a level choices for biochemistry/biology
I'm currently choosing my a levels - I'm definitely studying biology and chemistry
I'm unsure of whether to study maths or geography for my third subject. I'm predicted a 9 for both at GCSE, but I find geography easier and enjoy it more.
I want to apply to Oxbridge and study biochemistry or biology. I'm wondering if it would be more useful to take maths?
I've checked websites and statistics and it seems like not doing maths will put me at a disadvantage, particularly at Oxford
My teacher seems to think that I wouldn't have any problems with the maths a level but I'm not sure if it's worth it considering I don't enjoy it as much as geography.
I'm unsure of whether to study maths or geography for my third subject. I'm predicted a 9 for both at GCSE, but I find geography easier and enjoy it more.
I want to apply to Oxbridge and study biochemistry or biology. I'm wondering if it would be more useful to take maths?
I've checked websites and statistics and it seems like not doing maths will put me at a disadvantage, particularly at Oxford
My teacher seems to think that I wouldn't have any problems with the maths a level but I'm not sure if it's worth it considering I don't enjoy it as much as geography.
Reply 1
At the end of the day, you’d need to like doing maths to some degree if biology is the degree you want to study. I don’t know exactly for bio, but I have friends that study biological natural sciences at Cambridge, and obviously there is definitely maths involved, for example I believe they have to do a maths work sheet every week. In relation to this, I would say that studying maths at A level would be a lot more beneficial for you than geography. This may only be for certain subjects (for example, I know for law they have these statistics), but on the course’s information pages for cambridge, it will tell you what A levels a lot of the the successful applicants had taken, so this might be worth looking at.
Obviously, at the end of the day, you do need to pick a) what subject a university may require, but also b) what subject you are likely to get a better grade in.
Obviously make sure that no where you are thinking of applying requires you to have an A level if maths if you decide not to take it.
Obviously, at the end of the day, you do need to pick a) what subject a university may require, but also b) what subject you are likely to get a better grade in.
Obviously make sure that no where you are thinking of applying requires you to have an A level if maths if you decide not to take it.
Original post by hsidubdbhsk
I'm currently choosing my a levels - I'm definitely studying biology and chemistry
I'm unsure of whether to study maths or geography for my third subject. I'm predicted a 9 for both at GCSE, but I find geography easier and enjoy it more.
I want to apply to Oxbridge and study biochemistry or biology. I'm wondering if it would be more useful to take maths?
I've checked websites and statistics and it seems like not doing maths will put me at a disadvantage, particularly at Oxford
My teacher seems to think that I wouldn't have any problems with the maths a level but I'm not sure if it's worth it considering I don't enjoy it as much as geography.
I'm unsure of whether to study maths or geography for my third subject. I'm predicted a 9 for both at GCSE, but I find geography easier and enjoy it more.
I want to apply to Oxbridge and study biochemistry or biology. I'm wondering if it would be more useful to take maths?
I've checked websites and statistics and it seems like not doing maths will put me at a disadvantage, particularly at Oxford
My teacher seems to think that I wouldn't have any problems with the maths a level but I'm not sure if it's worth it considering I don't enjoy it as much as geography.
Hello! I agree with the post above- take a look at the courses you're interested in and see if they specify you must have maths in the entry requirements. I'm currently in Year 13 doing Biology, Chemistry, Maths and French and looking to do biochemistry at uni. I applied to the Cambridge Natural Sciences course (you can take the biochemistry pathway within it) and although Cambridge doesn't explicitly say they won't accept you without maths (apart from certain colleges which require it), they do heavily imply you'd be at a big disadvantage without it. The admissions test has maths in it and the interviews may contain maths questions. I'm not too sure about the admissions process/requirements for biochem at Oxford though.
For most other biochemistry courses though like Imperial or York, they only specify they want A level Chemistry and another science A level (which could be biology) so you wouldn't have to do maths, although UCL wants A level Biology, Chemistry and Maths, so it really depends. Sorry, I think I've made it sound confusing but what I'm trying to say is it depends on the uni so it's worth having a quick look at entry requirements!
