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About AS/A levels

Ok so basically i am in year 11 and am thinking about my alevels and i have a deadline to make my final decisions by June
I am DEFINITELY sure that i want to do biology chemistry and maths becasue i loe them ( and also cause i wanna study medicine in uni)
BUT ... my school/sixth form requires a 4th subject because we actually do ACTUAL AS level examinations and then in year 13, i can drop the 4th subject.
I am debating whether i should do business, or physics - bearing in mind that i have not taken business as a gcse subject
if anyone has any other options i should try, please let me know but psychology and sociology are NOT ones i want to do.
Thank you so much

Reply 1

I also did Biology Chem and Maths for A Levels and there's a lot of ways you could go about it. Considering it's an AS, you could pick a subject you're not so concerned about underperforming in, and if you were interested in Business but concerned about not doing well, that could be a good psychological buffer for you.
4 A Levels is a lot to juggle as well (I ended up dropping my 4th, even though I enjoyed it the most), so it's something else to consider - especially if you're aiming for a competitive course like medicine. All my classmates going into medicine didn't take 4 A Levels (though it wasn't mandated by my sixth form) but they also had things like medicine-specific tests to prep for, and revision, which ate up a lot of their time.
Personally, I don't regret picking English A Level because I was interested in stories, and found it to be a refreshing break from what I considered my 'main A Levels' (and I didn't even apply for medicine in the end).
It's a lot, but I hope it's useful. Good luck!

Reply 2

Original post
by beetlebeau
I also did Biology Chem and Maths for A Levels and there's a lot of ways you could go about it. Considering it's an AS, you could pick a subject you're not so concerned about underperforming in, and if you were interested in Business but concerned about not doing well, that could be a good psychological buffer for you.
4 A Levels is a lot to juggle as well (I ended up dropping my 4th, even though I enjoyed it the most), so it's something else to consider - especially if you're aiming for a competitive course like medicine. All my classmates going into medicine didn't take 4 A Levels (though it wasn't mandated by my sixth form) but they also had things like medicine-specific tests to prep for, and revision, which ate up a lot of their time.
Personally, I don't regret picking English A Level because I was interested in stories, and found it to be a refreshing break from what I considered my 'main A Levels' (and I didn't even apply for medicine in the end).
It's a lot, but I hope it's useful. Good luck!

Thank you so much. I need more time to think, but like i'm so clueless.

Reply 3

Original post
by adorable-doc
Ok so basically i am in year 11 and am thinking about my alevels and i have a deadline to make my final decisions by June
I am DEFINITELY sure that i want to do biology chemistry and maths becasue i loe them ( and also cause i wanna study medicine in uni)
BUT ... my school/sixth form requires a 4th subject because we actually do ACTUAL AS level examinations and then in year 13, i can drop the 4th subject.
I am debating whether i should do business, or physics - bearing in mind that i have not taken business as a gcse subject
if anyone has any other options i should try, please let me know but psychology and sociology are NOT ones i want to do.
Thank you so much

The "ideal" choices for unis and options are Physics and Further Maths, but you already have 3 maths/science A-Levels, which is enough. I'd only take those two (very difficult) subjects if you really like the subject.

Business is often considered a "vocational" A-Level and is disregarded by top universities, but if you have 3 strong A-Levels anyway, it's not a major problem. Economics is preferable if you're interested in that. In general just pick what you like the most, as long as you don't drop Maths, Bio, or Chem, you're fine. :smile:

Reply 4

Original post
by Phelena
The "ideal" choices for unis and options are Physics and Further Maths, but you already have 3 maths/science A-Levels, which is enough. I'd only take those two (very difficult) subjects if you really like the subject.
Business is often considered a "vocational" A-Level and is disregarded by top universities, but if you have 3 strong A-Levels anyway, it's not a major problem. Economics is preferable if you're interested in that. In general just pick what you like the most, as long as you don't drop Maths, Bio, or Chem, you're fine. :smile:

Thank you so much, i didn't know that.

Reply 5

Original post
by adorable-doc
Ok so basically i am in year 11 and am thinking about my alevels and i have a deadline to make my final decisions by June
I am DEFINITELY sure that i want to do biology chemistry and maths becasue i loe them ( and also cause i wanna study medicine in uni)
BUT ... my school/sixth form requires a 4th subject because we actually do ACTUAL AS level examinations and then in year 13, i can drop the 4th subject.
I am debating whether i should do business, or physics - bearing in mind that i have not taken business as a gcse subject
if anyone has any other options i should try, please let me know but psychology and sociology are NOT ones i want to do.
Thank you so much

med unis pretty much never look at as levels and will focus on ur bio chem maths a level grades so it doesnt really matter which one you take as a 4th - although id recommend speaking to the head of sixth form to see if they can allow u to only take the three as the fourth will just be a waste of time and will onyl negatively impact your application by taking up time/ stressing you out
(edited 11 months ago)

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