A-Level Choices/Options
Hello 
Since Year 11 is coming to an end now (yhay only 16 more days to go !)
I am now beginning to think about my A-Level options for next year..
The options i have picked are
Biology (needed it for the job i want to do)
Chemistry(needed it for the job i want to do)
Physics(I enjoy it ...-shocked herself-)
Maths- required for physics and i do actually enjoy it
Further Maths( Is only 2 extra lessons in a weak and is a whole AS course and i am doing further maths GCSE now so i am hoping i wont struggle TOO much for it )
Background info :P
- Achieving A* currently
-want to go into surgery/biomedical engineering (whatever the case into some sort of medical category..)
First of all my questions are
1.) are any of you taking any of these subjects?
2.) If yes, what do yuo think of them? what is the change for them from GCSE to A-Level?
3.) Do you think they are sensible choices or am i basically trying to drown myself in misery for next year?
4.) Do you think that i would seem like a suitable candidate for medicine.. assuming i get good grades in the subjects.....its just i feel like i have chosen really ...mechanical? subjects?
do you know what i mean? like literally it is just maths , science, maths, science, maybe i need some kind of humanity subject?
5.) What are the entry requirement for a oxridge university
Thank you sooooooooooooooooo much if you actually read that :P
and thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much if you actually replied :P
byeeeee (do i even say bye? mehhh)
Since Year 11 is coming to an end now (yhay only 16 more days to go !)
I am now beginning to think about my A-Level options for next year..
The options i have picked are
Biology (needed it for the job i want to do)
Chemistry(needed it for the job i want to do)
Physics(I enjoy it ...-shocked herself-)
Maths- required for physics and i do actually enjoy it
Further Maths( Is only 2 extra lessons in a weak and is a whole AS course and i am doing further maths GCSE now so i am hoping i wont struggle TOO much for it )
Background info :P
- Achieving A* currently
-want to go into surgery/biomedical engineering (whatever the case into some sort of medical category..)
First of all my questions are
1.) are any of you taking any of these subjects?
2.) If yes, what do yuo think of them? what is the change for them from GCSE to A-Level?
3.) Do you think they are sensible choices or am i basically trying to drown myself in misery for next year?
4.) Do you think that i would seem like a suitable candidate for medicine.. assuming i get good grades in the subjects.....its just i feel like i have chosen really ...mechanical? subjects?
do you know what i mean? like literally it is just maths , science, maths, science, maybe i need some kind of humanity subject?
5.) What are the entry requirement for a oxridge university
Thank you sooooooooooooooooo much if you actually read that :P
and thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much if you actually replied :P
byeeeee (do i even say bye? mehhh)
Looks standard set of subjects for medicine so will be fine. Chemistry and Physics i would say are the biggest jumps from GCSE to AS. They are perfectly sensible choices for keeping options as widely open. I doubt any places really care if they are just sciences, since they are good subjects regardless.
For Oxford, i think their medicine is A*AA. You won't find any medical schools with lower than AAA as their standard entry requirement lets put it that way. (Though theres probably 1 thats AAB)
Impossible to tell if your 'suitable'. Grades are good but you NEED NEED NEED work experience, otherwise you won't even get an interview/offer. Also theres a test called UKCAT for medical students but you won't need to touch that until Y13.
For Oxford, i think their medicine is A*AA. You won't find any medical schools with lower than AAA as their standard entry requirement lets put it that way. (Though theres probably 1 thats AAB)
Impossible to tell if your 'suitable'. Grades are good but you NEED NEED NEED work experience, otherwise you won't even get an interview/offer. Also theres a test called UKCAT for medical students but you won't need to touch that until Y13.
I actually did exactly those a-levels and now study medicine. I'll assume that you're looking at a medicine application as that will be a lot more competitive than anything biomed.
Those subjects are fine. There actually is a decent amount of overlap, at least in the thinking required. If you have a natural aptitude for science you'll probably find the workload isn't actually that bad at all, and may well be below some of your friends doing 3 humanities with essays to do every week. I was not overworked at all.
HOWEVER, i've also seen people take five and come out with mediocre grades because of it. Only do the five if you're sure you can cope. Having AAAA looks much better and will give you far more options than if you have AABBB or worse.
The only university that requests a humanity is UCL. You do not need one otherwise.
Further maths is not recognised by some universities. It is by others.
I echo the point about work experience and voluntary work above. If you haven't done it yet, its absolutely crucial. Also, it might help you decide about whether you want to be a surgeon: medicine is a vocational course and going into it without knowing you want to do the career would be stupid. As obvious as this hopefully sounds: only study medicine if you want to do the career.
Oxford are very stringent about GCSE grades. See this.
Cambridge are very stringent about AS UMS marks. Whilst it is by no means an official cut-off, you realistically need to have an average of 90 across your subjects. See this.
You will need to look into the BMAT and UKCAT tests.
The criteria for other med schools is very variable Somewhat ironically considering public expectation, medicine is probably the most varied course out there both in terms of teaching methodology and admissions policies. Prior research about course type and entry requirements is vital - don't be caught out.
Those subjects are fine. There actually is a decent amount of overlap, at least in the thinking required. If you have a natural aptitude for science you'll probably find the workload isn't actually that bad at all, and may well be below some of your friends doing 3 humanities with essays to do every week. I was not overworked at all.
HOWEVER, i've also seen people take five and come out with mediocre grades because of it. Only do the five if you're sure you can cope. Having AAAA looks much better and will give you far more options than if you have AABBB or worse.
The only university that requests a humanity is UCL. You do not need one otherwise.
Further maths is not recognised by some universities. It is by others.
I echo the point about work experience and voluntary work above. If you haven't done it yet, its absolutely crucial. Also, it might help you decide about whether you want to be a surgeon: medicine is a vocational course and going into it without knowing you want to do the career would be stupid. As obvious as this hopefully sounds: only study medicine if you want to do the career.
Oxford are very stringent about GCSE grades. See this.
Cambridge are very stringent about AS UMS marks. Whilst it is by no means an official cut-off, you realistically need to have an average of 90 across your subjects. See this.
You will need to look into the BMAT and UKCAT tests.
The criteria for other med schools is very variable Somewhat ironically considering public expectation, medicine is probably the most varied course out there both in terms of teaching methodology and admissions policies. Prior research about course type and entry requirements is vital - don't be caught out.
(edited 9 years ago)
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