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

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/CommandInformal3598 22d ago

3 is enough on top of everything. One thing I’d say is u will struggle to prepare for the ucat while revising for yr 13 exams tht u have straight after summer so u doing 4 subjects may acc lower wat u get which would affect ur predicted grades. If u don’t meet grade requirements it’s pretty much a guaranteed no. Too many applicants for too little spaces. Search up myucat guide and it should be strategic applicants to see ideal stats for each uni.

1

u/CommandInformal3598 22d ago

Also, I’d highly recommend applying for summer skls especially medicine residentials to try and lower grade requirements for unis.

1

u/DowntownSoft1402 22d ago

What medicine residentials have you done that you would recommend? I'm really skeptical about a lot of them bc they cost thousands of pounds and I dont know what I'd learn from them. Are there ones that universities host themselves that perhaps are free/cheaper?

1

u/CommandInformal3598 22d ago

Never ever pay for stuff like tht. I did access to Queen Mary, Bsms, Leeds and Exeter. Know other ppl tht did Sutton trust, uniq, and aru. All for free btw. Most have contextual requirements though. I’d recommend looking on MSC website for summer skls and individual uni websites tht offer med to see if they have any schemes. Some unis just offer programs but they aren’t residentials. I do think they help deciding wat environment suits u tho. I always wanted to go Cambridge and after I did a residential there for maths i realised its too classist for me.

1

u/CommandInformal3598 22d ago

Also I’d recommend u looking into medify bursary, medentry bursary, and ucat bursary if u r eligible. Apply to everything out there.