The Student Room Group

A level subject choices help

basically, my choices were bio,chem,physics and math. since all 3 sciences are the new linear ones, does that mean if i drop it in the 1st year, i wont get any qualifications such as an AS. i dont even want to do biology, but my parents are forcing me to take it to be a doctor, even though i want to do a degree in physics.
thx in advance for the advice.
Original post by gaary kasparov
basically, my choices were bio,chem,physics and math. since all 3 sciences are the new linear ones, does that mean if i drop it in the 1st year, i wont get any qualifications such as an AS. i dont even want to do biology, but my parents are forcing me to take it to be a doctor, even though i want to do a degree in physics.
thx in advance for the advice.


If you are doing a linear course, that does indeed mean you will not receive any AS qualifications.

With regards to being forced in to studying Biology, I would strongly advise you not to unless you want to. It's all good keeping your parents happy, but if it's at the sacrifice of your happiness and career choice, then no. i.e you should pick what you want to pick.
Original post by Its Just That Dude
If you are doing a linear course, that does indeed mean you will not receive any AS qualifications.

With regards to being forced in to studying Biology, I would strongly advise you not to unless you want to. It's all good keeping your parents happy, but if it's at the sacrifice of your happiness and career choice, then no. i.e you should pick what you want to pick.


thx i might just do that
Reply 3
My massive piece of advice is to only choose subjects you enjoy, otherwise you won't have to motivation to do proper hard work or background research which will result in low grades.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by TMC113
My massive piece of advice is to only choose subjects you enjoy, otherwise you won't have to motivation to do proper hard work or background research which will result in low grades.


Posted from TSR Mobile


But i dont think my parents will let me drop it. i've been thinking if i could possibly speak privately with a teacher, to persuade my parents to let me drop it, as taking 4 "hard" a levels would be too much work. But i did get 4 A* in those 4 subjects, even though i hate biology, so im unsure.
anyone got advice for me
You may feel forced to do Biology, but you shouldn't.

The natural sciences are bio, chem and phys, you need to have these three for everything to fit together and understand better and mathematics is the perfect way of explaining it all.

So regardless of where it is going, medicine or a degree in physics, biology will be so useful to have.
Original post by post-grad-u-ate
You may feel forced to do Biology, but you shouldn't.

The natural sciences are bio, chem and phys, you need to have these three for everything to fit together and understand better and mathematics is the perfect way of explaining it all.

So regardless of where it is going, medicine or a degree in physics, biology will be so useful to have.

thx, but i really want to do extended project on physics, plus i also fear doing 4 "hard" a levels will lower my performance greatly.
plus does anyone know the deadline at which you can swap subjects??
Reply 9
Original post by gaary kasparov
But i dont think my parents will let me drop it. i've been thinking if i could possibly speak privately with a teacher, to persuade my parents to let me drop it, as taking 4 "hard" a levels would be too much work. But i did get 4 A* in those 4 subjects, even though i hate biology, so im unsure.


A lot of people, with those subjects especially, easily get A*s at GCSE but perform really poorly at A Level. All A Levels are hard, but it may be good to do some that you may find easier? Despite what people say, you don't need to do sciences, maths and English (or any other 'facilitating' subjects) to get into a top uni! Take it from me! If you don't want to be a doctor then don't do biology


Posted from TSR Mobile
I think the deadline for changing subjects is the first week or so but that varies depending on where you go.

With regards to biology if you really dislike it then I would say don't do it - you wont perform as well in it as you would in a subject you enjoy and it will eat up a lot of time. However, it wouldn't be a bad thing to do.

When it comes your degree I would strongly urge you to do what YOU want to do. Your parents may want you to be a doctor but this is the rest of your life were talking about. If you feel no vocation towards medicine then don't do it. Besides which, its not as though you're saying "I don't want to be a doctor - i want to be unemployed." There is no shame at all in a physics degree (its a very good and respected degree) and engineers etc aren't exactly poor either. Your parents should understand this. (Besides which medicine is the most competitive course and applying for something else would be a major weight off your shoulders).

