The Student Room Group

Spanish or maths?

hi guys quick q

i'm going to pick my a level options soon and idk what do to.
I am fo sho going to do chem and bio, but for my third subject idk if I should either do maths or Spanish at a level
I've been considering vet med in uni, but I'm still not too sure, so I guess maths would be better as it is safer if I decide to switch courses mid-degree. however, I genuinely like Spanish and I haven't been doing too well in maths and fm lately- probably my inner perfectionist talking but still. also, Spanish would be a good break from all the super content heavy bio and chem

pls I'm begging for any advice
all opinions welcome

Reply 1

also I really dont feel like doing 4 subjects

Reply 2

Hi. I think that a decision like this comes down to two main questions. Firstly, which would you be likely to achieve a better grade in at A-Level? Secondly, which would you enjoy more at A-Level? If Spanish is the right choice over maths then that's okay. However, with your interest in veterinary medicine, I recommend checking the entry requirements of courses because some may require certain subjects.

I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. ๐Ÿ˜Š

Reply 3

Original post
by lai_unknown_la
hi guys quick q
i'm going to pick my a level options soon and idk what do to.
I am fo sho going to do chem and bio, but for my third subject idk if I should either do maths or Spanish at a level
I've been considering vet med in uni, but I'm still not too sure, so I guess maths would be better as it is safer if I decide to switch courses mid-degree. however, I genuinely like Spanish and I haven't been doing too well in maths and fm lately- probably my inner perfectionist talking but still. also, Spanish would be a good break from all the super content heavy bio and chem
pls I'm begging for any advice
all opinions welcome


Hi! I did bio, chem and Spanish a levels last year and I think it was a really good combo. Iโ€™m currently studying biochem at uni. The Spanish really helped with the essay in biology (if you do AQA) as i would have been so out of practice with essay writing. Also itโ€™s just a completely different skill so feels like a bit of a change of pace. Please feel free to ask any more questions, Iโ€™d be happy to help!

Reply 4

Original post
by jasmineva3128
Hi. I think that a decision like this comes down to two main questions. Firstly, which would you be likely to achieve a better grade in at A-Level? Secondly, which would you enjoy more at A-Level? If Spanish is the right choice over maths then that's okay. However, with your interest in veterinary medicine, I recommend checking the entry requirements of courses because some may require certain subjects.
I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. ๐Ÿ˜Š
ok in response to your qs:

1) i am a natural in spanish (if i do say so myself) and i am getting straight 9s at gcse level without too much effort. with maths, i am avg. grade 8 predicted 9 and also doing fm (struggling slightly but we don't need to talk about that). so in both respects, im am doing quite well.

2) i have literally no clue i like both spanish and maths... do you see my dilemma...

Reply 5

Original post
by LittleFire10
Hi! I did bio, chem and Spanish a levels last year and I think it was a really good combo. Iโ€™m currently studying biochem at uni. The Spanish really helped with the essay in biology (if you do AQA) as i would have been so out of practice with essay writing. Also itโ€™s just a completely different skill so feels like a bit of a change of pace. Please feel free to ask any more questions, Iโ€™d be happy to help!

did you ever feel disadvantaged by not doing maths compared to your peers, or even when applying to uni? also, if it isn't too intrusive, which uni are you going to currently?

Reply 6

Y13 doing Bio chem and Spanish atm and loving it. It's a good break from such science heavy subjects and there's alot of variety within the subject itself (E.g Essay, film, spanish literuature/plays and abit of histoy and geography. That's not to say it's going to be easy ( but defo lighter than maths imo). Do something you love and which will feel natural for you, Good luck!

Reply 7

Original post
by lai_unknown_la
did you ever feel disadvantaged by not doing maths compared to your peers, or even when applying to uni? also, if it isn't too intrusive, which uni are you going to currently?


Hey! Iโ€™m currently studying at Warwick. And no I wouldnโ€™t say not doing maths a level disadvantaged me particularly, I wasnโ€™t too great at maths in general (scraped a 7 at gcse) which did make some things like rearranging equations in chemistry a bit harder, but I still managed to get an A* star in chemistry so it didnโ€™t negatively impact me, just meant I had to think a little harder than others for certain things. And no I wouldnโ€™t say it made any real impact to my uni applications at all, sure a couple of the very top unis may want maths for certain STEM subjects, but for me it was pretty much completely fine.
Original post
by lai_unknown_la
hi guys quick q
i'm going to pick my a level options soon and idk what do to.
I am fo sho going to do chem and bio, but for my third subject idk if I should either do maths or Spanish at a level
I've been considering vet med in uni, but I'm still not too sure, so I guess maths would be better as it is safer if I decide to switch courses mid-degree. however, I genuinely like Spanish and I haven't been doing too well in maths and fm lately- probably my inner perfectionist talking but still. also, Spanish would be a good break from all the super content heavy bio and chem
pls I'm begging for any advice
all opinions welcome

Double check the vet med courses to check if they require maths or not.
If they dont- then pick the one that you think you will enjoy most and do the best in.
If you think you will enjoy spanish more and do better in it, and think that it will be a nice break from the other science subjects then go for spanish.

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