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Medicine without Chemistry at a2 ??!!

Heey everyone! So I've just started my A2 year and would like to do Medicine.Problem is that I did really badly at Chemistry As with an E as I did not put enough work in it. I will definetely retake the As but I'm not sure if I should do A2 as I'm afraid that I will spent too much time on improving Chemistry rather than getting my other grades to As/A*s at A2 level. I'm doing Biology, Maths and Economics A level and I have already done my A level German with A*.I read that in e.g. kings College London,Barts in London, even imperial, Keele and some other unis they don't require Chemistry at a2 level and As would be enough....Would I have a chance with As/A* in Maths,bio,Eco and German and an A in chemistry a2? Do the unis that accept Chem A2 still prefer with people with A2 chem? If I really have to I would continue with Chemistry but I would just like to focus on the other subjects to get high grades if my chance of getting into medicine is equal...Thank you in advance!
Reply 1
Generally universities do what they say in their prospectus/website. If they don't require chemistry but want 3 As then as long as your have the grades you can get a place.

Most universities do require chemistry so if you really want to do medicine it may be worth just working super hard this year. Medicine is incredibly hard and A level chemistry is the closest in difficult/similarity you can get prior to undergraduate courses. Despite this you have to remember A level chemistry is so so so so so much easier than a medical degree and if you are struggling at A level you may find medicine horrendous.

I personally think doing chemistry will help you more and the challenger will definitely prepare you more for life as a medical student.
Reply 2
If the only problem is that you didn't put in enough work then you should be fine. However, if you're really struggling to understand the concepts, juggling AS and A2 chemistry as well as your other subjects isn't really wise. If this is the case, I would just concentrate on AS Chemistry although then not having A2 chemistry limits the universities you can consider applying to.
Reply 3
Original post by pkr
Generally universities do what they say in their prospectus/website. If they don't require chemistry but want 3 As then as long as your have the grades you can get a place.

Most universities do require chemistry so if you really want to do medicine it may be worth just working super hard this year. Medicine is incredibly hard and A level chemistry is the closest in difficult/similarity you can get prior to undergraduate courses. Despite this you have to remember A level chemistry is so so so so so much easier than a medical degree and if you are struggling at A level you may find medicine horrendous.

I personally think doing chemistry will help you more and the challenger will definitely prepare you more for life as a medical student.


Thank you for replying :smile: Okay I was thinking the Same in terms of challenging myself this year to do a2 Chemistry but I just think that I might end up stressing a lot about chemistry and then disadvantage by other subjects...So if I meet the general requirements of the Uni I should be fine with only As Chemistry right? Or might they still rather consider a person with chem even though they stated that chem at as is just fine...
Reply 4
Original post by JOjo9711
If the only problem is that you didn't put in enough work then you should be fine. However, if you're really struggling to understand the concepts, juggling AS and A2 chemistry as well as your other subjects isn't really wise. If this is the case, I would just concentrate on AS Chemistry although then not having A2 chemistry limits the universities you can consider applying to.


Thank you for replying! So I did find the concepts hard but I do think that if I have had more practice in past papers that I would have done better...chemistry is just quiete time consuming that's why I thought of dropping it for a2 to meet the grade requirements...if I continue onto a2 I might disadvantage my other subjects...that's what I'm afraid of.As there is unis that do say that they would accept people without chemistry at a2 I thought that this would be a safe option. Even if I do meet the unis requirement...would they still choose the person with a2 Chemistry over me even if they do say that they accept chem at as? For example Imperial which is highly competitive states that Chemistry at As is acceptable...doesn't that mean that they would consider me even if there is probably people applying with A2 chemistry? I know that I have to make myself stand out from the other applicants...any suggestions? Thank you :smile:
Reply 5
Original post by cherry00
Thank you for replying! So I did find the concepts hard but I do think that if I have had more practice in past papers that I would have done better...chemistry is just quiet time consuming that's why I thought of dropping it for a2 to meet the grade requirements...if I continue onto a2 I might disadvantage my other subjects...that's what I'm afraid of.As there is unis that do say that they would accept people without chemistry at a2 I thought that this would be a safe option. Even if I do meet the unis requirement...would they still choose the person with a2 Chemistry over me even if they do say that they accept chem at as? For example Imperial which is highly competitive states that Chemistry at As is acceptable...doesn't that mean that they would consider me even if there is probably people applying with A2 chemistry? I know that I have to make myself stand out from the other applicants...any suggestions? Thank you :smile:


