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how cold is this a level combo

maths + english lit + 2 sciences
opens most doors
maths and english build many useful skills for life (a high standard of literacy AND numeracy)...analytical skills, critical thinking, problem solving..etc..
2 sciences build a solid foundation for STEM courses at uni, also displays your academic ability.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 1

melancollege

Keeping your options open is good for if you're not sure of what you want to do in future; and if you love those subjects, those subjects are great.

However, be cautious that Maths, English Lit and two Sciences may actually be more restrictive than you imagine, especially depending on what the two Sciences are. If you're aiming for A*A*A*A* with all 9s at GCSE, then I'm guessing you're aiming high. Without Further Maths, you may be less competitive for top Maths, Physics and Engineering degrees; without Chemistry and Biology, you may be less competitive for Medicine; and with only English, some Humanities degrees may also be less accessible. Four A-Levels can be quite a lot of work as well and take away from time that could be better spent elsewhere. It also requires a broad range of skills, which if you have them, is great, but may be more difficult.

That's not to say that this is a bad combination, not at all. Just some food for thought.

Reply 2

ismaelishere

Original post by melancollege

Keeping your options open is good for if you're not sure of what you want to do in future; and if you love those subjects, those subjects are great.
However, be cautious that Maths, English Lit and two Sciences may actually be more restrictive than you imagine, especially depending on what the two Sciences are. If you're aiming for A*A*A*A* with all 9s at GCSE, then I'm guessing you're aiming high. Without Further Maths, you may be less competitive for top Maths, Physics and Engineering degrees; without Chemistry and Biology, you may be less competitive for Medicine; and with only English, some Humanities degrees may also be less accessible. Four A-Levels can be quite a lot of work as well and take away from time that could be better spent elsewhere. It also requires a broad range of skills, which if you have them, is great, but may be more difficult.
That's not to say that this is a bad combination, not at all. Just some food for thought.

for medicine, doing english lit, maths, biology and chemistry would be very good right, if i am able to handle it. would further maths help at all for medicine? i feel like medicine is quite a well rounded subject as well. there are ethics and stuff involved, linking to humanities. etc.

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

English lit is of no particular benefit and is not required for anything except literature degrees. Do it if you want to do a lit degree or if you specifically enjoy it and don't have any more specific A-levels to take. It's no better or worse than any other subject in the latter case. FM has no relevance to medicine whatsoever.

Universities don't "score" your A-levels based on which subjects you've taken...you need to take required subjects and once you tick those boxes you can take whatever you'll do best in normally. This could be English lit, FM, or sociology. Whatever floats your boat.

Also note that you don't get "bonus points" for taking more than 3 A-levels.

You should start with what you want to do then work backwards from the requirements for that - if you don't know what you want to do, think about what subjects you enjoy most and do best in, and look at what you can do later in life related to those. Play to your strengths.

Reply 4

melancollege

Original post by ismaelishere

I think Maths, Biology and Chemistry are absolutely fine for Medicine. For the same application with an extra Further Maths and / or English Literature A-Level, sure, it won't hurt (though likely won't help much). However, the time commitment to doing another A-Level is quite significant and may take away from your ability to do relevant things that actually would help.