subject choices

Physics has zero relevance for medicine.

What is the obsession with doing maths? The OP has stated they want to do psychology and that is just as good as maths for getting in to medicine, as long as they get an A in it. Maths really isn't needed for medicine

thanks! i was thinking it would help me with bio and chem aswell

It is way more useful than Psychology though. First Medicine is a science degree and Physics is a science while Psychology is a social science. In terms of skills Physics is better for a Medical student, I am not saying that she needs it for her degree but doing Physics will give her more useful skills for medicine than Psychology.

Maths can help you get better gcses/ukcat/bmat/ps results with out you realising it....

http://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/images/140668-popularity-of-a-level-subjects-among-uk-university-students.pdf

refer to page 58, which shows popular subject combos for medicine. Most popular for cambridge students is 'maths,bio, chem' and even further maths is a popular choice, and this is cambridge. Yes, it is possible to do medicine without maths but with competition rising, you ideally need the best subject combo

Everyone rolls out Cambridge for this argument. Cambridge is the only medical school that requires 3 sciences and only one college requires maths.
And correlation does not equal causation. Just because the popular choice is maths, bio and chem does not mean people get in because of that.

And actually, in this competitive world, it isn't subject choices that matter but smashing the UKCAT.

It is way more useful than Psychology though. First Medicine is a science degree and Physics is a science while Psychology is a social science. In terms of skills Physics is better for a Medical student, I am not saying that she needs it for her degree but doing Physics will give her more useful skills for medicine than Psychology.

I'm sorry, but unless she wants to go in to orthopaedics/trauma where understanding forces and impact may help, physics won't help at all for medicine.
Medicine is so much more than a science degree. She will pick up plenty of good skills in bio and chemistry but the majority of her skills will come from the medical degree itself. A-levels have so little relevance in the grand scheme of things.

I fail to see how. Medicine is not a pure science, and social sciences have a LOT of relevance compared with a lot of physics/maths.

I work in a specialty with much more physics involvement than most (at least in our exams!) and have still managed fine without A-level physics.

Well obviously grades and UKCAT matter. And doing 4 A2 levels help. And im assuming OP wants to go to a top uni, like imperial birmingham etc etc. Other applicants will undoubtedly have maths at a level. If you read the cambridge link properly, theres a section which looks at what the success rate is, and the correlation is those offering maths (and further maths) have a higher success rate than those who dont, so correlation = Causation. And one can use cambridge as an indication of how other unis work to, and give them a rough idea.

OP does suggest they are thinking of maths a level, so what is your issue with maths?

I am not saying that she will need to know about forces and all that, I am just saying that the approach to problems in Physics, which is similar to that in Maths, is very useful. Only the top candidates are able to achieve As and A*s in Physics and Maths and I think that medical applicants should be top candidates, since a degree in medicine is very intelectually demanding. And p.s. content-wise, physics is useful as well since you do loads of Medical Imaging stuff, but I am not on that point.

You only do a lot of medical imaging stuff if you become a radiologist.

Oh and please stop with this 'top candidates' nonsense. The only reason medicine requires As and A*s is because of the sheer amount of competition. There are lots of doctors who got Bs and Cs at a-level (or worse) and they are amazing doctors.

And all of these amazing problem solving skills that a-level supposedly teaches? They will all get surpassed with the skills you gain on a medical degree.

Then your point is that you should only do Bio and Chem and that any other subject is totally useless for medicine so it doesn't really matter what you pick, isn't it?

4 full a-levels is only of benefit at Barts, who use UCAS tariff points. No one else cares. And its possible that with the reforms that a 4th as level won't even be required. Doing extra doesn't score you any points anywhere else.
You really don't get the link between correlation and causation do you? Just because more people who did maths were successful doesn't mean they were successful because they did maths.
There is no such thing as a 'top' medical university. That is such ********. Prestige has no place in medicine. The OP should aim for the places they are most likely to get in.

