Is Bio, Chem, Maths and Psychology a good combination?
I want to go into a career to do with science, preferably medicine or dentistry, but I'm confused as to which a levels I should pick. I was originally going to take physics instead of psychology, however, I don't want to set myself up for failure as I fear that it could be too much having 3 sciences and maths. I'm predicted an A* in all of those subjects for GCSE (physics, biology, chemistry, maths and psychology).
PS: I've already done Arabic AS level, I just thought it I should add it XD LOL I'm not sure if it's relevant to this anyway, but yeah... I plan to have 5 subjects for AS - not sure about A2 - and Arabic being one of them. So since Arabic is out of the way, I only want to take 4 subjects.
So to anyone who takes these subjects, can you please give me an idea of the workload involved with each subject and the level of difficulty. Also helpful advice would be appreciated!
PS: I've already done Arabic AS level, I just thought it I should add it XD LOL I'm not sure if it's relevant to this anyway, but yeah... I plan to have 5 subjects for AS - not sure about A2 - and Arabic being one of them. So since Arabic is out of the way, I only want to take 4 subjects.
So to anyone who takes these subjects, can you please give me an idea of the workload involved with each subject and the level of difficulty. Also helpful advice would be appreciated!
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Psychology is a science!!!! But yeah it's a good combination, Psych depends on exam board, edexcel is easy. Aqa apparently is harder. have you considered Further maths? instead of physics as a 5th, it's less work than a whole new a-level. Chemistry is the hardest a-level.
I'm doing those exact same subjects!
And it's been great whilst my friends who chose physics instead have really struggled (apparently their exam was absolute awful!)
I think having psych in there is good because it's incredibly interesting plus it relates to biology quite well but it's an essay subject so you have to be prepared to learn completely different exam techniques for it but once I understood the technique I found psych to be the easiest
Just make sure you put in hard work from the start of the year as that will make it a lot easier at the end!
And it's been great whilst my friends who chose physics instead have really struggled (apparently their exam was absolute awful!)
I think having psych in there is good because it's incredibly interesting plus it relates to biology quite well but it's an essay subject so you have to be prepared to learn completely different exam techniques for it but once I understood the technique I found psych to be the easiest
Just make sure you put in hard work from the start of the year as that will make it a lot easier at the end!
Original post by tealover96
I'm doing those exact same subjects!
And it's been great whilst my friends who chose physics instead have really struggled (apparently their exam was absolute awful!)
I think having psych in there is good because it's incredibly interesting plus it relates to biology quite well but it's an essay subject so you have to be prepared to learn completely different exam techniques for it but once I understood the technique I found psych to be the easiest
Just make sure you put in hard work from the start of the year as that will make it a lot easier at the end!
And it's been great whilst my friends who chose physics instead have really struggled (apparently their exam was absolute awful!)
I think having psych in there is good because it's incredibly interesting plus it relates to biology quite well but it's an essay subject so you have to be prepared to learn completely different exam techniques for it but once I understood the technique I found psych to be the easiest
Just make sure you put in hard work from the start of the year as that will make it a lot easier at the end!
The essay bit really depends on the exam board. I was worried about this, but it turned out that really you don't have to be essay-ish much at all in edexcel, research the different boards and see which one your school is with
It's entirely dependent on you. Physics is an advantage if you end up going into a chemistry field. It's never a bad thing to have a wide grounding in science because many things cross over or are built on theories from other disciplines. If you're not that interested in it though, it's not really worth risking it over something you are interested in.
Having four a-levels gives you no advantage from a medicine/dentistry point of view - if the workload is or becomes too much for you then don't be stubborn about it, just drop one. What matters is nailing the three for your offer.
Maths is fine. It's quite steady I felt - no real jumps in workloads at any point. It all builds up over the term so by the exam it's not a mad rush.
Biology is quite a lot of information at AS (OCR anyway) so it can be time consuming and involve a lot of rote learning. The understanding isn't very difficult. It's much more "wordy" and makes more sense explained out. Physics and chemistry can sometimes look daunting because there's equations and symbols everywhere.
Chemistry I found probably one of the easiest A-levels in terms of workload - make the effort to *understand* in class and the exams and revision becomes a lot easier. Part of the exams will be to test the application of your knowledge so they will provide unfamiliar things you have to approach with what you've understood. Some small portion of rote learning (definitions mainly).
It's going to depend on how you learn as to which subjects you pick up quicker.
Are you native in arabic or your family originate from a native region? If so then it's not a bad thing to have, but it will never be considered in your offers.
Having four a-levels gives you no advantage from a medicine/dentistry point of view - if the workload is or becomes too much for you then don't be stubborn about it, just drop one. What matters is nailing the three for your offer.
