This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

A Level choice for Medicine

So I am doing my choice and wondering what is good for medicine.

I got 3 course choices and want to do 4 in each so here is what I have so far

Chemistry| Biology| Maths (Pure + Statistics) | Need something to accompany it

Are Chem. and Bio. and maths definately needed?
Is Maths P+S my best choice rather than Pure+Mechanics or just pure?
Is Further Maths needed
What would be some good forth choices to put in there.

thnx

Reply 1

eugenius 8

19

You definitely need Chemistry. I think Biology and Maths are great choices to study with Chemistry. They will help with Medicine but they are not necessary. I would advise you not to just do Pure Maths, and do either Statistics/Mechanics as well, whichever youre better at and/or enjoy more. Further Maths isnt needed but if you really enjoy Maths, then you could do as your 4th A-level. If not, then i think anything's fine for your 4th choice but dont choose General Studies cos unis wont accept it.

Reply 2

Moonkin

OP

11

Thanks.

I h8 maths but if I work hard in it then I'm brilliant. ATM doing additional maths and got an A when I took the GCSE a year early.

Would you agree with this for a top uni. 1. Chem 2. Bio 3. Phyiscs 4. Maths(Pure and Statistics) ?

Reply 3

eugenius 8

19

Yeah, thats fine, most of the people i knew who applied for medicine did exactly that. If you know you will enjoy those subjects then go for it :smile:

Reply 4

SilentGirl

13

im doing them as well as doing further maths ! and its great ! Apperantly, someoine with an A in A-level physics is said to be clever..it does give a very good impression !

Reply 5

* Dain Bramaged *

9

i did biology chemistry psychology and business studies for as, and for a2 i am doing chemsitry biology and pyschology. these may seem contrvertial. but my mum is part of the med school entrance board and therefore knows what is exepted. they often prefer people to have chemistry biology and perhaps a different but respected 3rd. however maths is the traditonal one and worthwhile.

Reply 6

Elles

17

MilesB

Would you agree with this for a top uni. 1. Chem 2. Bio 3. Phyiscs 4. Maths(Pure and Statistics) ?

No.
I think if a candidate is capable of and would enjoy an arts subject then adding one (at least to AS) makes for a stronger/more rounded application.

- It keeps your options more open - some medical schools explicitly state they give "preference" to applicants with a contrasting subject, others "welcome" them...
- It might be of benefit in developing skills assessed in the aptitude tests/interviews.

MilesB

Is Further Maths needed

Do some research about medical school requirements - prospectuses are online.

I did A2 Biology, Chemistry, History, English Lit & General Studies, with AS Physics - so obviously think those are the best combination. :p:

Reply 7

unknown demon

15

Bio,Chem,Physics+Maths. Throw in an arts subject if your keen on doing 5. Most of the people I know, and I know a significant amount of medics and NOW doctors did those 4, some did F.Math on top of that. But as said above, an arts subject won't hurt.

Reply 8

charlotte:)

hi, i was wondering, do i need biology to do medicine or vetinary medicine?because im doing physics chemistry maths and music. I would have liked to do biology instead of physics but it didnt fit in my schedule.so basically there is hardly any chance i would be able to do biology.do you think i could still get into a good uni without doing biology?

Reply 9

Moonkin

OP

11

Nvm I chose Bio Chem Economics and Maths(Pure + Statistics)

Reply 10

Miss Monkey

10

charlotte:)

hi, i was wondering, do i need biology to do medicine or vetinary medicine?because im doing physics chemistry maths and music. I would have liked to do biology instead of physics but it didnt fit in my schedule.so basically there is hardly any chance i would be able to do biology.do you think i could still get into a good uni without doing biology?

Yes, for medicine at least, there are a few places that don't require Biology. However a lot of them ask for at least AS Biology. I did AS Biology on top of my other A Levels, at night school, as three of the four medical schools I applied to wanted it.

If you're doing your A Levels and still undecided about medicine OR vetinary medicine, I would recommend getting lots of work experience asap and making a decision.

Reply 11

martin101

10

I chose Maths (aA), Bio(aA), Chem(aA) and Physics(aA) (all to A2) and did a chem AEA(distinction) (just for fun - never told the unis I was doing it)

Never once regretted the choices I made beacuase a) they got me where I wanted to be and b) they didnt involve huge amounts of work!

Reply 12

Huw Davies

11

charlotte:)

hi, i was wondering, do i need biology to do medicine or vetinary medicine?because im doing physics chemistry maths and music. I would have liked to do biology instead of physics but it didnt fit in my schedule.so basically there is hardly any chance i would be able to do biology.do you think i could still get into a good uni without doing biology?

Oxford, Cambridge, Southampton, Bristol, Peninsula and Manchester don't require Biology (either to AS or A2), at least when I was applying.

Reply 13

bright star

1

martin101

I chose Maths (aA), Bio(aA), Chem(aA) and Physics(aA) (all to A2) and did a chem AEA(distinction) (just for fun - never told the unis I was doing it)

Never once regretted the choices I made beacuase a) they got me where I wanted to be and b) they didnt involve huge amounts of work!

how is that helpful to anyone? that just makes this kind of tat worse. people see it and think that's what they need to do too and then they stress about liking an arts subject when there's no need to. if you want to brag at least give the other side to it.

