Help for A-level options

I’m currently in year 11 and aspire to do medicine also. I have already made my options for Westminster school and chose to do maths, chemistry, biology and philosophy. You are right in saying maths is not required, however to open doors to ALL unis you will need 3 science A- levels and physics is considered to be extremely difficult without maths if you wish to continue it to A2.

I would recommend doing maths, chemistry and biology along with an essay subject as it will be extremely useful for BMAT and UKCAT exams (maths is a very good subject to do in order to prepare you for them). In terms of your 4^th subject I would choose between philosophy and history as they will give you great preparation for the BMAT and UKCAT exams also as there will be an essay based question. However pick Spanish/psychology if you enjoy it more by all means, but be aware that more effort must be made on your part to scratch up your essay writing skills (plus philosophy/history are more respected subjects as they are 'facilitating').

I'd recommend maths at least up to AS at least - AS maths isn't hard for those people considering medicine (assuming you're capable of medicine standard grade)

Physics is very maths heavy after GCSE, and you should combine it with maths. My school forces everyone taking physics to take maths AS.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thank you for this information.
According to teachers in my school, physics does not require a lot of maths, there are only a few aspects involving maths what are, as I was told, 'fairly basic' and straight- forward.
I am considering taking all three sciences and possibly philosophy... will that be sufficient and make all unis approachable?
Also, apparently physics is highly respected and all and so is maths, however I do not want to take both as I am wanting to take a written subject...which is better if any (maths or physics with regards to interest/difficulty etc.)?
Also, is it okay if I take a written subject or should I take all science-y/maths subjects as is conventional? which is more appealing to unis?
Is RE a facilitating subject as I want to take philosophy however that is not offered at my school and apparently RE is similar to philosophy?
I was also considering psychology but that is said to be a soft subject and I do not want to limit my options so...

Thanks for the reply.
Any specific reasons why you would recommend maths for medicine?
I do agree with you however the latter is not particularly my favourite subject and I'd rather take physics for my (third science/maths) a-level as I enjoy it more. Do you think as long as I have 3 maths/science subjects for application to medicine, would it keep all unis open to me or do some unis specifically require maths for medicine?
Also do they prefer all science-y subjects for medicine or do they like written subjects too?
I do not exactly want all my subjects to be similar hence why I am thinking of taking a written subject as well.
Don't you think since physics is 'maths heavy' I don't need to take maths too as it demonstrates my mathematical skills as well as my understanding of the concepts in physics?
Do you take either maths or physics? if so, what are your opinions of the latter and what else do you take/ are thinking of taking?

Just wanted to clear up and say I made a mistake- Philosophy/RE are not 'facilitating' subjects as they don't open you up to a large range of courses. History and Spanish are facilitating subjects however. Sorry my bad . That being said Philosophy/RE are on very similar grounds, and while they are not facilitating, they are highly respected- in fact they are viewed as equal value to the facilitating subjects, the only difference being is that if you are unaware of what you want to do when you are older, picking those subjects might limit the courses you can do. Not the Uni. As you know you want to do medicine, there is absolutely no harm in taking Philosophy/RE as long as you have 3 other science A Levels.

Physics is on equal playing fields as Maths in terms of respect and no Uni has a preference over one, however like I said before, I'd be very careful about Physics, very few people do it without Maths, and I know a few who did and ended up with D's. And this is at a top grammar school. That being said, it is all down to the individual, so if you truly believe you can do Physics without Maths are willing to put in the work, nothing can stop you from achieving top grades. Although Maths would be a better preparation for BMAT/UKCAT tests which are essential for Uni applications and can mean the difference between an interview or straight out rejection.
Psychology is considered a soft subject, however like I said before, if you have 3 science A levels (including Maths) it will not limit you in any way at all, as Uni's only typically care about the 3 A levels you take to A2. The only subjects you should blacklist are subjects such as Critical Thinking/General Studies/Media etc.
I don't think Uni's will discriminate against someone who has taken all science A levels vs someone who has a range, although the latter does show you to be a more well-rounded person.
In conclusion I would recommend doing I would recommend doing Maths (or Physics if you really want to), Chemistry and Biology along with an essay subject as it will be extremely useful for BMAT and UKCAT exams.

