what a level options should i take?

2

hi there, i'm an aspiring medic who is unsure about my third a level choice. I'm going to be taking chemistry and biology but im stuck deciding between maths and psychology. I always though i would take maths a level and an epq, however medicine does not accept using your epq to boost a grade and i am just worried that i am not capable enough to get at least an A in maths as there are quite a few things i struggle with at gcse level and i know that the step from gcse to a levels is large. I would say that psychology is a subject that would play to my strengths as i am good at writing essays and stuff and have looked over the course and there are a lot of things that i find interesting on the specification my school offers. At this point in time i believe that i would likely get a higher grade in psychology however i also don't want to disadvantage myself by not taking maths as i everyone i have spoken to who wants to do medicine does maths.

Reply 1

UoL Students

Official Rep

15

Original post by hannah_sstr

hi there, i'm an aspiring medic who is unsure about my third a level choice. I'm going to be taking chemistry and biology but im stuck deciding between maths and psychology. I always though i would take maths a level and an epq, however medicine does not accept using your epq to boost a grade and i am just worried that i am not capable enough to get at least an A in maths as there are quite a few things i struggle with at gcse level and i know that the step from gcse to a levels is large. I would say that psychology is a subject that would play to my strengths as i am good at writing essays and stuff and have looked over the course and there are a lot of things that i find interesting on the specification my school offers. At this point in time i believe that i would likely get a higher grade in psychology however i also don't want to disadvantage myself by not taking maths as i everyone i have spoken to who wants to do medicine does maths.

Hi Hannah!

I'm Lindo, a 2nd Year Medical student at Uni of Leicester, and i did French as my 3rd A Level!

Though its common for people to choose Maths, i honestly recommend a subject that you will 1) get a good grade in and 2) enjoy! A Levels are 2 very challenging years, and doing Chemistry and Biology is already enough, so choose a subject that you won't be worrying about gradewise, as your focus should be to smash Bio and Chem, and the 3rd would really shouldn't be the one to hold you back in my opinion!

I know it's hard, but try not to compare yourself to other applicants, just focus on what the University wants, and they will abide by that!

I hope that helps,

Lindo
2nd Year Medical Student

Reply 2

hannah_sstr

OP

2

Original post by UoL Students

Hi Hannah!
I'm Lindo, a 2nd Year Medical student at Uni of Leicester, and i did French as my 3rd A Level!
Though its common for people to choose Maths, i honestly recommend a subject that you will 1) get a good grade in and 2) enjoy! A Levels are 2 very challenging years, and doing Chemistry and Biology is already enough, so choose a subject that you won't be worrying about gradewise, as your focus should be to smash Bio and Chem, and the 3rd would really shouldn't be the one to hold you back in my opinion!
I know it's hard, but try not to compare yourself to other applicants, just focus on what the University wants, and they will abide by that!
I hope that helps,
Lindo
2nd Year Medical Student

This is really useful thank you so much

Reply 3

Nameer06

6

Original post by hannah_sstr

hi there, i'm an aspiring medic who is unsure about my third a level choice. I'm going to be taking chemistry and biology but im stuck deciding between maths and psychology. I always though i would take maths a level and an epq, however medicine does not accept using your epq to boost a grade and i am just worried that i am not capable enough to get at least an A in maths as there are quite a few things i struggle with at gcse level and i know that the step from gcse to a levels is large. I would say that psychology is a subject that would play to my strengths as i am good at writing essays and stuff and have looked over the course and there are a lot of things that i find interesting on the specification my school offers. At this point in time i believe that i would likely get a higher grade in psychology however i also don't want to disadvantage myself by not taking maths as i everyone i have spoken to who wants to do medicine does maths.

I made the same choice last year and went with psych, I very much do not regret it. Pick something you will do well in!

Reply 4

klafow

14

Original post by hannah_sstr

hi there, i'm an aspiring medic who is unsure about my third a level choice. I'm going to be taking chemistry and biology but im stuck deciding between maths and psychology. I always though i would take maths a level and an epq, however medicine does not accept using your epq to boost a grade and i am just worried that i am not capable enough to get at least an A in maths as there are quite a few things i struggle with at gcse level and i know that the step from gcse to a levels is large. I would say that psychology is a subject that would play to my strengths as i am good at writing essays and stuff and have looked over the course and there are a lot of things that i find interesting on the specification my school offers. At this point in time i believe that i would likely get a higher grade in psychology however i also don't want to disadvantage myself by not taking maths as i everyone i have spoken to who wants to do medicine does maths.

trust you don't need maths except for a few cambridge colleges. i'm pretty sure literally every other medical school is fine with it (as long as you keep bio and chem)

it's good that you're trying to play to your strengths! it's way better to take something you're good at than to take maths and struggle further down the line. going to interviews has been really scaring me because i've met several gap year applicants who did the ucat, did interviews, got offers but then missed a grade by a mark or two and ended up having to reapply. you really don't want to find yourself in that position, so it's a lot better to take a subject you know you're good at and will probably get a good grade in. plus psychology is probably way more relevant to medicine than maths :smile:

and also you're right in saying that the jump from gcses to a-levels is quite big in maths, especially if you aren't naturally good at it (speaking from personal experience here lol)

what a level options should i take?

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