The Student Room Group

a level options

I want to study chemical engineering or pharmacology (as a back up) in uni but I'm quite scared of taking bio a level (OCR)

I also wanted to take psychology because I've been interested in it for the last 2 years but idk whether to take bio (OCR) chem (OCR) maths (Edexcel) psych (AQA)
OR bio chem maths cuz ik 4 a levels are a lot of work

any advice would be appreciated :smile:
Reply 1
Check the entry requirements for a range of different Unis and see which A level subjects are essential or 'preferred. For Chem Eng, Chem and Maths are the most important subjects, and for Pharmacology, its usually Chem and 'one other science or maths'.
Examples :
Pharmacology | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol
Undergraduate degrees | Chemical Engineering | Loughborough University (lboro.ac.uk)
For chem engineering maths and chemistry are required, for pharmacology you need chemistry and some unis also require Biology. Therefore from a uni application pov taking maths, chemistry and biology is your best option to keep as many courses in these areas open to you as possible.
However, if you didnt like biology at gcse or would rather take psychology then there would still be some options in pharmacology for you asking for chem and another science. This might work for you as pharmacology is your back-up option.
If you want to keep both open though go with bio, chem and maths and but you could always start with all 4 and see what you feel like after a few weeks or if you manage well even dropping one at the end of year 12 when you should have a clearer idea of what you want to do at uni.
(edited 3 months ago)
Reply 3
for pharmacology you need biology and chemistry.

No you don't.
Please see the example I provided above.
Original post by McGinger
for pharmacology you need biology and chemistry.
No you don't.
Please see the example I provided above.

Yeah sorry, I did say there were options with just chem and another science but I more meant that those were the ones which were the most relevant to the requirements. Bad phrasing on my part and I will correct it, thanks for pointing it out :smile:
Reply 5
Original post by DerDracologe
For chem engineering maths and chemistry are required, for pharmacology you need chemistry and some unis also require Biology. Therefore from a uni application pov taking maths, chemistry and biology is your best option to keep as many courses in these areas open to you as possible.
However, if you didnt like biology at gcse or would rather take psychology then there would still be some options in pharmacology for you asking for chem and another science. This might work for you as pharmacology is your back-up option.
If you want to keep both open though go with bio, chem and maths and but you could always start with all 4 and see what you feel like after a few weeks or if you manage well even dropping one at the end of year 12 when you should have a clearer idea of what you want to do at uni.
ahh thank you!!!

I didn't particularly dislike biology at GCSEs, rather I'm more scared about applying the knowledge since I would find the questions difficult to answer, hence I'm worried about taking it for A-Levels
I'm also not sure how much of it I remember 😅
but I did get an 8 for both my year 10 & 11 mocks if that means anything
Reply 6
Original post by McGinger
Check the entry requirements for a range of different Unis and see which A level subjects are essential or 'preferred. For Chem Eng, Chem and Maths are the most important subjects, and for Pharmacology, its usually Chem and 'one other science or maths'.
Examples :
Pharmacology | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol
Undergraduate degrees | Chemical Engineering | Loughborough University (lboro.ac.uk)

thanks!
Original post by indyra
ahh thank you!!!
I didn't particularly dislike biology at GCSEs, rather I'm more scared about applying the knowledge since I would find the questions difficult to answer, hence I'm worried about taking it for A-Levels
I'm also not sure how much of it I remember 😅
but I did get an 8 for both my year 10 & 11 mocks if that means anything

8 is a strong grade! Id suggest looking at some YouTube videos from students who’ve done it for a level and see if it sounds appealing from their experience. Maybe the option of taking it for a bit and then dropping it if you prefer psychology could allow you to see if the questions and content are more of interest if your school will allow it. Are you waiting for your GCSE results too? Im getting mine on Thursday (I know it can vary a bit), best of luck if you are too!
Reply 8
Original post by DerDracologe
8 is a strong grade! Id suggest looking at some YouTube videos from students who’ve done it for a level and see if it sounds appealing from their experience. Maybe the option of taking it for a bit and then dropping it if you prefer psychology could allow you to see if the questions and content are more of interest if your school will allow it. Are you waiting for your GCSE results too? Im getting mine on Thursday (I know it can vary a bit), best of luck if you are too!

yes - my school allows us to take 4 A-levels for a month and if I wanted to drop it after I could
thanks for the video recommendation!
and yes I'm waiting for my results on Thursday too - good luck to you too!

Quick Reply