Look at this link for more clarification:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_A_Level_Requirements

You want to have 3 sciences or maths to be competitive. Since physics is a build-up from maths, if you were to choose a 3rd, maths would be more logical. Maths is more transferrable.

I don't know why you don't like maths but If you don't enjoy maths, it's likely that you wouldn't enjoy physics either.

As far as I know, you only need 3 sciences for any uni. Never seen anywhere which has maths as their requirement either.

Yes I do take physics as well as maths, along with chemistry and further maths. The reason why I recommend AS maths (at least) heavily is that it helps with every science subject and not particularly because it demonstrates maths ability.
Physics without maths is probably doable, but even though my school forces every physicist to take maths and they indeed do, many of them still struggle with maths aspect of physics. Despite having done about 1 month of AS physics, fairly strong ability in simultaneous equations, quadratic equations, graphs, changing subject of formulae, trignometry is already required. These are indeed GCSE content, but it is still true that stronger you are at maths, better you will be at physics. Even further maths student who is alright at pure maths manages to struggle with physics for some reason.

Also it's worth noting that Chemistry is quite mathematical beyond GCSE. Strong maths ability, which can be developped through AS maths, is beneficial.
I am quite good at maths, and my mathematical ability has helped me to strive in both physics and chemistry past month.

This is not to scare you off from physics. It is indeed very interesting and less dry than maths. If you re a strong mathematician at GCSE who can get A* without too much effort, you will probably do well at physics AS (I'm not sure about anything beyond though...I know Logarithm comes in chemistry and physics which is AS topic)
If you really enjoy it take it. I'd seriously consider taking maths alongside though...and if you are keen on essays you could do an EPQ.

I don't know what uni prefers. I suppose it varies between university. I'd suggest you go through uni websites and maybe email admission office - you'll get more reliable opinion on this matter.

Posted from TSR Mobile

I understand your point, however the physics department in my school conveyed that you do not need a lot of maths for physics...yet, since you are taking the subjects you must be more experienced.
So will doing maths A-level make me more advanced in the latter as well as the other subjects I shall be taking?
Do You personally find physics or maths harder and what are your future career ambitions?(I personally am better at physics than maths at current)
The thing is, I want to take either Physics or maths- not both since I want to take a written subject (as I see that as one of my strengths)- and I can't decide what... so your opinion on both will be extremely beneficial.

obviously physics department has more experience in this matter than my experience in AS which is quite poor as it's only been a half term. However my physics department forces people to take maths with physics so opinion in this matter varies a lot I suppose.

Well yes, maths A level helps with calculation/graph etc aspect of chemistry (you get loads of calculation in AS chemistry)

I find physics a lot harder than maths atm. At GCSE physics was very easy but at AS confusion level shot up quite a lot already whereas step up in maths was unnoticeable for me.
Maths helps more with chemistry atm (obviously helps physics as well) and physics does not help chemistry at all but when we reach quantum stuff it may help??? I just know that at higher level Chemistry beyond what I'm doing at the moment, quantum mechanics explains so many things in chemistry but I don't think AS chemistry/physics go that far. If you are thinking of Chemistry at university then maybe physics could be interesting to have but maths can be quite essential for chem course (I don't know too much on this). But then you're aspiring doctor - and sadly I don't know how useful physics will be in this career
As to physics, I find it more interesting but far more confusing. Maths is just practice practice at GCSE/A-level, and I'm quite strong at numbers so not too much of a deal, but physics requires understanding which often seems counterintuitive

I'm not sure about career - I'm looking to read physics or chemistry or do joint degree in these. I just want to gain more knowledge to satisfy my curiosity at the moment... being a researcher appeals me quite a bit, and I think it fits my personality, and maybe teaching (I never thought I'd say this until recently I realised I actually enjoy sharing my knowledge and seeing people understand from my explanation lol)

I just keep saying maths is more transferrable as its THE fundamental subject - statistics is a big part in society these days, chemistry calculation for hundredth time, handling graphs, even economics, and physics language is maths. If you get one writing subject like history and have maths, you can change your mind and apply to economics degree easily while having bio/chem/medical degrees open
But then medicine as a course requires neither maths nor physics specifically, so it will all come down to what you value more: transferrable skill or enjoyment/satisfaction in knowing what happens in this world. I'd choose maths if I were you, but I love physics don't take me wrong :P and YOU should choose what YOU want to do because after all, you will work more towards what you enjoy hence better grade (most of the time)
One thing to note is that most schools allow people to switch subjects for a month or so. You could start with either, and see how it goes and switch to the other. In this case you'd want to start with physics because maths is definitely easier to catch up because there's not much new in Core 1 for first few weeks.


