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Which is better?

So I'm pretty sure I want a career in illustration or something to with art so theres one A level which is fine art but I really don't know about the other 3???
I want to pick some that look good I was thinking about taking history however I haven't studied history since year 9, will is be difficult and also is it boring?
I was also thinking of picking english literature, is it a good A level?
And for the last one I don't know what to pick at all so any recommendations on your favourite subjects?
Thank you!
Original post by idontknowmedoyou
So I'm pretty sure I want a career in illustration or something to with art so theres one A level which is fine art but I really don't know about the other 3???
I want to pick some that look good I was thinking about taking history however I haven't studied history since year 9, will is be difficult and also is it boring?
I was also thinking of picking english literature, is it a good A level?
And for the last one I don't know what to pick at all so any recommendations on your favourite subjects?
Thank you!


an a level in a language always looks good on a CV
Original post by KloppOClock
an a level in a language always looks good on a CV


I wish I could do that but I did bad at gcse in french.
Original post by idontknowmedoyou
I wish I could do that but I did bad at gcse in french.


fair enough, i defo would not take it if you didnt get at least a c
Original post by KloppOClock
fair enough, i defo would not take it if you didnt get at least a c


I only just got a C so I don't think I would do well.
Original post by idontknowmedoyou
I only just got a C so I don't think I would do well.


its certainly a lot different then gcse.

have you thought about any university courses you might wanna take, some courses require you to take certan a levels.
Original post by KloppOClock
its certainly a lot different then gcse.

have you thought about any university courses you might wanna take, some courses require you to take certan a levels.


The uni courses I want to do only require one art course which I have chosen fine art so the others would be just in case I change my mind ya know? But I want interesting and good looking subjects.
Original post by idontknowmedoyou
The uni courses I want to do only require one art course which I have chosen fine art so the others would be just in case I change my mind ya know? But I want interesting and good looking subjects.


maths is always a standard one, also business studies is a generic easy a level that keeps a lot of opportunites open
Original post by idontknowmedoyou
So I'm pretty sure I want a career in illustration or something to with art so theres one A level which is fine art but I really don't know about the other 3???
I want to pick some that look good I was thinking about taking history however I haven't studied history since year 9, will is be difficult and also is it boring?
I was also thinking of picking english literature, is it a good A level?
And for the last one I don't know what to pick at all so any recommendations on your favourite subjects?
Thank you!


Pick A-levels from the subjects you find interesting not because of the mere fact "it looks good". You will find it hell when it comes to revision which can also be very detrimental to your other subjects.

I suggest you look at your school/college's syllabus for each subject you are interested in and see what they teach.

For History, you have to study 200 years. This can range from The War of the Roses to the Politics and Government system of 1885-1914. Or from Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire to Kings of Africa in 20th century. It's very broad.

English Lit is a great subject. But you have to study Shakespeare and a pre-19th century text. Do you really want to study Shakespeare? And pre-19th can be anything from 13th century Medieval poetry to Jane Austen.
You also have to study post 20th century literature so anything from WW1 Literature to the Beat Generation that deals with drugs and sexual liberation in the 60s.
In addition, you have to do something post-2000 which I hardly know any good books to come out of the 21st century. Maybe We Need to Talk about Kevin, Atonement and The Book Thief.
So again, check what your school will be studying and see if it's the sort of stuff you like.

History and English Literature subjects are regarded as facilitating subjects which is what unis regard as important to a well-rounded student or to a student wanting to study that subject at uni is required to have an A-level in that subject.
Original post by The Empire Odyssey
Pick A-levels from the subjects you find interesting not because of the mere fact "it looks good". You will find it hell when it comes to revision which can also be very detrimental to your other subjects.

I suggest you look at your school/college's syllabus for each subject you are interested in and see what they teach.

For History, you have to study 200 years. This can range from The War of the Roses to the Politics and Government system of 1885-1914. Or from Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire to Kings of Africa in 20th century. It's very broad.

