Are these good A level choices for medicine ?

[whostheshithead]

My dd did really well across the board - all 9s except two 8s in maths and chemistry (chemistry being reviewed as 2 marks off a 9).

She's chosen chemistry, biology and psychology for A level and I think they also do core maths for the ucas points and to support chem?

Are these the best subjects for medicine ? I know she needs bio and chem but is psychology really the most preferred subject by unis for medicine ?

Tia x

Also to add another thought, she has a natural aptitude for languages and has got 9s in both Spanish and French. Should I be encouraging Spanish A level perhaps ? Are languages looked favourably upon by universities ? Will it give her options to study medicine abroad ? Are there options to study medicine abroad ? I'm afraid I don't know much at this point about the whole process.

She is very strategic in her choices as we know just how competitive medicine is to get into , so everything is very much geared to that from way back when she was choosing her gcse options ( ie she did triple sciences and didn't opt for art even though she loves art and is really very good at it, because she knew the coursework would eat into study time for sciences) so I want to know if we're not missing a trick with this third A level choice.

Med is not a big area of expertise for me (you need @mumsneedwine for that) but I gather that ideally you should do bio and chem – if you miss one of these, there are still unis open to you but this combo maximises your chances.

Despite what I keep reading on MN threads, maths is not essential for med. Obvs it’s great if you will do well at it. Core maths is good as well.

But anecdotally unis like an essay subject like history to show some breadth. Psych is fine but not specifically favoured AFAIK. An MFL would be great too – again, showing some breadth. I don’t think what the third subject is makes that much difference – the key is one where you will get a high grade. No idea re studying abroad tho sorry. But A level MFL is increasingly rare sadly so it will always be a good thing to have done IMHO. (It’s my subject tho so I would say that).

Well done to her on her great GCSE grades btw – excellent work and really opens up lots of options for her.

DD applied for medicine last year, so I'm fairly familiar with recent entry requirements.
Not doing Maths will rule out applying to about five or six Cambridge colleges. (I.e. hardly anywhere - you still even have 20 or so college at Cambridge to choose from of she wants to apply there!) Doing Bio and Chem is key for keeping the most options option; third A Level can be anything (I think the most popular are Mayhs, Physics, History and Psychology, but it really can be anything!).
Best advice is to do something she likes and is likely to achieve a high grade in. (Medicine applications are difficult and time consuming so you want to be simplifyng life where you can!) I really don't think it matters beyond that.
Best of luck to her!

As above. Do the subjects she will get the best grades. Chem and Bio keep everywhere open, no one cares about the 3rd (except that handful of Cambs colleges).

@whostheshithead you can study medicine abroad and several countries teach in English(eg. Malta, Bulgaria). No student loans so need to be able to pay.
But, if the expected ruling comes in to favour UK graduates (due to unemployment of doctors - yes really) then anyone training abroad will go to the back of the queue for jobs.

Well done to your dd on her great GCSE results OP!

I have a dd in Medicine who took Bio, Chem, Psych for A level. She really enjoyed Psychology and said it has been really useful so far. I think the 3rd subject can be anything you want to do and certainly one that you are more likely to do well in, as pp’s have said.

The main thing to think about is the UCAT entry exam which will determine where your dd will be able to apply.
DD never had a favourite med school which I think is a good plan as it doesn’t really matter where they study, it’s the getting in that counts! Strategic applications matter and apply to somewhere that favours her strengths.

As an ex physics teacher, I will always recommend Physics (definitely over Maths that is super popular) for any medic who has a mathematical bent.

Nuclear medicine is a huge area in hospitals these days, as are a number of imaging techniques that involve understanding of energy, attenuation etc. In addition all of orthopaedics is about forces and torques.

And, although maths is necessary to proceed to a degree in Physics or engineering, the main requirement for a Physics A level is being mathematical. The actual maths content these days is low and can be easily taught over the course.

Having said that, her choices are absolutely fine and she should stick to what she knows that she will enjoy.

And anaesthetics - lots of essential physics necessary for post graduate exams. Those that did a-level physics had a much easier time with the physics component of these exams. (Curses bitterly at the teachers who persuaded me to take maths and statistics instead for Alevel).

That's great thanks everyone for the advice ! I've passed it all on to dd. I think she's fairly certain on psychology as her third choice.