Mum is trying to blackmail me into not doing French AS
Scroll to see replies
Original post by suzylemonade
Yeah, but that's the IB- Not A-Level! You must be a super genius
What did you take?
Yeah, I think I will
What did you take?
Yeah, I think I will
Good, seriously don't do biology if you don't want to.
I thought I'd hate it, ended up switching geography to it, and it's decent. But yours, you'd be better off with French. Then you could do a uear in France too!
Original post by suzylemonade
Yeah, but that's the IB- Not A-Level! You must be a super genius
I hate statements like that. I say yes and I'm arrogant and I say no and I'm falsely modest
A level maths, AS chemistry, physics, eng lit, history and french
The IB is actually pretty hard! I wish I had gone to a school that offered it
Original post by Occams Chainsaw
I hate statements like that. I say yes and I'm arrogant and I say no and I'm falsely modest
A level maths, AS chemistry, physics, eng lit, history and french
The IB is actually pretty hard! I wish I had gone to a school that offered it
A level maths, AS chemistry, physics, eng lit, history and french
The IB is actually pretty hard! I wish I had gone to a school that offered it
So true!
You chose the best a levels
bar English Lit 
Original post by suzylemonade
Is that hard enough for you?
Is that hard enough for you?
That's excellent! Well done
+rep
Original post by L'Evil Fish
So true!
You chose the best a levels bar English Lit
You chose the best a levels
bar English Lit English lit is actually a great subject. I found history was too much rote learning. The analysis in English Lit was much more interesting and I generally ended up looking up the history of the era of each book anyway!
Chemistry was also too much rote learning. I can't imagine what biology would be like!
The subjects where you can conceptualise more often are far more interesting to me. Chemistry would probably get to that stage at University but I wouldn't want to put myself though another year of organic chem to wait for that prospect
My subjects, this year, are just further maths, physics, eng lit and french but I absolutely love each of them!
Your mum sounds horrid.
Original post by Occams Chainsaw
x
I've realised, our paths have crossed but we've never spoken properly
I'll PM you!
Original post by L'Evil Fish
Good, seriously don't do biology if you don't want to.
I thought I'd hate it, ended up switching geography to it, and it's decent. But yours, you'd be better off with French. Then you could do a uear in France too!
I thought I'd hate it, ended up switching geography to it, and it's decent. But yours, you'd be better off with French. Then you could do a uear in France too!
A year in France
Original post by Occams Chainsaw
I hate statements like that. I say yes and I'm arrogant and I say no and I'm falsely modest
A level maths, AS chemistry, physics, eng lit, history and french
The IB is actually pretty hard! I wish I had gone to a school that offered it
A level maths, AS chemistry, physics, eng lit, history and french
The IB is actually pretty hard! I wish I had gone to a school that offered it
I vaguely remember hearing that from you a short while ago, I think. Or am I just being weird?
Nice subjects
But two essay subjects, two sciences and a language? Yikes.Original post by AdamskiUK
That's excellent! Well done
+rep
+rep
Why, thank you
Original post by Little Boots
Your mum sounds horrid.
She's not, just a bit small minded when it comes to things
Original post by suzylemonade
I vaguely remember hearing that from you a short while ago, I think. Or am I just being weird?
Nice subjects But two essay subjects, two sciences and a language? Yikes.
Nice subjects
But two essay subjects, two sciences and a language? Yikes.Yeah. You said that genius thing to me before and you obviously didn't take my response on board last time so I said it again
Original post by Occams Chainsaw
Yeah. You said that genius thing to me before and you obviously didn't take my response on board last time so I said it again
Right, right
Original post by suzylemonade
So yeah, we got a letter from my school a short while ago saying that we would need to make inital AS decisions soon. For a while now I've been pretty sure about what I'm going to do for AS: Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and French (and possibly Physics). Then I'm going to apply to do Maths at uni.
