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A level subject crisis

I started year 12 in Spetember and I picked Biology, Chemistry and Maths for my A levels as I wanted to be a doctor. However, now im one month in and realise im not completely interested in them and find the subjects that my friends are doing (history, politics, economics) a lot more interesting. Would you recommend me to switch all my subjects or would you reckon its too late to change all of them as they have done quite a lot of content already?
you want to switch ALL your subjects?
you seem to be in a sticky situation. I do similar subjects to you - bio chem and psychology and I am in yr12. I don't find these subjects extremely interesting but I am mainly doing them because of the career I want to pursue, which is medicine.
I'm assuming you do not want to be a doctor anymore then as you aren't able to do medicine if you change all your subjects to those?
Original post by coolgirlxo
I started year 12 in Spetember and I picked Biology, Chemistry and Maths for my A levels as I wanted to be a doctor. However, now im one month in and realise im not completely interested in them and find the subjects that my friends are doing (history, politics, economics) a lot more interesting. Would you recommend me to switch all my subjects or would you reckon its too late to change all of them as they have done quite a lot of content already?


change all 3. It's only October, and no they wouldn't have covered that much content unless your school is an Oxbridge farm.

You want to do well in A-Levels? Don't half arse subjects you don't find interesting. Needs a 100% of your focus.


(word of warning - history for AQA board has a coursework which will add to your final grade)
(edited 1 year ago)
Reply 3
I am in yr 13 and the last October I changed subjects. I originally did Politics, history, and philosophy. On October 15th, 2021, I changed to a bio, and chem and kept philosophy. I am happy with my decision but from my experience, you learn A LOT in the first half term, you learn the foundations of the subjects and personally, for me, it was hard to catch up on the missed work without going over it in class. But I managed to go over it.

I know that I switched to stem subjects and you're switching to nonstem subjects but I presume it will be a similar experience to mine when you switch. If you want to do medicine ], you have to be set on it, your heart and mind must say that medicine is the right career for you if you don't have that passion to pursue the career, then you won't be accepted.

Basically, what I am saying is be 100% sure that you want to switch as it may be that you don't like a certain topic in your subjects or it may get better soon, look at the career prospects that the subjects you are changing to will be and ask people for their experience in the subjects. But if that is what you really want to do, then go for it, because there is no point in doing subjects which you hate and getting a bad grade in the end. You need to enjoy the subject to succeed. Good Luck!
(edited 1 year ago)
Reply 4
Thanks for your reply- the thing that is bothering me is that I feel like its easier to study for science subjects as there are more resources available online and I still somewhat want to be a doctor (I haven't still made up my mind). And for humanities subjects it is more self explanatory so its kinda harder to grasp what the examiners expect you to answer. Also my teachers expect me to do better in science and I have done some work experience related to medicine so I feel like it might be a waste if I switch to something humanities based. Although having said this, I still feel like the content for humanities subjects are a lot more interesting- history was my favourite GCSE and I like catching up with recent politics so I don't know what to do.

Original post by vesq
I am in yr 13 and the last October I changed subjects. I originally did Politics, history, and philosophy. On October 15th, 2021, I changed to a bio, and chem and kept philosophy. I am happy with my decision but from my experience, you learn A LOT in the first half term, you learn the foundations of the subjects and personally, for me, it was hard to catch up on the missed work without going over it in class. But I managed to go over it.

I know that I switched to stem subjects and you're switching to nonstem subjects but I presume it will be a similar experience to mine when you switch. If you want to do medicine ], you have to be set on it, your heart and mind must say that medicine is the right career for you if you don't have that passion to pursue the career, then you won't be accepted.

Basically, what I am saying is be 100% sure that you want to switch as it may be that you don't like a certain topic in your subjects or it may get better soon, look at the career prospects that the subjects you are changing to will be and ask people for their experience in the subjects. But if that is what you really want to do, then go for it, because there is no point in doing subjects which you hate and getting a bad grade in the end. You need to enjoy the subject to succeed. Good Luck!
Reply 5
Original post by coolgirlxo
Thanks for your reply- the thing that is bothering me is that I feel like its easier to study for science subjects as there are more resources available online and I still somewhat want to be a doctor (I haven't still made up my mind). And for humanities subjects it is more self explanatory so its kinda harder to grasp what the examiners expect you to answer. Also my teachers expect me to do better in science and I have done some work experience related to medicine so I feel like it might be a waste if I switch to something humanities based. Although having said this, I still feel like the content for humanities subjects are a lot more interesting- history was my favourite GCSE and I like catching up with recent politics so I don't know what to do.


Well if you want to keep your options open for medicine, I suggest you maybe drop maths and replace it with a humanities subject that you like the most. As you do not need maths to do medicine or most stem-based degrees but you will also have doors opened to do a humanities-based degree as most require at least one essay-based subject
Original post by coolgirlxo
I started year 12 in Spetember and I picked Biology, Chemistry and Maths for my A levels as I wanted to be a doctor. However, now im one month in and realise im not completely interested in them and find the subjects that my friends are doing (history, politics, economics) a lot more interesting. Would you recommend me to switch all my subjects or would you reckon its too late to change all of them as they have done quite a lot of content already?

Heya!
There's still enough time for you to change the subject but it'll take a lot of hard work to catch up with the material especially for all 3. If you are conflicted about what you want you to want to do in the future then perhaps stick to your a-levels or change 1 of them. Even if you want to do something else in the future e.g. finance, you'll need maths for it so it's good to have. Medicine requires chem and bio a-levels (usually) so if you switch all 3 then you won't be able to go into it :frown: Perhaps switch 1 of them for example biology? Some unis for medicine don't require bio so you'll still have a chance at medicine by having chem maths and economics for example. You could also do some extracurricular activities instead of a-levels for the subjects that interest you more.
I hope this helps!
Milena G.
UCL PFE
Study Mind
Original post by coolgirlxo
I started year 12 in Spetember and I picked Biology, Chemistry and Maths for my A levels as I wanted to be a doctor. However, now im one month in and realise im not completely interested in them and find the subjects that my friends are doing (history, politics, economics) a lot more interesting. Would you recommend me to switch all my subjects or would you reckon its too late to change all of them as they have done quite a lot of content already?


I switched mine on enrolment day and then again 4 weeks into the course. I had a friend who wanted to change in December and they wouldn’t let her due to the content covered.

however, if you no longer want to be a doctor and really want to change then maybe repeat the year doing subjects you enjoy.

However, if you can change subjects and you still want to be a doctor, then I’d recommend keeping the biology and chemistry and changing the other one to something you would enjoy. It does rule out a couple unis (Oxford and Cambridge) but you would still be able to get a place on a medicine programme as although some prefer you to have all the (bio,chem, math) it’s only required you have 2 of them.
(edited 1 year ago)

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