Should I drop 1 of my 4 AS subjects? Exams are only few weeks away!
Hi everyone 
I was just wondering if I could get some help with making a decision
My GCSE were fine, but now I'm two-thirds into my AS year and we just had our mocks. My mock results were terrible, but although my weekly test results are kindaaaa alright, my teachers are asking me to drop a subject before I sit for my AS exams (currently I'm doing Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Lit). I really don't want to - the unis I'd like to apply to want 4AS - but apparently I really risk doing very badly if I carry on with 4.
I was advised to drop Maths if I were to drop a subject (not required by quite a number so I guess that's alright... right?
) My teachers' justification is that if I were to drop anything, it should either be Maths or Lit, but since I'm better at Lit, I should keep that going to ensure at least one decent AS and predicted grade! And dropping Bio or Chem is definitely out of the question since I'm aiming for Medicine. But I've been working really hard at improving my Maths, I just think it's a waste to drop it nowwww. My teachers say I can just do an AS Maths next year, but if I'm struggling with my subjects now, I'm afraid I won't be able to next year as the subjects will just be nothing but harder.
But seeeee, this is all based on my mock results and to be honest, I've never, never done amazing in my mock exams anyway. In GCSE, I swear I managed to get Ds for at least 4 subjects but when the real thing came, I got A*s in all of them. A Levels and GCSE are probably completely different and shouldn't be compared this way but from this, I'm guessing that it just goes to show how terrible I am but only up until (veryyyyy dangerously close to) the end.
So should I drop a subject now and limit my uni choices, but (apparently) increasing the chance of better grades? (I don't mind doing another degree first and then doing Graduate Entry Med, but will 3AS limit this too?) Or should I take the risk and continue with 4 and risk ending up with horrible grades and no choices at all, BUT possibly giving myself the chance of getting good grades AND all my uni choices?
I'm so terribly sorry for this hideously long post. I just felt really pressured and I just needed to get this off my chest. Everyone's saying drop it, but I don't want to. I just wanna know if there are people out there who think the same way I do, and that I'm not being foolish or dangerously optimistic.
Thank you, your replies are muchhhh appreciated!
I was just wondering if I could get some help with making a decision
My GCSE were fine, but now I'm two-thirds into my AS year and we just had our mocks. My mock results were terrible, but although my weekly test results are kindaaaa alright, my teachers are asking me to drop a subject before I sit for my AS exams (currently I'm doing Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Lit). I really don't want to - the unis I'd like to apply to want 4AS - but apparently I really risk doing very badly if I carry on with 4. I was advised to drop Maths if I were to drop a subject (not required by quite a number so I guess that's alright... right?
) My teachers' justification is that if I were to drop anything, it should either be Maths or Lit, but since I'm better at Lit, I should keep that going to ensure at least one decent AS and predicted grade! And dropping Bio or Chem is definitely out of the question since I'm aiming for Medicine. But I've been working really hard at improving my Maths, I just think it's a waste to drop it nowwww. My teachers say I can just do an AS Maths next year, but if I'm struggling with my subjects now, I'm afraid I won't be able to next year as the subjects will just be nothing but harder.But seeeee, this is all based on my mock results and to be honest, I've never, never done amazing in my mock exams anyway. In GCSE, I swear I managed to get Ds for at least 4 subjects but when the real thing came, I got A*s in all of them. A Levels and GCSE are probably completely different and shouldn't be compared this way but from this, I'm guessing that it just goes to show how terrible I am but only up until (veryyyyy dangerously close to) the end.
So should I drop a subject now and limit my uni choices, but (apparently) increasing the chance of better grades? (I don't mind doing another degree first and then doing Graduate Entry Med, but will 3AS limit this too?) Or should I take the risk and continue with 4 and risk ending up with horrible grades and no choices at all, BUT possibly giving myself the chance of getting good grades AND all my uni choices?
I'm so terribly sorry for this hideously long post. I just felt really pressured and I just needed to get this off my chest. Everyone's saying drop it, but I don't want to. I just wanna know if there are people out there who think the same way I do, and that I'm not being foolish or dangerously optimistic.
Thank you, your replies are muchhhh appreciated!
