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MEGATHREAD - The 'What Subjects Should I Do' Megathread

Well I've been wondering this for a while......I'm quite good at maths but I don't think I have the drive to continue with it. I would, if it was necessary for medicine and I'd be significantly disadvantaged if I didn't take it as I really want to do medicine. I've heard that you don't but I want to make sure.

So the question is do you need a maths A-level to do medicine and would you be disadvantaged if you didn't take it? (excluding at Cambridge)

And a question of lesser importance, if no, then what about at Oxford?

Reply 3041

Helloworld_95

19

it doesn't make any difference, go for an A level which you're more motivated in and so more likely to get a good grade.

Reply 3042

username937760

16

As a rule medical schools prefer at least 2 Maths/Science subjects (I believe Cambridge cite this as a bare minimum) and usually give preference to those with more. Maths is an extremely useful A Level to have regardless of which medical school you go for and will put you in good stead for whichever one. I think it's considered one of the best subjects to take for Medicine, behind Chemistry and Biology, but don't quote me on that.

It's not mandatory to have, it will definitely help.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3043

xLovelovelove

not crucial but if you can get a good grade in maths a level it looks amazing!

Reply 3044

Mero8

7

I'd advise you to choose Biology, Chemistry, ONE OF Maths/Physics, and then one other subject you enjoy :smile:

EDIT: I do history and I found its really nice to be able to not be thinking science all of the time during revision periods and it helps me stay concentrated for longer, so a more varied subject has definitely been beneficial to my education :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3045

Spatial_Void

8

It's brilliant for the problem-based learning sections of Medicine. However, it's certainly not obligatory.

Reply 3046

Dannyboy1236

11

Thanks for the information guys! Just in case you were wondering my ideal a levels would be,
Biology
Chemistry
English Literature
Geography
Good combo?

Reply 3047

xLovelovelove

Sounds good 2 sciences pushing 3 with geography and english lit is a nice contrast but is a lot of work!!

Reply 3048

Dannyboy1236

11

Original post by xLovelovelove

Sounds good 2 sciences pushing 3 with geography and english lit is a nice contrast but is a lot of work!!

Really? How come? I'd have thought. .doing maths or physics would have been harder...

Reply 3049

CpnCornetto

11

I'm going to medschool in September and did Bio,Chem, Psych and ICT.
It really doesn't matter as long as you have chem and probably Bio.
Do what you're likely to get grades in.

Reply 3050

Talkin and Orcyn

10

Original post by Dannyboy1236

Really? How come? I'd have thought. .doing maths or physics would have been harder...

I can't speak for Geography, though I assume it's heavily coursework based, but with English you shouldn't find the work load overly taxing compared with chemistry. I found there is slightly less bulk than with biology, and slightly less complexity than with chemistry - though they do draw on very different areas.

If you are comfortable with arguing your opinion and backing it up go for it as English Lit. Requires very little in the way of memorisation - a few quotes here and there. I think, from what I've seen of the maths so far, it's a far more transferable skill, too. Chemistry will stop you from forgetting the simpler arithmetic, but English lit. Will help you to develop the skills you need to read papers and form opinions (which is invaluable in med school) and to express yourself eloquently and accurately verbally (I can't imagine you won't discuss your ideas in group work, and have to explain them well).

(Ignoring the amount of writing you'll do at uni) Think about the amount of letters you'll have to write to GPs as FY1/FY2 and further on, and the amount of handovers you'll do. Think about getting information from a patient and, to put it kindly, sorting out what's important and what is less important to you and the amount of information you can get from the subtext.

You can see my slant, I'm sure, but I really, really believe it's a great A-level to do before med school.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3051

Democracy

20

Original post by Spatial_Void

It's brilliant for the problem-based learning sections of Medicine. However, it's certainly not obligatory.

What makes you say that? :confused:

Reply 3052

Talkin and Orcyn

10

Original post by Spatial_Void

It's brilliant for the problem-based learning sections of Medicine. However, it's certainly not obligatory.

