Hi all,

My daughter would like to do medicine at uni and is taking biology, chemistry and maths at A-level. However, her school requires all students to take 4 A-levels so she is confused as to whether she should take Geography or German as her 4th.

She enjoys both but I’ve heard geography is an easy A-level and relatively less time consuming.

Will top universities value German more than geography? Or are they just looking at the grade achieved in the 4th subject?

I appreciate there are many other factors which play a large role in a successful application, but I would just like some advice regarding a 4th A-level choice.

Thank you

they will probably be happy with either, good to see people offering humanities A levels as shows broader interests - can be handy to be able to read the odd old medical article in German etc

TBH best to do the one she genuinely enjoys most, can be tricky to decide as A levels are not the same as GCSEs

My son has the same problem but with different subjects. I think it should come down to what she enjoys more.

My DD did Maths, Biology & Chemistry (for Biochem/ Pharmacology rather than medicine) plus German to AS level (in the days when that was a thing) - she struggled a bit with the German as most of the other students in the group were linguists heading for language degrees, but enjoyed having something different with less pressure and a relatively small group, as her offers were all for the three sciences. It has given her more confidence in (say) attending scientific conferences in Germany subsequently, even though she would be the first to admit she is very far from fluent. She did try and continue language lessons at university again as a sideline/ hobby although the timetableing didn't always work well with the demands of research

Geography is a great subject too (and arguably relevant to say public health / epidemiology etc) but my only worry would be that it is another essay-heavy subject and requires a lot of factual background knowledge (and detailed diagrams to colour!) in the same way as Biology, and it might prove difficult to keep up with both to the levels needed.

I don't know what universities / medical schools are looking for nowadays, but I don't think either A level is "easy"

Of course if there are exciting field trips to be had with either subject......!

They won't care at all. The vast majority of applicants will have 3 A levels. It's best to do the subject she feels more confident in finding easy / doing well in /spending least time on.
Geography isn't easy and there's a NEA element but languages are really hard at A level. Geography also has a bit of overlap with the sciences so I'd personally go for that (although I'd actually be petitioning the school to move from doing 4 A levels which is outdated and unnecessary).

Would tend to agree - and any time then released could be used for something such as maybe a part-time job in a care home, learning to drive or an extended project on a medical issue....

Have heard of many doing an EPQ on a medical issue / ethics - can be useful