A Levels for Medicine

Would I have a chance to do Medicine with these A Levels:
Chemistry
Biology
German
French
I could do Maths AS Level( predicted grade at GCSE is A*). Would this increase my chances of getting into medicine? Is AS Maths hard? (exam board: Edexcel)

i think you should also do either maths or physics to make you a stronger candidate.

AS Maths will increase your chances in getting in, even though it's not a requirement.

Edexcel AS Maths is piss. Do it.

Ignore the two users I have quoted below, they don't know what they're talking about.

Maths is a desirable A-Level, and not just for Medicine, for many, if not nearly all science-based degrees. You do stand a slightly stronger position, given that you actually do attain a good grade in it of course.

And I did Edexcel Maths and have been doing so for years. It really is easy, so I do know what I'm talking about.

I got into medical school, so my advice outranks yours in this particular thread. What you're saying is simply not correct - doing maths A level will make no difference, otherwise the medical schools would say so. Now, please stop posting misleading advice here.



If I ever find myself caring about exam boards again, rest assured you'll be the first person I send a message to.

I got into medical school, so my advice outranks yours in this particular thread.

I also got into medical school and a few of the medical schools that I looked at, as well as ones that I applied to commented that students doing three science subjects (bio, chem, phys, maths) are stronger candidates. Some even wanted chemistry and TWO other sciences at AS. In these cases not doing maths or physics would not only put you at a disadvantage but rule out the school COMPLETELY!!

The medical schools do say so. At least that's what admissions officers and several grads tell me, and many other people, and who knows how many more. If I'm misleading, then there are hundreds of other people who've now been misled. It's statistically in your favour to do Maths A Level, it helps in so many degrees, including Medicine where recently grads failed to show even basic numeracy skills (which is potentially life-threatening)

I'm sure, however, that you won't be needing to care for exam boards for now.

Which medical schools were these?



Seriously, do you have any sources whatsoever to back your claims up?

"statistically in your favour" - eh? Presumably you have these stats then?

Maths A level doesn't demonstrate that one has basic numeracy skills - you don't need anywhere near that level of mathematical knowledge to be able to do well as a doctor. Though again, where's your source for that final bit about graduates failing to show basic numeracy skills?

I never really took a transcript of my conversations with them. But they told me, and unfortunately many others, that while they don't reference maths as being a necessary requirement to Medicine since they'd much rather have Chemistry, and sometimes Biology, they do value AS Mathematics. (Keele told me A2 as well) They phrased it as if you're not disadvantaged if you didn't take it, it's just, you're more likable, which doesn't really add up. Of course I haven't scoured every single med school in the country to make a solid conclusion, but I've talked to all the Unis and enough people to get the gist.

Of course I don't have any stats. But it really does make sense to take Maths to A Level since GCSE's don't go far enough. Even the House of Lords was suggesting it to be compulsory some years ago. Science employers don't really demand it cos the demand isn't high enough, they really value maths, but people are put off by it.

Just check it, there are several stories in the news of some shocking results of grad students and even doctors who've been working for some time that failed basic numeracy. There was this doctor back in Scotland that gave the wrong amount of drugs because he couldn't multiply factors and divide the day up into intervals. Thankfully the overdose wasn't lethal. I went to a Keele Med Talk on this and they again highlighted that numeracy was dwindling in medicine.

Yeah, this all sounds really wishy washy - loads of anecdotes and waffle but no substance. If medicine is anything, it should be evidence based - I haven't ever seen any evidence to suggest that doing maths A level makes you a "stronger" candidate.

GCSEs don't go far enough? What exactly is it that you think we learn in medical school that we'd require advanced maths skills to be able to cope with it? Do you think patients give a monkey's about whether or not we know how to do calculus or differentiation?

Medicine isn't a "science degree" and the NHS is not a "science employer", just fyi.

I don't see how much more "substance" you require. The anecdotes detail exactly what the med schools say. I'm a customer of the Uni, and I've learnt of the entry requirements directly from the consumer. Evidence based is as far as it goes. If you're looking for more like, x% of people get in with Maths A level compared to the y% that got in without it, then no I have not offered that. But clearly they don't. They've qualitatively described that it makes you a stronger candidate.

It's not the concepts that you learn in AS, althogh, if I were a patient, I'd love to listen to any ramble on u-sub and euler hehe, oh the joys. It'd be a bit out of the blue for some GP to suddenly revisit his/her high school eras but I'd share that moment. Anyways, it's the thought processes and the advancement in the level of critical thinking you have. From simply loci, to some beastly integral, AS and A2 challenges you with a level of analysis that would benefit medical students.
I never said the NHS was a science employer, I only said science employer. So it was a general term. And medicine is an applied science degree, or not. more I think of it, the more I think my thinking is like Schrodinger's kittycat. Or Pauli.