I don't know if an EPQ is useful for physics. I know a number of people who did one but I don't know if it helped them. I know it didn't help me for maths. That said, if there is a non-curricular element of physics you're interested in and want to research then doing an EPQ in it is worth it even if it wont help with your uni offer (it can be a good talking point in interviews/personal statement even if it wont lower your offer).

EDIT: Oh yeah, GCSE results are a really poor indicator of how you'll do at A level imo. I mean, you're unlikely to go from an E at GCSE to an A* but just because you got an A* at GCSE doesn't mean you'll do well at A level.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by TMC113
A lot of people, with those subjects especially, easily get A*s at GCSE but perform really poorly at A Level. All A Levels are hard, but it may be good to do some that you may find easier? Despite what people say, you don't need to do sciences, maths and English (or any other 'facilitating' subjects) to get into a top uni! Take it from me! If you don't want to be a doctor then don't do biology


Posted from TSR Mobile


thx for your advice
Original post by Marked Target
I think the deadline for changing subjects is the first week or so but that varies depending on where you go.

With regards to biology if you really dislike it then I would say don't do it - you wont perform as well in it as you would in a subject you enjoy and it will eat up a lot of time. However, it wouldn't be a bad thing to do.

When it comes your degree I would strongly urge you to do what YOU want to do. Your parents may want you to be a doctor but this is the rest of your life were talking about. If you feel no vocation towards medicine then don't do it. Besides which, its not as though you're saying "I don't want to be a doctor - i want to be unemployed." There is no shame at all in a physics degree (its a very good and respected degree) and engineers etc aren't exactly poor either. Your parents should understand this. (Besides which medicine is the most competitive course and applying for something else would be a major weight off your shoulders).

I don't know if an EPQ is useful for physics. I know a number of people who did one but I don't know if it helped them. I know it didn't help me for maths. That said, if there is a non-curricular element of physics you're interested in and want to research then doing an EPQ in it is worth it even if it wont help with your uni offer (it can be a good talking point in interviews/personal statement even if it wont lower your offer).

EDIT: Oh yeah, GCSE results are a really poor indicator of how you'll do at A level imo. I mean, you're unlikely to go from an E at GCSE to an A* but just because you got an A* at GCSE doesn't mean you'll do well at A level.


Thx this advice was really helpful. i think i'll speak with my tutor privately, to see if they can persuade my parents from making me take it. but yeah, i plan on studying really hard these next 2 years in order to get into imperial for physics. plus what maths degree did you do and where?
I haven't done rather, ill be doing starting on the 19th September this year.

I'll be doing a maths masters at Bristol.

I would advise you not to totally set your heart on a university yet. I know some people who got really disappointed. Besides which, have you even visited imperial? I thought I'd want to go to St Andrews before i visited it but i much preferred Bristol when i visited them so I turned down what is often thought to be a "better" university because at the end of the day Nottingham, Manchester, Durham, Bristol, Bath, St Andrews etc etc are all good universities and you wont get a bad degree from any of them.

Imperial probably is a bit of a cut above these but don't go somewhere based on others' expectations. You should pick somewhere you like. Personally, I hated imperial (but i am bias against London).
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Marked Target
I haven't done rather, ill be doing starting on the 19th September this year.

I'll be doing a maths masters at Bristol.

I would advise you not to totally set your heart on a university yet. I know some people who got really disappointed. Besides which, have you even visited imperial? I thought I'd want to go to St Andrews before i visited it but i much preferred Bristol when i visited them so I turned down what is often thought to be a "better" university because at the end of the day Nottingham, Manchester, Durham, Bristol, Bath, St Andrews etc etc are all good universities and you wont get a bad degree from any of them.

