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Which should I chose - biology or mathematics A-level?

I am currently studying for my GCSEs and having problems choosing my A-levels. I have consistently good grades in almost all subjects so this makes it hard to chose between them!
I am really keen to do chemistry as I love it and at the moment I see myself doing something to do with chemistry or science in general in the future.
My original plan was to do Chemistry, maths and french (as a break from the others and because I enjoy it) but now I am concerned that by not doing biology I am ruling out lots of opportunities from different university degrees and professions in the future - particularly as I don't know exactly what sort of science i would like to go into. My teachers have said I could do biology AS but this wouldn't be worth it as it wouldn't be sufficient for some university degrees anyway. the other option is to do core maths but this is only for one year and doesn't count even as an AS.
Please help! Thanks
P.s (I know I spelled choose wrong.. but I can't edit it. Dw it bothers me way more than you)
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by GES141
I am currently studying for my GCSEs and having problems choosing my A-levels. I have consistently good grades in almost all subjects so this makes it hard to chose between them!
I am really keen to do chemistry as I love it and at the moment I see myself doing something to do with chemistry or science in general in the future.
My original plan was to do Chemistry, maths and french (as a break from the others and because I enjoy it) but now I am concerned that by not doing biology I am ruling out lots of opportunities from different university degrees and professions in the future - particularly as I don't know exactly what sort of science i would like to go into. My teachers have said I could do biology AS but this wouldn't be worth it as it wouldn't be sufficient for some university degrees anyway. the other option is to do core maths but this is only for one year and doesn't count even as an AS.
Please help! Thanks
P.s (I know I spelled choose wrong.. but I can't edit it. Dw it bothers me way more than you)


Hiya,

It really depends on what you want to do- I know it can be tricky if you haven't decided. Doing chemistry and biology will give you more options to choose from (most medical degrees- medicine, biochemistry, biomedical science, pharmacy), lots of people do this with maths but you could do French to give you more variety. If you were worried about the maths you could self teach AS maths. :smile:
Reply 2
Thank you for replying! It's definitely true that biology would open a lot of doors. However I'm also considering teh possibility of doing an EPQ on a biology topic as this would be slightly less work than another AS or A level.
Ill be honest, out of the three sciences, chemistry is probably the least maths focused (i always thought biology was but damn when you get to the high level stuff it's off the hook with literally topics called "mathematical biology" :P) so what maths that does come up you can pretty easily self teach.

I would say ditch maths for Biology. Do note though i think maths A level does look good on applications (cant remember the reason why) and french is a bit of an outside topic so would be likely disregarded. But as you said it's variation and uni's/employers like that.
To be honest i'm not too sure as to what you should do, but despite me being crazy about maths, id say swap it for bio :smile:
Maths definitely opens up more opportunities than biology, particularly if you're thinking of doing something chemistry-based or anything scientific. You can even get into medicine without Biology (although your university choices are more limited) whereas I think that it may be harder to do something involving a lot of chemistry at uni without maths a level as it is a requirement for many places and courses :smile:
Reply 5
It's true that Biology would open a lot of doors in medical fields, but maths is the subject that is advantageous to have for pretty much any degree.
If you're sure you want to go down a route such as medicine then I'd suggest biology. But don't rule out maths on the pretense that it might not open any doors.
So I suggest making sure you know what kind of degree you'd like to take before making the decision. Mind you, I thought I was going to do medicine and picked Maths, Chem, Bio and Philosophy. But realised I hate it and dropped biology and am applying for PPE.

Hope this helps answer your question.
Original post by GES141
I am currently studying for my GCSEs and having problems choosing my A-levels. I have consistently good grades in almost all subjects so this makes it hard to chose between them!
I am really keen to do chemistry as I love it and at the moment I see myself doing something to do with chemistry or science in general in the future.
My original plan was to do Chemistry, maths and french (as a break from the others and because I enjoy it) but now I am concerned that by not doing biology I am ruling out lots of opportunities from different university degrees and professions in the future - particularly as I don't know exactly what sort of science i would like to go into. My teachers have said I could do biology AS but this wouldn't be worth it as it wouldn't be sufficient for some university degrees anyway. the other option is to do core maths but this is only for one year and doesn't count even as an AS.
Please help! Thanks
P.s (I know I spelled choose wrong.. but I can't edit it. Dw it bothers me way more than you)


