AH statistics vs AH pure maths

currently doing 4 advanced highers, pure, stats, bio, chem, going to drop either pure or stats. which one should i drop? i prefer pure to stats, but i think that stats might come in more useful in the future, im applying for medicine and my stats teacher told me stats would be very useful in this sort of career. which one should i drop?

Reply 1

TheFOMaster

13

Original post by Razza69

currently doing 4 advanced highers, pure, stats, bio, chem, going to drop either pure or stats. which one should i drop? i prefer pure to stats, but i think that stats might come in more useful in the future, im applying for medicine and my stats teacher told me stats would be very useful in this sort of career. which one should i drop?

I'd drop Stats, since it's more or less extra Maths units. Although I think you should keep at them for a while, and only drop them if your really performing badly. Med School will have more work than 3 and a half AH's worth of work.

Reply 2

pop101

10

Original post by Razza69

currently doing 4 advanced highers, pure, stats, bio, chem, going to drop either pure or stats. which one should i drop? i prefer pure to stats, but i think that stats might come in more useful in the future, im applying for medicine and my stats teacher told me stats would be very useful in this sort of career. which one should i drop?

I don't really think statistics can be very useful in Medicine (Chemistry is the requirement, Biology is very useful/sometimes required to and another science is beneficial).
Pure is better and as you prefer it, the chances are you're going to do better :smile:

Reply 3

laughylolly

14

Original post by pop101

I don't really think statistics can be very useful in Medicine (Chemistry is the requirement, Biology is very useful/sometimes required to and another science is beneficial).
Pure is better and as you prefer it, the chances are you're going to do better :smile:

I would disagree. I would say that the maths you learn in Stats is more likely to be used when studying medicine than the maths you learn in pure.

Plus Pure + Stats is only really the work load of 1 and 2/3 AH's so I would keep on doing both if you can. You've only just started both the courses so give it a bit of time. You might end up liking Stats more.

Reply 4

Razza69

OP

Original post by TheFOMaster

I'd drop Stats, since it's more or less extra Maths units. Although I think you should keep at them for a while, and only drop them if your really performing badly. Med School will have more work than 3 and a half AH's worth of work.

i need to drop one of them in the next few weeks, before my predicted grades go out with my application, because if i have 4 predicted grades sent out, ill probably get offers involving 4 a's instead of 3. (i have already decided to drop one of them, its just a decision between pure and statistics). leaning towards stats at the moment (by leaning towards i mean not dropping it) as i believe it will be more practical in the future but i enjoy pure more and much prefer the pure teacher. decisions, decisions, decisions :confused:

Reply 5

TheFOMaster

13

Original post by Razza69

i need to drop one of them in the next few weeks, before my predicted grades go out with my application, because if i have 4 predicted grades sent out, ill probably get offers involving 4 a's instead of 3. (i have already decided to drop one of them, its just a decision between pure and statistics). leaning towards stats at the moment (by leaning towards i mean not dropping it) as i believe it will be more practical in the future but i enjoy pure more and much prefer the pure teacher. decisions, decisions, decisions :confused:

I doubt you'll get asked for 4A's... Are applying south of the border? Throw some applications at Scottish Med Schools and you'll get lower offers... But yeah, while Stats may be slightly more useful than pure in your future, it won't be for your application. If you have to drop one, drop Stats.

Reply 6

ukdragon37

14

Original post by Razza69

i need to drop one of them in the next few weeks, before my predicted grades go out with my application, because if i have 4 predicted grades sent out, ill probably get offers involving 4 a's instead of 3. (i have already decided to drop one of them, its just a decision between pure and statistics). leaning towards stats at the moment (by leaning towards i mean not dropping it) as i believe it will be more practical in the future but i enjoy pure more and much prefer the pure teacher. decisions, decisions, decisions :confused:

I would advocate choosing pure instead of stats. Pure stretches (improves :tongue:

) your mathematical skills far more than stats does and you can easily pick up the knowledge in stats while at university.

Reply 7

ukdragon37

14

Original post by nerd434

A conditional offer asking for AAAA? Where are you thinking of applying? I doubt you'll be asked for that unless you performed below average in your Highers. What results did you achieve last year?

Since AHs are involved and so many at once I think it's safe to say outside Scotland.

Reply 8

Razza69

OP

I got 6 A's in my highers (all band 1) I am applying for medicine to 3 scottish universities and oxford, i think i will probably drop statistics as pure seems to be the more respected choice by future employers.

Reply 9

dbou

9

Original post by Razza69

I got 6 A's in my highers (all band 1) I am applying for medicine to 3 scottish universities and oxford, i think i will probably drop statistics as pure seems to be the more respected choice by future employers.

You need to remember that Oxford will be asking for an A1 (probably in biology)! Also 4 AHs isn't a huge step up from 6 Highers, and will be easier than the workload you could expect at any Med School and certainly Oxford. If you have to drop one then I would recommend dropping statistics, as people seem to see pure maths as 'the' maths.

Edit: Apparently Oxford like the Scottish system more than Cambridge. Their 'requirements' state 5 A2s at Higher and 2 A2s at AH.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 10

Hype en Ecosse

20

Original post by Razza69

I got 6 A's in my highers (all band 1) I am applying for medicine to 3 scottish universities and oxford, i think i will probably drop statistics as pure seems to be the more respected choice by future employers.

Something I want to emphasise is that you shouldn't choose Oxford because it's part of Oxbridge. The prestigious name won't help while you're applying to foundation jobs, one university doesn't have an advantage over another. All medical schools in the UK wield the power to grant a GMC-accredited medical degree and each will be considered in equal standing to each other; the consensus on the forum is that the deaneries you apply to are blind to what medical school you went to, so it's a non-factor - I'm waiting for this to be confirmed by someone that recently went through the process, though. :tongue:

There are cases where certain medical schools might give you the opportunity to score a few more points in the application process. For example, UCL gives their medical students the opportunity to extend their medical degree by 3 years to obtain a PhD along with their medical degree, while most unis give them the option to extend it by 1 to obtain a BSc/BMedSci. The only difference between you and the UCL graduate with a PhD, though, is that he'll get 1 more point on the 100 point application.

If you're applying to Oxford because you like the location, the course structure and teaching style, and the pre-clinical/clinical divide, by all means, onwards and apply! Just make sure that these are the reasons you've chosen the university and that it's not because of prestige. :smile:

I'd also say 4 AHs is a bit overboard, and Oxford wouldn't look down on you for studying 3. Their minimum requirements are AAAAA Higher with AA AH. :smile:

Reply 11