However, my mum's always been unhappy about the fact that I don't plan on doing Biology. She says that I'm limiting my options on what I can do in Uni, and that Physics is useless. I think it's because she's wanted me to do medicine for ages, but I really don't want to be a doctor so she's pretty pissed about that. She's hoping that by making me take Biology, there may be a slim chance of me changing my mind and deciding to do medicine.
She recently came back from an open day in a school near us in Oxford and said that one of the Physics teachers there had said that if I did French AS, I would have a 0% chance of getting in Cambridge University for Maths (I hope to apply there). My mum said I shouldn't do French and just do triple science and maths. I love french though, it's one of my favourite subjects and I'd love to do it as one of my AS. I feel that I would be pretty miserable doing Biology because honestly, it doesn't interest me at all. So I refused. Then she started saying that I should not even both applying to Cambridge because my A-Levels are useless and that I need all sciences to apply for maths at Cambridge. We're supposed to be going to an A-Level talk at Cambridge next week, but she says that she's not going to take me unless I decide to drop French. And I REALLY want to go for it.
What should I do? Should I drop French? Is she right? Will it mean that I have no chance of getting into Cambridge?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
However, my mum's always been unhappy about the fact that I don't plan on doing Biology. She says that I'm limiting my options on what I can do in Uni, and that Physics is useless. I think it's because she's wanted me to do medicine for ages, but I really don't want to be a doctor so she's pretty pissed about that. She's hoping that by making me take Biology, there may be a slim chance of me changing my mind and deciding to do medicine.
She recently came back from an open day in a school near us in Oxford and said that one of the Physics teachers there had said that if I did French AS, I would have a 0% chance of getting in Cambridge University for Maths (I hope to apply there). My mum said I shouldn't do French and just do triple science and maths. I love french though, it's one of my favourite subjects and I'd love to do it as one of my AS. I feel that I would be pretty miserable doing Biology because honestly, it doesn't interest me at all. So I refused. Then she started saying that I should not even both applying to Cambridge because my A-Levels are useless and that I need all sciences to apply for maths at Cambridge. We're supposed to be going to an A-Level talk at Cambridge next week, but she says that she's not going to take me unless I decide to drop French. And I REALLY want to go for it.
What should I do? Should I drop French? Is she right? Will it mean that I have no chance of getting into Cambridge?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
I know people, at Cambridge, reading maths who took French A-level. They honestly aren't going to give a crap about your other A-levels. You'll need to do well on your maths modules now, and do some STEP preparation for interview. They will look at your Maths grades and percentages so far but they won't give a toss about french/biology. Physics/Chemistry/Biology/French show absolutely nothing with respect to your mathematical ability, so Oxbridge don't care. They want the people who are the very best at maths, not at maths and other sciences.
I'm doing maths at Warwick and everything in Maths and Further Maths A-level is covered in about the first 15 hours (because different boards cover different things) so the universities want to see that you have a good handle on maths and that you consider A-level to be almost intuitive. They don't care about whether your 5th choice is French or Biology or Art. I know that when I was applying people told me to drop Chemistry and only do Maths, FM, Physics and to try to score super high in them.
Original post by suzylemonade
So yeah, we got a letter from my school a short while ago saying that we would need to make inital AS decisions soon. For a while now I've been pretty sure about what I'm going to do for AS: Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and French (and possibly Physics). Then I'm going to apply to do Maths at uni.
However, my mum's always been unhappy about the fact that I don't plan on doing Biology. She says that I'm limiting my options on what I can do in Uni, and that Physics is useless. I think it's because she's wanted me to do medicine for ages, but I really don't want to be a doctor so she's pretty pissed about that. She's hoping that by making me take Biology, there may be a slim chance of me changing my mind and deciding to do medicine.
She recently came back from an open day in a school near us in Oxford and said that one of the Physics teachers there had said that if I did French AS, I would have a 0% chance of getting in Cambridge University for Maths (I hope to apply there). My mum said I shouldn't do French and just do triple science and maths. I love french though, it's one of my favourite subjects and I'd love to do it as one of my AS. I feel that I would be pretty miserable doing Biology because honestly, it doesn't interest me at all. So I refused. Then she started saying that I should not even both applying to Cambridge because my A-Levels are useless and that I need all sciences to apply for maths at Cambridge. We're supposed to be going to an A-Level talk at Cambridge next week, but she says that she's not going to take me unless I decide to drop French. And I REALLY want to go for it.