Maths... It will help you a lot at degree level. A lot of science based/med courses (at russel group unis) specifically ask for Alevel Chemistry but not Biology (like medicine, dentistry, optom, pharmacy... Biology isn't usually needed for any of those. It's pretty rare for them to ask specifically for bio- unless you're applying for human biology or something ). You would need maths if you were applying for something like engineering. What I would say to do is check the websites of the different unis you have in mind and see if a lot of their science courses require you to have an Alevel in Bio.
Don't rush into the decision. Goodluck
If you want to something science-y after sixth form, maths is probably going to be more helpful for you. Why couldn't you do both, since you only listed 3 in your original plan?
Reply 8
Original post by GES141
I am currently studying for my GCSEs and having problems choosing my A-levels. I have consistently good grades in almost all subjects so this makes it hard to chose between them!
I am really keen to do chemistry as I love it and at the moment I see myself doing something to do with chemistry or science in general in the future.
My original plan was to do Chemistry, maths and french (as a break from the others and because I enjoy it) but now I am concerned that by not doing biology I am ruling out lots of opportunities from different university degrees and professions in the future - particularly as I don't know exactly what sort of science i would like to go into. My teachers have said I could do biology AS but this wouldn't be worth it as it wouldn't be sufficient for some university degrees anyway. the other option is to do core maths but this is only for one year and doesn't count even as an AS.
Please help! Thanks
P.s (I know I spelled choose wrong.. but I can't edit it. Dw it bothers me way more than you)


If you want to do a science based career surely it would be best to do both biology and maths rather than french.
Reply 9
Original post by surina16
Maths definitely opens up more opportunities than biology, particularly if you're thinking of doing something chemistry-based or anything scientific. You can even get into medicine without Biology (although your university choices are more limited) whereas I think that it may be harder to do something involving a lot of chemistry at uni without maths a level as it is a requirement for many places and courses :smile:


yeah that's what I thought - and at the moment I can see myself doing something more chemistry based rather than biology so I think maths is important.Thanks!
Reply 10
Original post by Eob274
If you want to do a science based career surely it would be best to do both biology and maths rather than french.


yeah that's true but I think I would get overwhelmed if I did three full on subjects and french is a break from them
Reply 11
Original post by GES141
yeah that's true but I think I would get overwhelmed if I did three full on subjects and french is a break from them


If you're consistently getting good grades, you should be fine
Reply 12
Original post by an_atheist
If you want to something science-y after sixth form, maths is probably going to be more helpful for you. Why couldn't you do both, since you only listed 3 in your original plan?


Since the A level reforms my school only offers (or strongly advises) doing three a levels but I could do something extra like GPR or EPQ
Reply 13
Original post by Toasticide
Ill be honest, out of the three sciences, chemistry is probably the least maths focused (i always thought biology was but damn when you get to the high level stuff it's off the hook with literally topics called "mathematical biology" :P) so what maths that does come up you can pretty easily self teach.

I would say ditch maths for Biology. Do note though i think maths A level does look good on applications (cant remember the reason why) and french is a bit of an outside topic so would be likely disregarded. But as you said it's variation and uni's/employers like that.
To be honest i'm not too sure as to what you should do, but despite me being crazy about maths, id say swap it for bio :smile:


Thanks for the advice :smile:
Reply 14
Original post by h3rmit
If you're consistently getting good grades, you should be fine


academically yeah but I really enjoy it and I want to continue it
If you want to go to uni and have an idea of what course you want to do, you should take a look at the courses and see what A Levels they like.
Reply 16
Original post by Terrificmagenta
Maths... It will help you a lot at degree level. A lot of science based/med courses (at russel group unis) specifically ask for Alevel Chemistry but not Biology (like medicine, dentistry, optom, pharmacy... Biology isn't usually needed for any of those. It's pretty rare for them to ask specifically for bio- unless you're applying for human biology or something ). You would need maths if you were applying for something like engineering. What I would say to do is check the websites of the different unis you have in mind and see if a lot of their science courses require you to have an Alevel in Bio.
Don't rush into the decision. Goodluck


Thanks - that's what I thought- a lot of them say that chemistry is essential but that maths is sufficient as a second science. Others eg. Bristol Uni say Chemistry and a second science or maths and a EPQ in a scientific subject so that's another option.
Reply 17
Original post by aminoff
It's true that Biology would open a lot of doors in medical fields, but maths is the subject that is advantageous to have for pretty much any degree.
If you're sure you want to go down a route such as medicine then I'd suggest biology. But don't rule out maths on the pretense that it might not open any doors.
So I suggest making sure you know what kind of degree you'd like to take before making the decision. Mind you, I thought I was going to do medicine and picked Maths, Chem, Bio and Philosophy. But realised I hate it and dropped biology and am applying for PPE.

Hope this helps answer your question.


Thanks this was really helpful. :smile:

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