Best A-levels for reading philosophy at Cambridge?

Daito

6

The title's pretty self-explanatory^^^^

Reply 1

Doones

21

Original post by Daito

The title's pretty self-explanatory^^^^

No particular subjects at A Level are required for Philosophy
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/philosophy

Maths is really the only subject that is stated to be "useful" (but not specifically "required")

They also say a mix of arts/sciences including an essay subject is useful.

This might also be helpful
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/subjectmatters.pdf

Reply 2

Daito

OP

6

Original post by jneill

No particular subjects at A Level are required for Philosophy
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/philosophy

Maths is really the only subject that is stated to be "useful" (but not specifically "required" :wink:

They also say a mix of arts/sciences including an essay subject is useful.

This might also be helpful
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/subjectmatters.pdf

Yeah, but surely they do have some sort of preference to subjects other than just 'arts/sciences' and/or maths?

Reply 3

Doones

21

Original post by Daito

Yeah, but surely they do have some sort of preference to subjects other than just 'arts/sciences' and/or maths?

Read the "Subject Matters" pdf - it's all in there about keystone subjects etc.

Reply 4

Daito

OP

6

Original post by jneill

Read the "Subject Matters" pdf - it's all in there about keystone subjects etc.

Oh, sorry, I managed to miss that link xD

Thanks

Reply 5

Doones

21

Original post by Daito

Oh, sorry, I managed to miss that link xD

Thanks

No worries - what A-levels are you taking/considering?

Reply 6

Daito

OP

6

Original post by jneill

No worries - what A-levels are you taking/considering?

Right now I'm leaning towards Maths, Further maths, German and Economics based on my current mock grades but I'm still kinda unsure about German and Economics.

Reply 7

Doones

21

Original post by Daito

Right now I'm leaning towards Maths, Further maths, German and Economics based on my current mock grades but I'm still kinda unsure about German and Economics.

Focus on your GCSEs, not Cambridge yet :smile:

(Those A-levels are fine.)

Reply 8

Nathanielle

15

Well, probably a A Level where you need to demonstrate, that you can write essays, e.g. history. You could also think of which subject maybe overlaps with an area of philosophy you are interested in. At the end you need to get excellant grades and be able to demonstrate you are interested and passionate.

Reply 9

ivybridge

6

I would say Religious Studies/Philosophy and Ethics, English Literature or History, Mathematics and another subject you like. A language wouldn't be a bad idea.

Reply 10

rxns_00

15

Unless there's anything specified or that Cambridge clearly stated a preference for (well jneill mentioned maths), take whatever arts and humanities because theyll develop your essay skills and I could bet there'll be some written work to be sent in to Cambridge as part of your application :smile:

Reply 11

Daito

OP

6

Original post by jneill

Focus on your GCSEs, not Cambridge yet :smile:

(Those A-levels are fine.)

Yeah, I will. I just wanted to make sure that when I hand in my final decision form into sixth form I would find out that I'd made a mistake 1 year down the line haha

Thanks for your help :biggrin:

Reply 12

Daito

OP

6

Original post by Nathanielle

Well, probably a A Level where you need to demonstrate, that you can write essays, e.g. history. You could also think of which subject maybe overlaps with an area of philosophy you are interested in. At the end you need to get excellant grades and be able to demonstrate you are interested and passionate.

Atm, I think my grades are on track, but that's only based on my coursework results. Thanks for the advice, I'm fairly certain that I will take economics now

Reply 13

Doones

21

Original post by Daito

Yeah, I will. I just wanted to make sure that when I hand in my final decision form into sixth form I would find out that I'd made a mistake 1 year down the line haha

Thanks for your help :biggrin:

Let's get some more opinions...

Calling @Platopus (current Cambridge philosophy applicant) and @tomfailinghelp (current philosopher at Cambridge)

Reply 14

Daito

OP

6

Original post by ivybridge

I would say Religious Studies/Philosophy and Ethics, English Literature or History, Mathematics and another subject you like. A language wouldn't be a bad idea.

