good enough a levels for zoology?

hi

I am pretty sure that I want to study zoology at university, and right now I'm in year 11 choosing my 6th forms and A levels.
I haven't chosen to take maths, because I really don't like it. however, from looking around on here i've seen that quite a lot of zoology applicants have maths a level.
I was wondering if anyone knew if I would be at a disadvantage for not having it?
oh, the subjects I have chosen (for AS) are: Biology, Chemistry, Geography and English Lit.
thanks in advance :smile:

Reply 1

WhatamIdoing

12

Yeah, you'll need Bio to A2 for sure and another science at least so you look set :smile:

Reply 2

fretter778

14

I don't do maths and I'm applying for biology. 3 offers so far. In fact at my Manchester interview the person interviewing asked why I don't do maths. I explained how it was something I wasn't interested in enough to do as a separate subject, but I'm coping in all the maths we're doing in biology and chemistry. He said it's a good point and doesn't really matter. Any maths you'll need in the actual degree course will be taught to you anyway.

I also have a friend who's applying for zoology without maths who has offers. Also a girl who's applying for chemistry and only has an AS in maths.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 3

georgiaaaxo

OP

8

oh okay, thank you both! that has definitely put me at ease. I am definitely carrying on biology to A2, hopefully chemistry if it's not too difficult, and geography. geog is kind of a secondary science, so hopefully i'll be alright then. maths just bores me, and it sounds like it's not that necessary. thanks :smile:

Reply 4

s1mon

6

I study Zoology at the University of Nottingham. I done maths, chemistry, biology, psychology and IT at A-Level. At Notts, maths isn't a pre-requisite (I don't think) for any of the School of Biology degrees.

Having said that, each year of your degree has a compulsory "Experimental Design & Analysis" module which teaches you stats, basically. Maths isn't necessary because computers do all the work for you these days (thank god). However, a maths background just enables you to see how some of the equations are derived. I don't think it will necessarily help having A-Level maths except from a confidence POV- equations you use don't seem half as scary if you have been handling numbers for 2 years previously.

Hope that helps.

Reply 5

georgiaaaxo

OP

8

ah okay, thank you. :smile:

think i'll just take that as a challenge then, because its not one of my strongest subjects anyway, and by the sound of it, its not worth all the stress i think i would get etc if its not particularly necessary. thanks though!

Reply 6

georgiaaaxo

OP

8

Original post by s1mon

I study Zoology at the University of Nottingham. I done maths, chemistry, biology, psychology and IT at A-Level. At Notts, maths isn't a pre-requisite (I don't think) for any of the School of Biology degrees.

Having said that, each year of your degree has a compulsory "Experimental Design & Analysis" module which teaches you stats, basically. Maths isn't necessary because computers do all the work for you these days (thank god). However, a maths background just enables you to see how some of the equations are derived. I don't think it will necessarily help having A-Level maths except from a confidence POV- equations you use don't seem half as scary if you have been handling numbers for 2 years previously.

Hope that helps.

also, would you recommend nottingham for zoology? just taking a look around the different zoology forums on here, and it seems a popular choice. do you enjoy it?

Reply 7

s1mon

6

Original post by georgiaaaxo

also, would you recommend nottingham for zoology? just taking a look around the different zoology forums on here, and it seems a popular choice. do you enjoy it?

Yeah, I would recommend it. The professors there are all very good and interesting, it certainly rubs off on you when your lecturers have a passion. Also, if you're thinking about having a career in academia and would like to do research, it's ranked very high in the UK for research, and it shows.

Having said that, there is a first year module that does seem really pointless in my opinion...like they are just tacked it on at the end because they were struggling to offer the final 20 credits...and that's the dreaded Fundamentals of Human Physiology & Pharmacology....

The first half of the module is bearable- basically human biology from your A-Levels but the 2nd half is VERY clinical-based. Talking about how to measure lung capacity, how to read an ECG, what drugs do what etc. We're Biologists/Zoologists, not Med students! And it just doesn't seem to fit in with any of the other modules that we have to take in 1st year or subsequent years. It's a strange one....

The above is certainly not a reason to not come here- it's only 20 credits in a first year module and all you need is 40% so if you can handle just scraping a pass in that module, I think you will find the rest really interesting (I know I do)

Hope that helps.

Reply 8

georgiaaaxo

OP

8

Original post by s1mon

Yeah, I would recommend it. The professors there are all very good and interesting, it certainly rubs off on you when your lecturers have a passion. Also, if you're thinking about having a career in academia and would like to do research, it's ranked very high in the UK for research, and it shows.

Having said that, there is a first year module that does seem really pointless in my opinion...like they are just tacked it on at the end because they were struggling to offer the final 20 credits...and that's the dreaded Fundamentals of Human Physiology & Pharmacology....

The first half of the module is bearable- basically human biology from your A-Levels but the 2nd half is VERY clinical-based. Talking about how to measure lung capacity, how to read an ECG, what drugs do what etc. We're Biologists/Zoologists, not Med students! And it just doesn't seem to fit in with any of the other modules that we have to take in 1st year or subsequent years. It's a strange one....

The above is certainly not a reason to not come here- it's only 20 credits in a first year module and all you need is 40% so if you can handle just scraping a pass in that module, I think you will find the rest really interesting (I know I do)

Hope that helps.

thank you so much! thats really helpful. i am quite interested in the research area, so that sounds good. hmm yeah, i noticed that quite a lot of universities' first year modules are pretty irrelevant. still, if its only 20 credits then i think i can cope! i had a look on the nottingham website, and i really like the sound of it :smile:

thank you for your comments.

Reply 9

SmallKid

I've applied or zoology and i took biology, chemistry, geography and photography at AS and kept bio, chem and photography on for my A2 levels and have had 5 offers :smile:

i'm predicted AAB at a-level and have had offers for AAB :smile:

your choices sound goooood :smile:

good enough a levels for zoology?

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