Should I take a language or Maths at A-Level?

I plan to take Biology, Chemistry and Physics at A-Level, but I'm having trouble deciding my fourth choice. I'm trying to decide whether to do German or Maths at A-Level (I want to study medicine). I will likely receive an 8 or 9 in maths and a 9 in German at GCSE level. I've heard it's a bad idea to disregard maths at A-Level, but I am not sure what is best for my course.

(edited 12 months ago)

Reply 1

boolis05

3

Maths definitely as it really helps with physics due to the high maths content of the course - this is coming from a year 13 who does maths chemistry and physics. Maths also may work in your favour if you are looking at medicine as you use maths skills in the field. It's your decision though at the end of the day, check your course and see which you prefer (German or maths). Good luck with your GCSEs.

Reply 2

sk_5557

OP

10

Original post by boolis05

Maths definitely as it really helps with physics due to the high maths content of the course - this is coming from a year 13 who does maths chemistry and physics. Maths also may work in your favour if you are looking at medicine as you use maths skills in the field. It's your decision though at the end of the day, check your course and see which you prefer (German or maths). Good luck with your GCSEs.

Thanks for your advice. I agree that maths is important (especially as I take additional maths too). Although, do you think it would be a good idea to take 5 A-Levels in total if I really cannot decide between Maths and German? I’m not sure if my school generally allows students to take that many options but I may be able to persuade them…

Reply 3

princessjowusu

6

Original post by sk_5557

Thanks for your advice. I agree that maths is important (especially as I take additional maths too). Although, do you think it would be a good idea to take 5 A-Levels in total if I really cannot decide between Maths and German? I’m not sure if my school generally allows students to take that many options but I may be able to persuade them…

I'm only a year 12 so this advice may not be as useful to you as the previous person, but I really recommend you pick one (preferably Maths). I'm not sure what your work ethic is at the moment so this may not be applicable to you, but 3 A-Levels are hard work; manageable; but hard work. Picking 5 is not ideal because universities just don't care. It would be commendable, that you had managed to push through to do 5 A-Levels but they'd only be for show. And you'd probably have to sacrifice all other extracurricular activities just to keep on top of school. You'd have no free time, school would consume you, and your mental health would plummet. Anyways, even the top unis like Oxford and Cambridge are only looking for 3 A-Levels, 5 is a BIG push. The only reason that I recommend Maths is because certain courses even lower the required grade (e.g: usually the entry requirements would be A*AA but because you take Maths, it gets reduced to AAA even before any sort of contextual offer). Also you probably already know, but A-Level Languages are a lot different to GCSE Languages. I suggest you rethink your choices and don't base it on how sound your knowledge is at GCSE. I can almost guarantee you that your confidence will take a hit because of the different content. Plus 3 sciences, wow! Good luck to you! (P.S: there is always the option to choose the 5, then pick a few weeks into the course whether or not you can handle the heat)

Reply 4

boolis05

3

Original post by sk_5557

Thanks for your advice. I agree that maths is important (especially as I take additional maths too). Although, do you think it would be a good idea to take 5 A-Levels in total if I really cannot decide between Maths and German? I’m not sure if my school generally allows students to take that many options but I may be able to persuade them…

5 A-Levels is tough and you may not be able to keep up with all of your subjects + most schools advise against taking 4 let alone 5. Also you probably won't have much down time to do stuff you enjoy as you will study a lot. I know people who did a fourth subject and dropped one as they could not handle the extra stress and their grades suffered so having 2 extra subjects would not be good for you and your mental health.

Reply 5

stan shinee

8

Original post by sk_5557

I plan to take Biology, Chemistry and Physics at A-Level, but I'm having trouble deciding my fourth choice. I'm trying to decide whether to do German or Maths at A-Level (I want to study medicine). I will likely receive an 8 or 9 in maths and a 9 in German at GCSE level. I've heard it's a bad idea to disregard maths at A-Level, but I am not sure what is best for my course.

Pick maths. People i know couldnt apply to medicine because they had a language a-level. There isn’t a point in picking a language when you need maths during the degree

Reply 6

stan shinee

8

Original post by sk_5557

Thanks for your advice. I agree that maths is important (especially as I take additional maths too). Although, do you think it would be a good idea to take 5 A-Levels in total if I really cannot decide between Maths and German? I’m not sure if my school generally allows students to take that many options but I may be able to persuade them…

you’re more likely to get rejected for 5 alevels, even 4 alevels isn’t needed by universities. i know people who only did bio, chem, maths and got into imperial

Reply 7

sk_5557

OP

10

All right, thanks for the help, realistically I'll take maths then.
However, do you suppose I'll need A-Level German if I wish to work overseas (in a German-speaking country)? Or should I take a different type of course later if that's what I want to do?

Reply 8

stan shinee

8

Original post by sk_5557

All right, thanks for the help, realistically I'll take maths then.
However, do you suppose I'll need A-Level German if I wish to work overseas (in a German-speaking country)? Or should I take a different type of course later if that's what I want to do?

You don’t need the a-level for it. You can take a language course later on, or learn during year 12 (when your workload isn't that much)

Should I take a language or Maths at A-Level?

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