Scroll to see replies
If I were you I'd probably just keep on doing all of them, it'd be so annoying to have spent your whole year working for a subject you don't even get an AS in??? Also, I definitely get what you say about doing better in the real thing than you have done all year, that happened with my gcses. Even if you got a C, that's all most unis want from your 4th subject anyway so it wouldn't matter!
Hope this helped, good luck!
Hope this helped, good luck!
Original post by notyous
If I were you I'd probably just keep on doing all of them, it'd be so annoying to have spent your whole year working for a subject you don't even get an AS in??? Also, I definitely get what you say about doing better in the real thing than you have done all year, that happened with my gcses. Even if you got a C, that's all most unis want from your 4th subject anyway so it wouldn't matter!
Hope this helped, good luck!
Hope this helped, good luck!
Thanks so much for your reply - really appreciate it! Thanks for not being put off by the ridiculous length of my post haha. That's a good point about how a C is all most unis want from my 4th subject, I think I'll heed your advice and continue all 4! Thanks again
Original post by Anonymous:)
Thanks so much for your reply - really appreciate it! Thanks for not being put off by the ridiculous length of my post haha. That's a good point about how a C is all most unis want from my 4th subject, I think I'll heed your advice and continue all 4! Thanks again
Hey, I agree with what the other person said and I would definitely say stick with all four! Just work hard and stick at it, you'll find yourself a lot more comfortable when applying with four AS levels.
Original post by Anonymous:)
Hi everyone
I was just wondering if I could get some help with making a decision My GCSE were fine, but now I'm two-thirds into my AS year and we just had our mocks. My mock results were terrible, but although my weekly test results are kindaaaa alright, my teachers are asking me to drop a subject before I sit for my AS exams (currently I'm doing Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Lit). I really don't want to - the unis I'd like to apply to want 4AS - but apparently I really risk doing very badly if I carry on with 4.
I was advised to drop Maths if I were to drop a subject (not required by quite a number so I guess that's alright... right?) My teachers' justification is that if I were to drop anything, it should either be Maths or Lit, but since I'm better at Lit, I should keep that going to ensure at least one decent AS and predicted grade! And dropping Bio or Chem is definitely out of the question since I'm aiming for Medicine. But I've been working really hard at improving my Maths, I just think it's a waste to drop it nowwww. My teachers say I can just do an AS Maths next year, but if I'm struggling with my subjects now, I'm afraid I won't be able to next year as the subjects will just be nothing but harder.
But seeeee, this is all based on my mock results and to be honest, I've never, never done amazing in my mock exams anyway. In GCSE, I swear I managed to get Ds for at least 4 subjects but when the real thing came, I got A*s in all of them. A Levels and GCSE are probably completely different and shouldn't be compared this way but from this, I'm guessing that it just goes to show how terrible I am but only up until (veryyyyy dangerously close to) the end.
So should I drop a subject now and limit my uni choices, but (apparently) increasing the chance of better grades? (I don't mind doing another degree first and then doing Graduate Entry Med, but will 3AS limit this too?) Or should I take the risk and continue with 4 and risk ending up with horrible grades and no choices at all, BUT possibly giving myself the chance of getting good grades AND all my uni choices?
I'm so terribly sorry for this hideously long post. I just felt really pressured and I just needed to get this off my chest. Everyone's saying drop it, but I don't want to. I just wanna know if there are people out there who think the same way I do, and that I'm not being foolish or dangerously optimistic.
Thank you, your replies are muchhhh appreciated!
I was just wondering if I could get some help with making a decision
My GCSE were fine, but now I'm two-thirds into my AS year and we just had our mocks. My mock results were terrible, but although my weekly test results are kindaaaa alright, my teachers are asking me to drop a subject before I sit for my AS exams (currently I'm doing Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Lit). I really don't want to - the unis I'd like to apply to want 4AS - but apparently I really risk doing very badly if I carry on with 4. I was advised to drop Maths if I were to drop a subject (not required by quite a number so I guess that's alright... right?
