Maths or Spanish A level?

4

I'm currently in year 11, and have to submit my A level options soon, and don't know whether to choose maths or spanish for a level. I want to study veterinary medicine (or maybe medicine - I need to do work experience first), and so already have chosen Bio and Chem. I'm predicted a 9 in both maths and spanish, but spanish is my favourite at the moment. However, I have been told that spanish a level is very very hard, and to get an A/A* (which I need to study any type of medicine) is therefore difficult. Maths on the other hand is much more logical, and whilst I enjoy it, I'm worried Biology, Chemistry and Maths will look generic, whereas Spanish may stand out to unis and also provide some variety. I have no idea whether this is actually the case (the standing out part).
Anyone that has any advice (in particular current/past Spanish a level students - AQA or Maths - Edexcel) would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! Jenna :smile:

Reply 1

Itssuzduh

11

Hey Jenna, I’m in 10th but I think u should do Spanish!! I think you should do what u think is a good idea I would say Spanish because you like it I wish you luck in the future!! You got this! ☺️

Reply 2

solidGiraffe69

2

Ji

Reply 3

Bear26

8

Original post

by Jenna :)

I'm currently in year 11, and have to submit my A level options soon, and don't know whether to choose maths or spanish for a level. I want to study veterinary medicine (or maybe medicine - I need to do work experience first), and so already have chosen Bio and Chem. I'm predicted a 9 in both maths and spanish, but spanish is my favourite at the moment. However, I have been told that spanish a level is very very hard, and to get an A/A* (which I need to study any type of medicine) is therefore difficult. Maths on the other hand is much more logical, and whilst I enjoy it, I'm worried Biology, Chemistry and Maths will look generic, whereas Spanish may stand out to unis and also provide some variety. I have no idea whether this is actually the case (the standing out part).
Anyone that has any advice (in particular current/past Spanish a level students - AQA or Maths - Edexcel) would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks! Jenna :smile:

I wouldn’t say it matters if your A Levels look typical for a medicine application (I doubt doing Spanish would make you stand out from other candidates moreso than Maths). The key is achieving a high grade! Do whichever one you enjoy more (and check entry requirements for your unis of interest).

Reply 4

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

20

Original post

by Jenna :)

I'm currently in year 11, and have to submit my A level options soon, and don't know whether to choose maths or spanish for a level. I want to study veterinary medicine (or maybe medicine - I need to do work experience first), and so already have chosen Bio and Chem. I'm predicted a 9 in both maths and spanish, but spanish is my favourite at the moment. However, I have been told that spanish a level is very very hard, and to get an A/A* (which I need to study any type of medicine) is therefore difficult. Maths on the other hand is much more logical, and whilst I enjoy it, I'm worried Biology, Chemistry and Maths will look generic, whereas Spanish may stand out to unis and also provide some variety. I have no idea whether this is actually the case (the standing out part).
Anyone that has any advice (in particular current/past Spanish a level students - AQA or Maths - Edexcel) would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks! Jenna :smile:

Unis will not care if your subject combo is generic or not.
Maths is only needed by Cambridge for medicine, i dont know about vet med so check requirements. If maths typically isnt required then choose whichever you prefer and personally are stronger in, different people have different skill sets so will find different subjects tricky.
I do maths and bio btw so lmk if you have any questions 🙂

Reply 5

elephe21

3

Original post

by Jenna :)

I'm currently in year 11, and have to submit my A level options soon, and don't know whether to choose maths or spanish for a level. I want to study veterinary medicine (or maybe medicine - I need to do work experience first), and so already have chosen Bio and Chem. I'm predicted a 9 in both maths and spanish, but spanish is my favourite at the moment. However, I have been told that spanish a level is very very hard, and to get an A/A* (which I need to study any type of medicine) is therefore difficult. Maths on the other hand is much more logical, and whilst I enjoy it, I'm worried Biology, Chemistry and Maths will look generic, whereas Spanish may stand out to unis and also provide some variety. I have no idea whether this is actually the case (the standing out part).
Anyone that has any advice (in particular current/past Spanish a level students - AQA or Maths - Edexcel) would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks! Jenna :smile:

omg i dont have any great advice but these are exactly the two a levels i cant decide between and i want to go into vet med!!!!

Reply 6

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

19

Original post

by Jenna :)

I'm currently in year 11, and have to submit my A level options soon, and don't know whether to choose maths or spanish for a level. I want to study veterinary medicine (or maybe medicine - I need to do work experience first), and so already have chosen Bio and Chem. I'm predicted a 9 in both maths and spanish, but spanish is my favourite at the moment. However, I have been told that spanish a level is very very hard, and to get an A/A* (which I need to study any type of medicine) is therefore difficult. Maths on the other hand is much more logical, and whilst I enjoy it, I'm worried Biology, Chemistry and Maths will look generic, whereas Spanish may stand out to unis and also provide some variety. I have no idea whether this is actually the case (the standing out part).
Anyone that has any advice (in particular current/past Spanish a level students - AQA or Maths - Edexcel) would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks! Jenna :smile:

Hi Jenna,

Its fully dependent on what you can do and are capable of. The jump in content from GCSE to A levels is pretty big, and sinceit'ss lesthanen 2 years, the course accelerates quickly. Maths is a very hard subject, but quite good as it's fully logic-based, while Spanish is different, with it being a language. I would say Spanish could help you in the future. Universities offer opportunities to study abroad or do a placement year abroad. Having Spanish as a language would be extremely useful if you were to treat Spanish patients, as there are around 200,000 people in the UK who speak Spanish. Maths is also really beneficial as it can set you up for an alternative career pathway if you decide to change and pursue something technical/theoretical.

