4 A-levels. HELP - I am scared and confused of what to do...

Hi, I'm an A level student about to finish year 12 in 2 weeks. I started the year with Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry but later swapped Chemistry for Computing. I thought I should get that out of the way from the start.

4 A levels is hard, no doubt. But it's not impossible to get good grades in them if you put the work and effort in (from my end of years I was predicted 3A*s and an A (further maths) which even then my teacher said may be bumped up to A*). As long as you put in that effort, you should be able to do well. However, taking all the 3 sciences together and then having maths is brutal. It's a very popular subject combination in my school and around 50% of them drop one of the subjects (overwhelming majority dropping physics). Chemistry and Physics are said to be 2 of the hardest A levels possible alongside Further Maths (some people in my school take this combination alongside maths but a surprising less amount drop one of them). I think you should know that when starting year 12. It's best if you decide between medicine and engineering and drop whichever is not needed (drop physics if you want to do medicine and biology if you want to do engineering) if you think you might not be up for it.

Regarding your GCSE resit, when is it? If it's in November, there's no point in dropping 1 just to focus on that GCSE. What will you do after November? However, if the resit is in summer 2022 (if that happens) then yes, dropping one of your 4 might be a viable idea though still a bit iffy (if you're doing maths in A level. that's essentially saying you are somewhat competent in GCSE maths).

Now to remove your misconceptions. an EPQ with 3 A-levels is not better than and will never be better than doing 4 A-levels without an EPQ. An EPQ is known as 1/2 an A level for a reason, it's not going to replace the 4th one. It might be a nice novelty to add in your personal statement, but nothing else. Not many universities actually change your entry requirements based on if you did and what you got in your EPQ. It's also very stressful and time consuming, the amount of effort you put in will be very high and the result can be an incredibly mixed bag. Also, when talking about "Biology since it is not really required", I'm assuming you're talking about medicine. That's false. Doing a medicine degree without a biology A level is asking for trouble and that's assuming you're lucky enough to even get an offer as applying to any somewhat decent university for medicine while not having an A level in biology is just wasting 1 of your 5 UCAS slots. It's plain stupidity.

Hope this helps. I did not write this to scare you, but I wrote this to give you an insight on what you might need to know from A levels and the future. I'm open to almost any questions you might have really.

Hi

I will start my A levels in September and I will be doing 4 of them: Physics, Maths, Chemistry, and Biology. The reason I want to do them is that I love science and also intend to have a degree in STEM (e.g engineering, medicine, or science. I am still unsure). For engineering I definitely need maths and most universities require physics. For medicine, I need chemistry along with another science subject.

The problem is that I am very scared that I wouldn't get high grades because I was doing 4 A levels and resiting one of my GCSEs or it might be too tough for me and struggle with it. The college is trying to convince me out of it because I have to resit my Maths GCSE (because I was doing foundation and I need at least a grade 6 to do maths) and they are saying that I would struggle too much if I did 4 A-Levels and resit one of my GCSEs. The reason that I was doing foundation is that I came to the UK in 2020 October so all of this system was new to me (so figuring out the UK's educations system was really tough and caused me a lot of panic and anxiety but eventually I did) and I found out about the higher and foundation maths GCSE in January and my teacher told me that I came to school too late and I don't have enough time to revise (which made feel really disappointed because that would mean resitting it). My parents and the college are trying to convince me out of it but I want to do all 4 of them because I love them and don't know which one to drop. The college gave me an alternative, that I could do an EPQ which according to them is better and it will make me stand out in my personal statement and during interviews for universities. I don't know which one to drop because as I said I am unsure of what I want to do in the future. I kind of want to drop Biology since it is not really required but I don't want to because I find it a fun subject to do ( just like Physics, Chemistry, and Maths).

I am very confused and very scared of what to do. Any advice would be appreciated about is it a good idea to do 4 A levels or to an EPQ and which one to drop.

Thank you in advance.

Hi

I will start my A levels in September and I will be doing 4 of them: Physics, Maths, Chemistry, and Biology. The reason I want to do them is that I love science and also intend to have a degree in STEM (e.g engineering, medicine, or science. I am still unsure). For engineering I definitely need maths and most universities require physics. For medicine, I need chemistry along with another science subject.