) My teachers' justification is that if I were to drop anything, it should either be Maths or Lit, but since I'm better at Lit, I should keep that going to ensure at least one decent AS and predicted grade! And dropping Bio or Chem is definitely out of the question since I'm aiming for Medicine. But I've been working really hard at improving my Maths, I just think it's a waste to drop it nowwww. My teachers say I can just do an AS Maths next year, but if I'm struggling with my subjects now, I'm afraid I won't be able to next year as the subjects will just be nothing but harder.But seeeee, this is all based on my mock results and to be honest, I've never, never done amazing in my mock exams anyway. In GCSE, I swear I managed to get Ds for at least 4 subjects but when the real thing came, I got A*s in all of them. A Levels and GCSE are probably completely different and shouldn't be compared this way but from this, I'm guessing that it just goes to show how terrible I am but only up until (veryyyyy dangerously close to) the end.
So should I drop a subject now and limit my uni choices, but (apparently) increasing the chance of better grades? (I don't mind doing another degree first and then doing Graduate Entry Med, but will 3AS limit this too?) Or should I take the risk and continue with 4 and risk ending up with horrible grades and no choices at all, BUT possibly giving myself the chance of getting good grades AND all my uni choices?
I'm so terribly sorry for this hideously long post. I just felt really pressured and I just needed to get this off my chest. Everyone's saying drop it, but I don't want to. I just wanna know if there are people out there who think the same way I do, and that I'm not being foolish or dangerously optimistic.
Thank you, your replies are muchhhh appreciated!
AAAa
Chemistry=essential
Biology=essential
Then a third science=(maths) essential
then some sort of grade at AS level.
Teachers are so dumb in advising you what to do . Truth is only you know but really check your entry requirements first cause I'm pretty sure they ask for a third science. If they do the only subject you could drop is English lit. If they don't You can drop either lit or maths.
However, You might still need a grade at AS level for the entry requirements. Check this yourself.
Original post by Knugs
AAAa
Chemistry=essential
Biology=essential
Then a third science=(maths) essential
then some sort of grade at AS level.
Teachers are so dumb in advising you what to do . Truth is only you know but really check your entry requirements first cause I'm pretty sure they ask for a third science. If they do the only subject you could drop is English lit. If they don't You can drop either lit or maths.
However, You might still need a grade at AS level for the entry requirements. Check this yourself.
Chemistry=essential
Biology=essential
Then a third science=(maths) essential
then some sort of grade at AS level.
Teachers are so dumb in advising you what to do . Truth is only you know but really check your entry requirements first cause I'm pretty sure they ask for a third science. If they do the only subject you could drop is English lit. If they don't You can drop either lit or maths.
However, You might still need a grade at AS level for the entry requirements. Check this yourself.
Only Cambridge requires a third science.
Original post by ForestCat
Only Cambridge requires a third science.
oh things have changed!
Original post by Knugs
oh things have changed!
Yup. But teachers not knowing about medicine applications haven't
Original post by Samriddha
Hey, I agree with what the other person said and I would definitely say stick with all four! Just work hard and stick at it, you'll find yourself a lot more comfortable when applying with four AS levels.
Thanks for your input! Heheh yeah this is a great idea, imma just work hard and stick with 4
Suffer for a bit so I can be comfy when applying haha. Thanks so much! 
Original post by Knugs
AAAa
Chemistry=essential
Biology=essential
Then a third science=(maths) essential
then some sort of grade at AS level.
Teachers are so dumb in advising you what to do . Truth is only you know but really check your entry requirements first cause I'm pretty sure they ask for a third science. If they do the only subject you could drop is English lit. If they don't You can drop either lit or maths.
However, You might still need a grade at AS level for the entry requirements. Check this yourself.
Chemistry=essential
Biology=essential
Then a third science=(maths) essential
then some sort of grade at AS level.
Teachers are so dumb in advising you what to do . Truth is only you know but really check your entry requirements first cause I'm pretty sure they ask for a third science. If they do the only subject you could drop is English lit. If they don't You can drop either lit or maths.
However, You might still need a grade at AS level for the entry requirements. Check this yourself.
Hahah yeah I know right!! I totally agree! Yeah OK I'll check really thoroughly the entry requirements and I'll just plan around that. Thanks so much for this!
Original post by ForestCat
Yup. But teachers not knowing about medicine applications haven't
That is a very biased comment from someone who is a moderator! We have many students going into medicine each year and give correct advice.
If students really want a career they should research it themselves anyway ...
Original post by ForestCat
Only Cambridge requires a third science.
Thanks for this! Phew haha I'm not very good at the sciences lol haha thanks again!
