Advice on dropping biology A level

[Swarskid2184]

My DD is coming to the end of year 12. She has been doing four A levels - Maths, further maths, history and biology. She was also doing chemistry until December. Doing so many simply because she had no idea what degree she wanted to do.

She is now settled on maths and music as a degree (grade 7 in 3 instruments), but as she is not doing music A level she needs to do grade 8 music theory this coming academic year. She is also doing at least one grade 8 practical exam.

Her grade predictions are currently AABC, with the A’s in maths, B in history and the C in biology. School are advising to drop biology and focus on other three (predictions will then rise to AAA). But I am concerned that further maths does not have the same weight as other A levels- but not sure where I have got that thought from!

Any advice or similar experiences?
Thanks

If she is doing maths as a degree (or part of the joint honours) then further maths is a preference. It really does have the same weight as the others - and indeed some unis require it for their maths or maths related degrees. It is a prestigious - difficult! - A Level.

I think some people consider maths and further maths 1.5 A Levels since it’s all maths and schools sometimes schedule slightly less contact time. It’s definitely true that by doing further maths the “regular” maths will be easier and perhaps for some students it means they spend less time on the two than if they were doing two separate A Levels. But that definitely doesn’t mean they aren’t two separate, highly regarded qualifications when it comes down to UCAS, results etc.

Thanks, that’s really helpful. She actually does better in FM than M. Last exam she got 10% higher in the FM papers than the maths papers. She thinks it is the way her brain works.
As she is not doing music A level, it sounds like having both could give her time to focus on her music in first year of degree

When dd moved from Y12 to Y13 they had a transition meeting with their personal tutors to check on their future plans and make sure that their results were on track.
I would check with unis where your dd may be interested in studying at. However I suspect that obtaining grade 8s in music theory and practical(?) would be seen in much better light than a grade C in Biology. Unis only make offers based on 3 grades at A level anyway so having a 4th subject makes no real difference.

DS is at a highly academic school and they recommend quality over quantity so if dropping to 3 will increase her chances of getting AAA that would be their advice as unis generally base offers on 3 A levels.

Check the uni prospectus and see how they count further maths as some maths/economic degrees prefer whilst some degrees don’t count FM at all. If the prospectus isn’t clear call admissions. They will definitely know!

A maths degree will be specific about what they want or prefer. FM is never a wrong choice for a maths degree! The bigger question is does the degree require STEP or other pre test. FM, Maths and one other is fine for maths degrees. You need to check out the music side but I’m sure that’s ok.