What should I do? Should I drop French? Is she right? Will it mean that I have no chance of getting into Cambridge?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
However, my mum's always been unhappy about the fact that I don't plan on doing Biology. She says that I'm limiting my options on what I can do in Uni, and that Physics is useless. I think it's because she's wanted me to do medicine for ages, but I really don't want to be a doctor so she's pretty pissed about that. She's hoping that by making me take Biology, there may be a slim chance of me changing my mind and deciding to do medicine.
She recently came back from an open day in a school near us in Oxford and said that one of the Physics teachers there had said that if I did French AS, I would have a 0% chance of getting in Cambridge University for Maths (I hope to apply there). My mum said I shouldn't do French and just do triple science and maths. I love french though, it's one of my favourite subjects and I'd love to do it as one of my AS. I feel that I would be pretty miserable doing Biology because honestly, it doesn't interest me at all. So I refused. Then she started saying that I should not even both applying to Cambridge because my A-Levels are useless and that I need all sciences to apply for maths at Cambridge. We're supposed to be going to an A-Level talk at Cambridge next week, but she says that she's not going to take me unless I decide to drop French. And I REALLY want to go for it.
What should I do? Should I drop French? Is she right? Will it mean that I have no chance of getting into Cambridge?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
You have maths + FM maths + physics, you should now just go with what you enjoy, an A in French would look so much better than a B/C in biology for example, and you have the necessary subjects.
Original post by Ch1pp0
I know people, at Cambridge, reading maths who took French A-level. They honestly aren't going to give a crap about your other A-levels. You'll need to do well on your maths modules now, and do some STEP preparation for interview. They will look at your Maths grades and percentages so far but they won't give a toss about french/biology. Physics/Chemistry/Biology/French show absolutely nothing with respect to your mathematical ability, so Oxbridge don't care. They want the people who are the very best at maths, not at maths and other sciences.
I'm doing maths at Warwick and everything in Maths and Further Maths A-level is covered in about the first 15 hours (because different boards cover different things) so the universities want to see that you have a good handle on maths and that you consider A-level to be almost intuitive. They don't care about whether your 5th choice is French or Biology or Art. I know that when I was applying people told me to drop Chemistry and only do Maths, FM, Physics and to try to score super high in them.
I'm doing maths at Warwick and everything in Maths and Further Maths A-level is covered in about the first 15 hours (because different boards cover different things) so the universities want to see that you have a good handle on maths and that you consider A-level to be almost intuitive. They don't care about whether your 5th choice is French or Biology or Art. I know that when I was applying people told me to drop Chemistry and only do Maths, FM, Physics and to try to score super high in them.
This, completely
Thought I might just say that I studied Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and German at AS, dropped German in A2 and am now studying Mechanical Engineering at Aston Uni. I know it's not cambridge or oxford but Aston's brilliant for engineering I was told that studying a language amongst the maths and science added 'spice' to my application and that it's generally an unusual mixture, which helps to make me stand out amongst other applications. Languages are good for businesses anyway so depending what you want to do at the end of uni a language would be good
I was told that studying a language amongst the maths and science added 'spice' to my application and that it's generally an unusual mixture, which helps to make me stand out amongst other applications. Languages are good for businesses anyway so depending what you want to do at the end of uni a language would be good Original post by nick d terrier
Are you insane! OP definitely don't drop French to make your mum happy, its your life not hers. Also biology is little more relevant to maths than French to be honest. Most Cambridge maths applicants will have maths, further maths, and physics then economics/chemistry, pretty sure if you did well in French that would boost your application as you would stand out and from what I have heard it is really hard to do well. Also at the end of the day it's mainly going to be down to your ums in maths and further maths in whether you get an interview or not
I am not insane. I apologise for my post. I absolutely wholeheartedly agree with you, it is upto the OP and it's their life so they must make the decisions. I personally think French would be an excellent choice from the point of view that it would stand out, as you have pointed out. I wasn't sure if it was accepted or not - I am not an expert, but I do agree with it standing out which is an excellent application.