Would you be able to take both geography and maths at your sixth form and then drop one after you've had a feel for both of them? If you're not allowed to take 4, then I'm sure you can choose one and if you don't like it swap to the other one (and maybe swap back!). At least in my sixth form, there were lots of people swapping to different subjects in the first half term. You have a bit of flexibility to try and figure out what you want to do at the beginning of your A-levels, so I wouldn't worry too much 🙂 Perhaps you could double check if the sixth form you want to go to allows people to swap subjects at the beginning of the year?
If you have any questions about Maths A-level specifically I'd be happy to help! It is definitely a step-up from GCSE but the good thing about maths is the way to revise it is to just do lots and lots of practice questions- there's no 'content' as in facts to learn like there is in bio/chem/geog which some people find nice.
Hope that helps!
Reply 3
Original post by vera8
Hello! I agree with the post above- take a look at the courses you're interested in and see if they specify you must have maths in the entry requirements. I'm currently in Year 13 doing Biology, Chemistry, Maths and French and looking to do biochemistry at uni. I applied to the Cambridge Natural Sciences course (you can take the biochemistry pathway within it) and although Cambridge doesn't explicitly say they won't accept you without maths (apart from certain colleges which require it), they do heavily imply you'd be at a big disadvantage without it. The admissions test has maths in it and the interviews may contain maths questions. I'm not too sure about the admissions process/requirements for biochem at Oxford though.
For most other biochemistry courses though like Imperial or York, they only specify they want A level Chemistry and another science A level (which could be biology) so you wouldn't have to do maths, although UCL wants A level Biology, Chemistry and Maths, so it really depends. Sorry, I think I've made it sound confusing but what I'm trying to say is it depends on the uni so it's worth having a quick look at entry requirements!
Would you be able to take both geography and maths at your sixth form and then drop one after you've had a feel for both of them? If you're not allowed to take 4, then I'm sure you can choose one and if you don't like it swap to the other one (and maybe swap back!). At least in my sixth form, there were lots of people swapping to different subjects in the first half term. You have a bit of flexibility to try and figure out what you want to do at the beginning of your A-levels, so I wouldn't worry too much 🙂 Perhaps you could double check if the sixth form you want to go to allows people to swap subjects at the beginning of the year?
If you have any questions about Maths A-level specifically I'd be happy to help! It is definitely a step-up from GCSE but the good thing about maths is the way to revise it is to just do lots and lots of practice questions- there's no 'content' as in facts to learn like there is in bio/chem/geog which some people find nice.
Hope that helps!
For most other biochemistry courses though like Imperial or York, they only specify they want A level Chemistry and another science A level (which could be biology) so you wouldn't have to do maths, although UCL wants A level Biology, Chemistry and Maths, so it really depends. Sorry, I think I've made it sound confusing but what I'm trying to say is it depends on the uni so it's worth having a quick look at entry requirements!
Would you be able to take both geography and maths at your sixth form and then drop one after you've had a feel for both of them? If you're not allowed to take 4, then I'm sure you can choose one and if you don't like it swap to the other one (and maybe swap back!). At least in my sixth form, there were lots of people swapping to different subjects in the first half term. You have a bit of flexibility to try and figure out what you want to do at the beginning of your A-levels, so I wouldn't worry too much 🙂 Perhaps you could double check if the sixth form you want to go to allows people to swap subjects at the beginning of the year?
If you have any questions about Maths A-level specifically I'd be happy to help! It is definitely a step-up from GCSE but the good thing about maths is the way to revise it is to just do lots and lots of practice questions- there's no 'content' as in facts to learn like there is in bio/chem/geog which some people find nice.
Hope that helps!
I was definitely thinking about taking 4 and dropping one, but I have a lot of sport commitments that really limit my time. I'm taking a fsmq as part of the GCSE course that apparently counts for 1/3 of the a level, so do you think that would provide me with enough maths for the admissions test?
