HELP! I need advice on my A-level choices- maths or physics?

Hey everyone,

Any advice you can give me is appreciated!

I'm currently in Yr 12 in Northern Ireland (year 11 in England) and I have to chose my A-level subjects in around a month. I really want to study medicine at university, and I don't know what to take as my 4th subject.
My choices at the moment are; Chemistry, Biology, German and Maths or Physics.

Obviously Biology and Chemistry are pretty essential.

The reason I'm taking German is because I really enjoy it and some universities prefer a contrasting subject, as well as the advantage of being able to speak a foreign language to a high standard.

The maths/physics is where the problem lies. I prefer physics, and have really enjoyed it at GCSE at am predicted an A* by my teacher.
I don't take further maths, as I never did well in yr8-10 exams (which I put down to poor teaching, as my whole class never did very well), but at GCSE I'm top of my class, and also predicted an A*.

I have heard it's really hard to do physics without Maths, but I really don't enjoy maths, and would much prefer to do physics.

I would hope to get 9 or 10 A*s and I think I am capable of achieving this. I work hard and am no stanger to putting in extra work if it's needed.

I know most medical schools don't require maths at a-level, but would it be more useful? or would it be better to do well in physics (if that's even possible without maths!)

Any advice would be much apreciated,
Thanks

Reply 1

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Reply 2

Valyrian

Physics at A level is a very challenging subject that even the most capable suffer to a certain degree. It has a lot of mathematical relationships but they all include mechanics, however if you don't do maths and only physics it may hinder you slightly, but not so much since all the equations and logic through them should be provided to you by your teacher, if they're a good teacher. Physics is all about understanding and being able to apply it to many different situations, if you're good at understanding the basis of a theory, then physics is probably a cruise for you, however if you feel you struggle to do this, please don't risk taking physics because it'll cripple you.

lol I'm on my iPhone so be gentle with me pls

Reply 3

Valyrian

Original post by emboyd99

Hey everyone,

Sorry I forgot to quote you in :lol:

lol I'm on my iPhone so be gentle with me pls

Reply 4

emboyd99

Original post by lilypear

Sorry I forgot to quote you in :lol:

lol I'm on my iPhone so be gentle with me pls

Haha, Thanks for your advice! :smile:

I would say I have a pretty good understanding of theories in physics, and when I don't understand I learn it until I do.
One month until I choose so I appreciate all the advice I can get :smile:

Thanks again,
Emily :smile:

Reply 5