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Not sure which A level subjects to chose

Although I'd like to pursue the medical field, I'm not sure that I am up for it, since getting into a good university seems near impossible. Therefore, when i choose what A-Levels I would like to do (which will be in a couple of months when I apply for sixth form) I don't want to be limited to just the medical field when i choose my subjects. Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question im just not really sure what to choose.

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If you're interested in the medical field, pick Biology & Chemistry. These subjects won't just restrict you to the medical field since most other courses don't really have any specific subject requirements.
Reply 2
Original post by AM.TSR
If you're interested in the medical field, pick Biology & Chemistry. These subjects won't just restrict you to the medical field since most other courses don't really have any specific subject requirements.

I've always been fascinated by biology and thoroughly enjoy it to this day, though I struggle in chemistry and don't find it as interesting. I'm close to certain I will take biology, but I've heard how challenging chem is. would it be possible to take psychology instead?
Original post by notokay
I've always been fascinated by biology and thoroughly enjoy it to this day, though I struggle in chemistry and don't find it as interesting. I'm close to certain I will take biology, but I've heard how challenging chem is. would it be possible to take psychology instead?


You need chemistry to be able to go into medicine, so if you didn’t take it you would be closing off the option to do medicine.
chemistry is a difficult a level, but a lot of degrees in the medical field will likely require it. don't take it if you don't enjoy it though.
Original post by notokay
Although I'd like to pursue the medical field, I'm not sure that I am up for it, since getting into a good university seems near impossible. Therefore, when i choose what A-Levels I would like to do (which will be in a couple of months when I apply for sixth form) I don't want to be limited to just the medical field when i choose my subjects. Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question im just not really sure what to choose.

I'd suggesting picking at least bio and chem. Even if you change your mind about going into the medical field, bio and chem still open up so many doors for you! Maybe pick maths as well because it's quite useful for uni and job opportunities e.g. some psychology degrees require maths a level!

How did you find the gcse content for the sciences and mathsthis year and last year? Did you take double or triple science?
Reply 6
Original post by Becca216
You need chemistry to be able to go into medicine, so if you didn’t take it you would be closing off the option to do medicine.

Yeah... Its really difficult for me to choose at the moment. I don't have a guarantee that I will get a good grade in my A-Levels (or my GCSEs truthfully), so I have no idea if it's something I should pursue or not.
Original post by notokay
Yeah... Its really difficult for me to choose at the moment. I don't have a guarantee that I will get a good grade in my A-Levels (or my GCSEs truthfully), so I have no idea if it's something I should pursue or not.


If your school allows it, start off by taking 4 alevels (both chemistry and psychology) and then after a few weeks or a couple of months, drop which everyone you don’t like. If you get the chance maybe attend a uni open day and have a look at what options are available to you and maybe see if you actually want to go into medicine or not
Some medical universities let you do their course with just biology (a certain small amount though so you'll be restricted). If you don't want to do chemistry, look how heavy chemistry intensive medicine is because it might not be the course for you. Look at what courses you like and see - it's always safe having two science subjects though, which psychology counts as for most unis, for courses you will like. My friend thought she wanted to do medicine but turns out she didn't like it so she wants to do clinical psychology, which you might like.
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 9
Original post by pancakesbob7
I'd suggesting picking at least bio and chem. Even if you change your mind about going into the medical field, bio and chem still open up so many doors for you! Maybe pick maths as well because it's quite useful for uni and job opportunities e.g. some psychology degrees require maths a level!

How did you find the gcse content for the sciences and mathsthis year and last year? Did you take double or triple science?

I've heard maths and chem go really well with bio as A-Levels, thing is I'm struggling in both of those subjects. I'm getting high-ish predicted grades for most of my subjects, but it feels like I'm not understanding many topics in both maths and chemistry (which is why im so apprehensive to take them for A-Levels). Although I haven't found out if im doing triple or double, (thanks coronavirus) I will probably be doing triple since im in top set for science and I've been told that all students in the top set do triple.
medical courses may not be right for you if you're struggling with chemistry or don't really enjoy it- perhaps look at something more biology based? maths isn't really a requirement but it can be useful and keep lots of doors open.
Original post by notokay
I've heard maths and chem go really well with bio as A-Levels, thing is I'm struggling in both of those subjects. I'm getting high-ish predicted grades for most of my subjects, but it feels like I'm not understanding many topics in both maths and chemistry (which is why im so apprehensive to take them for A-Levels). Although I haven't found out if im doing triple or double, (thanks coronavirus) I will probably be doing triple since im in top set for science and I've been told that all students in the top set do triple.

Which year are you in?
Reply 12
Original post by pancakesbob7
Which year are you in?

