Regretting A level choices, feels like I’ve ruined my life

Hi all, I’d like some advice on my situation right now because not only is my mental health really bad right now, but I also feel very uneducated to make the right decision about my future. This will definitely be really long and I appreciate anyone who would take the time to read this fully and respond.
So I’m currently an A level student in year 12, studying biology, psychology, history and an EPQ. This starts back in year 11, when I made my A level choices. I did not expect to get anything more than 7s. To my surprise, I got all 9s and 2 8s, with the 2 8s being in maths and food tech. I was beyond shocked and through these GCSE’s, I could do any career path. Standard African parents obviously wanted me to choose medicine, but I strayed away, simply because my brother studies at ARU now and hates it. I also just wanted to stray away from the norm. Therefore, set on doing something like law, I chose those biology psychology and history, doing biology instead of a humanities subject just in case I wanted to keep my doors open to stem, and also because I love biology. Now at the time this decision seemed smart because maths and chemistry were not subjects I enjoyed until last few months of gcses when I warmed up to them. I was getting 5s in them 3-4 months before the exam. So I start my a levels in September without choosing another core science. I research more into law and realise I am not suited for this career. I’m a very soft spoken introverted person, who honestly just prefers having time to myself, so this wouldn’t suit me at all. Although I enjoy essays and reading it’s never defeated my true underlying passion, biology. Every single time Im learning about biology im beyond fascinated. I truly have no complaints. This pairs with my second interest in psychology. History was always something i enjoyed at gcse but I have disliked it so far at a level, simply because I don’t require the skills to excel at a level like I did at GSCE. I let these feelings ruminate up into now, more than halfway into year 12, where the choice of my undergraduate degree cannot be put off for any longer. Paired with my personality traits of being introverted, and also not wanting to do extensive long training, a degree like pharmacy is my best option. I am not a money chaser but growing up in a home where money has always been a problem makes it equally as important as enjoying my degree. Like I said before I did used to hate chemistry but I do enjoy science in general and did begin to like it, plus did well in it (9). Clearly my a levels were a horrible choice. I’ve spoken to my teachers and they won’t let me switch at this late stage. I am not going to add more pressure by self studying outside of school as this would be expensive and time consuming. It sees like I’ve ruined my future. I’ve become extremely depressed due to this and I’m afraid to tell anyone in my family as they will just say I told you so. In my head these negative thoughts have spiraled to the point where I feel like the future has no hope and I should just give up on everything now. I am also quite a perfectionist so going to a Russel group uni to me is like a standard, especially as I’m predicted 3A*. None of these accept pharmacy without chemistry a level. I also don’t want to do a gap year or anything like that, which I know closes off this door. Honestly I just need advice. I don’t even want to get into the thoughts I’m having honestly my mental health is at an all time low. I dont even know what I’m asking for at this point because I’ve been researching for hours and I simply can’t find any more routes that fit all my needs. Any help is appreciated and thanks for taking the time to read this wow it’s so long.
Extra context that I seemed to have missed out: yes I’m predicted A* in history, no I’m not good at history. I’m extremely behind, the main topic we do is confusing to remember and I don’t even understand it, the prediction has come from the assessments we’ve done, all of which we knew the question beforehand and could prepare accordingly. I know myself and I know I’m not good at it. I’m still stuck on the gcse level skill and I cannot bring myself to even try to improve due to these negative thoughts about my career path and just depression in general. I don’t know what you call it but it’s like revising it just makes me feel even more depressed so I literally just avoid it, even though with revision I may be better at it. You see where the problem lies now. Also no I’m not behind in biology and psychology I’m genuinely good at them, I’m probably even ahead. And finally, yes I’ve considered a psychology degree, even neuroscience, and have been put off by seeing the pay. Like I said I want a stable career, I’ve always lacked money growing up so I need to break away from this.

