my exam technique is useless i find methods easy but the wording of the questions is what throws me off

Reply 3

sfairy27

From having gotten advice from various admissions I'd probably go for chemistry, but the decision overall is yours so it's honestly up to you

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Reply 4

130398

Original post by Jamiemcq17

Nothing practice can't solve. I would say do Maths at AS and see where it goes from there. Maths A-level is systematic and rather easy after you have done 10 past papers for each module (that isn't much, trust me.)
If you go on to study Pharmaceutics it might come in handy, more so than with biomedical engineering. But I think doing maths at AS and then deciding if you can continue would be a better bet.
It all up to you in the end and you must pick what you think you will do better in and what interests you and the admissions team for the course you want to apply to.

Reply 5

Jamiemcq17

Original post by sfairy27

From having gotten advice from various admissions I'd probably go for chemistry, but the decision overall is yours so it's honestly up to you

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If you have done chemistry, how did you find it? Im genuinely interested in the subject but the thought of going to a new school is messing with my head

Reply 6

Jamiemcq17

Original post by 130398

My school will only allow me to do 3 a levels as it is a lower achieving school but the teachers are what is keeping me at it. I know my teacher would be disappointed if i did not choose it and my dad but idk if im looking to do it because it looks good or if i genuinely have a passion for the subject. Have you done a level chemistry? Everyone tells me its too hard and that i shouldnt do it which is making me believe them

Reply 7

130398

Original post by Jamiemcq17

I haven't done Chemistry but I can tell you for sure it is difficult (I have looked at books). If you fear it being difficult just do it for AS (unis sometimes accept AS chemistry if you have 3 other strong a levels). I think you should look for a tutor for maths and do it outside of school (but sit the exams in your school as a center) whilst doing chemistry in school (at least for the AS year). Doing 4 subjects will really help you with uni's, and the 4 that you could have are very strong.

Reply 8

sfairy27

Original post by Jamiemcq17

If you have done chemistry, how did you find it? Im genuinely interested in the subject but the thought of going to a new school is messing with my head

Oh no, I'm in the same boat as you - I'm choosing A Levels but my mum made me go to all sorts of admissions talks and they all have a bit of a thing for chemistry.

It's apparently really challenging so I'd only take it if you really enjoy it :smile:

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Reply 9

Jamiemcq17

Original post by 130398

Thank you so much, is the workload for a level maths alot or is it less compared to geography or biology? Sorry for taking up your time

Reply 10

Jamiemcq17

Original post by sfairy27

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Thank you so much, i think im swaying towards maths as it is biology that i am more intrested in than chemistry as gcse was practically all equations and moles

Reply 11

130398

Original post by Jamiemcq17

Thank you so much, is the workload for a level maths alot or is it less compared to geography or biology? Sorry for taking up your time

No problem at all. It's summer after all :colondollar:

I wouldn't compare them as easily,they are quite different in what they require. It really depends on you, if you are good with maths (A* or A at IGCSE) then AS won't be too hard (then A2 will be but you will have the summer to prepare, which I recommend you do).
Workload will seemed say at first then in the middle/end it will seem worse but at the end (1-2 months to exams) it won't be as bad as you would become a past paper solving machine.
Again, to reiterate, it really depends on you. Bio, Geography and less so Chemistry are more dependant on wording and HOW you explain things (have to be precise and accurate). Maths is just numbers (except S1, M1 and D1) and you will learn to systematically solve the questions. You might not even know what a question wants but if you memorize the general structure of past papers it will be easy to see what is needed.
That is why I suggest you focus on Bio, Geography and Maths and have chemistry as a 4th AS level. If you go for a science degree then you can easily go into finance with those A levels.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 12

sfairy27

Original post by Jamiemcq17

Thank you so much, i think im swaying towards maths as it is biology that i am more intrested in than chemistry as gcse was practically all equations and moles

You're very welcome. Fair enough, it's whatever you're interested in and maths is classed as one of the best A Levels you can have so good luck n that 😊

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