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What should I choose for A Level?

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Original post by L'Evil Fish
Haha never! I do French with the sciences and soon f.maths :tongue:

So definitely not unusual.

In fact those who have the sciences/maths and a language are those with better prospects.

Hence I study languages in my own time.


Do you do all three sciences? If I'm doing maths further maths biology and chemistry is it better to do french or physics?
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Faith_
That sounds great :biggrin: Good luck and thanks for the help.


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No problem :smile:

Original post by buzzkid101
Do you do all three sciences? If I'm doing maths further maths biology and chemistry is it better to do french or physics?


Yes.

I'd say French. But it depends on what you want to do...
Original post by L'Evil Fish
No problem :smile:



Yes.

I'd say French. But it depends on what you want to do...


Thanks I want to do medicine at uni - why do you say french out of interest
I'd go for Spanish too :smile:

I'm in the same situation as you & wanting to do medicine with the same A Level choices except I'm planning on taking French instead of Spanish.

One of the med schools, I think it's UCL (?) in particular really likes it if you have a language at A Level, so puts you in good stead for that I reckon!

Philosophy & Ethics would be v interesting but speaking another language to such a high level is an invaluable skill to have.

Good luck for whatever you choose! :smile:
Reply 24
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AJW 12394
7
Original post by Faith_
Hey!

I'm currently studying GCSEs and aspire to study Medicine at University. Therefore, I have chosen to study Biology, Chemistry and Maths at A Level, but I am unsure of what to choose for my fourth option? I'd like to pick either Spanish or Philosophy and Ethics but I don't know which will be best...

Any advice would be appreciated :smile: Thanks!


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Either: which ever you find most enjoyable. You'll need top grades in all your subjects so also consider which you're more likely to get a good mark in at AS.

Ultimately though, as long as you do well, most unis don't mind if your fourth AS is entirely unrelated to medicine. One of my friends (Oxford) did German to A2. Hardly going to be useful in medicine, it just shows an aptitude for something.

Edit: Essay subjects will look good if you're looking at Oxford and Cambridge as the first couple of years are highly essay based.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by buzzkid101
Thanks I want to do medicine at uni - why do you say french out of interest


If medicine I wouldn't do f.maths at all.

I'd say:

Bio, chem, maths and French.

Same reasons as Spanish. But French is more political too, and spoken widely in the world.
Original post by buzzkid101
Hey I'm also in the same place as you, im choosing a level options and want to do medicine at uni so am doing maths biology Chemistry and further maths but I can't decide if I should do french or physics as my fifth subject?? Please offer some insight! I really love french but I want to get good grades at a level and I've heard that languages are hard...?


I'm glad to get rid of French gcse tbh, I wouldn't be going down that route myself, and I like the idea of having pure science math subjects at a level, I find physics interesting (it's not like gcse), so that was a yes for me, but if you like French, I would love to be able to be fluent in it, so I'd go ahead. That fifth choice is more preference really I suppose :smile: psychology seems interrelated to med too, but ive heard it's also seen as a 'softer' option. You have more than enough for med already I suppose - I might drop further maths if the workload is too high.
Good luck for whatever you pick though :smile:
Original post by L'Evil Fish
If medicine I wouldn't do f.maths at all.

I'd say:

Bio, chem, maths and French.

Same reasons as Spanish. But French is more political too, and spoken widely in the world.


Why not fm?
Reply 28
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Faith_
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Original post by Bethaaaaany
I'd go for Spanish too :smile:

I'm in the same situation as you & wanting to do medicine with the same A Level choices except I'm planning on taking French instead of Spanish.

One of the med schools, I think it's UCL (?) in particular really likes it if you have a language at A Level, so puts you in good stead for that I reckon!

Philosophy & Ethics would be v interesting but speaking another language to such a high level is an invaluable skill to have.

Good luck for whatever you choose! :smile:


Ah that's great! Good luck in your A Levels :smile:

Yeah, I read that UCL prefers it when the fourth option isn't Physics but a language, humanities etc.

Thanks for the advice!


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Reply 29
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Original post by AJW 12394
Either: which ever you find most enjoyable. You'll need top grades in all your subjects so also consider which you're more likely to get a good mark in at AS.

Ultimately though, as long as you do well, most unis don't mind if your fourth AS is entirely unrelated to medicine. One of my friends (Oxford) did German to A2. Hardly going to be useful in medicine, it just shows an aptitude for something.

Edit: Essay subjects will look good if you're looking at Oxford and Cambridge as the first couple of years are highly essay based.


Thanks for the advice.

That's a fair point.. I'm planning on focusing on the three subjects that are medicine related anyway.

I wasn't aware of that, but it's definitely something to consider.. Thanks.


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Original post by Faith_
I'm not sure that I want to be limited to one route.. if that makes sense. I do really enjoy Physics though!