Yeah, reading through your six posts it looks like you're a GCSE student, apologies if I'm wrong but I'm curious what you're basing this on?

Reply 3053

Mero8

7

Original post by Dannyboy1236

Thanks for the information guys! Just in case you were wondering my ideal a levels would be,
Biology
Chemistry
English Literature
Geography
Good combo?

Sounds good. I don't know whether it would be good or not to swap either english/geography for maths/physics, so look into that at any Med schools you're interested in. I did Maths, Biology, Chemistry and History :smile:

It's so refreshing to see a year 11 with some sense of reality who realises the quality of all med schools and aims to be at one of them, rather than the usual "Are these good for Oxbridge medicine"!

Reply 3054

Democracy

20

Original post by Blorcyn

Yeah, reading through your six posts it looks like you're a GCSE student, apologies if I'm wrong but I'm curious what you're basing this on?

Perhaps he mistook the "problem" part of "PBL" to mean maths problems :rolleyes:

Reply 3055

myyrh

9

Original post by Dannyboy1236

Thanks for the information guys! Just in case you were wondering my ideal a levels would be,
Biology
Chemistry
English Literature
Geography
Good combo?

Hey I took Geography (AQA) :smile:

It's a good subject in the sense that there are no difficult concepts to grasp. It's also a four unit A level so less exams too. However it has a LOT of content, more so than any of my other A levels. Also be prepared to memorise an awful lot of case studies :redface:

Oh and the exams are quite essay based (especially at A2) :cool:

Reply 3056

mel608

Original post by Dannyboy1236

Thanks for the information guys! Just in case you were wondering my ideal a levels would be,
Biology
Chemistry
English Literature
Geography
Good combo?

Biology and Chemistry go without saying I guess. English Lit and Geography are both coursework/ content heavy so i'm not sure if you'd want to swap one? I took Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Maths at AS and found that the most time-consuming was English but as i enjoyed it more than Maths i dropped Maths for A2, and I'm off to study Medicine in September. Maths at AS is manageable if you do the practice papers, the jump up to A2 is pretty big, so maybe substitute Geog/English Lit for Maths and drop it after year 12? If you're comparing Maths and Physics, the general view of friends that did both found Physics to be the hardest, but it's a personal thing of course :smile:

Good luck deciding! I think if you can cope with the workload go for what you'll enjoy the most, and what you think you'll do best in. A friend of mine did Chemistry, Biology, History and Geography at AS, dropped History at A2 and he's sitting with 2 Medicine offers, so whatever you choose will be fine :smile:

Reply 3057

Spatial_Void

8

Original post by Democracy

Perhaps he mistook the "problem" part of "PBL" to mean maths problems :rolleyes:

Original post by Blorcyn

Yeah, reading through your six posts it looks like you're a GCSE student, apologies if I'm wrong but I'm curious what you're basing this on?

Your qualms are both quite vague. Is there not (or the development of) problem-based learning in Maths and Medicine respectively?

I was basing that statement on websites such as this:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_problem_based_math.pdf

Moreover, a few personal statements, teachers etc. I wondered whether Maths could benefit me in Medicine a while ago, and time and time again, problem-based learning arose whenever I researched the connections. Thus, I came to the conclusion that Maths is indeed helpful for developing skills for problem (and project) based learning. If I'm wrong, please explain, I'd be interested in hearing what's genuinely canon and what's a perpetuated myth in the respective courses.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3058

Dannyboy1236

11

Original post by Blorcyn

I can't speak for Geography, though I assume it's heavily coursework based, but with English you shouldn't find the work load overly taxing compared with chemistry. I found there is slightly less bulk than with biology, and slightly less complexity than with chemistry - though they do draw on very different areas.

