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MAThs and medicine

HI peeps!

I am so very pasionate about doin medicne and cant think of any other carreer i want to pursue but, problem is im not so brill at maths.
im sort of wokring at B level and maths it supposed to be SOLiD. :smile:

*yay*

so i reckon the chances of me gettin a A in maths let alone an A* (in the new A level course) is slim. I want to not do maths all together but

Is it absolutely neccessary 4 med?
if i dont do it will i be seriously disavdantaged[even if i'm doing chem+bio]to get into med school?

if so, will an AS in maths be sufficient ???
alot of uni's say math is optional but i think nowadays its a requirement

please help.
i need to fill in my 6th form application like this week. :p:

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Reply 1

Elles

Mismatched_dollie_pepper

I want to not do maths all together but - Is it absolutely neccessary 4 med?

Best place to find out would be from the horses' mouth - medical school websites/prospectuses clearly state their requirements in terms of subjects/grades & also whether they have any additional preferences or recommendations.

Or a lazier approach, a compilation of information e.g. http://thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Where_to_Study_Medicine

Passionate people make the effort to do basic research.

Reply 2

Mismatched_dollie_pepper

Elles

thnx for the help.
yers i have been lookin at sites,arrangin connexions meeting and so on and so forth yet i keep on getting differnt information.also i'm worried by the time i apply to uni, the requirements will have changed. Alot places state tht maths is not absolutelyt neccesaary ( this excludes orford, cambridge e.t.c)but it seems to be some sort of rule tht you should do it. It's preffered.

Reply 3

AEH

Well, I got B in maths GCSE and I've not had the slightest trouble with maths. Its all about having a few basic calculations you can do well off the top of your head rather than anything else, no fancy mechanics or anything like that. A sound grasp of stats might help you out when it comes to papers, but nothing you can't pick up at medschool.

Reply 4

londonchickk

Hmm..depends on the uni.

All require chemistry, and some require biology. I've heard of plenty getting in without maths, but check with the unis.

If you have to, you can do it for AS (which is A LOT easier) and drop it.

Reply 5

Mismatched_dollie_pepper

Elles

Passionate people make the effort to do basic research.

thnx for the help.
i certainly have been doing all sorts of research not tht i have to prove it to the likes of yourself :smile:

.It seems that i cannot get a clearr answer
I've had a connections meeting. The advisor said,i quote " maths is not neccessary but it is higly regarded so it is necessary." A lot ofUni's also say that whilst it is'nt necessary, it is higly regarded (this excludes oxford e.t.c)i want toknow if i'd bedisadvantaged if i chose not to do it, or if i did it to just AS level.

Reply 6

Pepe Le Poosh

I don't think its a requirement BUT it does count as a science subject if an typical offer where to be AAB including Chemistry and one other science for example.

Reply 7

Mismatched_dollie_pepper

AEH

OOOh.thnx. :wink:

i 've been seriuosly discouraged. I'm in yr 11 currently , applying for 6th form and have been told that those who achieve B in GCSe often struggle at A level maths ... i dont want to dit it and get a D opr something, as tht wont be 2 favourable =)

Reply 8

Elles

Mismatched_dollie_pepper

thnx for the help.
i certainly have been doing all sorts of research not tht i have to prove it to the likes of yourself :smile:

.It seems that i cannot get a clearr answer

Quotation omitting the link I provided, which certainly does help answer the question. :wink:

The individual universities give a very clear answer about what they require.
They're the people who make the decisions, so I'd be inclined to believe them over a connections advisor. I don't see any point in being paranoid about secret basic subject requirements - it would just waste time, for applicants & them having to reject all the people who hadn't done the 'necessary' subjects!

Reply 9

person 34

If they say Chemisty and Biology, then they mean it! I would seriously only recommend taking maths if you're confident, which you obviously aren't (like lots of people, so don't be offended!) I'm not bad at Maths...but I have a fear of it (LOL) - it's really weird. I have quite a logical brain but the idea of doing a Maths paper terrifies me. It's really weird, I know, even though I got an A at gcse! I took two arts and Biology and Chemistry and I've got 3 interviews :smile:

And I got rejected from Peninsula which requires like 1 A level or something - ****in' *******.

Reply 10

Mismatched_dollie_pepper

ooh thx.
i'll have to work mi sox off.
i'll try it out at As level i ithink !
i do think maths is'nt beyond my comprehension, it's just tht perhaps im not ask quick to grasp it others, which, i see could pose as a problem, as apparently you're woking at a faster pace.

Reply 11

Pepe Le Poosh

the best thing to do if your unsure that you can get an A at A-level in it is to take Biology and Chemistry (which are basically standard) and any other subject you enjoy. I did maths and Geography as my second two subjects and i can sell geography as a good choice.

Reply 12

billet-doux

Hey!
Im sort of in the same position as you at the moment (applying to sixth forms, making AS Level choices for medicine) I've looked around uni websites, and almost all of them require Chemistry A Level and 1 other science (Biology/Physics/Maths). Obviously, Biology & Chemistry would seem like the natural choices.

We've been advised to only take maths if we enjoy it and are good at it! So if you do enjoy it then it could be worth it.

x

Reply 13

kate1310

I didn't take maths at A level :smile:

As long you take biology and chemistry, and the 3rd A level is academic you should be fine applying to most med schools :smile:

Reply 14

crazyhelicopter

Not sure what the courses say now but i know when i applied med schools wanted to see a breath of subjects and were almost advising against doing 3 sciences/ 2 and maths but it is definately best to check prospectuses and stuff

Reply 15

AEH

Your connections advisor is falling into a bit of a trap there, thinking medical school applications are more complicated than they're made out to be. They really, really are simple. They want the grades they state in the subjects they say, they want you to have work experience and extra curricular activities and they want you to use them to develop an understanding of the job, its challenges and difficulties, for you to develop appropriate coping strategies, all those things people keep going on about.

To me, it feels like some people make these strange conspiratorial excuses like "Oh, my B in A-Level Maths must have annoyed them" when in fact they didn't have adequate experience or just hadn't spoken intelligently about the job when given the chance. Same with race, public school and all those other Daily Mail late-August stories.

Reply 16

PeeWeeDan

In my day people would do their own research. I feel old.

Reply 17

arpeggio

PeeWeeDan

In my day people would do their own research. I feel old.

Your day - what, a couple of months ago? :p:

Spot on, AEH. OP it sounds like you don't want to take it, so obviously for you it's not the right choice. An A or B at another academic subject will be much more respected etc than a D at Maths (not saying you're going to get a D, just an example!) :smile:

Reply 18

Mismatched_dollie_pepper

ok. thnks guys.

Reply 19

Mismatched_dollie_pepper