Hi all, I’d like some advice on my situation right now because not only is my mental health really bad right now, but I also feel very uneducated to make the right decision about my future. This will definitely be really long and I appreciate anyone who would take the time to read this fully and respond.
So I’m currently an A level student in year 12, studying biology, psychology, history and an EPQ. This starts back in year 11, when I made my A level choices. I did not expect to get anything more than 7s. To my surprise, I got all 9s and 2 8s, with the 2 8s being in maths and food tech. I was beyond shocked and through these GCSE’s, I could do any career path. Standard African parents obviously wanted me to choose medicine, but I strayed away, simply because my brother studies at ARU now and hates it. I also just wanted to stray away from the norm. Therefore, set on doing something like law, I chose those biology psychology and history, doing biology instead of a humanities subject just in case I wanted to keep my doors open to stem, and also because I love biology. Now at the time this decision seemed smart because maths and chemistry were not subjects I enjoyed until last few months of gcses when I warmed up to them. I was getting 5s in them 3-4 months before the exam. So I start my a levels in September without choosing another core science. I research more into law and realise I am not suited for this career. I’m a very soft spoken introverted person, who honestly just prefers having time to myself, so this wouldn’t suit me at all. Although I enjoy essays and reading it’s never defeated my true underlying passion, biology. Every single time Im learning about biology im beyond fascinated. I truly have no complaints. This pairs with my second interest in psychology. History was always something i enjoyed at gcse but I have disliked it so far at a level, simply because I don’t require the skills to excel at a level like I did at GSCE. I let these feelings ruminate up into now, more than halfway into year 12, where the choice of my undergraduate degree cannot be put off for any longer. Paired with my personality traits of being introverted, and also not wanting to do extensive long training, a degree like pharmacy is my best option. I am not a money chaser but growing up in a home where money has always been a problem makes it equally as important as enjoying my degree. Like I said before I did used to hate chemistry but I do enjoy science in general and did begin to like it, plus did well in it (9). Clearly my a levels were a horrible choice. I’ve spoken to my teachers and they won’t let me switch at this late stage. I am not going to add more pressure by self studying outside of school as this would be expensive and time consuming. It sees like I’ve ruined my future. I’ve become extremely depressed due to this and I’m afraid to tell anyone in my family as they will just say I told you so. In my head these negative thoughts have spiraled to the point where I feel like the future has no hope and I should just give up on everything now. I am also quite a perfectionist so going to a Russel group uni to me is like a standard, especially as I’m predicted 3A*. None of these accept pharmacy without chemistry a level. I also don’t want to do a gap year or anything like that, which I know closes off this door. Honestly I just need advice. I don’t even want to get into the thoughts I’m having honestly my mental health is at an all time low. I dont even know what I’m asking for at this point because I’ve been researching for hours and I simply can’t find any more routes that fit all my needs. Any help is appreciated and thanks for taking the time to read this wow it’s so long.
Extra context that I seemed to have missed out: yes I’m predicted A* in history, no I’m not good at history. I’m extremely behind, the main topic we do is confusing to remember and I don’t even understand it, the prediction has come from the assessments we’ve done, all of which we knew the question beforehand and could prepare accordingly. I know myself and I know I’m not good at it. I’m still stuck on the gcse level skill and I cannot bring myself to even try to improve due to these negative thoughts about my career path and just depression in general. I don’t know what you call it but it’s like revising it just makes me feel even more depressed so I literally just avoid it, even though with revision I may be better at it. You see where the problem lies now. Also no I’m not behind in biology and psychology I’m genuinely good at them, I’m probably even ahead. And finally, yes I’ve considered a psychology degree, even neuroscience, and have been put off by seeing the pay. Like I said I want a stable career, I’ve always lacked money growing up so I need to break away from this.

Hi all, I’d like some advice on my situation right now because not only is my mental health really bad right now, but I also feel very uneducated to make the right decision about my future. This will definitely be really long and I appreciate anyone who would take the time to read this fully and respond.
So I’m currently an A level student in year 12, studying biology, psychology, history and an EPQ. This starts back in year 11, when I made my A level choices. I did not expect to get anything more than 7s. To my surprise, I got all 9s and 2 8s, with the 2 8s being in maths and food tech. I was beyond shocked and through these GCSE’s, I could do any career path. Standard African parents obviously wanted me to choose medicine, but I strayed away, simply because my brother studies at ARU now and hates it. I also just wanted to stray away from the norm. Therefore, set on doing something like law, I chose those biology psychology and history, doing biology instead of a humanities subject just in case I wanted to keep my doors open to stem, and also because I love biology. Now at the time this decision seemed smart because maths and chemistry were not subjects I enjoyed until last few months of gcses when I warmed up to them. I was getting 5s in them 3-4 months before the exam. So I start my a levels in September without choosing another core science. I research more into law and realise I am not suited for this career. I’m a very soft spoken introverted person, who honestly just prefers having time to myself, so this wouldn’t suit me at all. Although I enjoy essays and reading it’s never defeated my true underlying passion, biology. Every single time Im learning about biology im beyond fascinated. I truly have no complaints. This pairs with my second interest in psychology. History was always something i enjoyed at gcse but I have disliked it so far at a level, simply because I don’t require the skills to excel at a level like I did at GSCE. I let these feelings ruminate up into now, more than halfway into year 12, where the choice of my undergraduate degree cannot be put off for any longer. Paired with my personality traits of being introverted, and also not wanting to do extensive long training, a degree like pharmacy is my best option. I am not a money chaser but growing up in a home where money has always been a problem makes it equally as important as enjoying my degree. Like I said before I did used to hate chemistry but I do enjoy science in general and did begin to like it, plus did well in it (9). Clearly my a levels were a horrible choice. I’ve spoken to my teachers and they won’t let me switch at this late stage. I am not going to add more pressure by self studying outside of school as this would be expensive and time consuming. It sees like I’ve ruined my future. I’ve become extremely depressed due to this and I’m afraid to tell anyone in my family as they will just say I told you so. In my head these negative thoughts have spiraled to the point where I feel like the future has no hope and I should just give up on everything now. I am also quite a perfectionist so going to a Russel group uni to me is like a standard, especially as I’m predicted 3A*. None of these accept pharmacy without chemistry a level. I also don’t want to do a gap year or anything like that, which I know closes off this door. Honestly I just need advice. I don’t even want to get into the thoughts I’m having honestly my mental health is at an all time low. I dont even know what I’m asking for at this point because I’ve been researching for hours and I simply can’t find any more routes that fit all my needs. Any help is appreciated and thanks for taking the time to read this wow it’s so long.
Extra context that I seemed to have missed out: yes I’m predicted A* in history, no I’m not good at history. I’m extremely behind, the main topic we do is confusing to remember and I don’t even understand it, the prediction has come from the assessments we’ve done, all of which we knew the question beforehand and could prepare accordingly. I know myself and I know I’m not good at it. I’m still stuck on the gcse level skill and I cannot bring myself to even try to improve due to these negative thoughts about my career path and just depression in general. I don’t know what you call it but it’s like revising it just makes me feel even more depressed so I literally just avoid it, even though with revision I may be better at it. You see where the problem lies now. Also no I’m not behind in biology and psychology I’m genuinely good at them, I’m probably even ahead. And finally, yes I’ve considered a psychology degree, even neuroscience, and have been put off by seeing the pay. Like I said I want a stable career, I’ve always lacked money growing up so I need to break away from this.