Today marks the last week of year 10 for me. I know its probably too early to be worrying about A-Levels (I still have to pass my GCSEs first) but a sixth form I want to go to starts its interviews and applications in October, so I want to have some time to think over what I will choose.
Reply 13
Original post by PetitePanda
Some medical universities let you do their course with just biology (a certain small amount though so you'll be restricted). If you don't want to do chemistry, look how heavy chemistry intensive medicine is because it might not be the course for you. Look at what courses you like and see - it's always safe having two science subjects though, which psychology counts as for most unis, for courses you will like. My friend thought she wanted to do medicine but turns out she didn't like it so she wants to do clinical psychology, which you might like.

Good points - I feel kinda silly for thinking I could get into medicine without chemistry. I suppose psychology also counts as part of the "medical field"?
Original post by notokay
Good points - I feel kinda silly for thinking I could get into medicine without chemistry. I suppose psychology also counts as part of the "medical field"?

You can get into medicine without chemistry but you wont have a lot of options so you will need to do heavy research on the unis that will accept you weighting on each factor. Maybe check out clinical pyschology or biomedical science?
Original post by notokay
Today marks the last week of year 10 for me. I know its probably too early to be worrying about A-Levels (I still have to pass my GCSEs first) but a sixth form I want to go to starts its interviews and applications in October, so I want to have some time to think over what I will choose.

I would say to concentrate on your GCSEs first. See how the exams go, if they even take place next year, and that should help you decide which course is right for you. I used to really enjoy French at GCSE, but I found the exam really difficult and so I decided not to pursue it further.

Remember, the whole point of A level is to push your knowledge of a subject even further. If you come out with 4s and 5s for example, you probably shouldn’t choose those as A level subjects. Whereas if you get 7, 8 and 9s it’s clear you are good at the subject and can push your knowledge further. Also, I hear from my friends that A level chemistry is really difficult so if you are finding it hard at GCSE maybe that isn’t the best choice.

Hope this helps :smile:
Reply 16
Original post by PetitePanda
You can get into medicine without chemistry but you wont have a lot of options so you will need to do heavy research on the unis that will accept you weighting on each factor. Maybe check out clinical pyschology or biomedical science?

Being the overachiever I am, I really, really REALLY want to work towards going a top tier university in the future (think oxford, cambridge or UCL). I know for sure they won't let me do "medicine" without a chem A-Level. So at this point, I think I need to figure out if I'm invested enough in medicine in order to start trying to get better at chemistry or if its just not worth my effort. Thank you for your help and suggestions though :smile:
Reply 17
Original post by Joel746
I would say to concentrate on your GCSEs first. See how the exams go, if they even take place next year, and that should help you decide which course is right for you. I used to really enjoy French at GCSE, but I found the exam really difficult and so I decided not to pursue it further.

Remember, the whole point of A level is to push your knowledge of a subject even further. If you come out with 4s and 5s for example, you probably shouldn’t choose those as A level subjects. Whereas if you get 7, 8 and 9s it’s clear you are good at the subject and can push your knowledge further. Also, I hear from my friends that A level chemistry is really difficult so if you are finding it hard at GCSE maybe that isn’t the best choice.

Hope this helps :smile:

At the moment, I'm getting a predicted 8,3 in my chemistry (which means closer to a 7 than an 8), but I feel like my understanding of recent topics won't really get me this grade on my test. I'm awful with revising, and barely do it at all (unless its for a bigger test like a mock), so i'm sure i could push my knowledge further if I really tried it, though my motivation is really down with coronavirus still looming.
Thank you for your kind words though :smile:
Original post by notokay
Being the overachiever I am, I really, really REALLY want to work towards going a top tier university in the future (think oxford, cambridge or UCL). I know for sure they won't let me do "medicine" without a chem A-Level. So at this point, I think I need to figure out if I'm invested enough in medicine in order to start trying to get better at chemistry or if its just not worth my effort. Thank you for your help and suggestions though :smile:

What university you go to doesn't matter for medicine since it's all accredited.That's a good idea. No problem :biggrin:
As said above, chemistry is required by most medical schools so you would limit your choice of unis you could apply to if you didn't choose chemistry but it's still possible to get in without chemistry. The more important thing would be getting the grades - if you don't meet them, you aren't going to be accepted regardless of whether you took chemistry or not.
I would suggest taking 4 subjects to begin with if possible and include chemistry as one of your subjects. See how much you enjoy the course and figure out how likely it would be that you could get at least an A.
Take a look at this summary of entry requirements https://www.medschools.ac.uk/media/2701/msc-entry-requirements-for-uk-medical-schools-2021.pdf

I've just finished my first year of medicine and there was very little chemistry content (most of it was covered in the first month when we did biochemistry as part of our introductory module) but I'm not entirely sure how much chemistry there is in the other years of medical school.

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