Original post by hsidubdbhsk
I was definitely thinking about taking 4 and dropping one, but I have a lot of sport commitments that really limit my time. I'm taking a fsmq as part of the GCSE course that apparently counts for 1/3 of the a level, so do you think that would provide me with enough maths for the admissions test?
The current admissions test (NSAA) only has GCSE maths content (although the difficulty of the questions is a lot harder than normal GCSE questions) so technically you wouldn’t even need FSMQ knowledge for it. However, I’ve heard Cambridge is scrapping the NSAA (as well as BMAT, ENGAA etc) next year for 2025 entry and although no one knows for certain some people are speculating there may possibly be a new test and no one knows what would be included in it.
Doing FSMQ shows you’re at a really great standard for maths! At the end of the day though it’s also important to enjoy your subjects. No matter your decision, there are plenty of great biochemistry/biology courses out there some of which don’t require maths (like Imperial, York etc) so it’ll all work out whatever you choose
Reply 5
Original post by hsidubdbhsk
I'm currently choosing my a levels - I'm definitely studying biology and chemistry
I'm unsure of whether to study maths or geography for my third subject. I'm predicted a 9 for both at GCSE, but I find geography easier and enjoy it more.
I want to apply to Oxbridge and study biochemistry or biology. I'm wondering if it would be more useful to take maths?
I've checked websites and statistics and it seems like not doing maths will put me at a disadvantage, particularly at Oxford
My teacher seems to think that I wouldn't have any problems with the maths a level but I'm not sure if it's worth it considering I don't enjoy it as much as geography.
I'm unsure of whether to study maths or geography for my third subject. I'm predicted a 9 for both at GCSE, but I find geography easier and enjoy it more.
I want to apply to Oxbridge and study biochemistry or biology. I'm wondering if it would be more useful to take maths?
I've checked websites and statistics and it seems like not doing maths will put me at a disadvantage, particularly at Oxford
My teacher seems to think that I wouldn't have any problems with the maths a level but I'm not sure if it's worth it considering I don't enjoy it as much as geography.
If you are leaning towards biochem I’d really recommend taking maths. It’s strongly favoured and out first year has a large portion of maths. My friend did not do A-level maths and they definitely find this part of the course harder.
From what I understand, there is a lot less maths in biology at Oxford. So perhaps if you don’t end up taking maths you may be better suited to this course
Ultimately you could definitely get in without doing maths, it’s not essential but I would recommend it. Also it definitely helps with biology and chemistry A-levels so I would recommend taking it.
Hope that helps
Reply 6
Original post by Pangolin 170
I’m a first year biochemist at Wadham, Oxford. I did biology, chemistry, maths at A-level
If you are leaning towards biochem I’d really recommend taking maths. It’s strongly favoured and out first year has a large portion of maths. My friend did not do A-level maths and they definitely find this part of the course harder.
From what I understand, there is a lot less maths in biology at Oxford. So perhaps if you don’t end up taking maths you may be better suited to this course
Ultimately you could definitely get in without doing maths, it’s not essential but I would recommend it. Also it definitely helps with biology and chemistry A-levels so I would recommend taking it.
Hope that helps
If you are leaning towards biochem I’d really recommend taking maths. It’s strongly favoured and out first year has a large portion of maths. My friend did not do A-level maths and they definitely find this part of the course harder.
From what I understand, there is a lot less maths in biology at Oxford. So perhaps if you don’t end up taking maths you may be better suited to this course
Ultimately you could definitely get in without doing maths, it’s not essential but I would recommend it. Also it definitely helps with biology and chemistry A-levels so I would recommend taking it.