Posted from TSR Mobile

Right, thanks so much!!
one last thing , what do you think is better RE or History in terms of value and interest etc?

Just wanted to clear up and say I made a mistake- Philosophy/RE are not 'facilitating' subjects as they don't open you up to a large range of courses. History and Spanish are facilitating subjects however. Sorry my bad . That being said Philosophy/RE are on very similar grounds, and while they are not facilitating, they are highly respected- in fact they are viewed as equal value to the facilitating subjects, the only difference being is that if you are unaware of what you want to do when you are older, picking those subjects might limit the courses you can do. Not the Uni. As you know you want to do medicine, there is absolutely no harm in taking Philosophy/RE as long as you have 3 other science A Levels.

Physics is on equal playing fields as Maths in terms of respect and no Uni has a preference over one, however like I said before, I'd be very careful about Physics, very few people do it without Maths, and I know a few who did and ended up with D's. And this is at a top grammar school. That being said, it is all down to the individual, so if you truly believe you can do Physics without Maths are willing to put in the work, nothing can stop you from achieving top grades. Although Maths would be a better preparation for BMAT/UKCAT tests which are essential for Uni applications and can mean the difference between an interview or straight out rejection.
Psychology is considered a soft subject, however like I said before, if you have 3 science A levels (including Maths) it will not limit you in any way at all, as Uni's only typically care about the 3 A levels you take to A2. The only subjects you should blacklist are subjects such as Critical Thinking/General Studies/Media etc.
I don't think Uni's will discriminate against someone who has taken all science A levels vs someone who has a range, although the latter does show you to be a more well-rounded person.
In conclusion I would recommend doing I would recommend doing Maths (or Physics if you really want to), Chemistry and Biology along with an essay subject as it will be extremely useful for BMAT and UKCAT exams.

Look at this link for more clarification:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_A_Level_Requirements

Just wanted to clear up and say I made a mistake- Philosophy/RE are not 'facilitating' subjects as they don't open you up to a large range of courses. History and Spanish are facilitating subjects however. Sorry my bad . That being said Philosophy/RE are on very similar grounds, and while they are not facilitating, they are highly respected- in fact they are viewed as equal value to the facilitating subjects, the only difference being is that if you are unaware of what you want to do when you are older, picking those subjects might limit the courses you can do. Not the Uni. As you know you want to do medicine, there is absolutely no harm in taking Philosophy/RE as long as you have 3 other science A Levels.

Physics is on equal playing fields as Maths in terms of respect and no Uni has a preference over one, however like I said before, I'd be very careful about Physics, very few people do it without Maths, and I know a few who did and ended up with D's. And this is at a top grammar school. That being said, it is all down to the individual, so if you truly believe you can do Physics without Maths are willing to put in the work, nothing can stop you from achieving top grades. Although Maths would be a better preparation for BMAT/UKCAT tests which are essential for Uni applications and can mean the difference between an interview or straight out rejection.
Psychology is considered a soft subject, however like I said before, if you have 3 science A levels (including Maths) it will not limit you in any way at all, as Uni's only typically care about the 3 A levels you take to A2. The only subjects you should blacklist are subjects such as Critical Thinking/General Studies/Media etc.
I don't think Uni's will discriminate against someone who has taken all science A levels vs someone who has a range, although the latter does show you to be a more well-rounded person.
In conclusion I would recommend doing I would recommend doing Maths (or Physics if you really want to), Chemistry and Biology along with an essay subject as it will be extremely useful for BMAT and UKCAT exams.

Look at this link for more clarification:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_A_Level_Requirements

A girl from my school got into Oxford for Medicine last year with psychology, which i found interesting as I had heard psychology was on the blacklist.

how about biology,chemistry,maths,sociology for medicine as i know sociology is considered soft, so will i be disadvantaged ? i also heard it is extremely hard to get an A or B in philosophy AS is this true ?