Being bilingual will help you in your current career path, but maths can set you up for an alternative in case or if you go into chemical engineering with biology, chemistry, and maths as the combo

I wish you the best and hope this helped!

anthony
student rep

Reply 7

Jenna :)

OP

4

Original post

by elephe21

omg i dont have any great advice but these are exactly the two a levels i cant decide between and i want to go into vet med!!!!

omg twin

Reply 8

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

19

Original post

by Jenna :)

I'm currently in year 11, and have to submit my A level options soon, and don't know whether to choose maths or spanish for a level. I want to study veterinary medicine (or maybe medicine - I need to do work experience first), and so already have chosen Bio and Chem. I'm predicted a 9 in both maths and spanish, but spanish is my favourite at the moment. However, I have been told that spanish a level is very very hard, and to get an A/A* (which I need to study any type of medicine) is therefore difficult. Maths on the other hand is much more logical, and whilst I enjoy it, I'm worried Biology, Chemistry and Maths will look generic, whereas Spanish may stand out to unis and also provide some variety. I have no idea whether this is actually the case (the standing out part).
Anyone that has any advice (in particular current/past Spanish a level students - AQA or Maths - Edexcel) would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks! Jenna :smile:

Could you not start with the 4 to see which of the 2 you like best. Then drop the one you like the least.

Reply 9

Honoria25

2

My advice would be that if you can start with all four! Thats what I did except I did French instead of Spanish along with Bio, Chem, and Maths. You can drop one straight away if the workload is too much plus it gives you a safety net if one subject isnt what you expect. For reference I am in Year 12 and just dropped maths at the start of March, so kept 4 subjects for around 6 months. I liked all 4 subjects and it was more to do with the teaching in the maths department.
If you love languages definitely try it for A-level. I think its a love it or hate it subject but in my opinion it balances bio and chem out super well and is a very rewarding subject for me!

Reply 10

Honoria25

2

Original post

by Honoria25

My advice would be that if you can start with all four! Thats what I did except I did French instead of Spanish along with Bio, Chem, and Maths. You can drop one straight away if the workload is too much plus it gives you a safety net if one subject isnt what you expect. For reference I am in Year 12 and just dropped maths at the start of March, so kept 4 subjects for around 6 months. I liked all 4 subjects and it was more to do with the teaching in the maths department.
If you love languages definitely try it for A-level. I think its a love it or hate it subject but in my opinion it balances bio and chem out super well and is a very rewarding subject for me!

Also I am applying for Vet Med in October so dont think you cant do a language and apply for this type of course! Languages are very respected and I know of people who have gone on to do Medicine in London with Bio, Chem, and French!!

Reply 11

jelllyfiiish

Life & Style Forum Helper

17

Definitely agree with this! This option allows you to get a “taster” for both subjects before making a final decision.

Original post

by Honoria25

My advice would be that if you can start with all four! Thats what I did except I did French instead of Spanish along with Bio, Chem, and Maths. You can drop one straight away if the workload is too much plus it gives you a safety net if one subject isnt what you expect. For reference I am in Year 12 and just dropped maths at the start of March, so kept 4 subjects for around 6 months. I liked all 4 subjects and it was more to do with the teaching in the maths department.
If you love languages definitely try it for A-level. I think its a love it or hate it subject but in my opinion it balances bio and chem out super well and is a very rewarding subject for me!

Reply 12

AbdullahAMC

6

From a med perspective, you can make both look good on an application (maths = problem solving, spanish = communication with patients). Idk about vet med but perhaps same applies. For yourself, if you find that maths comes naturally to you, go for it. However, if you are doing well in maths due to hard work alone, my advice is to avoid. The reason is that the maths at gcse is actually quite straightforward compared to a level, where most exam questions require a lot of thinking and reasoning. From a y13 doing maths and going for med. Good luck!

Reply 13

abdillahiahmed

1

Original post

by Jenna :)

I'm currently in year 11, and have to submit my A level options soon, and don't know whether to choose maths or spanish for a level. I want to study veterinary medicine (or maybe medicine - I need to do work experience first), and so already have chosen Bio and Chem. I'm predicted a 9 in both maths and spanish, but spanish is my favourite at the moment. However, I have been told that spanish a level is very very hard, and to get an A/A* (which I need to study any type of medicine) is therefore difficult. Maths on the other hand is much more logical, and whilst I enjoy it, I'm worried Biology, Chemistry and Maths will look generic, whereas Spanish may stand out to unis and also provide some variety. I have no idea whether this is actually the case (the standing out part).
Anyone that has any advice (in particular current/past Spanish a level students - AQA or Maths - Edexcel) would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks! Jenna :smile:

My friend does both maths and Spanish and although he may be an anomaly, he does significantly better in Spanish compared to maths. In my opinion, Spanish would make you stand out on resumes and such for having the A-level qualification of Spanish (as said by @Bear26) and if you did self study at home you could become fluent by the end of the 2 year course. On the other hand Maths, Universities often look for something within the stem region when it comes to a third option for veterinary (but thats from google so idk how good that is) so Maths would be the better option her since you could learn Spanish by yourself and get qualifications too. I would also suggest you start learning Maths content once you finish gcse's so you have an easier time for a-levels and can get an A* easier.

I know this is kinda of a rant and am not too sure if its helpful but i suggest A-level maths in which you begin studying it asap whilst studying Spanish by yourself.

Or you could potentially do 4 A-levels if you college allows it

Maths or Spanish A level?

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