Imperial probably is a bit of a cut above these but don't go somewhere based on others' expectations. You should pick somewhere you like. Personally, I hated imperial (but i am bias against London).


good luck on your masters. btw what a levels did you take and what grade? I haven't actually visited imperial, so you're probably right about not setting my heart on going there. i wouldn'td actually mind what uni i go to as long as i do a physic degree there, and the teaching isnt too bad. also congrats on getting in
Original post by gaary kasparov
good luck on your masters. btw what a levels did you take and what grade? I haven't actually visited imperial, so you're probably right about not setting my heart on going there. i wouldn'td actually mind what uni i go to as long as i do a physic degree there, and the teaching isnt too bad. also congrats on getting in


ty, A*A*AA in Maths/Further/Chemistry/History.

If Imperial is a long way away you can always make a trip out of it. When i went to St Andrews i stayed in Edinburgh for 3 days to justify the journey. You don't have to visit universities, I know plenty of people who didn't go to a single one. However, they're is no point devoting yourself to one if you don't even know what its like.

Good luck to yourself. I'm sure you'll end up somewhere good. The UK has no shortage of good universities.
Original post by gaary kasparov
good luck on your masters. btw what a levels did you take and what grade? I haven't actually visited imperial, so you're probably right about not setting my heart on going there. i wouldn'td actually mind what uni i go to as long as i do a physic degree there, and the teaching isnt too bad. also congrats on getting in


You will have other students around you in all the different subjects for support and the teachers and your parents so you'll be good to go and you can do the EPQ if you manage your time and not get yourself in a tizwaz about it, you'll be great.

It is a shame to consider anything of than the natural sciences 'the easier subjects' it doesn't matter as you have put forth what you want to do with your life and now to show everyone you have the future in your hands and you will make the most of it.

Good luck on getting into Imperial, it is such an incredibly inspiring place to study!

London is where you'll want to be, King's College offers a B.Sc. Physics with medical applications which looks really interesting and Queen Mary offers Physics and both KCL and QMUL offer course in Robotics which to me is a really interesting subject for the future - cars, workforce etc.

London has the Science Museum, public lectures at Imperial and at the Royal Society.

Make sure to be reading lot's of science media like New Scientist, Wired, Nature, MIT Tech Review.
Original post by post-grad-u-ate
You will have other students around you in all the different subjects for support and the teachers and your parents so you'll be good to go and you can do the EPQ if you manage your time and not get yourself in a tizwaz about it, you'll be great.

It is a shame to consider anything of than the natural sciences 'the easier subjects' it doesn't matter as you have put forth what you want to do with your life and now to show everyone you have the future in your hands and you will make the most of it.

Good luck on getting into Imperial, it is such an incredibly inspiring place to study!

London is where you'll want to be, King's College offers a B.Sc. Physics with medical applications which looks really interesting and Queen Mary offers Physics and both KCL and QMUL offer course in Robotics which to me is a really interesting subject for the future - cars, workforce etc.

London has the Science Museum, public lectures at Imperial and at the Royal Society.

Make sure to be reading lot's of science media like New Scientist, Wired, Nature, MIT Tech Review.


thx,this is really useful advice. btw what alevels did you do and what grades did you obtain.(im assuming this due to your username)
Original post by gaary kasparov
thx,this is really useful advice. btw what alevels did you do and what grades did you obtain.(im assuming this due to your username)


It is best to have a sure vision of what you want to do.. say when you were a kid you use to play being a policeman, now you know you should study law, sociology, psychology, politics and philosophy and a good degree to make way would would Law with joint honours.. you could start on the streets dealing with people and with a long career in the police force move on to bigger issues that deal with government i.e. the Home Office etc (so hence studying politics!)

You could absolutely love dinosaurs and do a unique course like the M.Sci. Palaeontology and Evolution at the University of Bristol, so now your dreams will become reality as you become a specialist in this field and pursue a Ph.D. but it all stems from your passion from an interest you have. A unique career like this would require you to publish research, teach, write books, create media, and consult to industries like oil and gas.

You mention physics as a degree you would like to do, well what can you do with Physics?

You could work for innovative companies like Dyson! Exciting companies like McLaren Racing or Rolls Royce! Fighter jets with BAE Systems! So get excited from learning about the opportunities for work experience as you study your A Levels and your degree, best to be prepared and waiting!

Quick Reply