Advice on Genetics Study for A-Level Student

[Abodunrin05]

I really want to study genetics, but I'm not too sure how to go about it. My dad is advising me to get a degree in medice first, but shouldn't i just study genetics as my first degree? Please give me some advice about what to do. I am at my final year at secondary school(high school) and I'm doing my A-levels in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

 

[iansmith]

In Canada, most medical school requires at least 3 years of undergraduate study before enterring. So you should look into the admission requirements in states/country. You might have to get a bachelor degree.

Also, genetics is not always a degree that is given. You have to look into the university curriculum. It is sometimes offer as a concentration in biology.

Is medical school a personnal choice or are your parents pushing you? There is always posibility to combine thing such as being a medical doctor that study genetics disease in clinical setting.

 

[pattylou]

I really want to study genetics, but I'm not too sure how to go about it. My dad is advising me to get a degree in medice first, but shouldn't i just study genetics as my first degree? Please give me some advice about what to do. I am at my final year at secondary school(high school) and I'm doing my A-levels in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

It sounds from IanSmith's post that Canada is similar to the States. The requirements for most biology fields are roughly the same, so when I went to school years ago they didn't give majors in specific biological fields.

I ended up with a BS in biology (and I took extra genetic coursework - which really amounts to cell biology, virology, molecular biology, extra chemistry coursework) and there may have been something like "emphasis in genetics" on the degree. I think the pre-med students had the same spectrum of classes, with probably some anatomy and physiology thrown in.

The genetics degree came about in graduate school. I would suggest talking to your school counselor for better specifics about your individual plan.

 

[Therian]

It sounds like he's in England/the UK if he's doing A-Levels but maybe he's not

 

[DocToxyn]

You may need to sit down and figure out from what angle do you want to study genetics. As mentioned earlier, if you go the medical degree route you have the option of working in a clinical setting with patients and perhaps doing research into the genetic aspects of some particular disease. If you want to do more focused, basic science research, you might consider going to graduate school and getting a PhD. This will most likely lead to a more laboratory-based level of research, although you could go into epidemiology or again clinical research and still work with people.

Either of these routes is going to expose you to some level of genetics along the way and illustrate how it relates to biology, chemistry, etc and from there you can tailor your course work to suit your needs. The PhD route may give you more flexibility in that respect, especially if you select a school with a strong genetics program, the MD will probably require more "off-topic" course work.