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Should i take Mathematics A Level?

So, I have chosen my 3 A Levels (Biology, Chemistry and English Literature) and unfortunately am unable to chose Art as my fourth because the class clashes. Truthfully, i do not like Maths and am not particularly good at it. I am aiming for an A at GCSE, (i will be sitting my gcse exams this year). is it vital that i take Maths for A Levels for the course? Are Biology and Chemistry not enough? Should i bother taking Maths and risk getting a B or below? Any advice or help would be appreciated.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by wrldprincezsz
So, I have chosen my 3 A Levels (Biology, Chemistry and English Literature) and unfortunately am unable to chose Art as my fourth because the class clashes. Truthfully, i do not like Maths and am not particularly good at it. I am aiming for an A at GCSE, (i will be sitting my gcse exams this year). I want to hopefully get into Oxbridge to study Medicine, is it vital that i take Maths for A Levels for the course? Are Biology and Chemistry not enough? Should i bother taking Maths and risk getting a B or below? Any advice or help would be appreciated. I'm aware that oxbridge applicants are very competitive so i really just want to do the most:tongue:


You definitely don't need A-level Maths to do medicine. Whilst it would be useful, it will only be useful if you do well in it.
From my experience, you really do need to enjoy Maths and/or be good at it to do well at A-level. Lots of people at my sixth form take it, complain about it all year because they find it boring/too difficult and then come out with Us. It is SO easy to get a U in Maths if you're not careful.

With that said, I also got an A for GCSE and then got an A at AS last year, so don't feel as though you can't get an A if you didn't get an A* at GCSE.
Original post by LeCroissant
You definitely don't need A-level Maths to do medicine. Whilst it would be useful, it will only be useful if you do well in it.
From my experience, you really do need to enjoy Maths and/or be good at it to do well at A-level. Lots of people at my sixth form take it, complain about it all year because they find it boring/too difficult and then come out with Us. It is SO easy to get a U in Maths if you're not careful.

With that said, I also got an A for GCSE and then got an A at AS last year, so don't feel as though you can't get an A if you didn't get an A* at GCSE.


thank you for replying. and wow congrats on your A!! at school we are always told that, "if you can't even get an A* at that GCSE subject, then you will fail it at A Level" i think schools really need to rethink how they communicate with students
You do not need maths for medicine. For any university.

The two slight caveats are, however, Oxbridge. Cambridge openly states that your chances are much lower if you apply without maths (30% vs 6%), and data from Oxford suggests that if you don't take maths your BMAT is at risk of being lower. This difference is only small, though, and ensuring you prepare well for the BMAT may solve the problem.

How were your GCSEs? They are very important for Oxford. A combination of <80% A*s at GCSE and no maths A-level may mean you have to give up on Oxbridge medicine specifically.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by wrldprincezsz
So, I have chosen my 3 A Levels (Biology, Chemistry and English Literature) and unfortunately am unable to chose Art as my fourth because the class clashes. Truthfully, i do not like Maths and am not particularly good at it. I am aiming for an A at GCSE, (i will be sitting my gcse exams this year). I want to hopefully get into Oxbridge to study Medicine, is it vital that i take Maths for A Levels for the course? Are Biology and Chemistry not enough? Should i bother taking Maths and risk getting a B or below? Any advice or help would be appreciated. I'm aware that oxbridge applicants are very competitive so i really just want to do the most:tongue:


I would suggest that you take maths for a level. I honestly think its a fairly easy a level if you keep on top of it throughout the year and practice loads of past papers. Like someone said, its very easy to get u's if you dont work at it. A level is definitely doable with an A at gcse but you could, if you wanted to, drop it after the first year. Also, I think you would be at a slight disadvantage if you didn't do maths when you're applying for oxbridge as they do tend to prefer those with maths over those who dont have maths
Original post by ishaniss
I would suggest that you take maths for a level. I honestly think its a fairly easy a level if you keep on top of it throughout the year and practice loads of past papers. Like someone said, its very easy to get u's if you dont work at it. A level is definitely doable with an A at gcse but you could, if you wanted to, drop it after the first year. Also, I think you would be at a slight disadvantage if you didn't do maths when you're applying for oxbridge as they do tend to prefer those with maths over those who dont have maths


i am aware that i will be at a disadvantage, but i'm scared that if i do take maths i will not get an A/A*. because i don't really see the point in doing any A Levels if you're not going to get at least an A in them??
Honestly maths is one of those A-levels where there isnt really any content so you can just kickback and just do a bunch of past papers and practice questions till you are acing them.
Original post by wrldprincezsz
i am aware that i will be at a disadvantage, but i'm scared that if i do take maths i will not get an A/A*. because i don't really see the point in doing any A Levels if you're not going to get at least an A in them??


you could easily get an A at AS. like i said, its one of the easier a levels, all you would need to do is practice.

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