Struggling with Biology, Chemistry and Maths A levels

[aeganblue2]

Hi everyone, my DD is doing these A levels and finding them enormously difficult. It’s made worse by depression she developed in her final two terms of her GCSE year (she is undergoing treatment). She puts a huge amount of pressure on herself and had wanted to go into medicine but it’s clear now she won’t get the As she needs (and frankly I think she could do without that pressure anyway) and this has become a source of disappointment to her. I feel quite helpless to assist her other than supporting her emotionally, encouraging her to stay with sport, eat well etc. Because both school and myself and DH are concerned about her mental health we have discussed possibly dropping one (maths) or sticking with them and getting a tutor over the summer (her preference). Does anyone have any experience or advice of trying to manage such a situation? Did your child drop an a level and then go onto do a third A level in a gap year? Any advice appreciated.

Sounds like your DD is having a really hard time. Our situ is just with one subject and sixth form have suggested she drop it and replace with EPQ and an AS (giving ucas tariff points equal to 3 a levels).
However.... very few places actually accept tarrif points for the course she wants to do. Flipping ucas site shows points, but when you specifically look at a uni it says they dont accept. Tbh I just want my dd to start over. Shes a late July birthday so already youngest in year. I'm really worried about her mental health and college dont seem to give a damn.

I can really empathise, as I'm having the same sort of dilemma with my daughter who is in year 11. She's just picked her a levels, the same ones as your daughter with a view to doing medicine at uni eventually. We've had the chats about picking the right a levels, based on what she would like to do. We've also had the chats about how medicine will require a lot of work and commitment. I just feel her heart isn't 100 per cent into it. I've told her, I want her to do what she wants to do. I don't know if it's because she's feeling a bit deflated because of the shit year, or she's worried about the way the school are assessing her this year. I just don't want her to make the wrong choice. I just want her to be happy with the choice she's made. If anyone had any advice on this, I'd be grateful too.

Hi
Coming to the end of this journey with dd as just at end of y13. It hasn't been easy but following bouts of illness she made the decision in Jan of y12 to drop maths as not essential for medicine and felt a huge sense of relief it left her with chemistry,psychology and history plus epq. Again due to illness and pressure of getting epq in during lockdown she also dropped the epq and looked at allied healthcare careers. She applied for physician associate (1 course) and physiotherapy and has obtained 5 offers made her selections and is on course for her first choice.
My advice is be there for her support her choices and remind her of options and encourage to be happy to change her mind help her to understand her motivations. Mine decided she didn't need the title doctor but wanted to help people and ideally work in emergency medicine and then have options to work in different branches of medicine which both her final choices did. Be there, fight her corner if it need it, its hard but their resilience and determination will surprise you

I think start with what she wants to do and then work backwards to get there and that will give you her options.

Plenty of students achieve their a levels over three years, it has a small limiting effect on uni choices but for most it’s no issue.

Maths is challenging. Lots of students take it and drop it so there is no shame.
Trouble is that leaves your DD with 'just' 2 A levels. Is that correct? I'm wondering how that will work out for her once she hits ucas (assuming that's her chosen route).
If fish around for some good advice on whether it's possible to apply for uni with two A levels. If it isn't then she can make other plans.
I do sympathise. Illness and A levels is rubbish xx

Were the A levels chosen because the original aim was to study Medicine and therefore they were the right ones for that? Now that Medicine is unlikely destination anyway, are there A level subjects that she thinks she would have chosen instead? If so, would her current school let her start year 12 again in September to study these?

(I must admit that I had never come across this until relatively recently, but now know of quite a few people locally who have done it - perhaps our local schools are just particularly accommodating).