Hope that helps
Reply 7
Original post by open-air-steplad
Hello - just wanted to say wow that’s amazing you got into Oxford! I am also a year 12 student and thought I might as well apply to Oxbridge as I have nothing to lose. I am considering applying to either Cambridge for natural sciences or Oxford for biology/biochemistry but I can’t decide on which course to pick and at which uni. My A-levels are maths, bio, chem and further maths. I was wondering if you could please let me know if you went through the same thought process and how you ended up deciding on Oxford biochemistry? Also, do you have any good ‘super-curricular’ activities you recommend for these subjects that helped you get in? I’ve heard about the CREST science award but I am not sure if it is worth my time to do and how much it would make my personal statement stand out. Thank you!
I’d definitely say go for it! As you say there’s nothing to lose. The oxbridge system is a really unique style of teaching and if you don’t get in it’s not because you aren’t good it’s just not gonna suit you.
I decided to go for biochem because I realised that I wanted to specifically do biochem. With NatSci I think it ends up less focused. Also I didn’t have to an entrance test which was a big bonus. The natsci course is gonna be a lot more broad. The biochem course is fairly different to biology. I have more maths and chemistry but no ecology / evolution. If you are between biology and biochem think about what are your favourite parts of the a level course. If you enjoy the small stuff e.g. at the cellular level or below, genetics, enzymes, respiration, metabolism and if you enjoy your organic chem, biochemistry is probably going to suit you. If you enjoy the larger stuff, physiology, how organs work, ecology, evolution, biology may be better.
The personal statement is just really to get to interview (at least for Oxford) and the interview is more important. For me I would mainly focus on trying to read around the subject. You don’t need awards or things like that you’re better off trying to find something a bit unique to talk about. There’s a recommended reading list somewhere on the Oxford biochem website which has some suggestions. Make a note of any interesting articles you read.
In your personal statement you really just want to show your interest in the subject. E.g I read this thing and it made my wonder about another thing so I read this.
This should explain it a bit better. This was shown at the open day at my college and I found it very helpful
https://admin.wadham.ox.ac.uk/media/documents/Preparing_Personal_Statements.pdf
Good luck with your application and let me know if you have any questions
Reply 8
Original post by Pangolin 170
Hi!
I’d definitely say go for it! As you say there’s nothing to lose. The oxbridge system is a really unique style of teaching and if you don’t get in it’s not because you aren’t good it’s just not gonna suit you.
I decided to go for biochem because I realised that I wanted to specifically do biochem. With NatSci I think it ends up less focused. Also I didn’t have to an entrance test which was a big bonus. The natsci course is gonna be a lot more broad. The biochem course is fairly different to biology. I have more maths and chemistry but no ecology / evolution. If you are between biology and biochem think about what are your favourite parts of the a level course. If you enjoy the small stuff e.g. at the cellular level or below, genetics, enzymes, respiration, metabolism and if you enjoy your organic chem, biochemistry is probably going to suit you. If you enjoy the larger stuff, physiology, how organs work, ecology, evolution, biology may be better.
The personal statement is just really to get to interview (at least for Oxford) and the interview is more important. For me I would mainly focus on trying to read around the subject. You don’t need awards or things like that you’re better off trying to find something a bit unique to talk about. There’s a recommended reading list somewhere on the Oxford biochem website which has some suggestions. Make a note of any interesting articles you read.
In your personal statement you really just want to show your interest in the subject. E.g I read this thing and it made my wonder about another thing so I read this.
This should explain it a bit better. This was shown at the open day at my college and I found it very helpful
https://admin.wadham.ox.ac.uk/media/documents/Preparing_Personal_Statements.pdf
Good luck with your application and let me know if you have any questions
I’d definitely say go for it! As you say there’s nothing to lose. The oxbridge system is a really unique style of teaching and if you don’t get in it’s not because you aren’t good it’s just not gonna suit you.
I decided to go for biochem because I realised that I wanted to specifically do biochem. With NatSci I think it ends up less focused. Also I didn’t have to an entrance test which was a big bonus. The natsci course is gonna be a lot more broad. The biochem course is fairly different to biology. I have more maths and chemistry but no ecology / evolution. If you are between biology and biochem think about what are your favourite parts of the a level course. If you enjoy the small stuff e.g. at the cellular level or below, genetics, enzymes, respiration, metabolism and if you enjoy your organic chem, biochemistry is probably going to suit you. If you enjoy the larger stuff, physiology, how organs work, ecology, evolution, biology may be better.