If you haven’t done chemistry, you may be eligible for foundation course for one year then pharmacy
Medicine at Newcastle doesn’t specify any particular a levels and you may be eligible for partners which would bring grades down to abb

hope you're feeling okay because it sounds like you are really overwhelmed by everything ❤️ you are doing yourself a disservice by adding more pressure on yourself on top of that to have it all figured out. Nobody has everything figured out at this stage.
Calmly evaluate what you want to acc study at University, bc it is highly unlikely that you are going to have a linear career path decided for you right now. U can definitely consider whether you maybe want to work in a healthcare related field, or maybe finance/law/tech/engineering?? (there's even smth called HealthTech idk). But you need to keep that at the back of your mind and focus on ur alevels. find a course and University suited to you. Research this, visit open days -you have time.
Someone mentioned foundation years for Pharmacy and yeah it might not be the most appealing option to you, but if you genuinely feel passionate about studying it, then that's honestly such a good option. Foundation years are for people who need to prepare a bit more before Y1 of Uni and theres a reason why most unis have a Chem requirement for their pharmacy course. just be weary bc if you didn't like Chemistry as a subject, how would u find Pharmacy? surely thats very chem heavy and ur foundation year would be bridging that gap asw so its more chem again. If u enjoy science in general, look at other courses u might be interested in -there's genuinely so many. best of luck and hope u feel better

Is pharmacy actually your passion? With your interests in biology and psych wouldnt something like neurobiology be far more up your street?
I also love biology and am a very introverted person who loves neurobiology type stuff, i looked at degrees in biology, biological sciences, zoology and ecology. Biology degrees have so much to offer outside of healthcare- imo you should look into some other bio based options on a site like uniguide or unifrog 🙂

I’ve done more research into GEM, what’s the benefit of it? Is it much harder than normal medicine? Also, is it much longer in terms of years of education. Thanks for the advice

If I’m being completely honest my interest in pharmacy is mainly money driven, I want a stable job. But it’s not like I’m completely disinterested in chemistry/pharmacy I do quite like studying drugs, was one of my favourite topics in gcse biology (the stuff about clinical trials and stuff) however I can’t do a biology degree without a second science. Thanks for the advice though I appreciate your time!

Hi, I'm really sorry you're feeling this overwhelmed, nothing you've written suggests you've "ruined" your future. It sounds like burnout + perfectionism +fear not failure.
Pathways you can think of that don't incl a gap year:
Biomedical science/biological sciences/pharmacology, may lead to industry roles, graduate-entry pharmacy
Avoiding history, spiraling thoughts, "future has no hope" these are depression signals, not evidence, you're failing. Please talk to support groups, tutors, GP.
Trenyce (Kingston rep)

Your life is not over at any stage if you happen to have:

OP you wrote ´´I let these feelings ruminate up into now, more than halfway into year 12, where the choice of my undergraduate degree cannot be put off for any longer“…. I really want you to understand that you do NOT need to have all your life decisions figured out now! Many of us have ended up in totally different careers to those we thought we were aiming for in year 12 and many young people don’t know what career they are aiming for at all , often because they don’t understand the range of options they can go for. You do NOT need to choose now…if nothing feels certain before year 13, it’s far better to take a gap year and get some work/ life experience before making a decision. Uni is expensive, it’s better to think and make an informed choice …you have potentially 40 plus working years ahead of you so a year or 2 out to think doesn’t hurt.

If I’m being completely honest my interest in pharmacy is mainly money driven, I want a stable job. But it’s not like I’m completely disinterested in chemistry/pharmacy I do quite like studying drugs, was one of my favourite topics in gcse biology (the stuff about clinical trials and stuff) however I can’t do a biology degree without a second science. Thanks for the advice though I appreciate your time!

Probably true but my brain isn’t comprehending this right now, just a spiral of negative thoughts saying the opposite of this. Thanks for the reminder though, I appreciate you so much