By Cyril KimbiThe choice of Advanced Level subjects is made at sixteen and closes doors at twenty-two. It is the highest-leverage decision in a Cameroonian student’s education, and it is routinely made on the basis of which teacher is liked and which subject seems easiest.
The combinations that matter
| Target | Essential | Strong third or fourth |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine, pharmacy, dentistry | Biology, Chemistry | Physics or Mathematics |
| Nursing, paramedical, laboratory science | Biology, Chemistry | Physics or Mathematics |
| Engineering (all branches) | Mathematics, Physics | Further Mathematics, Chemistry |
| Computer science, software | Mathematics | Physics, Further Mathematics, Computer Science |
| Agronomy, environment, veterinary | Biology, Chemistry | Mathematics or Geography |
| Economics, business, management | Mathematics or Economics | Economics, Geography |
| Architecture | Mathematics, Physics | Geography or an art subject |
Read down the “essential” column rather than the “strong” one. Those are the subjects whose absence removes the route entirely, and no amount of later effort substitutes for them.
The mistake that costs the most
Dropping Mathematics. It appears in the entry requirements or the entrance examination of engineering, computing, economics, architecture, and most medical concours — and it cannot be added back at nineteen.
The reasoning that produces this mistake is always the same: Mathematics is hard, the grade is at risk, and dropping it protects the overall profile. That is true and it is short-sighted. A B in Mathematics is worth more than an A in a subject nobody asked for, because one of them is a key and the other is decoration.
If you are genuinely uncertain what you want to do — which at sixteen is the normal condition, not a failure — keeping Mathematics is the single decision that preserves the most options.
The two doors, and how to keep both open
Medicine and engineering diverge on one subject. Medicine requires Biology; engineering requires Physics. Both require Chemistry or Mathematics or both.
A candidate carrying Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology has both routes open. That is a heavy load and not everyone can carry it well — and carrying it badly is worse than choosing. If four is unrealistic, choose three and accept that you have chosen a direction.
What you should not do is carry four badly in order to postpone a decision. The concours select by ranking on a fixed number of places, so mediocre grades across four subjects place worse than strong grades across three.
Further Mathematics: when it earns its place
Not required anywhere as a formal entry condition. Its value is specific and real: it converts into speed on engineering concours papers.
Those papers are chronometered and decided by ranking, and they frequently reach into complex numbers, matrices and differential equations. A Further Mathematics candidate recalls a method while others derive one under a clock. That difference is measured in minutes per question, and minutes decide rankings.
Take it if you are aiming at engineering and your Pure Mathematics is already secure. Do not take it if it will damage your other grades — the comparison guide sets out the trade-off in full.
Arts and commercial combinations
Choosing an arts combination is a legitimate decision, not a lesser one — but it should be a decision rather than a default, because it does close the scientific concours.
What it opens: law, which is entered by faculty registration rather than concours; administrative routes including ENAM; journalism and communication; teaching through the ENS; and business and management — where ESSEC Douala explicitly admits arts series candidates, a route many students never learn exists.
One piece of advice for commercial and arts candidates: keep Mathematics if you can carry it. Economics, management and administrative entrance examinations all contain quantitative sections, and candidates without Mathematics consistently lose those marks.
Choosing properly, in order
- Name two or three careers, not fields. “Civil engineer” and “pharmacist”, not “something scientific”.
- Find the entry requirement for each — the concours conditions or the programme page, in writing.
- List the subjects that appear in all of them. Those are non-negotiable.
- Add the subject that keeps a second route open, if you can carry it well.
- Check your Ordinary Level results honestly. A subject you struggled with at O Level is harder, not easier, at A Level.
Step five is where realism belongs. Ambition should shape steps one to four; step five is arithmetic.
If you have already chosen and now doubt it
Switching in the first term of Lower Sixth is usually possible and worth doing if the combination genuinely blocks your route. Switching in Upper Sixth rarely is, because the content is cumulative.
The alternatives cost far less than a wasted year. You can sit an additional subject as a private candidate, which is exactly what that route exists for. You can target a route your current combination does open. Or you can take a year to add the missing subject deliberately — a decision, rather than a drift.
Frequently asked questions
What subjects do I need for medicine in Cameroon?
Biology and Chemistry are essential; Physics or Mathematics as the third. The concours assumes all of them.
Can I do engineering without Further Mathematics?
Yes. It is an advantage on the concours, not a requirement, and candidates enter every year with Pure Mathematics and Physics alone.
How many A Level subjects should I take?
Three done well, or four if you can genuinely carry them. Four done poorly place worse than three done strongly.
Can I change subjects after Lower Sixth?
Sometimes early in the year. After that the cumulative content makes it very difficult.
What if my school does not offer the subject I need?
Sit it as a private candidate. That route exists precisely for this situation.