English Lit is a great subject. But you have to study Shakespeare and a pre-19th century text. Do you really want to study Shakespeare? And pre-19th can be anything from 13th century Medieval poetry to Jane Austen.
You also have to study post 20th century literature so anything from WW1 Literature to the Beat Generation that deals with drugs and sexual liberation in the 60s.
In addition, you have to do something post-2000 which I hardly know any good books to come out of the 21st century. Maybe We Need to Talk about Kevin, Atonement and The Book Thief.
So again, check what your school will be studying and see if it's the sort of stuff you like.

History and English Literature subjects are regarded as facilitating subjects which is what unis regard as important to a well-rounded student or to a student wanting to study that subject at uni is required to have an A-level in that subject.


English lit sounds good, not sure about history though. Thanks for telling me about them. And I'm not going to take a subject if I don't like it I was just wondering because the only A level I really need is fine art. Can you recommend me any subjects you enjoy?:smile:
Original post by KloppOClock
maths is always a standard one, also business studies is a generic easy a level that keeps a lot of opportunites open


Business studies sounds interesting I might look it up. Maths I would fail, I found gcse hard enough lol.
Original post by idontknowmedoyou
English lit sounds good, not sure about history though. Thanks for telling me about them. And I'm not going to take a subject if I don't like it I was just wondering because the only A level I really need is fine art. Can you recommend me any subjects you enjoy?:smile:


Yeah English is great - studying it now at uni! Loving it!

Yeah History is pretty grim at A-level. I did it at AS and hated every second of it!

Erm, I enjoyed Philosophy. I'm studying that alongside English Lit at uni. The former was by far, my hardest, most stressful, annoying subject I ever studied. But my goodness was it mentally stimulating! Truly fascinating subject. I would always ponder and wonder about what the class had debated on my way to my next lesson or whatever. It was awesome.

It's to do with things like Epistemology: how do we know what we know, can we know things without evidence, how do we separate experience from reality.
Or you tackle things like Religion and the problem of evil - how can there be an all-loving God if there's evil in the world like murder, famine, wars, etc?
Is religion real or is it a disease of the mind created by society to construct fear?

You will also study the ethics and morality - what makes a person under the age of 13 kill in cold blood and should they be punished like an adult?
The difficulty of ethical language such as bad and good, right and wrong. Is there such a thing as bad and good when it's based on opinion and personal judgement?
Is war just or is it just like murder? Why isn't genocide easy to compare to soldiers killing?
Is abortion murder? When is a fetus said to be a living thing or a human? When the mother "gives birth" the start of its life or when it grows a brain?
What is conscience and can it be found in the mind? If so, where in the brain is the mind located?

So it's a bit of everything; psychology, anthropology, law, religion, etc. If you like to understand what it means to be human or you've question what we perceive as life then maybe you should consider Philosophy or Religious Studies if your college offers it.
Original post by The Empire Odyssey
Yeah English is great - studying it now at uni! Loving it!

Yeah History is pretty grim at A-level. I did it at AS and hated every second of it!

Erm, I enjoyed Philosophy. I'm studying that alongside English Lit at uni. The former was by far, my hardest, most stressful, annoying subject I ever studied. But my goodness was it mentally stimulating! Truly fascinating subject. I would always ponder and wonder about what the class had debated on my way to my next lesson or whatever. It was awesome.

It's to do with things like Epistemology: how do we know what we know, can we know things without evidence, how do we separate experience from reality.
Or you tackle things like Religion and the problem of evil - how can there be an all-loving God if there's evil in the world like murder, famine, wars, etc?
Is religion real or is it a disease of the mind created by society to construct fear?

You will also study the ethics and morality - what makes a person under the age of 13 kill in cold blood and should they be punished like an adult?
The difficulty of ethical language such as bad and good, right and wrong. Is there such a thing as bad and good when it's based on opinion and personal judgement?
Is war just or is it just like murder? Why isn't genocide easy to compare to soldiers killing?
Is abortion murder? When is a fetus said to be a living thing or a human? When the mother "gives birth" the start of its life or when it grows a brain?
What is conscience and can it be found in the mind? If so, where in the brain is the mind located?

So it's a bit of everything; psychology, anthropology, law, religion, etc. If you like to understand what it means to be human or you've question what we perceive as life then maybe you should consider Philosophy or Religious Studies if your college offers it.


I think they do philosophy and ethics, I might try it out it sounds really interesting:smile: thank you!

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