Should i do 4 a levels with medicine??

I'm in year 12 doing Maths, Bio, Chem and Rs.

For Medicine I have to carry on with Bio and Chem.

Rs is my strongest subject and I enjoy it the most,

Idk whether to carry on with 4 a levels or just do 3 and drop RS?

Would 4 be too much? Would I be able to get top grades in all 4?
Any advice would be very helpful,

I’m an academic student having achieved 11A* at GCSE

Also for anyone who’s done/doing RS a level how much extra work is A2 in comparison to AS

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 1

A Rolling Stone

Original post by dx31

if RS is your strongest then perhaps Medicine might be too much... you mustn't detach yourself from just how hard Medicine is. I would focus on the 3 definitely get A*s in them.

Reply 2

Yipyipee

I WAS IN THE EXACT SAME POSITION AS YOU LAST YEAR i do all the same subjects, and i initially dropped maths at the start of y13, but I found that maths wasnt too hard (in my case) so it wouldnt be too hard to take it back on. I do all four now and Im managing fine at the moment, but if it becomes too much work you should drop one of them.

Reply 3

nicholasflee

Original post by dx31

depends if you think currently 4 A-Levels is too much of a challenge that you can't see taking until the end of Y13. I take the same subjects as you but i do german instead of RS. If you can handle it then go for it but if you think your grade will suffer then drop a subject

Reply 4

Yipyipee

also RS gets waaaaay more interesting in y13, and it has helped me with applying for med schools, so i would definitey keep RS :smile:

Reply 5

dx31

Mhkb

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

dx31

That’s very true, could doing 3 a levels and the AS at the end of the two years be a good idea? Or should I just do the AS for RS at the end of this year

Reply 7

Yipyipee

Original post by dx31

Thank you so much for the reply, From your experience how much extra work is A2 RS in comparison with AS RS?

Its a bit more work of course, but i think the main issue is being able to understand the concepts in philosophy and ethics so you can argue for and against them. You'll be able to adjust to the work load, its manageable :smile:

Reply 8

dx31

Original post by CollectiveSoul

if RS is your strongest then perhaps Medicine might be too much... you mustn't detach yourself from just how hard Medicine is. I would focus on the 3 definitely get A*s in them.

Thank you, you’re right. Should I just do the AS forRS at the end of the two years or just at the end of this year then?

Reply 9

dx31

Original post by Yipyipee

Are you applying for med? And did you ever find it hard balancing all 4 along with stress of UCAS?

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 10

dx31

Original post by Yipyipee

Would you say it’s worth me carrying it for a full a level. If I’m fairly confident with RS AS level rn.. and also compared to the amount of topics in AS, how many more topics are new to the A2?

Reply 11

Yipyipee

Original post by dx31

Are you applying for med? And did you ever find it hard balancing all 4 along with stress of UCAS?

I have applied for medicine, im in the middle of interviews atm
I found it hard but its stressful for all med applicants

Reply 12

MirzaVlogs

Original post by dx31

Hi friend, I would advise you to not take on 4 A Levels. You have fantastic grades and it would be better to channel your efforts into 3, effective and high scoring subjects as opposed to distracting yourself with a 4th. I currently study Dentistry and believe me, what matters more is your work experience. So, take the time spare from the 4th subject and allocate it elsewhere! Regards, MirzaVlogs

Reply 13

dx31

Original post by MirzaVlogs

Thank you!!!!

Reply 14

Appio001

Hey there! I did the exact same subjects but only difference is I did my A level in RS during year 12, and I can honestly say I feel if I focused on just 3 subjects there would be potential to do much better. With the introduction of these reformed subjects I can confirm that A levels have become slightly harder now than ever simply because you need to consolidate AS knowledge on top of your current A2 or what's known as A level knowledge now. Trust me hun, the majority of Med schools will not give a flying toss if you have done 4 A levels because the standard requirement is AAA in the necessary subjects. You have Bio and Chem so you're good. I would advise that you don't do 4 A levels because they're time consuming honestly! Personally I think you should choose between Maths and RS which one you like least and drop that. Besides this you've already made a good start by getting excellent GCSE results but also remember that with Med there are other contributing factors required in your application e.g. work experience, admissions tests whether BMAT or UKCAT or both. You wouldn't want to have less time for the non-academic things due to time spent on 4 A levels because they're all just as important honestly!