Really need some a level subject adivce!

Hi guys...
So im currently in year 11 and im finding it really hard to choose my A-level subjects...I have chosen business,geography,economics,product design (and general studies, which is compulsory) but I can change. I really want to study business/managment at uni (preferable lse/oxford/cambridge...) and I dont know whether I have picked suitable subjects as I know business and product are "easy/soft" subjects and might not be suitable for these uni's?? I was thinking of doing politics instead of geography...but I seriously am so confused about what would be good to take. Would love some advice from anyone!!! =)

Reply 1

117r

Well I'll start.

Generally, for a university like Oxford, you will want to be doing three 'respectable' A Levels. The fourth doesn't tend to matter so much.

Also, some of these courses may well contain mathematical content, so it would probably be advisable to study some form of maths.

To get a feel of which subjects are considered respected, you can take a look at a list like this (this one is from Trinity College Cambridge:

LIST A1
Generally Suitable Science A-levels

Biology
Chemistry
Mathematics
Further Mathematics
Physics

LIST A2
Generally Suitable Arts A-levels

Art History
Chinese
Classical Civilisation
Economics
English Literature
French
Geography
German
Greek
History
Irish
Italian
Japanese
Latin
Music
Philosophy
Religious Studies
Russian
Spanish
Welsh

LIST B
A-levels of More Limited Suitability

Archaeology (Arch & Anth)
Art & Design (Arts)
Business Studies (Economics)
Computing (Computer Science)
Design & Technology (Architecture)
Drama/Theatre Studies (Arts)
Electronics (Engineering)
English Language (Arts)
Film Studies (Arts)
Government & Politics (Arts)
Law (Land Economy & Law)
Media Studies (Arts)
Psychology (Arts)
Sociology (Arts)

LIST C
A-levels Suitable Only As Fourth Subjects

Accounting
Applied Science
Citizenship
Communication Studies
Critical Thinking
Dance
Environmental Science
General Studies
Health & Social Care
Home Economics
ICT
Leisure Studies
Music Technology
Performance Studies
Performing Arts
Perspectives on Science
Photography
Physical Education
Science
Science for Public Understanding
Sports Studies
Travel & Tourism
World Development

I don't really have much more to offer you in the way of advice, but hey at least I bumped the thread.

Reply 2

username826246

The list that the poster above posted is very useful in getting an idea what the top universities are asking for :smile:

As for the subjects that you have mentioned OP, Business and Economics are quite similar sort of subjects and I'm not sure if universities will like that, they may want to see you have a more broad range of subjects. If this is the case, I would advise swapping Business for a more 'traditional' subject as Business is considered a bit 'soft'.

It completely depends on what you want to apply for, do you know what you want to in the future? As long as you think you'll enjoy the subject, that's the main thing :tongue:

Reply 3

Molly111

They'll love Economics but if you want to do Business then I'd do it - you don't want to be putting loads of pressure on yourself to get amazing grades in subjects you don't like to do something you're not completely sure you want to do yet.

My advice would be choose subjects you think you'll like/are interested in because those will be what you'll do best in. You can always swap them if you change your mind; I changed 2 of mine..

Also I think A*s in any subject is better than Bs/Cs in ones you don't like, even for Oxford :smile:

good luck!

Reply 4

Caecilius

My advice would be to ditch Product Design and Business - they're not challenging, academic subjects, and would definitely disadvantage you with regard to LSE. Maths and Further maths are almost de rigeur in applications for Econ at Oxbridge and other top universities.

Reply 5

languagelover

I agree that product design really does not look good! it would look much better if you changed this and perhaps business for Maths and further maths (depending on if you are good at maths?). So it would be:

Maths
Further Maths
Economics
Geography

Reply 6

Joinedup

I think the 'informed choices' leaflet Available on the russell group website is a LOT more useful than the trinity list.

Reply 7

loptopflop

Original post by Caecilius

but the thing is i really enjoy both of those subjects and that would be a field that i would go into so would it not be worth having them? or just a complete no and change to maths?

Reply 8

Caecilius

That's the terrible mistake that people seem to make, and not without some reason - people seem to think that taking a subject at A-level is a good way of preparing to do it at university or in real life. While this may be true of English and History, and other rigorous subjects at A-level, it is not true of Business Studies, Product Design et al. My advice is, unless you think you would perform significantly worse at maths, go with that in stead. Even Government and Politics is better than Business Studies or Product Design.