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Natural Sciences or Medicine?

Hey,

I currently have to chose which subject i want to study and i can't decide whether i should do Natural Sciences (Biochemistry) or Medicine. Now i have read the Wikipedia article about Naturcal Sciences, which said that it is considered the most difficult degree in the UK since in the first year you learn as much as in three years at other universities. This worries me a bit, of course i am willed to study a lot and if necessary also 8 hours or more a day. Im talented in sciences but definitely no genius.

Is there someone who studies Natural Sciences and can tell how difficult and how much work it actually is? Also, I looked at the admission statistics of some universities and it seems like it is much more difficult to get an offer for medicine than for natural sciences. Is this true?

thanks in advance for your answers!

Reply 1

qasman

why are you even considering medicine if you want to do natural sciences? i smell strict asian parents...

Reply 2

It could be lupus

jaklargerne

There are only a few universities that provide a Natural Sciences degree. Where are you thinking of applying? What are your grades like?

Reply 3

norg

jaklargerne

Sorry to sound patronising but you are basing what you want to do at uni on an article from Wikipedia? Don't get me wrong, Dr. Wiki is very helpful but really?

Anyways, if natural sciences is your passion then do that. It may be that there aren't many universities that offer it but is there a particular part of it you enjoy. You mentioned biochemistry. There are thousands of unis that do this. And if you don't have your heart set out on Medicine, don't do it. There is no point going to med school and wasting 5years of education when you could have been doing something you really enjoy.

And you aren't going to university because you are already a 'genius'. You go there to improve and increase your knowledge, to consolidate it and become a critical thinker regardless of the degree title you're working for.

Reply 4

wer343lit

I don't really think you should base it on which is harder to get into.

If you want to be a doctor, do medicine. :p:

Reply 5

username424118

Hey,

i think you kind of misunderstood me. I am not basing my decision on a wikipedia article, but it made me think of my ability to study natural sciences. As I said interested in sciences, but no genius nor extremely talented. However the course sounds really difficult and i dont know if people who aren't very talented can cope with the amount of work.

I read about it and it sounds really interesting as you can gain insight in physics, chemistry and biology and specialise later on. On the other hand I am interested in Medicine aswell, my sisters and my brother already study medicine. They told me its just a lot of work, but it's not very intellectually demanding. You have to learn much more by heart than actually understand complex problems which makes the course rather boring if you're not really into it.

So, i am hoping for some people who could tell me about their experiences with the natural sciences course and how difficult it is :smile:

Reply 6

roginho

Now i have read the Wikipedia article about Naturcal Sciences, which said that it is considered the most difficult degree in the UK

Reply 7

It could be lupus

jaklargerne

For the universities that do Natural Sciences, you choose biological or physical natural sciences. This means you won't be doing all of biology, chemistry and physics but will specialise to one side.

Reply 8

orca92

When i was looking to apply for natural sciences at Cambridge the students who i talked to said it was a hard but manageable workload. Now, how talented you are at the sciences will determine which uni you get into roughly; if you're good enough for Cambridge then you'll get in there (if you apply of course); next is UCL, Bath, Nottingham etc. The point is that if you get into a university, then the tutors know that you can manage the workload of the course; yes, it is going to be a hard workload, but it's manageable and you do get time to relax as well. You won't get into a university where you're going to have to cut down on sleep to keep up with the other students on the course.

As far as medicine goes, if you want to be a doctor, do medicine; if you don't want to be a doctor, then do natural sciences; that's what i reckon anyway.

Reply 9

Game_boy

Natural Sciences at anywhere except Cambridge will be as demanding as a single science subject because you'll split your time. Cambridge is different because it will they expect breadth and depth in each science you study too, so it's like taking more than one science degree at once (according to the open day talk).

Don't think that Natural Sciences is harder than single Physics or single Chemistry at anywhere else except there.

Reply 10

woods.vanessa

Don't think that Natural Sciences is harder than single Physics or single Chemistry at anywhere else except there.

Hey im thinking of applying to natsci at cambridge but can i ask what gcses/as you got and if you did any kind of relevant work experience? Thanks!

Reply 11

Game_boy

woods.vanessa

Hey im thinking of applying to natsci at cambridge but can i ask what gcses/as you got and if you did any kind of relevant work experience? Thanks!

GCSEs: 9A*, 1A
AS levels: Maths/Further Maths/Physics/Chemistry all 95% average UMS

I don't think work experience is helpful, but I did a lot of extra-curricular reading and put it on my personal statement (explaining what I got from it) as well as Maths Challenge and explaining why I loved the subjects.

But just being enthusiastic about the subject (in my case, Physics) at interview was probably the most important thing.

What are you doing at the moment? GCSEs? ASs?

Reply 12

didgeridoo12uk

medicine is harder than natsci. although to be honest they're a different sort of "hardness" with medicine being more of a memory game and natsci not (obviously depending on the modules you do)

Reply 13

woods.vanessa

Iv just finished AS starting A2 in Sept.
I got 3A* 6As (+3A* ICT) and will find out AS on the 19th :/
If I apply it will be to Biological Nat Sci but the extra reading sounds good. Iv started on a book (Why do chemical reactions happen) and its interesting but quite long and if I mention it in my PS they can ask me anything in the book right? Or should I say I have particular interests in ........ and hope they only ask about that?
In terms of work exp Iv done a Nuffield Bursary and a week at a research centre and a one week science summer school

Reply 14

Game_boy

woods.vanessa

if I mention it in my PS they can ask me anything in the book right?

No, it's not a memory test. They'll expect you to be able to talk intelligently about the content of the book, why you read it and what you got from it.

Making a note of some of the key points and ideas and reading it through a few times should be sufficient. I mean, I put 4 books down on my PS and they didn't ask me anything on it. Another person applying for Oxford Physics got their PS read back to them in a sarcastic way and had to defend it.

Or should I say I have particular interests in ........ and hope they only ask about that?

No, don't restrict yourself on what you write just because of that. If it's true and relevant, put it in.

In terms of work exp Iv done a Nuffield Bursary and a week at a research centre and a one week science summer school

It's all relevant, so put it down and, again, prepare to be asked about what you gained from it et cetera.

Reply 15

BackDoorEntry

norg

Sorry to sound patronising but you are basing what you want to do at uni on an article from Wikipedia? Don't get me wrong, Dr. Wiki is very helpful but really?

I don't mean to sound patronising but do you know what patronising means?

Reply 16

purple-girl

As people have said, it's only at Cambridge that NatSci is significantly harder than a standard science degree. They have a VERY high workload, and basically don't have much time to socialise. Well, that's what my friend who's there says. Whereas in Durham (where I do NatSci) the work isn't significantly more demanding than a single science-I've found it very manageable. Everyone does the same number of modules which should all have the same workload etc, you just spread yourself out over more than one subject. Like I did 2 modules of chem (the chemists do 4 and 2 others) and 4 bio (biologists do 5 bio and one other) this year.

Getting an offer isn't as hard as for Medicine, and the course is probably easier. I know that Durham accept the majority of applicants for NatSci, knowing full well that many will choose to go elsewhere or miss the offer (which is usually AAA though I was lucky and got an AAB offer, not that it made a difference). Whereas for Medicine you'll be interviewed by everywhere you apply, and have to do tests (like UKCAT or BMAT). NatSci has none of this...only Cambridge interviewed me.

However...NatSci's only offered at a few unis as NatSci. But you're not limited to that, if you want you could use some of your choices for Biochem or some other subject.