The personal statement is just really to get to interview (at least for Oxford) and the interview is more important. For me I would mainly focus on trying to read around the subject. You don’t need awards or things like that you’re better off trying to find something a bit unique to talk about. There’s a recommended reading list somewhere on the Oxford biochem website which has some suggestions. Make a note of any interesting articles you read.
In your personal statement you really just want to show your interest in the subject. E.g I read this thing and it made my wonder about another thing so I read this.
This should explain it a bit better. This was shown at the open day at my college and I found it very helpful
https://admin.wadham.ox.ac.uk/media/documents/Preparing_Personal_Statements.pdf
Good luck with your application and let me know if you have any questions
The PDF is very useful I will definitely save that for the future.
Reply 9
Original post by Pangolin 170
Hi!
I’d definitely say go for it! As you say there’s nothing to lose. The oxbridge system is a really unique style of teaching and if you don’t get in it’s not because you aren’t good it’s just not gonna suit you.
I decided to go for biochem because I realised that I wanted to specifically do biochem. With NatSci I think it ends up less focused. Also I didn’t have to an entrance test which was a big bonus. The natsci course is gonna be a lot more broad. The biochem course is fairly different to biology. I have more maths and chemistry but no ecology / evolution. If you are between biology and biochem think about what are your favourite parts of the a level course. If you enjoy the small stuff e.g. at the cellular level or below, genetics, enzymes, respiration, metabolism and if you enjoy your organic chem, biochemistry is probably going to suit you. If you enjoy the larger stuff, physiology, how organs work, ecology, evolution, biology may be better.
The personal statement is just really to get to interview (at least for Oxford) and the interview is more important. For me I would mainly focus on trying to read around the subject. You don’t need awards or things like that you’re better off trying to find something a bit unique to talk about. There’s a recommended reading list somewhere on the Oxford biochem website which has some suggestions. Make a note of any interesting articles you read.
In your personal statement you really just want to show your interest in the subject. E.g I read this thing and it made my wonder about another thing so I read this.
This should explain it a bit better. This was shown at the open day at my college and I found it very helpful
https://admin.wadham.ox.ac.uk/media/documents/Preparing_Personal_Statements.pdf
Good luck with your application and let me know if you have any questions
I’d definitely say go for it! As you say there’s nothing to lose. The oxbridge system is a really unique style of teaching and if you don’t get in it’s not because you aren’t good it’s just not gonna suit you.
I decided to go for biochem because I realised that I wanted to specifically do biochem. With NatSci I think it ends up less focused. Also I didn’t have to an entrance test which was a big bonus. The natsci course is gonna be a lot more broad. The biochem course is fairly different to biology. I have more maths and chemistry but no ecology / evolution. If you are between biology and biochem think about what are your favourite parts of the a level course. If you enjoy the small stuff e.g. at the cellular level or below, genetics, enzymes, respiration, metabolism and if you enjoy your organic chem, biochemistry is probably going to suit you. If you enjoy the larger stuff, physiology, how organs work, ecology, evolution, biology may be better.
The personal statement is just really to get to interview (at least for Oxford) and the interview is more important. For me I would mainly focus on trying to read around the subject. You don’t need awards or things like that you’re better off trying to find something a bit unique to talk about. There’s a recommended reading list somewhere on the Oxford biochem website which has some suggestions. Make a note of any interesting articles you read.
In your personal statement you really just want to show your interest in the subject. E.g I read this thing and it made my wonder about another thing so I read this.
This should explain it a bit better. This was shown at the open day at my college and I found it very helpful
https://admin.wadham.ox.ac.uk/media/documents/Preparing_Personal_Statements.pdf
Good luck with your application and let me know if you have any questions
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