If you're struggling with AS, how would you cope with the workload of medicine?
No offence but are you sure you're cut out for medicine?
Original post by Muttley79
That is a very biased comment from someone who is a moderator! We have many students going into medicine each year and give correct advice.
If students really want a career they should research it themselves anyway ...
If students really want a career they should research it themselves anyway ...
I'm sure the moderator was just trying to bring a bit of humour into this thread! But as unfortunate as it sounds, my teachers did actually give me incorrect information about the entry requirements of the unis I wanna go to and the careers I wanna pursue - wouldn't have known if I hadn't researched them myself!
So thanks for the advice about researching it ourselves, and I'd just like to say thank you on behalf of the people you advise and stuff - I'd be so grateful if anyone would give me correct advice and help me get into medicine instead of telling me I'm too dumb for it!
Original post by BioStudentx
No offence but are you sure you're cut out for medicine?
Tbh no, I don't think I'm academically cut out for medicine. Haha honestly, lotsa people say I should be doing humanities. But I really want to do medicine
So I'm hoping if I try my best I just might make it haha - after all, where's there's a will, there's a way, right? Original post by Muttley79
That is a very biased comment from someone who is a moderator! We have many students going into medicine each year and give correct advice.
If students really want a career they should research it themselves anyway ...
If students really want a career they should research it themselves anyway ...
It was partly tongue in cheek. But also it wasn't me posting as a moderator, it was me posting as someone who has been around this forum for a while. I've seen many people post that their teachers say they must do this or they must do that if they want to do medicine. And 9 times out of 10 they've been told a load of rubbish. It wasn't a dig at teachers, you can't be expected to know about every course at uni, but there is a lot of misinformation around about medicine applications.
P.s. moderators are allowed opinions too.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by ForestCat
It was partly tongue in cheek. But also it wasn't me posting as a moderator, it was me posting as someone who has been around this forum for a while. I've seen many people post that their teachers say they must do this or they must do that if they want to do medicine. And 9 times out of 10 they've been told a load of rubbish. It wasn't a dig at teachers, you can't be expected to know about every course at uni, but there is a lot of misinformation around about medicine applications.
P.s. moderators are allowed opinions too.
P.s. moderators are allowed opinions too.
Don't assume the people on here are representative of all students - some people don't tell the full story either.
Moderators can have an opinion but I don't think you should post such negative opinions about teachers. Many of us support students on this website and it would be poorer if we left because of such comments.
Original post by thecatwithnohat
If you're struggling with AS, how would you cope with the workload of medicine?
Thanks for this realistic question
I really don't know, please tell me if I'm being too stupidly optimistic here but I like to think I should give it a shot anyway cos you never know if you never try? I know medicine will definitely be so much more of a struggle than AS is now, but if I got that far I think I'd be so grateful I'll haveeee to make myself be able to cope with the workload! I believe there are doctors and graduating doctors and 1st years who struggled with their AS but still made it 
I'd keep your 4th AS. You never know, you may end up pleasantly surprising yourself by achieving a good grade!
Graduate entry medicine is far more competitive (so I've been told) than undergraduate entry medicine. So whilst its a good plan in the sense it shows your dedication for medicine, with only one month until exams, I would carry on with the 4th AS. If you achieve an A in all of your AS-levels, it opens up the door for undergraduate entry and if not, you still have the determination to pursue graduate entry.
What I would say to you is: "you've come this far, don't give up". But ultimately, it's your choice. Try talking it over with your teachers and give a few medical schools a phone call - they may be able to offer some advice as I'm sure you're not the first student in this position!
Don't stress OP, take it easy and revise well. Don't overdo it.
Good luck.
Graduate entry medicine is far more competitive (so I've been told) than undergraduate entry medicine. So whilst its a good plan in the sense it shows your dedication for medicine, with only one month until exams, I would carry on with the 4th AS. If you achieve an A in all of your AS-levels, it opens up the door for undergraduate entry and if not, you still have the determination to pursue graduate entry.
What I would say to you is: "you've come this far, don't give up". But ultimately, it's your choice. Try talking it over with your teachers and give a few medical schools a phone call - they may be able to offer some advice as I'm sure you're not the first student in this position!
Don't stress OP, take it easy and revise well. Don't overdo it.
Good luck.
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