In my family we discuss things and then compromise on a final decision. I would like to apologise to the OP as I understand this advice was not appreciated. It was only a suggestion to compromise as I have found it successful in my family and it has benefited my education hugely.
You are entitled to your opinion - and I respect that. I do feel you were a little disrespectful in your post, suggesting I am insane and criticising my post. However I take your comments onboard, and in this case agree with you, other than I am not insane.
I think parents should have a say in the matter - after all you would not exist to make decisions otherwise. But the child should have the final say when it comes to personal decisions, such as education.
Original post by KH94
I am not insane. I apologise for my post. I absolutely wholeheartedly agree with you, it is upto the OP and it's their life so they must make the decisions. I personally think French would be an excellent choice from the point of view that it would stand out, as you have pointed out. I wasn't sure if it was accepted or not - I am not an expert, but I do agree with it standing out which is an excellent application.
In my family we discuss things and then compromise on a final decision. I would like to apologise to the OP as I understand this advice was not appreciated. It was only a suggestion to compromise as I have found it successful in my family and it has benefited my education hugely.
You are entitled to your opinion - and I respect that. I do feel you were a little disrespectful in your post, suggesting I am insane and criticising my post. However I take your comments onboard, and in this case agree with you, other than I am not insane.
I think parents should have a say in the matter - after all you would not exist to make decisions otherwise. But the child should have the final say when it comes to personal decisions, such as education.
In my family we discuss things and then compromise on a final decision. I would like to apologise to the OP as I understand this advice was not appreciated. It was only a suggestion to compromise as I have found it successful in my family and it has benefited my education hugely.
You are entitled to your opinion - and I respect that. I do feel you were a little disrespectful in your post, suggesting I am insane and criticising my post. However I take your comments onboard, and in this case agree with you, other than I am not insane.
I think parents should have a say in the matter - after all you would not exist to make decisions otherwise. But the child should have the final say when it comes to personal decisions, such as education.
Sorry
Original post by KH94
I am not insane. I apologise for my post. I absolutely wholeheartedly agree with you, it is upto the OP and it's their life so they must make the decisions. I personally think French would be an excellent choice from the point of view that it would stand out, as you have pointed out. I wasn't sure if it was accepted or not - I am not an expert, but I do agree with it standing out which is an excellent application.
In my family we discuss things and then compromise on a final decision. I would like to apologise to the OP as I understand this advice was not appreciated. It was only a suggestion to compromise as I have found it successful in my family and it has benefited my education hugely.
You are entitled to your opinion - and I respect that. I do feel you were a little disrespectful in your post, suggesting I am insane and criticising my post. However I take your comments onboard, and in this case agree with you, other than I am not insane.
I think parents should have a say in the matter - after all you would not exist to make decisions otherwise. But the child should have the final say when it comes to personal decisions, such as education.
In my family we discuss things and then compromise on a final decision. I would like to apologise to the OP as I understand this advice was not appreciated. It was only a suggestion to compromise as I have found it successful in my family and it has benefited my education hugely.
You are entitled to your opinion - and I respect that. I do feel you were a little disrespectful in your post, suggesting I am insane and criticising my post. However I take your comments onboard, and in this case agree with you, other than I am not insane.
I think parents should have a say in the matter - after all you would not exist to make decisions otherwise. But the child should have the final say when it comes to personal decisions, such as education.
Sorry I didn't actually think you were insane more using it as a figure of speech however I understand it was a bit harsh. I am not normally like that I promise
I do agree with your point that parents should have a say but only if they are reasonable and do not sound like as in the OP situation trying to force them to do something if they have an actual worthwhile goal themselves. If they had the potential to study a worthwhile degree at uni but instead just wanted to sit at home playing xbox for example then it would be different but the OP was being reasonable so therefore the mother had no need to choose for him
Original post by anatomical frog
Also, you might want to take note that most Medicine courses don't actually require biology, you just have to have chemistry, in case your mum pushes it.
