• Question: Which A Levels should I take if I want to do biology at Cambridge?

    Asked by biozak to Jack, Jon, Tom, Yalda on 14 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Jack Heal

      Jack Heal answered on 14 Mar 2013:

      Biology and chemistry will be the most relevant subjects. Often for science subjects and university, they will want you to have studied at least 2 science A-levels. I would recommend doing maths, too. Having a decent grounding in maths never does any harm when you’re studying science and you’ll likely find many of the modules easier with a maths background.

    • Photo: Tom Branson

      Tom Branson answered on 14 Mar 2013:

      Jack is right, you should definitely do biology and chemistry and probably maths to help. If you do four A levels then you could do something none sciencey to give yourself more general knowledge. Doing extra activities in and outside school will also make you stand out. Cambridge is a very difficult university to go to, but there are lots of other good Universities too!

    • Photo: Yalda Javadi

      Yalda Javadi answered on 14 Mar 2013:

      I agree with the guys… Chemistry, Biology and Maths would be great! If I could go back and choose my A-levels again, I would definitley choose Maths.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 14 Mar 2013:

      Put the maths down & step away! I did A-levels in biology, chemistry & English lit and haven’t struggled unduly. If there’s maths stuff you need to know when you get to uni, someone will be able to help you figure it out (at my uni you could go for a few maths classes). I reckon a humanity or language helps you think in a different way from sciences – and so you can sometimes see a different perspective from others.

    • Photo: Jon Marles-Wright

      Jon Marles-Wright answered on 17 Mar 2013:

      Chemistry and biology are a must. I would recommend maths too, I did biology, chemistry, maths and general studies, and went to Cambridge to study science. Maths A-level is more useful than some people think for Biology, because you have to do lots of calculations, and though you can do catch up classes, having the real understanding of maths that you would get from A-level is much more of a help, and maths is a lot about practice, so two years without maths might mean you forget some of what you know from GCSE. Further maths is also useful if like maths.

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