Biology or English Lit AS Level? Physics or Medicine at uni?

Ah because maths is classed as oepne of the sciences don't stress because with having maths, chemistry and physics to A2 you will have a equal chance to someone with a biology A2 GCE. Therefore you can walk free happily that you can still stick with eng lit. Your welcome

This is so not necessarily the case. At all. And obviously not the case at all at those unis that require Biology at AS or A2.

OP: You said that Oxbridge don't have a preference for Biology - I would question where you think you read that. At Cambridge you only have a miniscule chance of being accepted if you have two sciences/maths instead of three, and I would rather expect them to wonder why you didn't take Biology if you had the chance.

If you bothered reading the whole thread I asked whether biology is necessary or not.

I did read the thread, I did see you say that and yet that still doesn't make what you said in the post I quoted true.

OP: You said that Oxbridge don't have a preference for Biology - I would question where you think you read that. At Cambridge you only have a miniscule chance of being accepted if you have two sciences/maths instead of three, and I would rather expect them to wonder why you didn't take Biology if you had the chance.

I am taking maths, further maths,chemistry, physics and at the moment am down for English Literature for AS.

Recently however I have been considering medicine at uni more, and quite a lot of universities want biology for medicine... on the other hand I love English Lit and it would be a contrasting subject which some universities would prefer to another science one, so I don't know whether to do biology or english lit!

I'm deciding between physics and medicine for uni, because I love physics but would also like to be a doctor.

Basically any help on choosing AS levels or degree would be appreciated! Thanks

It's from reading prospectuses, and a 'the subject matters' talk run by the university of cambridge, in which I have found that oxbridge want chemistry and two other sciences/maths (I think...) so I agree that its important to take at least three sciences/maths, which is why I am definitely taking physics, maths and chemistry to A2.

In that case I think you'd have to drop english lit, otherwise you would seriously limit your medicine choices. To be honest, as other posters have noted, a contrasting subject doesn't really confer an advantage except for 1 or 2 unis.

"You said Oxbridge..." Did I? Err okay.

Drop English Lit. It's not needed for anything. You could easily read a few books at home and analyse them, you'd get the same effect

Also OP, it is quite late to be suddenly deciding to do medicine. I mean, you need a LOT of work experience. My friends who want to do medicine have had 5 medical placements already, and they're also in year 11. Do you have any organised for this summer? It will be hard squeezing in sufficient work experience next summer. Also, think about potentially applying to volunteer in a hospital/hospice/care home over the course of next year. Perhaps enrol in a medical summer school (debate chamber do good ones).

Try weighing up the pros and cons of both. It's not worth saying that you want to be a doctor because you like working with kids, because you could easily be a care worker or a primary school teacher if that was the case. Think of why you really want to be a doctor and then weigh that against your passion for physics.

It's from reading prospectuses, and a 'the subject matters' talk run by the university of cambridge, in which I have found that oxbridge want chemistry and two other sciences/maths (I think...) so I agree that its important to take at least three sciences/maths, which is why I am definitely taking physics, maths and chemistry to A2.

Even though I love english lit, I don't think I will have the time or motivation to actually do any analysis unless I take it

Work experience wise, I tried to get some earlier but I was told I couldn't because I am not 16 yet, so I am doing some in October half term, and hopefully do as much as possible next summer. Thanks for the suggestions!

Its not just that I like kids, its more that I could actually significantly help them and make a big difference to their lives as health is so important, which is something only studying medicine would give me the opportunity to do. I also think that if I'm clever enough, I should use that to help people. Also medicine would give me more of an intellectually stimulating degree and career than eg. care worker or primary school teacher. It would be harder but I'd enjoy learning about things in depth so it would be a lot more interesting. I did actually want to be a primary school teacher, but I don't think I'd find it stimulating enough....

Oh, I went to that! What date did you go on? I could have seen you and just not known it was you

Well, then I think you have your answer. That last paragraph pretty much answers your own questions. I definitely think you should go for medicine

The only medical school which offers any preference for a contrasting subject is UCL. However, UCL also have A-level biology as a requirement. Basically, if you are serious about medicine, do biology and possibly drop further maths if you really want to do English lit.

The earlier you can decide between physics and medicine, the better really.


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What is it about being a doctor that attracts you to medicine?