I actually don't have a problem with maths. Back in the day I did both maths and further maths. What I have a problem with is people on TSR (usally people who have never applied to medicine and know nothing about the process) constantly sprouting this ******** myth that maths is needed or preferred for medicine when it really isn't. Yes, the OP said they may do maths but they stated they want to do psychology. And yet again people are telling them they should do maths instead.

Yes, pick what you enjoy and are most likely to get an A in it.

But picking maths because you feel you have to, when its not necessarily something you enjoy or excel in is not good either. If the OP wants to do psychology, she shouldn't have loads of people jumping in saying maths is better, when it really isn't.

If the OP had said she wanted to do bio, chem and maths and hadn't mentioned psych we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. But I've seen countless threads like this where people jump in saying "you have to do maths" or "maths will help you get you in to medicine" and I'm just sick of it.

Yes, pick what you enjoy and are most likely to get an A in it.

But picking maths because you feel you have to, when its not necessarily something you enjoy or excel in is not good either. If the OP wants to do psychology, she shouldn't have loads of people jumping in saying maths is better, when it really isn't.

If the OP had said she wanted to do bio, chem and maths and hadn't mentioned psych we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. But I've seen countless threads like this where people jump in saying "you have to do maths" or "maths will help you get you in to medicine" and I'm just sick of it.

You seem to ignore the competitive element of medicine, where students will have maths and yes other factors do affect whether or not they get in. The competition is fierce and you're wrong in suggesting there is no top medical school. Many will aim to go into consulting and other senior positions, and this is taken up by many of the top uni grads. No one said anything about 'prestige' and theres no need to be so condescending. And anyway, unless you're an admissions officer, you're not in a position to start having a go at others because we encourage OP to take maths. OP suggested that they want to do maths and needs to choose 4 a levels, and maths appears to be the only other subject OP is considering.

I want to do medicine or pharmacy (hopefully lol) and i'm planning on doing chemistry, biology,psychology and maybe maths at A- level. Is maths needed? or can i get into uni without it
thanks !!

Have you applied to medicine or ever looked in to applying to medicine? Because you sound like someone who hasn't.

I'm well aware of how competitive medicine is. But not one medical school selects on the basis of subject choices (as long as you have met the required chemistry/biology). Instead applicants are invited to interview based on UKCAT score, BMAT, GCSE scores, PS or a combination of the above. It really doesn't work the way you appear to think it does. Universities are very transparent with their selection criteria.

What school you go to really doesn't matter in medicine. Applications to FPAS are blind and later down the line it's about publications, extra degrees, teaching etc, not where you got your medical degree.

I am allowed to point out when people peddle this myth that maths is needed for medicine. Yes, the OP says they are considering maths. But people are telling them that maths is better than psychology when it really isn't. And with the new a level reforms it's quite possible that a fourth as wont be required by the majority of medical schools.

And no, I'm not an admissions officer. But I've been around the medicine forums a lot longer than you and I know about what is required and what isn't.

Well those who say to do maths are saying its useful for pharmacy, which it is and immediately dismisses your point.
You seem to live in a dream world where there is no competition
1) The competition for medicine is, as i said, very fierce and maths A level shows the skill of problem solving and logical and structured thinking, both useful skills in medicine. You cannot possibly argue that it isnt a useful A level and maths is a skill that most applicants will have. Maths is also a facilitating subject and OP has not mentioned that they have any weaknesses in maths
2) You seem to be ignoring my point of the value of top ranking med schools. Most doctors want to progress to consultancy or other job positions and the only way to do this is by going into a top uni. No question about it.

Ultimately, the reason many ppl do maths is because it helps and most people do offer it. My school (which is one of the top grammar schools in the country) have advised doing maths at a level because it is very useful and have contacts with top unis (since most in my school do medicine).

It is due to general trends and the value and usefulness of maths that makes so many people encourage it.