Biology or Chemistry A level: Any advice, tips, help to decide?

[Toomanyminifigs]

My DS is just about to start 6th Form. He has ASD (with an EHCP) and finds making decisions difficult and probably needs a bit more support than a NT 16-year-old.

I posted about an issue with another of his A level choices and got such incredibly helpful and experienced replies I thought I'd bother people again!

DS is struggling to choose between taking Biology or Chemistry at A level. He did triple at GCSE and got high 8s in both. He tells me he loves them both equally. I've talked to his teachers and they said they'd like him to take both. This isn't an option (for now) as he's dead set on his other 2.

I've heard that it's very difficult to get top grades in Biology at A level as the mark scheme is so prescriptive. However, I'm worried about the maths in Chemistry as maths really isn't his thing.

Does anyone have any insights that could help us? I guess if he does make the 'wrong' decision for him, he could always re-start and do an extra year.

His other A levels are History and Geography and he's thinking maybe archeology at uni.

Is there any way he could take four with a view to dropping one by, say, Oct half term? Or would that not work with the timetable?

DS2 took bio and maths and found the maths supportive of bio (and a bio degree as well, at least the first year) so that's not especially helpful.

Bio MS is said to be very specific but then chem is said to be a real challenge too. Tho with 8s I am sure he would be fine. DS got 9 in bio and A at A level btw.

Can he do that old-school thing of tossing a coin and seeing how he feels about the answer? That's if he really cannot decide. I assume he has looked in detail at the specs and at past papers to get a feel for the exams?

Is Environmental science an option? All science A levels are prescriptive. Otherwise suggest Biology as smaller maths component and possibly more useful for archaeology.

I find Biology easier and took it at degree level and my DS finds physics and chemistry easier. If maths isn’t his thing then I’d advise him to take Biology.

Thank you @clary So helpful as always! I did ask about taking 4 but there's a timetabling issue so it can't work.
He's doing Core Maths too which school have insisted on given his shaky maths.

The biology worries me a bit as with his autism I wonder if he's going to struggle with the more inference/longer questions. (Although he did get 8s in English.) I believe Chemistry is more 'right or wrong' which may suit him better. But then it's the maths that worries me!

Thank you @ConBatulations sadly his school doesn't offer Environmental Science as that would be perfect I think.

I know that at his school, they can change within the first 6 weeks but he can be really stubborn and doesn't like to think he's 'failed'.

More options going forward with chemistry I would recommend that

There are more formulas in Chem and physics. All the sciences are facts so you’re just learning facts. The maths element isn’t difficult as such it’s just an adjunct to working things out. All the sciences are a huge step up from GCSE though. If he got high marks in GCSE then he should be fine with either choice tbh.

Might they let him start both and pick one after a few weeks ? I don’t recommend taking both for the whole duration but he’ll figure out which he prefers after a few lessons.

Like I said I found Biology easier and my DS who is at Uni taking a Maths degree found chem and physics easier and more interesting.

Could you look at past A level papers online so he has an idea of what’s expected?

I don’t think he’ll struggle with ‘longer’ questions in Biology. They all have those at A Level. Will he be able to remember the formulas off the top of his head for exams ? And figure out which ones to apply to the questions ?

I agree with your evaluation - Chemistry is more straightforward. The answer is there or not, Biology can be more nuanced and interpretative. I know marking A level chemistry papers is much easier, quicker and less subjective than marking A level Biology. Biology has essays and so many words! What are his other 2 choices?

So many helpful suggestions and things to consider! Thank you all.

@wantmorenow His other choices are Geography and History. I imagine both sciences work well with Geography. History is his absolute passion, hence the archeology idea at uni.

He has looked at past A level papers for both and says he likes them both - so helpful! I wonder how other DC make their A level choices? It's so hard isn't it to go from say 10 subjects to 3 at a relatively young age.

Does he (or do you) know anyone going into year 13 at the school who does both and can give him a bit of an idea? Might be useful to have the inside track. I don't normally suggest this as a factor but which teachers might he get – how does he get on with them? ofc teachers can leave but that's not super likely between now and next summer at least.