Maths is fine. It's quite steady I felt - no real jumps in workloads at any point. It all builds up over the term so by the exam it's not a mad rush.
Biology is quite a lot of information at AS (OCR anyway) so it can be time consuming and involve a lot of rote learning. The understanding isn't very difficult. It's much more "wordy" and makes more sense explained out. Physics and chemistry can sometimes look daunting because there's equations and symbols everywhere.
Chemistry I found probably one of the easiest A-levels in terms of workload - make the effort to *understand* in class and the exams and revision becomes a lot easier. Part of the exams will be to test the application of your knowledge so they will provide unfamiliar things you have to approach with what you've understood. Some small portion of rote learning (definitions mainly).
It's going to depend on how you learn as to which subjects you pick up quicker.
Are you native in arabic or your family originate from a native region? If so then it's not a bad thing to have, but it will never be considered in your offers.
Original post by _pirate_pete
Psychology is a science!!!! But yeah it's a good combination, Psych depends on exam board, edexcel is easy. Aqa apparently is harder. have you considered Further maths? instead of physics as a 5th, it's less work than a whole new a-level. Chemistry is the hardest a-level.
I have considered further maths, but towards the end of the academic year, I've started to lose interest in maths. I don't completely dislike it (otherwise I would have not considered picking it), but it used to be my favourite subject- where as now, my favourite subjects are physics and Psychology. But I don't understand what further maths is exactly, is it just more maths? or is it like an additional 'type' of Maths like Statics?
Yes, that's a suitable combination for applying to Medicine.
Original post by tealover96
I'm doing those exact same subjects!
And it's been great whilst my friends who chose physics instead have really struggled (apparently their exam was absolute awful!)
I think having psych in there is good because it's incredibly interesting plus it relates to biology quite well but it's an essay subject so you have to be prepared to learn completely different exam techniques for it but once I understood the technique I found psych to be the easiest
Just make sure you put in hard work from the start of the year as that will make it a lot easier at the end!
And it's been great whilst my friends who chose physics instead have really struggled (apparently their exam was absolute awful!)
I think having psych in there is good because it's incredibly interesting plus it relates to biology quite well but it's an essay subject so you have to be prepared to learn completely different exam techniques for it but once I understood the technique I found psych to be the easiest
Just make sure you put in hard work from the start of the year as that will make it a lot easier at the end!
Thanks for sharing your experience with me! Yeah, as much as I love physics.. the exams are awful
Yes, perfectly fine for medicine/dentistry.
Original post by rhadawey
I have considered further maths, but towards the end of the academic year, I've started to lose interest in maths. I don't completely dislike it (otherwise I would have not considered picking it), but it used to be my favourite subject- where as now, my favourite subjects are physics and Psychology. But I don't understand what further maths is exactly, is it just more maths? or is it like an additional 'type' of Maths like Statics?
Basically, single maths consists of 6 modules, compuslory C1, C2, C3, C4 and 2 additional modules from mechanics, statistics or decision(D is boring and useless)
if you are able, c1 and c2 should be pretty easy. c1 and 2 are AS and c3 and 4 are a2, traditionally. Further maths you do another 6 modules! Compulsory is FP1, and one of FP2 or FP3. The other 4 are further additional modules from mech or stats. Basically, if you are good at maths, single should be pretty easy. Further maths is a faster pace and you get to cover more of the interesting stuff. If you really don't want to, you could to just AS further maths. I do recommend it though.
Also I would not use any GCSE experience of exams or whatever for A-level. Physics at A-level I have found to actually be one of the easier subjects, but it depends on you. A-levels gets a lot less of the nonsense at GCSE, so if the GCSE course sucks, don't let that put you off A-level.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by _pirate_pete
Basically, single maths consists of 6 modules, compuslory C1, C2, C3, C4 and 2 additional modules from mechanics, statistics or decision(D is boring and useless)
if you are able, c1 and c2 should be pretty easy. c1 and 2 are AS and c3 and 4 are a2, traditionally. Further maths you do another 6 modules! Compulsory is FP1, and one of FP2 or FP3. The other 4 are further additional modules from mech or stats. Basically, if you are good at maths, single should be pretty easy. Further maths is a faster pace and you get to cover more of the interesting stuff. If you really don't want to, you could to just AS further maths. I do recommend it though.