Do you think that either RS or P&E would be necessary? Because the college I'm applying to doesn't offer them

Reply 15

ivybridge

6

Original post by Daito

Do you think that either RS or P&E would be necessary? Because the college I'm applying to doesn't offer them

I don't think it'd be necessary as such but I definitely think it would have been in your best interests. It's a tough subject - a lot of people don't realise this until they study it. It'll help ypu make sure you're picking the best subject for you.

Reply 16

dairychocolate

11

Original post by RonnieRJ

Unless there's anything specified or that Cambridge clearly stated a preference for (well jneill mentioned maths), take whatever arts and humanities because theyll develop your essay skills and I could bet there'll be some written work to be sent in to Cambridge as part of your application :smile:

What about biology?

Reply 17

Platopus

19

Original post by Daito

The title's pretty self-explanatory^^^^

@jneill thanks for tagging me in :smile:

I'm a current A-level philosophy student who has applied to Cambridge. I will be receiving my rejection letter this Tuesday, but that's more to do with my performance at interview than my A-level subject choices!

At AS I took: geography, history, English literature and philosophy. I then dropped geography after AS and carried the other three on to A2.

I don't think there are any specific A-levels which would be vastly more helpful than others. The candidates I met who had also made it to the interview stage were taking a wide range of subjects. There were humanities, sciences, maths etc. Oh, and I was the only one studying philosophy at A-level so not taking that won't disadvantage you either. Either way, they will be most interested in seeing that you have done wider reading in your own time.

Having said that, if your school does offer a philosophy or philosophy and ethics course, that would be a good A-level to take, just to make sure that it's what you want to study for three years! If not, I know several philosophy applicants had religious studies and there is some overlap between that and philosophy of religion: ontological argument, cosmological argument, problem of evil etc.

Essay subjects such as English and history are useful because it's an essay-based course. However, (and this is something which I did not know before applying - I am TERRIBLE at maths) Cambridge's philosophy course is very focused on logic and it is a compulsory module in the first two years. There is also a logic component to the admissions test. Formal logic in particular is quite mathematical so having maths or even further maths will help you to think in the right way. But, this is clearly not a requirement either.

There are no subjects which Cambridge explicitly asks for, so on the whole I would recommend that you take what you are best at because at the end of the day if you do get an offer it's likely to be something like AAA*.

What I would say is, make sure that the subjects which you choose are on Cambridge's list of facilitating subjects, found here:

http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/admissions/ug/apply/a-level-combinations

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 18

Protagoras

3

Original post by Daito

Right now I'm leaning towards Maths, Further maths, German and Economics based on my current mock grades but I'm still kinda unsure about German and Economics.

As you can understand entry into Cambridge is super-difficult but don't let my words dissuade you, instead I offer a fascinating alternative for you to think about..

Royal Holloway, University of London offers a B.A. in Philosophy and History

have a look at the specification here :smile:

here is the Royal Holloway library.. look's great for studying.

the opportunity to do an exchange at Heidelberg, which is the Oxbridge of Germany!

you could then do the M.A. in History of Political Thought and Intellectual History at the University of London (UCL and QMUL) studying at the Senate House library.

you could then apply to a Ph.D. in History of Political Thought and Intellectual History at Cambridge.. maybe Peterhouse perhaps! So you can get to Cambridge eventually..

University of Cambridge - M.Phil and Ph.D. History of Political Thought
University of London - M.A. History of Political Thought
Royal Holloway, University of London - B.A. History and Philosophy
Economics, German, Government and Politics, Mathematics
----
an alternative to that is..

you can do a masters in Germany which is tuition free!

http://www.en.uni-muenchen.de/students/degree/master_programs/economics/index.html

From what I have seen, Ludwig Maximilians Universitat Munchen don't charge fees for bachelors..

http://www.uni-muenchen.de/studium/studienfinanzierung/darlehen/index.html

..which could be an amazing experience.. with everyone studying in the UK or coming to the UK from abroad.

----
Another opportunity with economics is the University of Nottingham in Ningbo, China with a B.A. in International Economics and Trade, where you could come back to work at H.M. Treasury and the Bank of England focusing on the Asian economy and its impacts on the UK and EU.

Flights to China are £300 and accommodation is on campus which is great! (which are the pink buildings in the background of this photo of the campus.