A level choices for medicine

[Kensingtonia]

My daughter is currently choosing A' levels. She hopes to study medicine. Her school - a super selective in the London area - is adament Russell Group universities will only accept math+chem+biology and not Physics as an alternative to maths. This is contrary to what the universities publish on their websites as their admission criteria (most state biology/chem only) and from other websites I was under the impression that the BMAT etc were gaining increasing importance in selecting applicants. My daughter greatly prefers Physics to maths and wants to do English, history or a language as her fourth AS. I have no reason to disbelieve the school as they send a number of girls on to do medicine; but wondered if anyone else had a different experience. i.e. accepted at a Russell Group uni in the last couple of year for medicine without Maths A' level. For financial reasons she would hope to stay in London and would probably be looking at Imperial or UCL as preferred choices.

[sunshine75]

History teacher here - and regularly have kids doing A-Level history who get into top med schools with it (usually with an A/A* grade alongside chemistry). In fact, their ability to argue and debate usually helps - as does studying 20th century British history and the formation of the NHS.

[swingofthings]

As it goes with all threads, would be interesting to know what OP's DD ended up doing and where she is now!

DD is hoping to go to Med school and is taking Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths. FM being to support her default route if she doesn't get in Meds as I believe it doesn't count as an extra A level if you're already doing Maths. However, she has decided that if she doesn't get in, she will want to study Maths at Uni (her strongest subject from far) and to get into one of the tops, she would need FM.

In regards to Physics, I would really have liked to know how OP's DD did because of all the kids who did triple sciences for their GCSEs, the vast majority preferred Physics out of the three subjects. This lead to DD's best friend deciding to take it at A levels (instead of biology which she used to enjoy more). It's early days, but so far she says that she isn't enjoying it as much as she did for her GCSE.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Arggh, sorry I didn't check the date.

[noblegiraffe]

Some fuckwit has been going around spamming ancient threads with adverts for their services. It's not just this one.

[hellsbells99]

Zombie thread!

[Merclady]

As levels maths physics chem biol and Latin

A levels chem biol Latin


2015 offers to Edinburgh and queen Mary's

[ErrolTheDragon]

OP - has your DD thought about what her 'fall back' would be if she didn't get a place at medical school (there are plenty of kids with excellent GCSEs from excellent schools who don't, for whatever reason). Would her preferred A level choices also support that subject at a good uni ?

Is doing AS maths a possibility for her? (I think maths will still be in the old two-part format). Quite a few of the girls at DD's (non-superselective) GS did 5 subjects to AS (and some to A2) if they included sciences and maths. (Obviously only the ones who could manage this without sacrificing grades!)

Anyway, as I think a PP has suggested - she should email the admissions tutors at two or three of the places she thinks she'd be likely to want to apply to and ask for specific guidance.

[gettingalifenow]

Thanks for the link, mich, the medicine specification is very clear in that. I can't seem to copy in the paragraph but it is clear that options can be severely limited with choice that dont include Biology.... (Chemistry is a given)

[mich54321]

You can get course recommendations direct from the link at this website
www.russellgroup.ac.uk/informed-choices.aspx . It tells you which courses are the best to take for your area of medicine. It does say that it is good to take a separate subject to science/maths to show a wider outlook and tells which courses work well together and the implications of not doing all 4 subjects.

[Myrtille]

The truth is there isn't a premier institution for medicine. There are so many factors to consider when rating a medical school that none of them top every requirement. It depends how you weight the different factors as to which you think is best. You then have to try and get throught the random selection process.

[ellisbell]

Chemistry is certainly the most sought after A level by med schools but quite a few schools also like Biology, so taking both increases choice.

Something that is also important is consider is how they will demonstrate their commitment to medicine. Starting to volunteer now in a hospice or hospital will help their application. They don't have to shadow surgeons in London teaching hospitals.

[gettingalifenow]

I was wondering that too myrtille. I'm guessing the answer will be Cambridge but I wouldnt fancy saying that in front of an Imperial or UCL student!!

[Myrtille]

Go on then....which uni is "the" uni for medicine?....lol

[sugartongue]

Dsis went to a Russell group uni for medicine (in fact the uni for medicine) with A levels in Chemistry, Biology and French! I was always told that it was Chemistry that was the subject that mattered. Call the unis she would apply to and check!

[Kensingtonia]

Thank you all again for your comments. I met a newly qualified medic from a RG Uni yesterday (a relation of a colleague) and while he did maths several of his friends did not. He thought that AS maths was relevant to some work they had done (his non-maths friends had not known how to approach it at first) but not crucial. Having stalked other schools sixth form prospectuses I found one that suggested maths/biology/chemistry but the others don't seem to think maths is necessary or at least don't mention it as such.

[gettingalifenow]

I looked at this a little more yesterday as my own DD may follow the medicine route and is also choosing her A levels this term.

The only really hard evidence I found (limited selection of 5 or so RG unis) was on the Cambridge MEdicine page which said, and I think I'm quoting:

"97% of applicants offer 3 or more subjects from the sciences plus maths group: 3% offer a different mix. of the 3 plus science group, 22% of those are successful. of the other group 5% are successful."

so we can argue spurious correlations and backgrounds and school types, but on the numbers, if its Cambridge you're after (which you may or may not be), then the 3 science/maths route is the better bet.

And to reiterate my point that the websites are showing the minimum requirement, the Bristol website shows a need for 5 GCSEs grade A to C.... the minimum they show is just not reflective of the actual applicants...

[ellisbell]

have just realised that when I said at least school likes something non-scientific it wasn't obvious I meant at least one Medical school says that.

[Yellowstone]

Sorry, I meant he's taking Biology, Chemistry, History and Physics!

[Yellowstone]

Your school is not correct OP.

DS is in Y13 at a similar school and no-one has ever advised him his choices were wrong and the school sends lots to med school. He's taking Biology, Chemistry, Maths and History and has only applied for RG.

[gettingalifenow]

Have you thought of contacting a couple of admissions tutors directly at potential unis? What they say is OK on the web site is not nec the best route - its so competitive that you will find they take those with the best chance of succeeding, not the minimum requirement: and that would def mean Maths to go with physics or chemistry.

At my DD and DS's schools (2 currently at uni) I obviously can only remember anecdotes, but just about everyone doing medicine or vets did Maths (for Vets one girl did not do Maths and could only apply 2 places) and it is a school requirement to do Maths with physics. It says something when schools take that line, they've got experience in this and have seen hundreds of clever kids so I'd think carefully....

[wantadvice]

Ds is at a non selective school and making the same choices right now to do medicine. I am hoping he will be okay with 3 sciences and further maths (yes, even in a non super selective school....).

[AlpinePony]

Dare I ask why the obsession with TG universities?

Reminds me of a joke:

What do you call the worst student from the worst medical school in the entire country? Dr.

[ellisbell]

if a school's advice is wrong - as it is - then why listen to it! Off hand I can't remember which one but at least one school says they quite like something other than science.

Not all universities rely on BMAT or UKCAT but the student room website has reasonable reliable information on that.

[MidnightHag]

Ok: my ds has just started at Sheffield(RG uni) studying medicine. Chemistry is a must. Apart from that, go for the subjects she'll get best grades in. Sheffield set a lot of store by the UKCAT test (different from BMAT). Also some medical schools (inc Peninsula) won't look at anyone with less than 7 (I think it's 7) A*s at GCSE.
HTH