The problem is that I am very scared that I wouldn't get high grades because I was doing 4 A levels and resiting one of my GCSEs or it might be too tough for me and struggle with it. The college is trying to convince me out of it because I have to resit my Maths GCSE (because I was doing foundation and I need at least a grade 6 to do maths) and they are saying that I would struggle too much if I did 4 A-Levels and resit one of my GCSEs. The reason that I was doing foundation is that I came to the UK in 2020 October so all of this system was new to me (so figuring out the UK's educations system was really tough and caused me a lot of panic and anxiety but eventually I did) and I found out about the higher and foundation maths GCSE in January and my teacher told me that I came to school too late and I don't have enough time to revise (which made feel really disappointed because that would mean resitting it). My parents and the college are trying to convince me out of it but I want to do all 4 of them because I love them and don't know which one to drop. The college gave me an alternative, that I could do an EPQ which according to them is better and it will make me stand out in my personal statement and during interviews for universities. I don't know which one to drop because as I said I am unsure of what I want to do in the future. I kind of want to drop Biology since it is not really required but I don't want to because I find it a fun subject to do ( just like Physics, Chemistry, and Maths).

I am very confused and very scared of what to do. Any advice would be appreciated about is it a good idea to do 4 A levels or to an EPQ and which one to drop.

Thank you in advance.

Just pointing out there are several universities that do not require chemistry to study medicine.

Hi, I'm an A level student about to finish year 12 in 2 weeks. I started the year with Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry but later swapped Chemistry for Computing. I thought I should get that out of the way from the start.

4 A levels is hard, no doubt. But it's not impossible to get good grades in them if you put the work and effort in (from my end of years I was predicted 3A*s and an A (further maths) which even then my teacher said may be bumped up to A*). As long as you put in that effort, you should be able to do well. However, taking all the 3 sciences together and then having maths is brutal. It's a very popular subject combination in my school and around 50% of them drop one of the subjects (overwhelming majority dropping physics). Chemistry and Physics are said to be 2 of the hardest A levels possible alongside Further Maths (some people in my school take this combination alongside maths but a surprising less amount drop one of them). I think you should know that when starting year 12. It's best if you decide between medicine and engineering and drop whichever is not needed (drop physics if you want to do medicine and biology if you want to do engineering) if you think you might not be up for it.

Regarding your GCSE resit, when is it? If it's in November, there's no point in dropping 1 just to focus on that GCSE. What will you do after November? However, if the resit is in summer 2022 (if that happens) then yes, dropping one of your 4 might be a viable idea though still a bit iffy (if you're doing maths in A level. that's essentially saying you are somewhat competent in GCSE maths).

Now to remove your misconceptions. an EPQ with 3 A-levels is not better than and will never be better than doing 4 A-levels without an EPQ. An EPQ is known as 1/2 an A level for a reason, it's not going to replace the 4th one. It might be a nice novelty to add in your personal statement, but nothing else. Not many universities actually change your entry requirements based on if you did and what you got in your EPQ. It's also very stressful and time consuming, the amount of effort you put in will be very high and the result can be an incredibly mixed bag. Also, when talking about "Biology since it is not really required", I'm assuming you're talking about medicine. That's false. Doing a medicine degree without a biology A level is asking for trouble and that's assuming you're lucky enough to even get an offer as applying to any somewhat decent university for medicine while not having an A level in biology is just wasting 1 of your 5 UCAS slots. It's plain stupidity.

Hope this helps. I did not write this to scare you, but I wrote this to give you an insight on what you might need to know from A levels and the future. I'm open to almost any questions you might have really.

Hi Fantastik

First of all well done. You've learnt a lot since October!

Second, I'm really sorry to have to tell you this - but you haven't been told the complete truth in many cases.

For Medicine you do need Chemistry plus one science subject - some institutions will specify Biology though. Every institution has slightly different subject requirements - so you need to do some thorough research here.

On Engineering, your information is accurate. To the best of my knowledge, you'll need both Maths and Physics at A Level.

For the EPQ, it isn't "better" than an A Level, it's just not comparable. Lots of students across the country take an EPQ, it isn't a "stand out" feature. It does allow you to show specific interest in a specific field. However, at the stage you're at you've not chosen a broad subject for Higher Education nevermind a specific area of interest. I would strongly recommend you read my full thread on this here:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6158332

All universities would prefer 3 great A Level grades to 4 average ones. Quality is always better than quantity with A Levels.

In order to keep both Engineering and Medicine open, the one to drop would be Biology. Dropping it doesn't mean you can't still love and be interested in Biology in your own time though. If you pursue Medicine it certainly won't be going away!

I hope this information has helped,

I am here if you want to discuss your options further.

MR

Thank you very much, it helped me a lot and gave me a different perspective. About resitting my Maths GCSE, I am confused about whether I want to resit it in November or in summer. In November means I will be free from the stress earlier and have more time to study for A Levels, but in summer means I have more time to revise (to be honest I don't know if I would be able to pull it off in just three or four months) and a very high chance to get higher grades like 8 and 9. Thank you again.

