further maths a level...

hi, so basically for a level I chose to take maths, chemistry and biology (since we are doing the new linear ones) but now I'm also considering doing further maths too as a full a level.

Loads of medical schools say that they don't count maths and fm as two separate a levels, but when they say this, do they mean it if are only taking 3 a levels (say, maths, fm & chemistry) or does this include 4 full a levels?

Really confused on when they do/don't count it as an a level on its own :s-smilie:

Reply 1

cookiemonster15

17

Original post by surina16

hi, so basically for a level I chose to take maths, chemistry and biology (since we are doing the new linear ones) but now I'm also considering doing further maths too as a full a level.

Loads of medical schools say that they don't count maths and fm as two separate a levels, but when they say this, do they mean it if are only taking 3 a levels (say, maths, fm & chemistry) or does this include 4 full a levels?

Really confused on when they do/don't count it as an a level on its own :s-smilie:

Basically, it just means that both FM and maths are counted as on subject. So, if you take 4 (inc FM) they will class you as taking 3 A levels. If you take 3 (inc FM) they will class you as taking 2

Reply 2

ForestCat

18

Original post by surina16

hi, so basically for a level I chose to take maths, chemistry and biology (since we are doing the new linear ones) but now I'm also considering doing further maths too as a full a level.

Loads of medical schools say that they don't count maths and fm as two separate a levels, but when they say this, do they mean it if are only taking 3 a levels (say, maths, fm & chemistry) or does this include 4 full a levels?

Really confused on when they do/don't count it as an a level on its own :s-smilie:

If you want to do medicine there is no benefit at all in taking further maths. Just focus on your other 3 subjects.

Reply 3

Letournel

15

Original post by ForestCat

If you want to do medicine there is no benefit at all in taking further maths. Just focus on your other 3 subjects.

There is a benefit in that you may enjoy it if you like maths.

OP i did the same A levels and whilst my offers were based upon biology chemistry and maths i didn't regret taking further maths. It actually made for quite a nice change from biology and chemistry and didn't really involve a tremendous amount of extra work. If you're naturally very good at maths then further should be manageable, however if you're not then it may be worth considering whether it will be detrimental to your other 3 subjects.

Reply 4

TheConfusedMedic

OP

21

Original post by ForestCat

If you want to do medicine there is no benefit at all in taking further maths. Just focus on your other 3 subjects.

That's what I think I'll do tbh. I'm going to try and aim for 3 good grades at a level. I was just worried that for medicine 3 a levels isn't enough since it's so competitive :biggrin:

Reply 5

ForestCat

18

Original post by surina16

That's what I think I'll do tbh. I'm going to try and aim for 3 good grades at a level. I was just worried that for medicine 3 a levels isn't enough since it's so competitive :biggrin:

There are lots of other things that come in to play like UKCAT, GCSEs and personal statement. But you're right to focus on getting AAA.

Reply 6

TheConfusedMedic

OP

21

Original post by plrodham1

There is a benefit in that you may enjoy it if you like maths.

OP i did the same A levels and whilst my offers were based upon biology chemistry and maths i didn't regret taking further maths. It actually made for quite a nice change from biology and chemistry and didn't really involve a tremendous amount of extra work. If you're naturally very good at maths then further should be manageable, however if you're not then it may be worth considering whether it will be detrimental to your other 3 subjects.

Thank you for your reply, however after researching into fm a bit more I've decided not to do it since I think I may struggle slightly with the content and don't want to get lower grades in my other subjects :smile:

Reply 7

TheConfusedMedic

OP

21

Original post by plrodham1

There is a benefit in that you may enjoy it if you like maths.

OP i did the same A levels and whilst my offers were based upon biology chemistry and maths i didn't regret taking further maths. It actually made for quite a nice change from biology and chemistry and didn't really involve a tremendous amount of extra work. If you're naturally very good at maths then further should be manageable, however if you're not then it may be worth considering whether it will be detrimental to your other 3 subjects.

Did you find that it was a lot of work to do 4 a levels alongside all the medicine stuff (work experience, volunteering, UKCAT, BMAT etc) or was it generally quite manageable?

Reply 8

CharlieGEM

11

If it interests you why not do the extra maths A-level for personal satisfaction and to keep your options open (assuming you still have some interest in this direction as well as in medicine)?

To do all the volunteering/work experience in the two years unless you can get it out the way in the summer holiday as well as getting 3A* (and possibly saving up some money) can be an uphill struggle if you go to a poorly performing state school and have to do all the organising yourself. I would have been tempted to take a gap year just to work on my medicine application after concentrating on my A-levels if I had applied straight from school.

Reply 9

Letournel

15

Original post by surina16

Did you find that it was a lot of work to do 4 a levels alongside all the medicine stuff (work experience, volunteering, UKCAT, BMAT etc) or was it generally quite manageable?

I felt it was okay, but maths was my best subject by a long way so i felt very comfortable with having 10 hours a week. I enjoyed it so much more than biology and chemistry!

Volunteering wise i was only in hospital once a week (on Wednesday afternoons which i had off). This felt quite reasonable and didn't take away from my academics as far as i could tell. UKCAT didn't require tonnes and tonnes of revision and was done with well before there was a lot of pressure to prepare for A-level exams.

Reply 10

NinjaOtter

6

I'm not sure how it'll change when you get around to applying for uni, but this year there were various medicine courses that didn't mind you taking further maths at AS, but didn't accept it as an A2 subject. If you enjoy maths, and feel like you'd achieve highly in further maths I'd definitely take it for year 12 if you're struggling to find something, or you just really enjoy maths. It's hard to tell how much this'll change over the next 2 years though.

Reply 11

nexttime

22

I did further maths up to A2 purely because I enjoyed the class. There was never any doubt I'd get AAA though - obviously I wouldn't commit extra time if there was a chance it would detract from the actually important stuff.

Reply 12

TheConfusedMedic

OP

21

Hi everyone, when universities say "Further Maths is acceptable atAS-level only" but I have done an AS and am taking it for A2, does that mean they will ignore the A2 result and just count the AS?

Reply 13

ForestCat

18

Original post by surina16

Hi everyone, when universities say "Further Maths is acceptable atAS-level only" but I have done an AS and am taking it for A2, does that mean they will ignore the A2 result and just count the AS?