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Is only doing 3 A levels okay?

I eventually want to go to university, At the moment I am doing TWO A levels; Photography and ICT and im doing Maths and english GCSE resit. Tomorrow im going to have to pick another A level which will probably be psycology. I cant take another A level to make it four because there is basically nothing in my schools option block that I can do.

Cant do maths and english because I got a D and im resiting it this year.
Cant do economics since its basically maths
cant do biology since I did the foundation paper(got a C though)
Cant do sports or theatre studies for other reasons.

How would only doing 3 A levels effect me? would it be a disadvantage when applying to universities? does it have anything to do with Ucas points?

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Reply 1

Helen_J

are you aware at all of the UCAS and application system?

Reply 2

ILILILILIL

3 A levels is fine as long as you do them all well and carry them on to A2.

I regret doing 3 AS' though. I should of done 4 since then I could of dropped maths instead of carrying it on.

Reply 3

fisherman

3 A levels would be fine. However, I get the impression that all those subjects are not highly regarded generally for uni applications.

Reply 4

adilmorrison

Three is perfectly normal... Could you possibly take up General Studies? Some universities accept it in place of a 4th AS...

Reply 5

~Ollie~

Economics A-level is definitely not basically just maths. At all. There is a tiny tiny little bit.
It is only degree level that it becomes maths.

Reply 6

RightSaidJames

Do Economics, it has almost nothing to do with Maths other than basic number-crunching.

Reply 7

potteralan

Doing 4AS & then 3A2 I think is the best way. This means you drop your weakest subject & besides most universities accept 3A Levels. Only the top one really ask for 4.

Reply 8

alex_hk90

~Ollie~

Economics A-level is definitely not basically just maths. At all. There is a tiny tiny little bit.
It is only degree level that it becomes maths.

RightSaidJames

Do Economics, it has almost nothing to do with Maths other than basic number-crunching.

Listen to them. :yep:

The hardest maths in A-level Economics is percentage change and use of an index on graphs. :p:

Reply 9

~Ollie~

Just to clarify the OP's question is whether just doing 3 A2's without a 4th AS is OK, not whether they need 4 A2's

Reply 10

the666thmessiah

Most universities ask for 3, and for their more competitive courses, 3.5 <That is, 3 at A2, and one at AS.
What do you plan on doing at uni? with subjects like photography and ICT options are severly limited :s-smilie:

...One of my friends however did only three AS and 3 A2 levels, got something like BCC and is studying psychology somewhere this year. Also, for some universities I think that a specific number isnt necissarily required, but points are offered instead, where 240 could equate to, for example, AB at A2 and E at AS if you took up only three. Though dropping your third really is pushing it..

Reply 11

jedsterg

>are you aware at all of the UCAS and application system?

Not really but i've got this thing in my planner that says A- 60 points, B- 50 points, C- 40 points etc....

>3 A levels would be fine. However, I get the impression that all those subjects are not highly regarded generally for uni applications.

Really? Well I wanna do Game design if I cant do that then something like Animation or web design as far as I know you just need ICT, some form of art and physics would help...I wanted to do Biology or Physics as an A level aswell but I did the foundation paper for my GCSE so I wasn't allowed.....If only someone told me that when I was doing my GCSEs :shifty:

>Three is perfectly normal... Could you possibly take up General Studies? Some universities accept it in place of a 4th AS...

Ill ask about general studies

>Economics A-level is definitely not basically just maths. At all. There is a tiny tiny little bit.
It is only degree level that it becomes maths.

I had no idea :eek:

I guess if he tells me I have to do 4 A levels I could choose Economics but Do you think I really should do 4 A levels? I really dont have a clue what economics is about. I dont know whether I should continue to pretend that I cant do anything in that option block so I can just do 3 and makesure i get top notch grades in the 3 im doing. Dont know whether I should just do 3 or take up economics or ask about doing general studies.

What do you think?

Reply 12

RightSaidJames

Take the 4 AS Levels. You may as well, most people do this and drop one of them in Year 13, and if you don't like either Economics or Psychology you can choose which one to drop.

Reply 13

the666thmessiah

I always thought that games design required mathematics.. My cuisin did it at MEng level and applied with ICT, maths, further maths, and physics

Reply 14

~Ollie~

jedsterg

>Economics A-level is definitely not basically just maths. At all. There is a tiny tiny little bit.
It is only degree level that it becomes maths.

I had no idea :eek:

Meh I don't think I would stress about the 4th, especially considering you are retaking some GCSE's. My friend did just 3 and had no problems from unis etc. Just make sure you do 3 that you will definitely carry on, as there will be little chance of dropping one. Maybe just start with 4 and see how it goes?

Reply 15

natallia729

I wouldn't pick subjects based on whether people tell you they're highly regarded...I made that mistake!

I think you should stick with the 3..or maybe take on 4 with the plan of dropping one after a couple of weeks if you find it to much (this way you can also find out which 3 you prefer and are best at).

If you want to do animation or games design, maybe try art or DT? Science probably wouldn't be the best option since you did the foundation paper and got a C as although this is a very good grade, sciences are known for being notoriously hard at A-Level. Although maybe you could try something like physics if you were prepared to study reaaaallli hard for it. The fact that you're doing IT is good because unis will probably like you for having a technology subject :smile:

Good luck with your decision!

Reply 16

JAgg

I'm only doing 3 AS's and next year I'll carry all 3on to A2. I was going to do 4 but I belive I can do better at 3 plus 3 A's is better than 4 C's. But do make sure you do atleast 3 A2's.

Reply 17

jedsterg

Well you do need some maths which is why im thinking of other courses to do but I really really do want to do game design. I don't know if having a decent ammount of experience with making games would help me get in, I dont have any experience yet but it's one of the things I plan on learning this year in my spare time.

This guy on another forum who was a game designer himself told me that I should just do the subjects I have a passion in but he was american so he probably didn't know how things worked in the UK with A levels and universities.

As far as I know its Game programming that requires ALOT of maths and physics, Design does aswell but not nearly as much.

Reply 18

jedsterg

Alright thanks for the help, I think I will try to see if I can just do 3 A levels, I will definetly carry them onto A2. If he really tries to make me do 4 I will ask about general studies(for some reason I wasn't timetabled to do it, maybe its cause im doing gcse resits). I think if i did 4 A levels plus the 2 GCSE re-sits i might find it very hard to keep up with the work and revision. I would rather get 3 A, B or C's than 4 C or Ds.

Also while im here i've got two basic questions. Is a D a pass at A level or is it like GCSE C-A* what would be a fail?

Whats more highly valued by universities, Psycology or business studies?

Reply 19

RightSaidJames

jedsterg

Also while im here i've got two basic questions. Is a D a pass at A level or is it like GCSE C-A* what would be a fail?

Nope, an E at A Level is still not a fail, and a G at GCSE is not a fail either. Unlike U's, they count for something, it's just people think of them as a fail when they're not.

What's more highly valued by universities, Psycology or business studies?

Psychology. But Psychology is a very very hard subject, people think it's easy but it's easily one of the hardest essay based subjects, and there's so much work and revision involved.