Also I would not use any GCSE experience of exams or whatever for A-level. Physics at A-level I have found to actually be one of the easier subjects, but it depends on you. A-levels gets a lot less of the nonsense at GCSE, so if the GCSE course sucks, don't let that put you off A-level.
if you are able, c1 and c2 should be pretty easy. c1 and 2 are AS and c3 and 4 are a2, traditionally. Further maths you do another 6 modules! Compulsory is FP1, and one of FP2 or FP3. The other 4 are further additional modules from mech or stats. Basically, if you are good at maths, single should be pretty easy. Further maths is a faster pace and you get to cover more of the interesting stuff. If you really don't want to, you could to just AS further maths. I do recommend it though.
Also I would not use any GCSE experience of exams or whatever for A-level. Physics at A-level I have found to actually be one of the easier subjects, but it depends on you. A-levels gets a lot less of the nonsense at GCSE, so if the GCSE course sucks, don't let that put you off A-level.
Oh, is that it?! That doesn't sound too bad! Hmm, might consider changing my decisions. Thanks so much for clearing that up!
I did the exact same subjects. Psychology AS was mind numbing honestly.. I wish I did physics instead
If you are looking for an easy AS, it defo is imo. I revised 4 days in total for both my exams and got an A. I did keep up with class work throughout the year though.
If you are looking for an easy AS, it defo is imo. I revised 4 days in total for both my exams and got an A. I did keep up with class work throughout the year though.
Original post by rhadawey
Thanks for sharing your experience with me! Yeah, as much as I love physics.. the exams are awful
Original post by _pirate_pete
Basically, single maths consists of 6 modules, compuslory C1, C2, C3, C4 and 2 additional modules from mechanics, statistics or decision(D is boring and useless)
if you are able, c1 and c2 should be pretty easy. c1 and 2 are AS and c3 and 4 are a2, traditionally. Further maths you do another 6 modules! Compulsory is FP1, and one of FP2 or FP3. The other 4 are further additional modules from mech or stats. Basically, if you are good at maths, single should be pretty easy. Further maths is a faster pace and you get to cover more of the interesting stuff. If you really don't want to, you could to just AS further maths. I do recommend it though.
Also I would not use any GCSE experience of exams or whatever for A-level. Physics at A-level I have found to actually be one of the easier subjects, but it depends on you. A-levels gets a lot less of the nonsense at GCSE, so if the GCSE course sucks, don't let that put you off A-level.
if you are able, c1 and c2 should be pretty easy. c1 and 2 are AS and c3 and 4 are a2, traditionally. Further maths you do another 6 modules! Compulsory is FP1, and one of FP2 or FP3. The other 4 are further additional modules from mech or stats. Basically, if you are good at maths, single should be pretty easy. Further maths is a faster pace and you get to cover more of the interesting stuff. If you really don't want to, you could to just AS further maths. I do recommend it though.
Also I would not use any GCSE experience of exams or whatever for A-level. Physics at A-level I have found to actually be one of the easier subjects, but it depends on you. A-levels gets a lot less of the nonsense at GCSE, so if the GCSE course sucks, don't let that put you off A-level.
Further maths isn't accepted as a separate subject at most med schools. No point in taking it
Original post by _pirate_pete
The essay bit really depends on the exam board. I was worried about this, but it turned out that really you don't have to be essay-ish much at all in edexcel, research the different boards and see which one your school is with
Ah right...well I'm in year 12 so I've done my exams and I'm with AQA and just found it to be a lot of writing especially compared to my other subjects but our paper had one 12 marker (which is about 2 pages) which I did not like because it involved learning loads of essays and only one comes up
So clearly everyone's got different opinions, but one thing I'm in agreement with is that it depends on the board you're going to do.
I'm with Edexcel and doing/done (I'm in year 13) bio, physics, chem and psychology and my opinion is that you should do what interests you. AS Physics is quite simple if you get the grasp of all the concepts, which is tricky, so it can be a burden, but if you've got that kind of understanding, go for it. Psychology has a lot. AS isn't so much, but A2 is packed and personally I don't find it to be that easy. Only 3% of the world got an A* in Psychology last year so that's something (and I'm assuming you're aiming for an A*) so you have a lot to do in that - and A2 physics is easier to deal with.
The plus side of psych is that it's refreshing - it's different from the rest so it's fun to get to after a while (I did it privately).
Physics is a huge bonus if you want to do mechanics (which you would want to consider if you decide to do further math) - here I can't even overemphasize how useful physics is for mechanics units (not that they're not doable without it, but it really eases the workload when you have physics knowledge).
I'm with Edexcel and doing/done (I'm in year 13) bio, physics, chem and psychology and my opinion is that you should do what interests you. AS Physics is quite simple if you get the grasp of all the concepts, which is tricky, so it can be a burden, but if you've got that kind of understanding, go for it. Psychology has a lot. AS isn't so much, but A2 is packed and personally I don't find it to be that easy. Only 3% of the world got an A* in Psychology last year so that's something (and I'm assuming you're aiming for an A*) so you have a lot to do in that - and A2 physics is easier to deal with.