Reply 14

billet-doux

14

Further maths isn't needed! I don't think it makes a difference whether you do maths with stats or mechanics!
Maybe for your 4th choice, choose a humanity, such as english/history/languages?
Then it shows that you're good at both sciences and arts!

I'm hoping to apply to either medicine/dentistry and i'll be doing: Chem, Bio, Maths & Spanish next year! xx

Reply 15

bright star

1

if you're gonna do medicine, you'll use the stats component. that's like the only bit you'll really use substancially. then again, i guess if you do physics, the mechanics is easier. i'd say everyone should do d&d i loved that module :ninja:

Reply 16

*The One

1

If you want to do medicine, chemistry is obviously a must but I think you really ought to do biology aswell if you can. Afterall if you have consciously decided not to take biology does that mean you aren't sufficiently interested in it to read it? Maybe that's what universities might think. That's worrying since if you don't enjoy biology you probably won't enjoy studying medicine. Also I think there was some research to suggest that those that don't do biology at A2 find the initial part of the course very tough because of the need to rapidly assimilate new concepts. I'd say after that if you really want to do an 'arts' subject as long as it's reputable or traditional I think that's fine with most unis even most oxbridge colleges. That said as many others have also said i think taking maths in particular and to a lesser extent physics would be useful. To be on the safe side perhaps it's only wise to do an arts subject as a fourth choice or if you're really into it do it anyway.

The most important thing is to explain in your PS how the arts subject prepares you for medicine i.e analysis, evaluation, appreciation of complexity of society etc.. Don't bang on about your love of Russian history! Do however go on about your love of science so that unis believe u are sufficiently science inclined.

Reply 17

Huw Davies

11

*The One

If you want to do medicine, chemistry is obviously a must but I think you really ought to do biology aswell if you can. Afterall if you have consciously decided not to take biology does that mean you aren't sufficiently interested in it to read it? Maybe that's what universities might think. That's worrying since if you don't enjoy biology you probably won't enjoy studying medicine.

If universities really thought that way, they'd have biology as an entrance requirement. Although I was asked at one interview why I hadn't chosen biology, I didn't feel under great pressure to produce an answer beyond that it hadn't suited my choices, and that I was nevertheless interested in human physiology as it related to medicine. I didn't enjoy GCSE biology very much (too much rote-learning, and the ecology\animal stuff didn't greatly excite me), but enjoy my medical degree a great deal.

Also I think there was some research to suggest that those that don't do biology at A2 find the initial part of the course very tough because of the need to rapidly assimilate new concepts.

I didn't find it especially difficult, and neither did anyone else I know who didn't have biology. In practice you end up re-learning everything anyway.

I'd say after that if you really want to do an 'arts' subject as long as it's reputable or traditional I think that's fine with most unis even most oxbridge colleges. That said as many others have also said i think taking maths in particular and to a lesser extent physics would be useful. To be on the safe side perhaps it's only wise to do an arts subject as a fourth choice or if you're really into it do it anyway.

When universities care about which subjects you do, they ask for them or mention that they're recommended or helpful. As I recall, Oxford say "Arts subject welcome" or similar, though about 3 Cambridge colleges ask for 3 sciences. Generally speaking you can take what they say at face value as it's in nobody's interest for them to have secret requirements.

The most important thing is to explain in your PS how the arts subject prepares you for medicine i.e analysis, evaluation, appreciation of complexity of society etc.. Don't bang on about your love of Russian history! Do however go on about your love of science so that unis believe u are sufficiently science inclined.

I don't think it's very important at all. I didn't mention English or French in my personal statement, which concentrated on medicine, relevant work experience, and a little about my other interests.

Reply 18

*The One

1

Ok Huw it might have been okay for you but the general advice I got from speaking to actual medicine admissions tutors was quite different. They were quite clear that they cannot explicitly say applicants must do biology as this wouldn't give them the flexibilty they prefer. However they did strongly suggest (without going off script) that not doing biology would 'raise further questions which may give an application closer scrutiny'. Basically I don't mean to say to anyone that not doing biology will mean you won't get in, I'm just saying it's best to do it if you can.

I bet if we could see the % of applicants not doing biology that got an offer compared with those that did there would be a significant difference.

Again with respect to not finding the start of the course harder, that may be your view and that of others, but the statistics (I can't find them at the moment I admit) say otherwise understandably.

I didn't mean to say you must talk about arts subjects, I meant to say if you do talk about them you shouldn't go off an a tangent.

But Huw Davies shows how as long as you're good enough and meet the minimum requirements you're likely to get in.:

Reply 19

da_kind92

9

I'm really confused myself... I dont mean to take over the thread but are Biology (A2), Chem (A2), Maths (A2) , Physics (as) and Law (as) the right choices for medicine..?(( at a good uni ))
ATM im doing A2 urdu - but apparently it isnt worth so much for the unis as its my mothertongue...
Im hoping to do further maths and maths in the first year and drop maths as a whole for the second year, as I wouldve done the maths Alevel.. ( in my choice of sixth form anyway )
I am so unsure but is this ok..??
1st year
maths as
FM as
physics as
biology as
chemistry as

2nd year
chemistry a2
biology a2
law as

Any help would be amazing.. sorry again though
or maybe I should post this as a new thread itself...

A Level choice for Medicine

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you