A-Level choices. Right for medicine?

Hi there!

We were asked to go into sixth form today for a variety of reasons, one of which was to change, if you felt necessary upon receiving your GCSE results, your A-Level option choices .
I didn't need to change mine as I met all the requirements, however when it came to confirming my choices, I found that I was unable to take the four subjects I had originally chosen (Biology, Chemistry, Maths and History), as there was a timetable clash between History and Biology!
The only sensible alternative for me to take was psychology. Therefore I'm taking Biol, Chem, Maths and Psych.

I was wondering if any successful medical students took psychology at A-Level or whether anybody knows how this subject is viewed by admission staff for medicine? Is it seen to be less "intellectual" compared to history, or?

Thank you!

Those subjects are perfectly fine, however depending on what university you apply to Psych may either be considered as another science subject, or a contrasting subject. I know Cambridge doesn't count Psychology as a science subject. Sometimes four science subjects are ideal, or two or three and a contrasting science subject are ideal; it really depends on the university. You are taking Biology, Chemistry, and Maths, so you are basically covered for the entry requirements regardless of the universities you apply for!

From the Russell Group website I found a list of what can be called facilitating subjects:
- Maths (and FM)
- Physics
- Biology
- Chemistry
- History
- Geography
- Modern and classical languages
- English Literature

So that means History is likely to be often seen as better than psychology, however it shouldn't really matter for Medicine as you have all the the entry requirements.

Thank you so much for your reply!

Yeah, I had pretty much assumed that psychology wouldn't be counted as a science, but rather a contrasting subject - so I suppose I should be okay?
I had seen a similar list to the one you've posted too, so that's why I was a tad unsure about psychology as a choice!
You've certainly reassured me - but if in doubt, contact admissions staff, right? :P

Hi there!

We were asked to go into sixth form today for a variety of reasons, one of which was to change, if you felt necessary upon receiving your GCSE results, your A-Level option choices .
I didn't need to change mine as I met all the requirements, however when it came to confirming my choices, I found that I was unable to take the four subjects I had originally chosen (Biology, Chemistry, Maths and History), as there was a timetable clash between History and Biology!
The only sensible alternative for me to take was psychology. Therefore I'm taking Biol, Chem, Maths and Psych.

I was wondering if any successful medical students took psychology at A-Level or whether anybody knows how this subject is viewed by admission staff for medicine? Is it seen to be less "intellectual" compared to history, or?

Thank you!

This is exactly what I took!
I also was stuck deciding between psych and history!!
Now going into my second year of medicine.
It's true that psych isn't considered a science by med schools, and it isn't a 'facilitating subject' like history, but neither or these things matter because you're already doing 3 that are both science/maths and facilitating.
Psych is a good complementary subject for medicine. It fits well with A-level biology and chemistry (there is some crossover with biology), and for medicine it really helps with the health psych lectures!
It also teaches critical analysis of research papers which is not something the core sciences do at A-level, and is extremely useful for degree and at interview - at my interview I was given an article and a related research paper to read and had to talk about them, so it really helped that I was used to writing evaluations of research in psych!

Thank you so much for your reply!
What a strange coincidence that you were in the same position as me a few years ago! It's so reassuring to hear from somebody who has been successful in gaining a place with the same A-Level choices!
And thank you for the additional information in terms of the actual course, and its usefulness in interviews etc.

Can I just ask what your GCSE results were? I got mine on 21st and got: 9A*s and 2As - are these quite average grades, or do I stand a chance of being successful (i.e. are they competitive grades?)

Thanks again!