A Levels

Hi! So, I’m looking to put in my application for Sixth Form soon, with my subjects. I’m looking to do:
Biology (predicted an 8 at GCSE)
Chemistry (predicted a 9 at GCSE)
And either: Geography (predicted a 9), Maths (predicted an 8) or Psychology.
If you’ve taken these subjects or have any insights to them, please share!! Did you enjoy them? What did you go on to do?
I’m interested in medicine, dentistry or just anything relatively science-y WITH GOOD CAREER OPTIONS!!
Thank you!

Reply 1

brnziu

3

Original post by Jupiter55

Hi! So, I’m looking to put in my application for Sixth Form soon, with my subjects. I’m looking to do:
Biology (predicted an 8 at GCSE)
Chemistry (predicted a 9 at GCSE)
And either: Geography (predicted a 9), Maths (predicted an 8) or Psychology.
If you’ve taken these subjects or have any insights to them, please share!! Did you enjoy them? What did you go on to do?
I’m interested in medicine, dentistry or just anything relatively science-y WITH GOOD CAREER OPTIONS!!
Thank you!

i would 110% recommend taking maths ! i love maths. i struggled first year with a levels bc of undiagnosed and unmedicated adhd but im medicated and soaring. i love maths and chem. by FAR my favourite subjects. biology depends on your teacher rlly imo. SUPER interesting and easy (to grasp) subject, ridiculous mark scheme but not much worse than GCSE - but my lecturers make it boring to sit through class. i love chemistry and maths. can’t get enough. they’re very interactive. very very engaging. biology is great if you’re good at studying by yourself and enjoy writing. since you’re interested in science subjects, maths would be good for it. i took bio, chem, eng lang my first time and i ended up finding myself more stuck because i didn’t take maths, and i couldn’t rlly imagine trying uni without a level maths. i think it depends on your subject though, and yourself.

hope i helped

Reply 2

Niamh19:)

8

Hi there, I study biology, chemistry and maths a levels and I am currently in year 13. I would highly recommend these subjects but please be aware that the step up from gcse to a level is massive!! I didn’t prepare myself mentally for this which gave me a big shock as I thought that I would be fine after achieving 9s in these subjects at gcse!! However it is completely doable and manageable if you keep a positive outlook on your studies and believe in yourself!!! Also don’t be afraid to ask for help as this has been my biggest struggle as teachers and friends are there to help and it can help others learn by asking questions!!!My favourite a level at the moment is chemistry as I’m finding that it all seems to slot together as you approach the end of the content!! Biology is really interesting but be aware that there is a lot of content to learn and understand and the mark schemes are extremely specific!! There is also a lot of application questions which I find confusing sometimes!! Maths is confusing when you learn the content (however some of it is just an extension of gcse) and to start with I found that people who took further maths were at an advantage!! However when you finally understand a question it is so rewarding and I would definitely recommend the subject. I have applied to veterinary medicine at university which seems like such a great course with a real mixture of practical experience and lectures which would really suit my style of learning however I would not recommend this unless you are extremely passionate about animals and want to make a difference to animal medicine!! I’m sorry if this doesn’t help :smile:

)

Reply 3

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

19

Original post by Jupiter55

Hi! So, I’m looking to put in my application for Sixth Form soon, with my subjects. I’m looking to do:
Biology (predicted an 8 at GCSE)
Chemistry (predicted a 9 at GCSE)
And either: Geography (predicted a 9), Maths (predicted an 8) or Psychology.
If you’ve taken these subjects or have any insights to them, please share!! Did you enjoy them? What did you go on to do?
I’m interested in medicine, dentistry or just anything relatively science-y WITH GOOD CAREER OPTIONS!!
Thank you!

If you are looking at something science related then id possibly take maths.
I did geography and loved it. I found it very interesting.

Original post by Jupiter55

Hi! So, I’m looking to put in my application for Sixth Form soon, with my subjects. I’m looking to do:
Biology (predicted an 8 at GCSE)
Chemistry (predicted a 9 at GCSE)
And either: Geography (predicted a 9), Maths (predicted an 8) or Psychology.
If you’ve taken these subjects or have any insights to them, please share!! Did you enjoy them? What did you go on to do?
I’m interested in medicine, dentistry or just anything relatively science-y WITH GOOD CAREER OPTIONS!!
Thank you!

