English Literature but I want to study medicine

A level English literature is a lot…like I picked it because I thought I was good at it and found certain things just extremely annoying and hard. Lots of essays to do which are not all that bad, you generally have enough time to complete them. Context was basically in everything and what I found most hard/annoying. Not trying to put you off because English language was so much worse but if I didn’t have the teacher I did, I would of hated the course. I will see about pinging you across and essay I did if you’d find that helpful.

I like history and although I'm not taking it for A-level I still find the context side of Lit intriguing (unless I dislike the book itself) and an example of an essay would be great except I don't have any social media accounts

Will copy and paste it into a pm

Being serious here, what's a pm?

Being serious here, what's a pm?

I'm a Y11 student and I want to do medicine but I've always loved and been good at English. I love to read and my English teacher says I will be good at the subject but I don't know if it would be 'worth' taking it for A-level if I'm considering a career in medicine. I've also heard you get essays as homework and I don't if I could handle it (I can write well, but on a weekly basis?), especially because I don't know who the teachers is and for me, a reason I enjoy English classes is because I like the environment and obviously I shouldn't choose a subject based on the teacher but I'm worried I'll get to the class and not enjoy it because I have a boring teacher. Could anyone tell me what A-level is really like (is there a lot of context?) and what exactly entails English Lit at A-level.

I've got a friend who is studying med at the moment, her A levels were Bio, Chem, Maths, English & AS Further Maths. So for sure, you can do english as an A level for medicine, but it is probably good to do it as a 4th alongside Bio, Chem and Maths. If you enjoy it, and you think you will get a good grade in it (so A*), then 100% go for it.

I really don't enjoy enjoy maths because I'm not great at it. I used to do well but in Y9 everything started going downhill, especially when we got a new teacher who literally can't teach. I was thinking of not taking maths but as a fourth option I wanted to do Computer Science since I've really started to enjoy that but apparently even that needs maths so I'm really struggling to pick..

So how about Bio, Chem, English and Maths AS?

If you don't like writing essays and want to do a degree where having an essay subject is irrelevant, taking an essay subject at A level would seem like an odd choice.

If you don't actively like the subject you shouldn't take it. That's not the same as struggling with interest in lessons if you have a bad teacher - but you need to be careful that you're not mistaking enjoying learning from a good teacher who loves their subject with loving the subject yourself.

Maths I was thinking of only taking because I want to got to a really good Uni and my teacher said Oxford dont give interviews for those who don't take A-level Maths, but then I though taking a subject I dislike just for one Uni wasnt worth bcus there are plenty of other Uni's. But my thought is that AS Maths isn't 'respected' and so it wouldn't be worth taking

Maths I was thinking of only taking because I want to got to a really good Uni and my teacher said Oxford dont give interviews for those who don't take A-level Maths, but then I though taking a subject I dislike just for one Uni wasnt worth bcus there are plenty of other Uni's. But my thought is that AS Maths isn't 'respected' and so it wouldn't be worth taking

Oxbridge med courses are very different to other med courses. It is very scientific and research based, and you don't see patients for the first few years. In other unis, they integrate hospital and patient experience from year 1. Also, they probably do want a more maths/science spread of A levels. How dedicated are you to the idea of Oxford?
The other question is could you keep up your love of books just through reading and joining book clubs, rather than studying English as an A level?

Your teacher is incorrect.

@ecolier?

I will always be reading no matter what path in life i take, It's just that I've always been known to be very good at english and very much a bookworm, so its seems the most appropriate path. Maths I've heard is really hard and even my brother, who is much more of a math person than me, finds it hard and says he doesnt recommend it. Comp Sci I wanted to take bcus ive started to find a real interest in it and bcus the future will have a lot of comp sci involved i want to stay on top

What GCSE grade are you expecting to get in Maths? If it's a 9 or 8, then you will be fine, if not then maybe its not the best idea to force yourself to do it. So in that case you should do Bio, Chem, English, Comp Sci

Right now Im predicted a 7 but I'm determined to get a 9 because I know I can if I just get to grips with wording of the questions and how to know when to apply what formula. The combo you've mentioned is the one I had in mind but I thought if I dont take maths comp sci may seem hard, altho i rly am enjoying it and havent seen any maths involved at gcse, but obviously im aware gcse comp sci will vastly differ to a level