The plus side of psych is that it's refreshing - it's different from the rest so it's fun to get to after a while (I did it privately).
Physics is a huge bonus if you want to do mechanics (which you would want to consider if you decide to do further math) - here I can't even overemphasize how useful physics is for mechanics units (not that they're not doable without it, but it really eases the workload when you have physics knowledge).
Original post by letsbehonest
I did the exact same subjects. Psychology AS was mind numbing honestly.. I wish I did physics instead
If you are looking for an easy AS, it defo is imo. I revised 4 days in total for both my exams and got an A. I did keep up with class work throughout the year though.
If you are looking for an easy AS, it defo is imo. I revised 4 days in total for both my exams and got an A. I did keep up with class work throughout the year though.
But I just recently heard that Psychology at a levels is an essay based subject! Is that true? I'm not bad at English, but I'm more of a maths/physics type of person.
Original post by AV7
So clearly everyone's got different opinions, but one thing I'm in agreement with is that it depends on the board you're going to do.
I'm with Edexcel and doing/done (I'm in year 13) bio, physics, chem and psychology and my opinion is that you should do what interests you. AS Physics is quite simple if you get the grasp of all the concepts, which is tricky, so it can be a burden, but if you've got that kind of understanding, go for it. Psychology has a lot. AS isn't so much, but A2 is packed and personally I don't find it to be that easy. Only 3% of the world got an A* in Psychology last year so that's something (and I'm assuming you're aiming for an A*) so you have a lot to do in that - and A2 physics is easier to deal with.
The plus side of psych is that it's refreshing - it's different from the rest so it's fun to get to after a while (I did it privately).
Physics is a huge bonus if you want to do mechanics (which you would want to consider if you decide to do further math) - here I can't even overemphasize how useful physics is for mechanics units (not that they're not doable without it, but it really eases the workload when you have physics knowledge).
I'm with Edexcel and doing/done (I'm in year 13) bio, physics, chem and psychology and my opinion is that you should do what interests you. AS Physics is quite simple if you get the grasp of all the concepts, which is tricky, so it can be a burden, but if you've got that kind of understanding, go for it. Psychology has a lot. AS isn't so much, but A2 is packed and personally I don't find it to be that easy. Only 3% of the world got an A* in Psychology last year so that's something (and I'm assuming you're aiming for an A*) so you have a lot to do in that - and A2 physics is easier to deal with.
The plus side of psych is that it's refreshing - it's different from the rest so it's fun to get to after a while (I did it privately).
Physics is a huge bonus if you want to do mechanics (which you would want to consider if you decide to do further math) - here I can't even overemphasize how useful physics is for mechanics units (not that they're not doable without it, but it really eases the workload when you have physics knowledge).
LOL I'm a bit worried about the "3% of the world got an A* in Psychology"
Yeah there is less to learn in physics (from what I can see during GCSEs) but as much as I love science, I hate the fact that the tests are all practically application based.
Also, how well did you cope with that combination of subjects? Was it very challenging or was it okay? Because I think I may consider taking physics instead of maths
Original post by rhadawey
But I just recently heard that Psychology at a levels is an essay based subject! Is that true? I'm not bad at English, but I'm more of a maths/physics type of person.
Yeah, it's an essay based subject. I'm not much of an essay person either but I managed.
You just need to be able to memorise information and put it down on paper..
Original post by rhadawey
LOL I'm a bit worried about the "3% of the world got an A* in Psychology"
Yeah there is less to learn in physics (from what I can see during GCSEs) but as much as I love science, I hate the fact that the tests are all practically application based.
Also, how well did you cope with that combination of subjects? Was it very challenging or was it okay? Because I think I may consider taking physics instead of maths
Yeah there is less to learn in physics (from what I can see during GCSEs) but as much as I love science, I hate the fact that the tests are all practically application based.
Also, how well did you cope with that combination of subjects? Was it very challenging or was it okay? Because I think I may consider taking physics instead of maths
There is no A* at AS level so you are safe if you want to only do it for a year. I'm sure many people get As at AS including myself.
Original post by letsbehonest
There is no A* at AS level so you are safe if you want to only do it for a year. I'm sure many people get As at AS including myself.
Oh no, I know there's no A* at AS, but I'm planning to take on all 4 subjects to A2, so I don't want to regret my choices. It's obviously going to be hard, but I still want to enjoy the subject at least a little bit.
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