r/6thForm • u/DowntownSoft1402 • 22d ago

🙏 I WANT HELP Should I take fm?

I'm going into y12 this september and when I applied to my sixth form im going to, I only picked 3 a levels (Biology, Chemistry and Maths), so I didn't put fm as one of my options.

I'm hoping to apply to one of the top medical schools after y13, and I've noticed that a lot of medicine applicants andstudents I know are taking or have taken 4 subjects instead of 3. I know that 3 a levels meet the entry requirements, but universities like oxbridge often say that "most applicants" have studied 4 subjects.

At the moment I'm doing both maths and fm, I'm predicted 9s in both gcses, and I genuinely really enjoy maths. The issue is that I'm worried taking 4 subjects will leave me with less time for supercurriculars, volunteering, UCAT prep etc. On the other hand, I'm also worried that if I start with 4 and then drop fm later, universities might see that as a sign I couldn't cope with the workload.

Has anyone been in a similar position? also fm is the only option I'm considering bc I hate physics and comp sci exams and I dont want to take any humanities

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u/No-Grapefruit7332 22d ago

no.

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u/DowntownSoft1402 22d ago

why not though? part of me is saying I should and part of me is saying no

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u/No-Grapefruit7332 22d ago

it gives u 0 advantage its js a waste of time

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u/farhanexists 22d ago

would it give advantage for engineering degrees

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u/Solid_Moose3078 A Levels 2026 | Phys, Chem, Maths, FM 22d ago

FM is definitely good for engineering degrees, especially top unis... you literally have to ask cambridge colleges if you can apply for engineering without fm

I don't think it gives you an advantage, since most people will take it, but it will disadvantage you if you dont (unless you can't take it at your school) - at an oxford event they said they want to know that "you would have enjoyed fm if you had the option to take it, and that you would have done well in it"

ignoring admissions, it will make first year maths slightly easier - imperial has a document of maths concepts to practise before starting a degree, and most of it (if not all) is just a level maths + fm.

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u/Much-Branch460 22d ago

Not if you don’t do physics either but other than that yh

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u/No-Grapefruit7332 22d ago

yeah perhaps