Also, you might want to take note that most Medicine courses don't actually require biology, you just have to have chemistry, in case your mum pushes it.
However you would be hard pushed to find a medicine course that doesn't require biology at AS and considers further maths a separate subject also most that don't require it still prefer biology, although I agree it is possible. However the OP sounds as though they have decided they want to do maths, and medicine isn't something you should just do because your parents want you to and they are unlikely to succeed at interview if they don't wanna be there. I guess they could change their mind however I seem to get the feeling they have a real passion for maths.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by nick d terrier
However you would be hard pushed to find a medicine course that doesn't require biology at AS and considers further maths a separate subject also most that don't require it still prefer biology, although I agree it is possible. However the OP sounds as though they have decided they want to do maths, and medicine isn't something you should just do because your parents want you to and they are unlikely to succeed at interview if they don't wanna be there. I guess they could change their mind however I seem to get the feeling they have a real passion for maths.
http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/medicine/
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/medicine/medicine_entrance.html
http://www.shef.ac.uk/medicine/prospective_ug/applying/entryrequire
Biology is only recommended, so long as you have maths or physics. As far as I'm aware, this is because biology looks also at plant biology, which is irrelevant in medicine.
Obviously though biology is useful to see if you're actually going to be interested in the topics in medicine. I agree with you, it's the OP's decision at the end of the day, and maths as an A Level is useful in more careers and courses than biology.
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- My abusive mum wants my CTF
- Help: threatening to release my nudes
- my first gyg 🫶
- Moving out for Uni
- How do I deal with this situation
- rumors being spread abt me
- Change of mind
- not good enough for tutoring?
- Can’t hurt me
- Younger sister suddenly talking more sexual
- Why do I feel like my ex is just in a rebound relationship? And will return?
- How do I drop a GCSE subject? (Year 11)
- Fortismere students 2023
- Is My Fiction Any Good?
- Someone has threatened to leak my nudes if I don’t pay them, what can I do?
- Oxford Demystified - History and French
- CIFAS
- Renting on Benefits
- parents wont let me move out (ucl)
- Should I consider an arranged marriage?
Latest
Last reply 2 minutes ago
University of Oxford 2025 Undergraduate Applicants Official ThreadLast reply 3 minutes ago
Best SEO Service Company In USALast reply 6 minutes ago
Worried about the acceptance of my A level Qualifications. Need an answerLast reply 7 minutes ago
Name a country or city with the last letter of the previous oneForum games
7298
Last reply 8 minutes ago
Amazon Project management apprenticeship 2024Last reply 20 minutes ago
SQA Higher Physics - Paper 2 - 25th April 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 23 minutes ago
Official Dental Hygiene and Therapy (Oral Health Science) 2024 Entry ThreadDentistry
2928
Last reply 25 minutes ago
Apprenticeship needs a 4 in scienceTrending
Last reply 1 day ago
MPhil Advanced Computer Science Cambridge - 2024 EntryLast reply 1 week ago
Easy Colleges in Cambridge to get in - should this be allowedLast reply 2 weeks ago
Could I get into Oxford or Cambridge without studying A-level background??Last reply 2 weeks ago
MPhil in Machine Learning and Machine Intelligence at Cambridge 2024Last reply 2 weeks ago
Cannot find funding for Cambridge, is it worth getting a loan?Trending
Last reply 1 day ago
MPhil Advanced Computer Science Cambridge - 2024 EntryLast reply 1 week ago
Easy Colleges in Cambridge to get in - should this be allowedLast reply 2 weeks ago
Could I get into Oxford or Cambridge without studying A-level background??Last reply 2 weeks ago
MPhil in Machine Learning and Machine Intelligence at Cambridge 2024Last reply 2 weeks ago
Cannot find funding for Cambridge, is it worth getting a loan?