Definitely have a look at the course textbooks and past papers. Doesn't really matter which board, the content will be broadly the same and see which subject grabs his interest most. Not that it's statistically significant , but many of my fellow chemistry teachers could be described as having ASD traits, certainly more than in the biology department in my experience. 😁 This link is for Welsh GCSE but very similar to English boards except that it's free. https://www.bangor.ac.uk/get-ready-for-university/revision-guides/asrevision

There is a huge amount of maths in A-level chemistry which many students find very hard to deal with. He'll need to be happy with using standard form, logs and natural logs. All of this will be taught in lessons as it won't be assumed that all students are doing maths, but it may be a challenge to pick it up quickly enough.

If he’s not a fan of maths, Chemistry might feel like an uphill battle, whereas Biology plays into the essay/analytical strengths he's already using for History and Geography.
Has his school mentioned if he can try both for the first week or two to see which syllabus feels more comfortable? Also, how does he usually feel about memorizing precise terminology vs. solving numerical problems?

Thank you @ByTheNine He loves organic chemistry and just seems to 'get' things like moles as I think they make sense to the logic part of his brain. His chemistry teacher has said she can actually 'see' him embedding knowledge as he learns but the maths really does worry me.

I think someone on another thread said there's quite a bit of chemistry in biology A level?
He also likes taxonomy (his ASD coming into play!) so that may be another tick for biology?

@ainawatson Annoyingly, the 6th form timetable won't allow chemistry, biology, history and geography as a combination! Otherwise that would seem to be the perfect solution.

@wantmorenow That is an interesting observation! DS and I have said something similar about the science teachers we know. Biology teachers seem to sit a bit more across into the Humanities but that could be just my impression.

I can't thank you all enough for taking the time and trouble to try and help. I was a humanities person at school so I am in no position to advise DS at all.

DS2 did both (and maths). Got an A star in Biology and an A in Chemistry (despite getting 85% in the exam still ‘only’ an A). Lots and lots of content for Biology and a focus on using the exact wording for full marks, lots of maths in Chemistry.
I once read Chemistry is the most difficult A level to get the top grade. Both usually taken by potential medics. Maybe consider that if weighing up uni course requirements where the grade is more important than the subject.

That's really interesting. I had heard that Biology is really hard to get a top grade in due to the exacting requirements of the mark schemes. Before I looked into it properly I had assumed that Biology was an 'easier' science. I don't think that now!

I had a quick look and the most competitive archeology degree I could find (outside of Oxbridge) wants ABB. Interestingly that's lower than the Geography BSc which is his other possible. I guess it gets more applications.

With geography and history as his other A levels, biology would be a more logical fit.

If he would struggle with long biology questions and inference then I’m not sure history is the right choice

He got a very high 7 in History. I personally think he should be taking the 2 sciences and geography (he got a 9 in geography) but he is adamant. He did get 8s in English lit and lang.

History is his favourite subject. It's obviously him who has to study the subjects so I'm happy to support him. If he really struggles with History, I may try and persuade him to have a rethink.

My DD has just finished her masters in archeology and now has a graduate job in the field. From that angle either science would work, but I think chemistry would probably be slightly more useful in the labs they do. There is very little human anatomy in Alevels biology, but the rest (and the scientific process in both is good). She didn’t have a science at all.

Does he like essays? There is a 25 mark one in bio but not in chem.

As a random point, she says that Aberdeen in the highest ranking archeology dept in the Uk at the moment but for most that is a long way away!

I have a degree in chem and i would say that i found my a level chem harder than my degree because the jump from GCSE was so big. Maybe the syllabus has changed in 20 years. Biology however, i found easy as it was just memorising words from books and regurgitating, not much thought involved.

@Kepler22B Thank you SO much for your response! That's really helpful. We will definitely look at Aberdeen. Congratulations to your DD on her job. I know it's incredibly competitive and difficult to get a paid job in this field.

DS was pleased to discover that there isn't much 'human stuff' in biology A level. He's much more interested in cells and plants.

I’d have thought biology and geography are a good pairing. It’s a shame environmental science isn’t available. Likewise geology could be useful. Could he be steered into choosing both sciences over history as he scored higher?

Thank you. I have heard the jump from gcse to A level is massive in chemistry. This is one of my worries. I don't think that's changed since you took it!

Biology is better if he is doing Geography and History and struggles with maths.

DS is a strong mathematical and found chemistry hard. DD is doing Biology so have recent “parent experience” of both.