The Student Room Group
Reply 1
Who moved this to Maths? I wanted this in the Med section
Both are good combinations. It really depends on what you want to do in uni. If you're planning to do Economics/Sciences, then Statistics is definitely better; if it's Engineering, then it's obvious that Mechanics would be helpful. Personally I find Mechanics easier, there's less memorising formulas and rules and it's more about understanding the concepts.
Reply 3
Oh sorry forgot to add I want to do medicine
Reply 4
Mechanics is easiest if your doing Physics, but as your not doing physics I'd go with statistics. Most people say it's easy but boring, but I think it's really interesting =)
Reply 5
I would do S1 and M1
Reply 6
Mechanics = blah. Physicsy things...
Stats is great :biggrin: it's so ridiculously easy as long as you know the rules.
But it doesn't matter one **** which you do for medicine, according to the head of sixth form at my school. Someone asked and she said those exact words, it entertained me greatly.
But I'd imagine maybe stats would be a bit more helpful with graph interpretations for the BMAT...
Reply 7
MilesB
So I've decided my options are

Biology Chem Maths (Pure + Statistics) Economics

Is Maths Pure+Statistics better than Pure+Mechanics or what would you recommend? I just want to get an A in it for sure and I am fairly bright as I took gcse maths a year early A*

Want to do medicine


The amount of maths you'll encounter in a medical degree is going to be fairly limited. S1 is easier to get an A i found. S1 will not help in the BMAT. The BMAT is designed to so that anyone who has done GCSE science/maths can do it.
Reply 8
Thanks for your replies guys. I'll stick with statistics.
What is a BMAT?
Reply 9
BMAT is the entry test for medicine.
The BMAT is the examination used for Oxbridge and London medical schools, for their applicants. There is three parts, the aptitude, science and essay. They use them to assess how good a candidate is as apart of their AS results.
Reply 11
You can do one mechanics module and one stats module if you can't decide between the two.
Reply 12
tommmmmmmmmm
You can do one mechanics module and one stats module if you can't decide between the two.

that's not available in all schools. which is a bit gay.
but it works for meee :biggrin:
Statistics... my friend got asked a stats based question in his med interview, wasn't able to answer it... but stats will be more useful anyway, setting aside the fact that it might come up in a medical interview.
Generally most people who I've encountered which plan to study Medicine have taken the Statistics route. Obviously its not compulsory, but I think statistics would probably be more useful for a medical degree, I can't see Mechanics coming into it at all :p:. Whereas most science related degrees seem to have a module on statistics, so it would be handy to get ahead now.

But if you're looking at the enjoyment factor, it depends on what sort of maths you enjoy. Personally I find Mechanics much more enjoyable, but I also know some people who struggle with or completely cant do Mechanics who are otherwise really good at maths in general. This obviously applies to statistics too.

My advice - stick to your strengths, since neither option is going to put you at a disadvantage when applying.
Shrayans
Statistics... my friend got asked a stats based question in his med interview, wasn't able to answer it... but stats will be more useful anyway, setting aside the fact that it might come up in a medical interview.


Medical interviews will not ask you about academic questions, unless you're talking about applying to Oxbridge, or you made one hell of a fuss about statistics in your PS.

They know how clever the candidates they pick for interview are academically, they interview you for different reasons, like have you got what it takes to become a doctor? Oxbridge is the only place i know that will specifically ask you academic questions and I would've thought it would be question of a biological or chemical nature. Rather than maths.
insparato
Medical interviews will not ask you about academic questions, unless you're talking about applying to Oxbridge, or you made one hell of a fuss about statistics in your PS.

They know how clever the candidates they pick for interview are academically, they interview you for different reasons, like have you got what it takes to become a doctor? Oxbridge is the only place i know that will specifically ask you academic questions and I would've thought it would be question of a biological or chemical nature. Rather than maths.



Sorry i should have said, it was at Cambridge.
Shrayans
Sorry i should have said, it was at Cambridge.


Aye, It would be unfair for them to ask you something statistical if you've only done one module of statistics. In any case saying you don't know isn't always a bad thing... especially if its something statistical because its not really a case of thinking it through, if you havent covered the core material of what they are asking about, there is no way you can answer them. Knowing where you limits are in an academic interview is important.
insparato
Aye, It would be unfair for them to ask you something statistical if you've only done one module of statistics. In any case saying you don't know isn't always a bad thing... especially if its something statistical because its not really a case of thinking it through, if you havent covered the core material of what they are asking about, there is no way you can answer them. Knowing where you limits are in an academic interview is important.


He did mechanics... thats what the problem was...
Reply 19
Be realistic, I do biomedical science and the amount of maths I've encountered is all statistics, so the S modules would definitely give you great advantage. It's nice to be able to compute probabilities of people contracting a disease in an area given the population of inhabitants in the area and the likelihood of disease etc.

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