You're clearly quite smart if you managed to do well in your other subjects so I think you're right about just dedicating more time to chemistry. Don't worry too much about it being too time-consuming, just make sure you're organise well organised. Concerning a preference of someone with A2 chemistry, I can't say for sure, but if that's what it says on the website... You can get into contact with the admissions department of each uni you're thinking about to make certain though. If you want to stand out and you're up for it, you could take A2 chemistry as well to have 5 A levels.
Reply 6
Original post by cherry00
Heey everyone! So I've just started my A2 year and would like to do Medicine.Problem is that I did really badly at Chemistry As with an E as I did not put enough work in it. I will definetely retake the As but I'm not sure if I should do A2 as I'm afraid that I will spent too much time on improving Chemistry rather than getting my other grades to As/A*s at A2 level. I'm doing Biology, Maths and Economics A level and I have already done my A level German with A*.I read that in e.g. kings College London,Barts in London, even imperial, Keele and some other unis they don't require Chemistry at a2 level and As would be enough....Would I have a chance with As/A* in Maths,bio,Eco and German and an A in chemistry a2? Do the unis that accept Chem A2 still prefer with people with A2 chem? If I really have to I would continue with Chemistry but I would just like to focus on the other subjects to get high grades if my chance of getting into medicine is equal...Thank you in advance!


Many Med Schools like A2 Chemistry, but some will accept you with AS Chem-and possibly UEA without even that! (and if they say that is acceptable, you will be at no disadvantage to people with A2 Chem). The problem is that Med Schools will often specify all A2s to be at one sitting, so when did you do your German A2? There is also the matter of whether they specify an AS grade for Chemistry if not taken to A2 (Imperial, Barts and Keele I believe, specify it must be at least a B, and that is a big jump from an E).
See here:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/content.php?r=15863-medical-school-a-level-requirement
for more details, but given your slightly unusual situation of an already achieved A2, you may need to email admissions directly to check with them, detailing your own specific situation wrt achieved A2, etc.
So, it will limit where you can apply with no A2 Chemistry, and you would need to considerably improve your AS grade for most of the Unis you could apply to, but it is not impossible. You would also need to think about whether the particular requirements of those remaining Med Schools are likely to meet your strengths (eg Cardiff is a possibility, but likes a lot of A* GCSEs, Newcastle/Durham are also possibilities, but need a high UKCAT score). Good luck
Reply 7
Original post by cherry00
Heey everyone! So I've just started my A2 year and would like to do Medicine.Problem is that I did really badly at Chemistry As with an E as I did not put enough work in it. I will definetely retake the As but I'm not sure if I should do A2 as I'm afraid that I will spent too much time on improving Chemistry rather than getting my other grades to As/A*s at A2 level. I'm doing Biology, Maths and Economics A level and I have already done my A level German with A*.I read that in e.g. kings College London,Barts in London, even imperial, Keele and some other unis they don't require Chemistry at a2 level and As would be enough....Would I have a chance with As/A* in Maths,bio,Eco and German and an A in chemistry a2? Do the unis that accept Chem A2 still prefer with people with A2 chem? If I really have to I would continue with Chemistry but I would just like to focus on the other subjects to get high grades if my chance of getting into medicine is equal...Thank you in advance!


To be honest with you, if you haven't got AAAA at AS or even AAAB at AS, you have a very low chance of getting an interview. The only realistic option I can see is to improve your grades for A2, take a gap year, and reapply with your full grades. Also remember, not all universities like you reapplying so look at their websites. As for Chemistry, if I were you I would carry it on to A2 as an E in AS chemistry doesn't look great. Also some universities don't accept exam retakes so look out for that. On a basic level though, if they don't ask for A2 chemistry then you will be completely fine with out it. They aren't really fussed about what subjects you've taken besides their 'required' ones.
Reply 8
Original post by tdixon97
To be honest with you, if you haven't got AAAA at AS or even AAAB at AS, you have a very low chance of getting an interview. The only realistic option I can see is to improve your grades for A2, take a gap year, and reapply with your full grades. Also remember, not all universities like you reapplying so look at their websites. As for Chemistry, if I were you I would carry it on to A2 as an E in AS chemistry doesn't look great. Also some universities don't accept exam retakes so look out for that. On a basic level though, if they don't ask for A2 chemistry then you will be completely fine with out it. They aren't really fussed about what subjects you've taken besides their 'required' ones.


Thanks for replying! Yeah I won't apply with these grades at As...I will wait for my A2 results and apply next year. I will definetely retake the chemistry As exams to get them up to an A even if I don't continue to a2. Thanks for your advice :smile:
Reply 9
Original post by tdixon97
To be honest with you, if you haven't got AAAA at AS or even AAAB at AS, you have a very low chance of getting an interview. The only realistic option I can see is to improve your grades for A2, take a gap year, and reapply with your full grades. Also remember, not all universities like you reapplying so look at their websites. As for Chemistry, if I were you I would carry it on to A2 as an E in AS chemistry doesn't look great. Also some universities don't accept exam retakes so look out for that. On a basic level though, if they don't ask for A2 chemistry then you will be completely fine with out it. They aren't really fussed about what subjects you've taken besides their 'required' ones.


This is absolutely not the case. My son had ABBD at AS level and got 4 interviews and 3 offers and there are many examples of people with similar grades getting interviews and offers. You need to apply to your strengths. Many universities do not look at AS grades when deciding who to invite for interview. Depending on the rest of the OPs stats, it is quite possible for them to get invites to interview, and then it is generally a level field as to who gets offers

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