Hi @Jupiter55,

I did both Biology and Chemistry in A-Levels and grew to love the two subjects. I will admit, it was pretty difficult to adjust to in the beginning because of the depth in material and workload. But A-Levels require a lot of self-study sessions, so after devising a revision schedule that worked for me, I eventually got the hang of it and scored really well in my final exams.

I found the second half of A-Levels much more enjoyable as I preferred the topics in A2 a lot more than AS. AS Chemistry involved a lot more inorganic and calculations, whereas A2 Chemistry was a lot more organic chemistry which I really enjoyed.

I think it's really important to stay consistent throughout your course. Although you perform really well during GCSEs it doesn't necessarily mean that you'll reflect the same results in A-Levels because of how much more intense A-Levels are.

Hope this helps,
Danish
BCU Student Rep

Original post by Jupiter55

Hi! So, I’m looking to put in my application for Sixth Form soon, with my subjects. I’m looking to do:
Biology (predicted an 8 at GCSE)
Chemistry (predicted a 9 at GCSE)
And either: Geography (predicted a 9), Maths (predicted an 8) or Psychology.
If you’ve taken these subjects or have any insights to them, please share!! Did you enjoy them? What did you go on to do?
I’m interested in medicine, dentistry or just anything relatively science-y WITH GOOD CAREER OPTIONS!!
Thank you!

Hey @Jupiter55!

I studied Chemistry at A-Level. Although I went on to study Fine Art and Art History at university, lots of people in my class pursued degrees in chemical engineering, pharmacy and medicine/dentistry - so you've definitely chose the right subjects if you're looking to study something science-related at university! 🙂

I really enjoyed Chemistry, even though it wasn't related to my overall degree plans. I think my best piece of advice for studying it is to make sure you have a good grasp on the GCSE Chemistry content before starting A-Level; A-Level Chemistry is mostly building on the knowledge you should already have from your GCSE studies, and if you've any gaps at this point, it can take a lot longer to fill them in later on.

Best of luck with your A-Level subjects and your GCSEs!
Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 6

student21.

3

Original post by Jupiter55

Hi! So, I’m looking to put in my application for Sixth Form soon, with my subjects. I’m looking to do:
Biology (predicted an 8 at GCSE)
Chemistry (predicted a 9 at GCSE)
And either: Geography (predicted a 9), Maths (predicted an 8) or Psychology.
If you’ve taken these subjects or have any insights to them, please share!! Did you enjoy them? What did you go on to do?
I’m interested in medicine, dentistry or just anything relatively science-y WITH GOOD CAREER OPTIONS!!
Thank you!

I do Biology and Chemistry! Personally, I loved Biology at GCSE (was my favourite science) but despised Chemistry (was my least favourite subject but I took it for A-Level with having the aspiration of forensic science at the time).

My personal insight is that I now no longer enjoy Biology. At first I did but the amount of content and how confusing it gets makes me dislike it. However, it is many of my friends favourite subject (particularly those who took Biology, Chemistry and Maths) and I can’t deny it being interesting. It just gets overwhelming at times. Despite me not enjoying it as a whole, the actual content is eye-opening and (as I mentioned) many of my friends really do enjoy it.

Chemistry, for me personally, is my favourite from the two. I believe that’s because of the mathematical side - it’s maths but easier and I do enjoy problem solving! That’s in terms of Physical. Organic Chemistry is also fairly interesting. My view is that Chemistry is a much more mathematical and problem solving type subject so if you love that you’ll love Chemistry.

All in all though, despite your excellent predictions at GCSE (well done by the way!) you’ll have to put in a LOT of work so do be prepared to do so!

Reply 7

MillieeM2

12

I used to do biology, chemistry, geography. Geography gave me a break from biology/chemistry. It also depends on what your school does and mine did glaciers so it felt less repetitive from GCSEs but if you enjoy geography I would say go for it. I know a lot of people who go into medicine either do maths/psych so you could choose those to keep your options open but most medical schools don’t mind what your third subject is

Reply 8

crazymeowmeow

6

Original post by brnziu

i would 110% recommend taking maths ! i love maths. i struggled first year with a levels bc of undiagnosed and unmedicated adhd but im medicated and soaring. i love maths and chem. by FAR my favourite subjects. biology depends on your teacher rlly imo. SUPER interesting and easy (to grasp) subject, ridiculous mark scheme but not much worse than GCSE - but my lecturers make it boring to sit through class. i love chemistry and maths. can’t get enough. they’re very interactive. very very engaging. biology is great if you’re good at studying by yourself and enjoy writing. since you’re interested in science subjects, maths would be good for it. i took bio, chem, eng lang my first time and i ended up finding myself more stuck because i didn’t take maths, and i couldn’t rlly imagine trying uni without a level maths. i think it depends on your subject though, and yourself.
hope i helped

omg i have a similar story here. i took maths from day 1 in year 12, i did NOT like it at all. i wanted to switch to physics but i stuck with maths. i love it so much now, and i love the interactive nature you described here. maths and chemistry are such great subjects, and i love the fact that maths complements both biology and chemistry in weird ways. i hate biology lessons so much that self-study feels like a chore sometimes (the subject is great, the impression i get of it at school everyday is horrendous). in the middle of my biology study sessions, im like ''this is actually so interesting'' but my lessons are horrid.

Reply 9

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

16

Original post by Jupiter55

Hi! So, I’m looking to put in my application for Sixth Form soon, with my subjects. I’m looking to do:
Biology (predicted an 8 at GCSE)
Chemistry (predicted a 9 at GCSE)
And either: Geography (predicted a 9), Maths (predicted an 8) or Psychology.
If you’ve taken these subjects or have any insights to them, please share!! Did you enjoy them? What did you go on to do?
I’m interested in medicine, dentistry or just anything relatively science-y WITH GOOD CAREER OPTIONS!!
Thank you!

Hi there!

It’s great to hear that you are thinking ahead about your A-Level choices! You are already on the right track by considering your options carefully, especially since you are interested in medicine, dentistry, or other science-related fields with strong career prospects.

First and foremost, I’m highly recommend checking the entry requirements for your dream courses at different universities. Most medical and dentistry schools have specific A-Level subject requirements, and looking ahead now will help ensure you meet them. The best place to start is university website pages one will have a dedicated admissions page for their courses, outlining subject preferences. For example, if you are considering Medicine or Dentistry, most universities will require Chemistry and Biology as essential subjects, and some may prefer or even require Maths or another science. I hope you can consider University of Southampton in your future.

Best wishes
Junfan, university student ambassador

Original post by Jupiter55

Hi! So, I’m looking to put in my application for Sixth Form soon, with my subjects. I’m looking to do:
Biology (predicted an 8 at GCSE)
Chemistry (predicted a 9 at GCSE)
And either: Geography (predicted a 9), Maths (predicted an 8) or Psychology.
If you’ve taken these subjects or have any insights to them, please share!! Did you enjoy them? What did you go on to do?
I’m interested in medicine, dentistry or just anything relatively science-y WITH GOOD CAREER OPTIONS!!
Thank you!

Good Morning!

I did Biology, Chemistry and English Literature at A-Level. I then went on to do a degree in Medical Biology with a placement year in the pharmaceutical industry and I am currently doing a masters degree in Pharmaceutical Science. Regarding career choices, the pharmaceutical industry has many! Ranging from scientists in R&D (research and development), all the way through to regulatory affairs, medical affairs, commercial roles (marketing and sales) and other areas such as law for patents.

If you are interested in Medicine, did you know you can also enter the pharmaceutical industry?!

I really enjoyed A-Level biology and found that it complimented A-Level chemistry. My top tip would be do find out your exam board and the specification used, as these can help guide your revision and learning. Although these A-Levels are more intense, you will develop time management skills as you balance your learning and revision. The practicals are also really enjoyable and I really enjoyed titrations, something of which I developed while at university. These A-Levels provide a very good basis for degrees in the life sciences. Talking to your head of year and your subject leads can help you make more informed decisions about your choices. :smile:

If you have any more questions, please let me know!

Kind regards, Jenifer (Kingston rep).

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