If you are comfortable with arguing your opinion and backing it up go for it as English Lit. Requires very little in the way of memorisation - a few quotes here and there. I think, from what I've seen of the maths so far, it's a far more transferable skill, too. Chemistry will stop you from forgetting the simpler arithmetic, but English lit. Will help you to develop the skills you need to read papers and form opinions (which is invaluable in med school) and to express yourself eloquently and accurately verbally (I can't imagine you won't discuss your ideas in group work, and have to explain them well).

(Ignoring the amount of writing you'll do at uni) Think about the amount of letters you'll have to write to GPs as FY1/FY2 and further on, and the amount of handovers you'll do. Think about getting information from a patient and, to put it kindly, sorting out what's important and what is less important to you and the amount of information you can get from the subtext.

You can see my slant, I'm sure, but I really, really believe it's a great A-level to do before med school.

This is English Literature your promoting, right? (for some reason I'm confused..)

Original post by Mero8

Sounds good. I don't know whether it would be good or not to swap either english/geography for maths/physics, so look into that at any Med schools you're interested in. I did Maths, Biology, Chemistry and History :smile:

It's so refreshing to see a year 11 with some sense of reality who realises the quality of all med schools and aims to be at one of them, rather than the usual "Are these good for Oxbridge medicine"!

Thanks......not that I wouldn't mind going Oxbridge if given the chance. But others are just as good.

Original post by myyrh

Hey I took Geography (AQA) :smile:

It's a good subject in the sense that there are no difficult concepts to grasp. It's also a four unit A level so less exams too. However it has a LOT of content, more so than any of my other A levels. Also be prepared to memorise an awful lot of case studies :redface:

Oh and the exams are quite essay based (especially at A2) :cool:

How different from GCSE is it? And do you have to do a lot of independent research?

Original post by mel608

Biology and Chemistry go without saying I guess. English Lit and Geography are both coursework/ content heavy so i'm not sure if you'd want to swap one? I took Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Maths at AS and found that the most time-consuming was English but as i enjoyed it more than Maths i dropped Maths for A2, and I'm off to study Medicine in September. Maths at AS is manageable if you do the practice papers, the jump up to A2 is pretty big, so maybe substitute Geog/English Lit for Maths and drop it after year 12? If you're comparing Maths and Physics, the general view of friends that did both found Physics to be the hardest, but it's a personal thing of course :smile:

Good luck deciding! I think if you can cope with the workload go for what you'll enjoy the most, and what you think you'll do best in. A friend of mine did Chemistry, Biology, History and Geography at AS, dropped History at A2 and he's sitting with 2 Medicine offers, so whatever you choose will be fine :smile:

With Geography(please forgive me if I'm wrong, got no clue) apart from the fieldwork what coursework do you have to do?

I'd rather do maths than physics but I'd rather do Geography than Math. Not trying to be arrogant....but I think I probably would be able to cope with the level of maths.....it's really more do I want to spend another 1/2 years studying maths.

Out of interest though....do you do medicine? And if yes, do you use a lot of mathematics?

Reply 3059

Democracy

20

Original post by Spatial_Void

Your qualms are both quite vague. Is there not (or the development of) problem-based learning in Maths and Medicine?

I was basing that statement on websites such as this:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_problem_based_math.pdf

Moreover, a few personal statements, teachers etc. I was wondering whether Maths could benefit me in Medicine a while ago, and time and time again, problem-based learning arose whenever I researched it. Thus, I came to the conclusion that Maths is indeed helpful for developing problem (and project) based learning. If I'm wrong, please explain, I'd be interested in hearing what's genuinely canon and what's a perpetuated myth in the respective courses.

Yep, I was right in my reply to Blorcyn.

I think you need to re-read that article (as irrelevant as it is to a forum filled with UK medical students and applicants)...it's not suggesting that maths is necessary for PBL in medical school, it's suggesting that perhaps maths teachers could introduce a maths specific PBL model to maths lessons based on the successful application of PBL in medical education. It's not saying the two are linked.

Here's an example of a PBL case study. Now you tell me what relevance maths has to it: