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is it a bad idea to do maths AND economics?

anyone know any careers maths/business related? I am SO stuck!"
x
TheHaylio
is it a bad idea to do maths AND economics?


No...why would it be?
I've decided on;
History, English Language, Sociology and German, and I'm doing an extra one in Environmental Studies (because it's easy).

I want to study either Politics or Social Anthropology at university, will these options limit my choices or are they OK? I don't want to do Literature, can't do Maths (I'm terrible), and I only took Core Science so cannot do a science. I was considering Psychology but chose Lang instead.

Obviously these are subject to change on results day, but I'm just checking that they're alright?
Reply 1043
Hello potential helpers! :P

I am interested in taking Psychology at University due to many personal reasons, not because I want to learn 'mind-tricks' etc. My interest in the subject itself started when my sister used to come home from her classes and tell me about various case-studies.
I was selected as one of the potential Oxbridge candidates at my school, and I would love to go to one of the top universities for Psychology, even if the university isn't seen as being one of 'the best' all-round.

I've done a lot of research through reading forums, jobs4u etc to university websites, and so I just wanted to close my 'investigation' of sorts by posting my own situation on a forum.

Currently my a-level options are Psychology, English Language, Drama, and I am unsure of what to take for my fourth option as I don't really want to drop anything :confused:... I know it would be a good choice to take Biology as I don't want to take maths, but I also enjoy History (when not being taught by my teacher).

So, i'm faced with the classic dilemma of A-level options - in particular, my fourth.

If I'm honest, I couldn't care less about plants biological systems, and I would much rather learn about how our brain and body works. However, I also know that if I want to achieve my goal of going to a top university I will have to learn things that are completely uninteresting to me in order to get there. Biology seems to be useful, (though not essential), as universities do like a mix of sciences etc.

History is also a contender as I do find it interesting, but this probably won't be reflected as well as it could be in my GCSE results due to a bad teacher. I would enjoy this more than Biology, but I am unsure whether Biology would look better for me than History.

I'm also struggling to decide between English Language and Lit. I do love Lit but Language sounds interesting, even though Lit does seem to be a popular choice. I do love analysing texts but I am wary that a very large part of my success at GCSE was due to my excellent teacher, and so am concerned if I end up with one of the rubbish teachers I won't do as well as I could. I chose Language after my brother telling me about language change & acquisition aspect of the course, and also because I can be creative with my writing.


Drama may seem to be an odd choice, but as I am also a dancer I will also be auditioning for Musical Theatre / Contemporary dance schools at 18 as well as sending off applications for Universities. So drama will be useful if I do go to dance school, while also potentially showing my 'arty' side.

I am predicted As and A*s for all my subjects, and currently achieve A* in my sciences so I would probably be able to do Biology, but I am worried that my lack of interest may lead me to not put as much effort into it as I want to and lower my grade. :confused:

Another note is that I tend to do a lot better in coursework as I like to take a lot of time to think through things and map them out, and so am not sure whether or not I am taking the correct options. I just wanted to open the question to the floor and see what others think of my situation and whether or not someone has been through the same thing. :frown:

I'm planning on talking to my Head Of Year on results day, it's just been difficult as I only discovered I would have to stay on for Sixth Form due to funding problems for dance school at the end of my exams.

Sorry for writing so much! I did do my best to cut out a lot of waffle, but I want it to be easier for you to understand my situation and give advice.:p:
Thank you so much if you can help :smile: :woo:
Hey, I also want to do Psychology at Uni too! :smile:

I would recommend that you take Biology, I have been told Uni's really like it for Pyschology and also a lot of the top Uni's state that you may get a lower offer if you have a maths/science subject so having Biology will look better on your application, and you are obviously good at it if you are predicted A* at GCSE.

Also English Lit is a lot more respected than English Language, so I would say take Eng Lit if you are looking at the top Unis.

Hope this helps :smile:
Reply 1045
Yes they're good. Of those I'd make sure to take History and German to A2, but maybe it doesn't matter so much for what you want to do. Seeing as you are interested in Politics though, why don't you take Politics instead of Sociology?
Yeah, but I'd swap English Language to Literature because it's just so much more awesome, and then not do Environmental Studies.
whitesky
Hello potential helpers! :P

I am interested in taking Psychology at University due to many personal reasons, not because I want to learn 'mind-tricks' etc. My interest in the subject itself started when my sister used to come home from her classes and tell me about various case-studies.
I was selected as one of the potential Oxbridge candidates at my school, and I would love to go to one of the top universities for Psychology, even if the university isn't seen as being one of 'the best' all-round.

I've done a lot of research through reading forums, jobs4u etc to university websites, and so I just wanted to close my 'investigation' of sorts by posting my own situation on a forum.

Currently my a-level options are Psychology, English Language, Drama, and I am unsure of what to take for my fourth option as I don't really want to drop anything :confused:... I know it would be a good choice to take Biology as I don't want to take maths, but I also enjoy History (when not being taught by my teacher).

So, i'm faced with the classic dilemma of A-level options - in particular, my fourth.

If I'm honest, I couldn't care less about plants biological systems, and I would much rather learn about how our brain and body works. However, I also know that if I want to achieve my goal of going to a top university I will have to learn things that are completely uninteresting to me in order to get there. Biology seems to be useful, (though not essential), as universities do like a mix of sciences etc.

History is also a contender as I do find it interesting, but this probably won't be reflected as well as it could be in my GCSE results due to a bad teacher. I would enjoy this more than Biology, but I am unsure whether Biology would look better for me than History.

I'm also struggling to decide between English Language and Lit. I do love Lit but Language sounds interesting, even though Lit does seem to be a popular choice. I do love analysing texts but I am wary that a very large part of my success at GCSE was due to my excellent teacher, and so am concerned if I end up with one of the rubbish teachers I won't do as well as I could. I chose Language after my brother telling me about language change & acquisition aspect of the course, and also because I can be creative with my writing.


Drama may seem to be an odd choice, but as I am also a dancer I will also be auditioning for Musical Theatre / Contemporary dance schools at 18 as well as sending off applications for Universities. So drama will be useful if I do go to dance school, while also potentially showing my 'arty' side.

I am predicted As and A*s for all my subjects, and currently achieve A* in my sciences so I would probably be able to do Biology, but I am worried that my lack of interest may lead me to not put as much effort into it as I want to and lower my grade. :confused:

Another note is that I tend to do a lot better in coursework as I like to take a lot of time to think through things and map them out, and so am not sure whether or not I am taking the correct options. I just wanted to open the question to the floor and see what others think of my situation and whether or not someone has been through the same thing. :frown:

I'm planning on talking to my Head Of Year on results day, it's just been difficult as I only discovered I would have to stay on for Sixth Form due to funding problems for dance school at the end of my exams.

Sorry for writing so much! I did do my best to cut out a lot of waffle, but I want it to be easier for you to understand my situation and give advice.:p:
Thank you so much if you can help :smile: :woo:

Do biology, you'd be foolish not to when applying for a psychology degree. Top universities want biology, chemistry or maths (preferably two or three of these, including biology), for a psychology degree. A-level biology and A-level psychology cross over somewhat, and biology is going to be helpful for a psychology degree.

If you weren't set on taking biology A-level, then maybe a psychology degree isn't for you? I don't see why you'd be pondering on the most helpful and relevant A-level for psychology if you really want a psychology degree. If you say you have a lack of interest in science and biology, you do not want to do a psychology degree. It's mostly a scientific degree, with lots of scientific content, especially biology. There's bits of maths in there too, there's statistics content for example.

If you're a potential Oxbridge candidate, then Cambridge especially (but probably Oxford too), won't like A-level drama, look at this link below from Cambridge:

http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604

Psychology is on the 'limited suitability' list too, but they'll most probably like you to take it for a psychology degree. They don't want you to take anything from the 'limited suitability' list, unless it's extremely highly relevant to the degree. Not having any science A-levels will majorly disadvantage you for applying for a psychology degree at Oxbridge and other top universities.
Reply 1048
Markh1000
Why on earth would you think physics is not a valued A Level?


Damn sorry I meant I Business not physics, I know physics is a good Alevel my brother did it and he got into Imperial. I'm just concerned ad i haven't done physics for so long.
It seems like you thought this through pretty well =)

Did you consider doing lit&lang instead of just literature or language? That might be the best of both worlds, though straight lit is still more respected but not by much.

Biology would be very useful but don't take it if you think you will absolutely hate it - that's never a good idea with any subject.
Mangaartist

Biology would be very useful but don't take it if you think you will absolutely hate it - that's never a good idea with any subject.

If the OP hates biology at GCSE and A-level and has no interest in science at all, they're not going to enjoy the large amount of biology in a psychology degree, so a psychology degree isn't going to be for them.
Reply 1051
Hey Electricityy and Duckzilla :smile:
Thanks for your advice! Yeah, I figured I would be stupid not to take Biology, I think I was more hoping that somebody would say I wouldn't REALLY need it, just that it was useful. Trying to trick myself I guess :P

I am interested in the Scientific aspects greatly, it's just I feel like my teachers at GCSE have discouraged me greatly and I don't like how the syllabus is limited to learning phrases and then having to regurgitate the facts onto a page. I know this is how it is for most subjects, it's just I am more interesting in challenging ideas and finding new ones while learning about current theories, rather than just learning definitions for words in every single lessons, especially with Science. I've always expressed an interest in science ever since I was young, so it's not that I don't enjoy sciences at all. I don't know, maybe I haven't really seen or heard enough about the course to have such a view.

So as it stands, while I do know Psychology is seen as being of limited suitability, I do want to take it. I got an A in Statistics too, I did find it interesting but at the time I didn't really think I was going to be going down this path so I didn't put the effort in I could have. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy maths and statistics, it's just there are things I would rather be doing. Just because I enjoy some subjects more than others on their own doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy them as a combination, and while I understand you challenging my desire to study Psychology I know it is something I am greatly interested in an want to take further.

So my options would stand to be-
Psychology, English Language, Drama and Biology.

I see why you think it might be wise to drop Drama, but my parents are quite keen on me having an artistic output at school, especially as I really do enjoy it.

So I still wouldn't really want to take Maths, as getting an A at GCSE level seems to be good enough for all the universities I have looked at if you don't take them further.
I'm looking mainly at the top 10 on the University Guide 2011 by the Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2010/jun/04/university-guide-psychology
and will (obviously) look next year when their next one is released.

Would it be better to take English Literature or History instead of Drama?
Merely throwing around ideas, as I am unsure as to whether I would drop Drama. All the Unis do say 1 or more Science/Maths, and I do enjoy Chemistry also so it'd either be Lit, History or Chemistry that i'd add on. Opinions anyone? :smile:
Duckzilla
If the OP hates biology at GCSE and A-level and has no interest in science at all, they're not going to enjoy the large amount of biology in a psychology degree, so a psychology degree isn't going to be for them.


That's what I was thinking but since I didn't do Psychology I wasn't sure just how much Biology it involves.
Reply 1053
ew nvm- it worked. i'll leave some of this anyway XD

(I've always been very interested in science, probably due to the fact my father was also and his career is very scientifically based, and so when I was younger I used to pose questions to him about various scientific debates and topics. It's not that i'm not interested in science, it's more I don't like how in schools anybody would pass by just learning a definition and spouting it onto a page without even knowing what they are talking about.)

manga- haha thanks :smile: i have spent a large majority of my time going over websites and just throwing together combinations in my head, to be honest I always over-analyse things and so I just end up getting stuck at square one most of the time! :P

Lit&Lang might be interesting, and something I was just thinking about instead of Drama after what Duckzilla pointed out, though my brother took it and he was telling me some not-so-encouraging things about it. I'll ask him again later, it's just his birthday so I don't want to bother him at the moment with things like that.

I do really like History though too, but i'm guessing it would be better overall to have
Psych, English Lang, English Lit and Biology in comparison to Psych, Lang, Biology, History?
or then again there's always Psych, Lang, Biology, Chemistry...
I do really enjoy chemistry too, so there's always that. The only thing thats discouraging me from sciences is our schools teachers really, but I guess I could always study at home when i'm not dancing. I found my revision more interesting than my actual classes, though that's probably something that everybody gets :P
I dance everyday so that's also something I need to take into account on my workload, if i'm dancing straight after school to 8 or 9-half nine every night it's going to be increasingly difficult if I choose lots of subjects that require a lot of essays etc. It's something I would struggle with anyway, but it's something I just want to throw in. Thanks again :smile:
whitesky
Hey Electricityy and Duckzilla :smile:
Thanks for your advice! Yeah, I figured I would be stupid not to take Biology, I think I was more hoping that somebody would say I wouldn't REALLY need it, just that it was useful. Trying to trick myself I guess :P

I am interested in the Scientific aspects greatly, it's just I feel like my teachers at GCSE have discouraged me greatly and I don't like how the syllabus is limited to learning phrases and then having to regurgitate the facts onto a page. I know this is how it is for most subjects, it's just I am more interesting in challenging ideas and finding new ones while learning about current theories, rather than just learning definitions for words in every single lessons, especially with Science. I've always expressed an interest in science ever since I was young, so it's not that I don't enjoy sciences at all. I don't know, maybe I haven't really seen or heard enough about the course to have such a view.

So as it stands, while I do know Psychology is seen as being of limited suitability, I do want to take it. I got an A in Statistics too, I did find it interesting but at the time I didn't really think I was going to be going down this path so I didn't put the effort in I could have. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy maths and statistics, it's just there are things I would rather be doing. Just because I enjoy some subjects more than others on their own doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy them as a combination, and while I understand you challenging my desire to study Psychology I know it is something I am greatly interested in an want to take further.

So my options would stand to be-
Psychology, English Language, Drama and Biology.

I see why you think it might be wise to drop Drama, but my parents are quite keen on me having an artistic output at school, especially as I really do enjoy it.

So I still wouldn't really want to take Maths, as getting an A at GCSE level seems to be good enough for all the universities I have looked at if you don't take them further.
I'm looking mainly at the top 10 on the University Guide 2011 by the Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2010/jun/04/university-guide-psychology
and will (obviously) look next year when their next one is released.

Would it be better to take English Literature or History instead of Drama?
Merely throwing around ideas, as I am unsure as to whether I would drop Drama. All the Unis do say 1 or more Science/Maths, and I do enjoy Chemistry also so it'd either be Lit, History or Chemistry that i'd add on. Opinions anyone? :smile:

If you enjoy drama that much then take it, if not you'll be spending two years wishing you had! Only Cambridge (perhaps Oxford), and LSE will have some niggles about drama, but as it is drama is very slowly rising in respectability, so it should be okay. Psychology won't be viewed as limited suitability when applying for a psychology degree, so you'd be fine there.

Biology really would help you in admission, as the vast majority of other psychology applicants will have taken biology, and a large amount will have also taken one or more of chemistry and maths. There will be some useful A-level biology content to link to psychology too. A-level psychology can give impressions that degree psychology is like that, there is lots of similar content, but there is going to be a lot more science involved, at a greater difficulty.

Your choices of psychology, biology, English language and drama would be good :smile:
Reply 1055
Take English Lit rather than Lang, or a Lit and Lang combined A level. Basically, English Lit is respected at all universities and the lang, or lit and lang combined A levels are not respected at all unis.
I would then take biology and psychology. I would think carefully about drama though; it may make it harder for you if you go for a psychology degree; psychology is very competitive so you have to be a very good applicant.
But, Psychology, Biology, English Literature and Drama doesn't look too bad to me; you have 2 respected subjects in Biology and English Literature.
Reply 1056
whitesky
Hello potential helpers! :P

Im a smart Ass Im going to chat aload of bob about my A*s and plans to go oxford and then end up going to working in a Strip Club



I was going to help but your post is too long and I dont want to read your life story

edit : who ever negged me ahhahh im a troll i dont care
Biology, chemistry, eng lit and psychology would work well, based on what you've said you should consider it imo.
English Lit is far more like the English you'll know from GCSE. There are some creative writing componants depending on what exam board you follow - I did WJEC and did a creative writing task in my AS year (40/40 yay!). I did Lang for about two lessons, and got bored of how scientific it was compared to the history you explore in Lit classes. You'll learn more about language in an A-level lit class anyway, and it's seen as more prestigious if you're into that. In any case I fully recommend you change Lang to Lit!
Reply 1059
Thanks so much! :smile: :biggrin: I'll double check my option revisions with my Head and i'll be off. :smile:
I think I will change Lang-> Lit, and i'll keep thinking about the Drama -> Chemistry.
It really means a lot to me as I do have ambition and i'm not afraid to say so. Heck, even if I do end up in a Strip Club atleast I tried and tbh- it's good money anyway :wink:
So thank you so much for everything, I hope everything goes good for you all in everything you want to do :wink:
Duckzilla- sorry if I got a little stressy :L as i said, it's just cause I get passionate about things XD thanks especially to you for all your help :smile: