A levels for medicine

[catbirddogchild]

Hi,
My DS ( currently year 10) is interested in doing medicine.
He is top of year in most subjects especially science and maths etc.
The issue is he is still quite young and not 100% on what he wants to do really.
Would doing chemistry, physics , maths and possibly further maths but not biology be a bad idea?
It would keep other doors more open to him such as engineering ect
Realistically do applicants get in medicine places without biology?

Chemistry is a must and physics and maths both count. A few medical schools require biology but not all of them. So it will reduce the number of medical schools who he could apply to but as you have said, opens the door to engineering. If he is academically strong, doing the three sciences and maths could be an option. And yes, people do get in without biology, my son being an example and he did chemistry, physics and maths....and ended up transferring to engineering!

Lots of unis don’t insist on Biology. But my Dd (who did medicine) says, why would you not do Biology for A Level, if you think you would love medicine? It may not be essential to get in (though some unis make you do catch-up classes) but it seems odd not to do it.

Thank you!
Your son sounds like he is a similar type to mine.
That is really helpful. I just don't want him to feel trapped into medicine and it's clear maths and physics open other doors.
I hope you son is enjoying engineering.

This guide looks at all the medical school entry requirements. Chemistry and Biology are usually preferred, but a few will consider just one or the other.

www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/choosing-a-medical-school/what-a-levels-do-you-need-to-be-a-doctor/

Thank you for that guide. So helpful.

V few Unis don't want either biology or physics. And biology will be a lot more useful when they get to medical school. Nowhere needs maths (except 2 Cambs colleges).
Newcastle don't need any science subjects at all.

So if he takes biology and chemistry which is best for 3rd option?

@catbirddogchild anything he likes. There is no preferential required. Lots have History or Art or Psychology or Drama or English. And lots have maths (because they tend to be good at it too). Do whatever he enjoys most as then he'll get the best grades.

We are in the opposite position. DS studied Maths, Chemistry & Biology with the aim of studying Medicine but after not getting in after his first round of applications, he's decided to apply for Engineering.

As Medicine is so much more competitive than Engineering, and the fact that they would need to catch up on Biology if they didn't study it at A'Level, I'd recommend Maths, Biology & Chemistry.

If however he's not strong on Biology and doesn't think he'll get an A* or A, then maybe choose Maths, Physics and Chemistry.

Yes you do, chemistry amd one other. Just looked as my dd did dentistry there and sgw definitely needed chemistry and whoever compiled that list wasn't looking at Uni of Newcastle but one in Australia. Very important for prospective students to do their own research.

So if he takes biology and chemistry which is best for 3rd option?

Get them to look at the Uni's they are interested in and have a look at what their selection criteria is.

I'd also join the Medicine 2023 thread in the Higher Education section and get your DS to join the Medicine 2025(?) group on TSR, if that's the year they'll be starting. I'm on my second glass of wine so that might not be the right year

I have just had a look at Newcastle's website. They don't specify any compulsory subjects. However, they want a high UCAT score.

It seems bonkers that someone with A levels in history, politics and art, for example, would go to medical school at 18 straight after A levels. They would really struggle with the content without some kind of prior biology and chemistry knowledge.

Keep options open at this stage. You should only ever go into medicine if you are 100% certain it is the only career for you.

Keep options open at this stage. You should only ever go into medicine if you are 100% certain it is the only career for you

The thing is that we only train 35% of Doctors that the NHS needs and rely on 65% of Doctors coming from overseas, the other students applying won't be keeping their options open, it's highly competitive and they'll be doing everything they can to enhance their chances.

My DC did chemistry, biology and English. Being able to communicate is very important.

I know of others who did chemistry, psychology and P E. it’s chemistry that counts. Get him to check the criteria for the unis he’s interested in.

Not entirely true. It's the drop out rate of local graduates that has been dramatically rising, and making us even more dependent upon foreign trained graduates. People are more likely to drop out if they didn't really truly want to do medicine.

@RedHelenB Newcastle Uni in UK does not need any specific A levels.
Chemistry is needed more than biology but helpful to have both.

OP

My niece is doing medicine as a graduate. She did a biomedical sciences degree and then have 5 offers from medicine.

She chose one that was specifically for graduates, so your son can kick the can further down the road and still have options.

@sashh how did they get 5 offers ? You can only apply to 4 at one time. Graduate medicine is very expensive and even more competitive than undergraduate.

Maybe it was 4. I know she got an offer from every place she applied to, I thought it was the same as applying for UG through UCAS.

How many do they take that haven't done any sciences at A level?

How many do they take that haven't done any sciences at A level?

That's an interesting question abs I'm not sure how you would find that out.

I think if they are interested in Medicine they could look at the selection criteria for the Unis they are interested in and look at the number of places they offer and the number of applicants they had for 2022.

Y10 is also a great time to start building up your work experience as Unis like Sunderland & Keele will look at work experience during the selection process.

Also agree that waiting to do post grad medicine is poor advice. It's very expensive and it's also harder to get in with, I think, 10 tiles the number of applicants to places.

You’re getting good advice to look closely at the actual requirements for specific degrees.

If you want to keep engineering career options open, including software, electronics & mechanical, then maths is a core skill. Chemical engineering & bioinformatics also benefit from maths.

I would argue that it’s easier to pick up the missing bits from not doing physics A level if you’ve done maths than vice versa, so if you’re choosing between physics and maths, choose maths (subject to fulfilling the actual requirements of your chosen degree if you’re at that stage).

I’d also argue that maths & physics are close subjects (in a way that chemistry and biology as taught at A level are not close to maths), so if you’ve chosen maths and are considering whether to add physics, chemistry, or biology to it, you will add slightly less to your workload by choosing physics over chemistry or biology. (Assuming that you’re good at and enjoy maths).

So if he takes biology and chemistry which is best for 3rd option?

Maths will serve him well for both Medicine and Engineering