Please don't take 4 - I teach in a selective school and the only students doing 4 are taking Maths/FMaths.

For your Maths - try these over the summer and see how you go/; https://www.missbsresources.com/teaching-and-learning/mathspassports

Hello, thank you for your question.

Myself, I have completed 4 A Levels; although in Biology, Chemistry, Psychology and Sociology. Doing 4 subjects is challenging; but it is definitely achievable if you strongly prioritise academics over your other commitments such as part-time work/hobbies/social life, etc; you are strongly interested in all of the subjects; have the necessary background knowledge in all the areas; and have the access to the appropriate support. However, you are certainly going to have to put a lot more work in than the majority of your peers to obtain the results you want. Hence, generally it is only advisable to take 4 A Levels, if you think this would benefit you academically and/or professionally. It sounds like this might be true in your case; but of course, at the end of the day, only you have the full understanding of your situation and are in the position to make this decision. Although, obviously talking about this with academic/career advisors, your teachers, parents, friends, etc., as well as, doing a comprehensive research into the type/amount of content that you will be covering, could help you to come to an objective conclusion, concerning whether or not you can realistically manage the work-load and enjoy your college experience, too.

In terms of the subject choice, I can see why this decision is so difficult to make. Considering that you are interested in both Medicine and Engineering, you will definitely need Chemistry and Maths A Levels to meet the entry criteria, set by the vast majority of universities. However, content-wise for Medicine, honestly-speaking, Biology is also a-must-have; even more so than Chemistry, since majority of the module content will be biology-based. Also, as you have mentioned Physics may be needed for the Engineering degree of your choice. Deciding between Medicine and Engineering as a career route would certainly clarify which subjects are better to take; although, understandably, you may not want/be ready to make this decision right now. Regardless, if possible time-wise, I would definitely recommend trying to undertake some work experience in these fields, since this could give you some further insight into which path would be right for you. Similarly, looking at precisely what is job involves, including factors such as the pay, work environment, job stability, etc., could help you to pin-point where your interest truly lie; and which job would better suit you preferred life style, personal needs, and so on...

Concerning whether it is worth doing an EPQ instead of an A Level, I would say that while advantageous, an EPQ does not hold the same weight on an UCAS application as an A Level or even an AS. Certainly, an EPQ is great to talk about on your personal statement (since it gives you research & writing experience, etc); however, in terms of meeting the actual entry criteria, the majority of universities will not accept EPQ as one of the qualifications. Hence based on my understanding of how much work an EPQ requires/its benefits, I would only advice undertaking this extra project if you are considering to apply for highly competitive universities and/or have the time for and personal interest in researching a specific topic area in great depth and in a university-style manner. Furthermore, there are many other things beside obtaining an EPQ qualification that you can do to make your personal statement highly attractive to universities such as engaging in further subject readings; gaining some work experience; taking part in other college projects/competitions, etc. Thus, overall, it may be possible to indicate a similar level of an experience that an EPQ provides you with in other ways; and hence, deciding whether or not an EPQ will be of real value to you will depend on what other extracurricular activities you have/or are planning to take part in, and how similar they are to the EPQ itself.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any further questions

Best Wishes,
Kasia (4th Year Medical Neuroscience Student, MSci with a Year Abroad)

True, and several others don't require biology (and at least one requires neither)!

@Fantastik-em on the medicine front I recommend you read the first post in this thread: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5611422 which outlines the A-level subject requirements for all UK medical schools. As you can see while taking both biology and chemistry will give you the widest range of options, for most you just need one or the other (some specify which, others don't) and another maths/science subject. Note that outside of Cardiff I don't think any medical schools award additional points in shortlisting for taking extra A-levels beyond three.

I would note that for engineering and physical sciences courses (primarily physics and materials science, but also to a lesser degree chemistry and earth sciences and similar subjects), A-level Further Maths would be considerably better preparation for the course than A-level Biology. Something that you may want to consider in view of the above (i.e. potentially swapping biology for FM - and maths/FM/physics/chemistry is a very common combination and the synergy between maths/FM/physics means it's probably less onerous a combination than any other combination of four subjects, provided you are very strong at maths).

You need to place less emphasis on stressing over exams, you can still have a life even if you don't pass and there's still a chance you will pass. Try to forget about exams and just relax.


On a different how you are feeling is not good. You shouldn't be feeling like this over exams. Seek help. This is clearly getting to you for some reason.

I will consider A level Further Maths if I decided to do engineering and yes I have heard some medical schools don't require A level Biology which made me think about dropping it but I am still in doubt. Thank you very much!