Good luck with your A Levels and future Medicine application! :smile:


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Btw philosohy and ethics will be very good, as it shows you can write essays, and make arguments. Plus check the specification on see if it has medical ethics in as this would be very good, espcrially when my have to agree to the hypocrites otath (don't shoot me down for spelling it wrong) when you become a DR.
Reply 31
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Original post by Henry_Tudor
Btw philosohy and ethics will be very good, as it shows you can write essays, and make arguments. Plus check the specification on see if it has medical ethics in as this would be very good, espcrially when my have to agree to the hypocrites otath (don't shoot me down for spelling it wrong) when you become a DR.


Medical ethics is on the specification, that's why I thought studying it would be particularly interesting. Also, it may help me in interviews for Medicine if they ask me anything along those lines.


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Either. I know someone who's doing Philosophy, Biology, Chemistry and either Physics or Maths and preparing to apply to Camb Med next year after taking a gap year.
Reply 33
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Kelytha
12
Original post by Faith_
My school doesn't allow you to take Chemistry and English, I didn't choose to take Geography at GCSE and I don't really enjoy History :smile: Honestly, I don't think an essay based subject suits me

Which A Levels do you take?


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You can't do chem and English? Sounds weird, must be a timetable clash! If essay based subjects don't suit you, i'd suggest Spanish over Philosophy. Have you considered Further Maths? Or is that too much lol?

I'm not doing A-Levels, i'm doing an Access to Higher Education course. (I'm 23.)

I'm taking History, Sociology, Politics and Law. There's also some compulsory IT/Study skills we have to do too.

I enjoy Sociology and Politics (Politics to an extent, the essays are tough but the content is fairly easy.) History is difficult, really not an easy subject and Law is complicated, almost feels like a Latin lesson!
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 34
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AJW 12394
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Original post by Faith_
Thanks for the advice.

That's a fair point.. I'm planning on focusing on the three subjects that are medicine related anyway.

I wasn't aware of that, but it's definitely something to consider.. Thanks.


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Your welcome.

And while it's understandable to focus on the 3 medicine related subjects, remember you'll still want an A in your 4th AS regardless of what subject it is! And get lots of good work experience if you can!
Reply 35
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AJW 12394
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Original post by Kelytha
You can't do chem and English? Sounds weird, must be a timetable clash! If essay based subjects don't suit you, i'd suggest Spanish over Philosophy. Have you considered Further Maths? Or is that too much lol?

I'm not doing A-Levels, i'm doing an Access to Higher Education course. (I'm 23.)

I'm taking History, Sociology, Politics and Law. There's also some compulsory IT/Study skills we have to do too.

I enjoy Sociology and Politics (Politics to an extent, the essays are tough but the content is fairly easy.) History is difficult, really not an easy subject and Law is complicated, almost feels like a Latin lesson!


Believe me when I say that law is far preferable to Latin!
Reply 36
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Faith_
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Original post by Kelytha
You can't do chem and English? Sounds weird, must be a timetable clash! If essay based subjects don't suit you, i'd suggest Spanish over Philosophy. Have you considered Further Maths? Or is that too much lol?

I'm not doing A-Levels, i'm doing an Access to Higher Education course. (I'm 23.)

I'm taking History, Sociology, Politics and Law. There's also some compulsory IT/Study skills we have to do too.

I enjoy Sociology and Politics (Politics to an extent, the essays are tough but the content is fairly easy.) History is difficult, really not an easy subject and Law is complicated, almost feels like a Latin lesson!


Yes, I think so! Aha I think it's a bit too much, besides, I don't want my choices to be too limited.. I want to show a different skill.

Oh alright, I see. Sounds good

Yeah, I'd say History would be difficult!


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Reply 37
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Original post by AJW 12394
Your welcome.

And while it's understandable to focus on the 3 medicine related subjects, remember you'll still want an A in your 4th AS regardless of what subject it is! And get lots of good work experience if you can!


Yes, I still want to achieve an A in the fourth subject and I'll work hard to do so! I already have quite a few work placements lined up, hopefully I'll be able to work in a hospital environment or shadow a doctor soon!


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Reply 38
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Kelytha
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Original post by AJW 12394
Believe me when I say that law is far preferable to Latin!


Haha, yes I agree! All the Latin words are so confusing! But the law itself is fairly interesting, I now know my rights if I'm searched or arrested.. Law teaches life skills :wink:

Original post by Faith_
Yes, I think so! Aha I think it's a bit too much, besides, I don't want my choices to be too limited.. I want to show a different skill.

Oh alright, I see. Sounds good

Yeah, I'd say History would be difficult!


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Yeah I think further maths would limit you (in a way) if you decided not to pursue medicine or something scientific, whereas Spanish could open up the possibility of doing a language at Uni.

Besides, Doctors nowadays could benefit from speaking many languages.. It also means you could go to a Spanish speaking country during holidays/a gap year (if you take one) to do something medicine related.

History is really, really hard. So many dates, and during Medieval times, everyone is named Edward or Richard.. Gah!
Original post by James-Burroughs
Why not fm?


The only time f.maths is useless is in the medicine/dentistry/vet category. They don't see it as a separate a level to maths. So unnecessary extra load :smile:

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