Thinking of doing 5 A levels...should I?

I'm in year 11 at the moment and have chosen

Maths
Physics
Economics
German
Japanese

I don't think German or Japanese will be an issue, but I slightly worried about Maths and Physics. I'm not the best mathematician out there, and probably only got an A at IGCSE. The same applies for Physics, though I'm slightly annoyed as I probably could've gotten an A*...

Anyway, is 5 too many? I'm slightly worried about the workload and how much of a big jump it will be from GCSE. Thanks.

why the thumbs down lol?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1

Blake-inator

9

I don't think 5 is too much if you are good at remembering things. That would help a lot with the languages (rules and vocab) and maths and physics, but if you think you aren't naturally gifted then i would stick to 4.

I doubt 5 would be too much of a problem and if it is, then drop it (either immediately or after AS)

Reply 2

Dylann

21

I'm in a similar spot as you, I want to take:

Chemistry
English Literature
Maths
Music technology

But I also want to get an AS level in economics as I wish to go into business management. I would drop music and economics at A2.

Reply 3

Orangecake

11

If you can cope with the workload then it should be fine. Know someone with 5 A grades and also someone else with 5 grades all at C so really depends. Better to get three good grades then sacrifice a lot of time for mediocre ones.

Reply 4

Tackla

14

No. You will only ever need 3 A levels and 1 AS max.

Reply 5

Drizz

12

It's better to have three or even four good grades rather than five decent ones. I personally wouldn't put that much pressure on yourself, but if you think you can cope then go for it.

Reply 6

Blake-inator

9

Original post by Tackla

No. You will only ever need 3 A levels and 1 AS max.

So?

Reply 7

morewig

2

I wouldn't suggest economics unless you are interested in it. I did it for AS and found it very dry and boring. Also it was the hardest one to revise for and involves a ton of exam technique.

Reply 8

sarah09_

1

Yes then you can drop one straight away if you really hate it. I wish I'd done this but everyone said it would be too much work and would affect my other subjects but you can always drop one if it becomes too much work and it gives you a better insight to what you really enjoy

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Reply 9

Red Fox

11

I say go for it. I want to do Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and History.

Reply 10

überambitious_ox

14

If you are organised enough, then it should be doable.

But, if you are clever and not amazingly organised, maybe doing 4 would be the safer option so as to get 4A's rather than 5 bad grades.

Reply 11

SharminaSyeda

Thats a lot and two languages? I do spanish and you probably know this but its a lot different than gcse, the workload will be crazy, the grammar is ridiculous and you're doing some solid subjects there, if you're prepared for the absolute horror of workload ahead then go for it

Reply 12

Kousar

12

And I couldn't handle 3....good luck :K:

Reply 13

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper

19

Original post by Blake-inator

I don't think 5 is too much if you are good at remembering things. That would help a lot with the languages (rules and vocab) and maths and physics, but if you think you aren't naturally gifted then i would stick to 4.

I doubt 5 would be too much of a problem and if it is, then drop it (either immediately or after AS)

It will be a lot of work but its deffinately do able.
If you think you can do it then go for it. You always have the option of dropping a subject if you want to.
I know a girl at 6th form who did 6 a-levels. She did maths, further maths, chemistry, biology, physics and general studies. Maths and further maths where done together- all of maths in year 12 and all of further maths in year 13. Also general studies was compulsory. She got 5 A's (this was just before A*'s at a-level came in) and a D in general studies.

Reply 14

Kousar

12

I didn't even know that some college's provide 5 A Levels. If you do 5, you need to be studying pretty much all the time. And that's not even me joking. Our teachers told us to study everyday/night with 3 A Levels. Imagine what it would be like with 5.

Reply 15

fairisle13

10

If you really want to do 5 subjects why not just do IB instead?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 16

SecretDuck

19

Original post by Dominicoben

I'm in year 11 at the moment and have chosen

Maths
Physics
Economics
German
Japanese

I don't think German or Japanese will be an issue, but I slightly worried about Maths and Physics. I'm not the best mathematician out there, and probably only got an A at IGCSE. The same applies for Physics, though I'm slightly annoyed as I probably could've gotten an A*...

Anyway, is 5 too many? I'm slightly worried about the workload and how much of a big jump it will be from GCSE. Thanks.

Hi, I did 5 A Levels and I'm going to give you the advantages and disadvantages.

Pros: -If you slightly miss your offer on results day, you are more likely with more than 3 A Levels to be accepted anyway.
-If you're not sure of what you want to do in uni, having 5 A Levels can keep your options open.
-Since uni offers usually only consist of three A Levels, you can mess up one or two subjects and still meet the offer.
-You will stand out if you manage to get very good grades in all subjects.

Cons: -The workload is much higher and requires a lot of organisation to get the right amount of focus on all the subjects (easier said than done).
-There is a chance that you may get 5 mediocre grades instead of getting 3 excellent grades.

Keeping my options open and my interest in all of the subjects were the reasons why I took 5 A Levels. Start off with the 5 A Levels and just drop a subject if you don't like it and/or you feel that you won't do well in it. But you really have to be genuinely interested in all of the subjects and be well organised, otherwise you will be swamped by the mountain of work (that happened when I was losing my steam for French in the end of A2).

Reply 17

Llewellyn

14

If you want to give it a go then go ahead. But I would recommend that you keep tabs on how your work is going. If you are finding that you cannot keep up with the work for all your subjects then you should drop one.

Is 5 too many? It depends. Some people do 5 or more A Levels and are fine, some struggle with less. You can give it a go for about a month, and if you struggle then drop one or two subjects.

Reply 18

TheTechN1304

OP

21

Original post by SharminaSyeda

Thats a lot and two languages? I do spanish and you probably know this but its a lot different than gcse, the workload will be crazy, the grammar is ridiculous and you're doing some solid subjects there, if you're prepared for the absolute horror of workload ahead then go for it

I'm confident in the languages (did 4 for gcse) and the 2 I'm doing next year I did a year early, so all of year 11 was spent working on the AS syllabus.