Alevel choices advice
Does anyone recommend CCEA health and social as a fourth level? I would be interested in going into a career in medicine.My other three alevels are biology, physics, and maths.Not decided on any specific career. Career advice would be appreciated.
Reply 1
Original post by Gfdgjvvdduu
Does anyone recommend CCEA health and social as a fourth level? I would be interested in going into a career in medicine.My other three alevels are biology, physics, and maths.Not decided on any specific career. Career advice would be appreciated.
If you might want to study medicine then the best combo (that opens up the vast majority of med schools) is biology and chemistry with a third A level in any subject, even textiles, French or geography etc (so pick a third subject you really enjoy and will get high grades in). Getting 3 A’s is the standard minimum for medicine unless you are contextual in which case a small number of unis will let you get a B or (rarely) two B’s or offer you an additional year (med with a foundation year). Doing a 4th a level will only possibly help an oxbridge type of med school and is irrelevant to virtually all other med schools, so it isn’t worth doing, if it might decrease your chances of 3A’s/A*’s overall.
Perhaps also consider jobs with (potentially!) less stress, better work/life balance, faster career progression and shorter degrees like radiology, orthoptics, podiatry, optometry, physiotherapy, pharmacy, nursing, pharmacology, dental hygiene, speech therapy, dentistry, clinical science (route into pathology), midwifery, psychology etc
I don’t know about their normal A level requirements but a quick google of some ordinary universities entry criteria page will tell you which a level subject/s and grades that will be needed.
Probably far better than your fourth A level would be some regular, long term volunteering (very important in a med application!) with vulnerable people. All healthcare jobs involve working with a vast variety of people of different ages, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds to you. It also allows you to develop skills needed such as commitment, communication, empathy etc. Places like a care home, disability centre, children’s activities, hospice would all be good. Long term shows commitment, even if it’s just an hour or two a week (a lot less time than an extra a level would take!)
Taking on leadership roles at school or in your sports club/hobbies develops a sense of teamwork and dealing with stressful situations. It also has the added bonus of being stuff you might actually enjoy and therefore keeps your life balanced! All of these skills or traits you may have to ‘evidence’ in your personal statement questions on your ucas form and at interview (if your chosen uni course requires one) Plus you will also be better prepared and more resilient for actually working in a demanding environment like healthcare.
Hope some of that might be useful. Speak to your careers advisor if you have one, talk to anyone you know (friends parents etc) that works in healthcare to find out more about their job/what they know about jobs you are considering and do a good bit of googling. Good luck
Entry requirements foreach Medical School - Entry requirements | Medical Schools Council
Taking 4 subjects gives you no advantage at all - and AAA will always look better than ABBB.
Useful, free Mooc to do over the summer - Applying for Medical School - Online Course - FutureLearn
Taking 4 subjects gives you no advantage at all - and AAA will always look better than ABBB.
Useful, free Mooc to do over the summer - Applying for Medical School - Online Course - FutureLearn
Reply 3
Original post by McGinger
Entry requirements foreach Medical School - Entry requirements | Medical Schools Council
Taking 4 subjects gives you no advantage at all - and AAA will always look better than ABBB.
Useful, free Mooc to do over the summer - Applying for Medical School - Online Course - FutureLearn
Taking 4 subjects gives you no advantage at all - and AAA will always look better than ABBB.
Useful, free Mooc to do over the summer - Applying for Medical School - Online Course - FutureLearn
As far as I aware in need 3 A grades at a2 and 1 A grade at AS
Original post by Gfdgjvvdduu
As far as I aware in need 3 A grades at a2 and 1 A grade at AS
For Medicine, this is total nonsense - for starters, not all areas of the UK actually do AS levels anymore, and no Uni, for any subject, requires or prefers more than 3 A levels.
Reply 5
Original post by McGinger
For Medicine, this is total nonsense - for starters, not all areas of the UK actually do AS levels anymore, and no Uni, for any subject, requires or prefers more than 3 A levels.
I'm in northern ireland, so the regulations might be slightly different
Reply 6
Original post by Gfdgjvvdduu
Does anyone recommend CCEA health and social as a fourth level? I would be interested in going into a career in medicine.My other three alevels are biology, physics, and maths.Not decided on any specific career. Career advice would be appreciated.
You need chemistry A level for medicine tho (unless you mean a different medical related degree?)
Reply 7
Original post by pagan-scimitar
You need chemistry A level for medicine tho (unless you mean a different medical related degree?)
Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I meant chemistry not physic. X
Reply 8
Original post by Gfdgjvvdduu
Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I meant chemistry not physic. X
In that case just forget about the 4th a level. Bio, chem, maths is the most common combination for medicine and can get you into any medical school
Reply 9
Original post by pagan-scimitar
In that case just forget about the 4th a level. Bio, chem, maths is the most common combination for medicine and can get you into any medical school
Thanks that's helpful x
Original post by Gfdgjvvdduu
I'm in northern ireland, so the regulations might be slightly different
Please provide a link to the entry requirements of any UK Med School that requires 3 A levels plus an AS level.
"OR A*AA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology/Human Biology."
so the AS is not essential, or even preferred.
Reply 13
Original post by McGinger
"OR A*AA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology/Human Biology."
so the AS is not essential, or even preferred.
so the AS is not essential, or even preferred.
But to guarantee getting in, would I not be better to have thar A at as incase I didn't get an A*.
Original post by Gfdgjvvdduu
But to guarantee getting in, would I not be better to have thar A at as incase I didn't get an A*.
That's entirely up to you.
The point is that an extra AS is not essential for Medicine as you claimed in response to an earlier post.
Original post by Gfdgjvvdduu
Does anyone recommend CCEA health and social as a fourth level? I would be interested in going into a career in medicine.My other three alevels are biology, physics, and maths.Not decided on any specific career. Career advice would be appreciated.
If you want to go into medicine, then chemistry would be a good option.
Reply 16
Original post by Gfdgjvvdduu
Does anyone recommend CCEA health and social as a fourth level? I would be interested in going into a career in medicine.My other three alevels are biology, physics, and maths.Not decided on any specific career. Career advice would be appreciated.
Think about chemistry or further maths as a fourth A level, staying with core subjects keeps your options open
Reply 17
Original post by Gfdgjvvdduu
Does anyone recommend CCEA health and social as a fourth level? I would be interested in going into a career in medicine.My other three alevels are biology, physics, and maths.Not decided on any specific career. Career advice would be appreciated.
Hi there!
For a degree in Medicine, you would need mainly Biology and Chemistry. I would say it is best to pick A-Levels that open up as many degrees as possible. Typically, Maths, Biology and Chemistry are chosen. I did Medical Biology as my undergraduate degree and did Biology, Chemistry and English Literature as my A-Levels. I then went on to pursue a career in the Pharmaceutical Industry. Choosing the correct A-Level combination can open lots of doors!
Hope this helps!
Kind regards, Jenifer (Kingston uni rep)
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