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Further Maths A-Level for Medicine Applicants

Right so I've just started Year 12, and I'm currently doing Maths, Chem, Bio and Further Maths. Now I also plan to complete DofE Gold and do a medicine related EPQ. I am hoping to apply for 2018 entry for Medicine. My plan was initially to take Further Maths to AS Level, and then drop it, which would give me 2 AS grades (due to the A-Level reforms). I enjoy Further Maths, and I was hoping the extra AS grade would give me an advantage when applying, but I have recently found out many medical schools consider Maths/FM as one subject. I have more than enough good GCSE results for a "typical medicine applicant", so to speak. But my fear is that Further Maths is completely irrelevant for medicine, and studying for it will affect my other subjects such as Bio and Chem, not only that it would free up my timetable a lot and make my life less stressful. Does anyone know whether universities would value a good EPQ more than further maths, and if it is a waste of time for a prospective medical student? Also any other hopeful medics taking FM?

Reply 1

mb2016

Original post by kn0x

I am applying for medicine this year (2017 entry) and I took the same subjects as you last year. I dropped Further Maths after AS. I did it mostly because I really enjoyed it as a subject and it interested me, however, if it is only going to become a burden, then it might not be worth it. I am not doing an EPQ, because I think most medical schools couldn't really care less (but I may be wrong for some). Focus on getting an awesome UKCAT score and you will be all set. I have 4 interviews from Newcastle, Nottingham, St Andrews and Birmingham, and I think that is due to the crazy amount of research I did beforehand so I made really good choices about where I was most likely to get an interview.
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