alevel options!!

hi, i’m currently in year11, i’m still unsure what i want to do but i know it’s between something medical or financial.

I’ve chosen Economics, Maths and Biology for my alevels, but i've been seeing the entry requirements med school, some of the unis i’d like to attend with chemistry as a requirement. Do i have to change my options to get into medschool?

(looking at russell group unis)

Reply 1

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

For medicine, the subjects which will give you the most options of unis will be biology and chemistry. Taking one will mean you still have options but not so many.
For finance degrees, the subjects which unis will require or recommend are maths and further maths (especially for top unis).
Your options currently would mean you’d have some options in both fields but you would be limited by the lack of chem in med and for some top unis the lack of fm for finance.
My advice would be to explore your interests once your exams are over and see what suits you. I was undecided between whether i was more interested in astrophysics or zoology type degrees during year 11 but i explored both fields through documentaries, online courses etc and this clarified to me that i would like to go toward the zoology side of things so i switched my original idea of taking double maths, physics and biology to maths, biology and im also thinking environmental science and epq which ill start next year.
As i take maths and biology, id be happy to answer questions about those if you need 🙂

Reply 2

bramblebee

Original post by sanvii

hi, i’m currently in year11, i’m still unsure what i want to do but i know it’s between something medical or financial.
I’ve chosen Economics, Maths and Biology for my alevels, but i've been seeing the entry requirements med school, some of the unis i’d like to attend with chemistry as a requirement. Do i have to change my options to get into medschool?
(looking at russell group unis)

I would say for medicine my friends found chemistry to be pretty much essential. Take what interests you but without chem you might be limited for medicine. I don't know enough about finance but I'm assuming maths is essential- don't think economics is though

Reply 3

pagan-scimitar

Original post by sanvii

hi, i’m currently in year11, i’m still unsure what i want to do but i know it’s between something medical or financial.
I’ve chosen Economics, Maths and Biology for my alevels, but i've been seeing the entry requirements med school, some of the unis i’d like to attend with chemistry as a requirement. Do i have to change my options to get into medschool?
(looking at russell group unis)

Swap econ to chemistry

Reply 4

pspspsp

Original post by sanvii

hi, i’m currently in year11, i’m still unsure what i want to do but i know it’s between something medical or financial.
I’ve chosen Economics, Maths and Biology for my alevels, but i've been seeing the entry requirements med school, some of the unis i’d like to attend with chemistry as a requirement. Do i have to change my options to get into medschool?
(looking at russell group unis)

chem = basically essential for med/dent, you are mroe likely to find smth in healthcare without bio tho so maybe chem econ maths to keep ur options open

Reply 5

McGinger

For the majority of Med Schools you need two science A levels, including Chemistry.
2025 entry requirements for each Uni - Entry requirements | Medical Schools Council

There are plenty of other careers in healthcare that are worth considering, especially Allied Health roles - Roles in the allied health professions | Health Careers

Reply 6

sanvii

Hi,
thank you for your advice everyone! i’ve been researching from this and come to the conclusion that i’m going to switch biology to chemistry as the unis i was interested in for finance don’t require fm, and all the med schools i was interested in are prioritising chemistry over biology

thank you so much for your advice everyone

Reply 7

jasmineva3128

Taking biology and chemistry is essential for medicine. Maths is very important for both medicine and finance, so it's a very good idea to take that too. From there, you could take economics as a fourth a-level because it would look good if you decide on finance, but you'll be okay if you don't take it.

Reply 8

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

Original post by sanvii

hi, i’m currently in year11, i’m still unsure what i want to do but i know it’s between something medical or financial.
I’ve chosen Economics, Maths and Biology for my alevels, but i've been seeing the entry requirements med school, some of the unis i’d like to attend with chemistry as a requirement. Do i have to change my options to get into medschool?
(looking at russell group unis)

Taking chemistry would deffo be useful for medicine. You might be limited without it.
Double check the subject requirements for finance. Id imagine maths would be essential. Im not sure what else though without looking.

Reply 9

Kingston Jenifer

Official Rep

Original post by sanvii

hi, i’m currently in year11, i’m still unsure what i want to do but i know it’s between something medical or financial.
I’ve chosen Economics, Maths and Biology for my alevels, but i've been seeing the entry requirements med school, some of the unis i’d like to attend with chemistry as a requirement. Do i have to change my options to get into medschool?
(looking at russell group unis)

Hi there!

I have a degree in Medical Biology and I did chemistry, english literature and biology for my A-Levels. I found that taking chemistry helped me so much in my degree, and I can imagine so for medicine. This is because a chemistry A-Level often compliments topics in your degree. Not taking it, especially for medicine, may put you at a disadvantage in my opinion.

A typical A-Level combination is usually chemistry, biology and maths for medicine.

However, you are stuck between medical or financial - have you considered combining your interests?

I did not like lab work at all and didn't want to be doing a typical lab role, so I did a placement year (a year integrated into your course where you work full time for a year) in a pharmaceutical company. This opened my eyes to a world beyond the lab and led me to do a masters in pharmaceutical science.

The pharmaceutical industry offers lots of roles including commercial roles (sales, marketing, and health and value which focuses more on the financial side).

It might be a potential pathway to consider!

Happy to answer any additional questions :smile: