Is Maths HL required to study medicine in Germany?

[ssseva]

Good afternoon, IB folks!

It is my first year in DP, and only when the first half-year had ended, I realised that I want to change my specialisation. My HL subjects: Business and Management, English B and Russian A1; SL subjects: History, Maths and ES&S. I picked these subjects as kind of evil of the lesser kind because I had no clue what I wanted to practise in the future. Now I'm determined to become a surgeon. 

I talked to teachers at school and generally (theoretically!) changing B&M and ES&S to Chemistry HL and Biology HL is not that much of an issue (in comparison with the whole picture). The nastiest problem is where to study. I mostly strive for Germany because I know German at an intermediate level and the education there is relatively free. However, it is eminently challenging to get accepted to the major universities, and there are peculiarities one has to keep in mind. 

Has any of you experienced a similar issue? Has anyone applied to the universities in Germany to study medicine? Is there any sense in pulling this? And finally, does one have to pick Maths HL to become a doctor? 

Please, tell me everything you could share about this path. 

Thanks in advance 😊

[shellyhanani]

From what I remember, you need either a math or science in HL to apply to Germany generally, regardless of what subject you are studying. You should also check out entry requirements for the course you want to take at numerous universities around Germany to see what they generally require from you. Hope this helps  

[ssseva]

@shellyhanani thanks for your reply! I believe it is a general requirement, however, applying to a medical faculty demands more than that. The problem with the information is that the majority of universities have their websites clumsy and often untranslated. Moreover, even if there are requirements, they are broad and unspecified

[shellyhanani]

Write to me privately and I will translate for you, if need be. They should have general requirements. 

[sarahaction]

Hello. I think that it is too late to change your subjects right now. 

Biology HL and Chemistry HL are hard, they both require a lot of memorization and I saw some students dropping out completely of chemistry so I don't know whether it is a good decision. They are both hard to get 7 compared to other subjects and since medicine is a competitive domain, you should at least get a 6 in both subjects to get into medical universities. 

Also, there is a large gap between Math SL and Math HL. Catching up what Math HL students have done could be hard for you, since they have completely different levels of understanding when it comes to solve problems. 

I hope this answer helped you.