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My A Level subjects are crazy?

For A Level I selected:

Further Maths
Maths
Chemistry
Physics
Biology

When I told some friends, they said I was 'crazy' and that I will 'suffer' under the workload. The thing is, I am really passionate about these subjects and wouldn't like to drop any going into A2.

Am I making the right decision or am I being foolish?

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Reply 1

rxns_00

Original post by TheGameChanger

I do all of these, finishing my A2 exams in them currently. Much less workload than for any essay based subjects, they complement each other and really are not as hard as people make them out to be

You'll be fine, a ton of people do these and survive also

Reply 2

TheGameChanger

Thanks for the reassurance!

Reply 3

Abscissa

Doing all of these, at A2, currently having exams. It was fine for AS, but much harder for A2. I'd suggest dropping one of the subjects after AS.

Reply 4

GEEKSruletheworld!

These subjects are only easy if you're like a genius and you revise 24/7. But I do agree that they compliment each other quite well. There's no doubt that you will suffer though, A2 is truly brutal. :colonhash:

Reply 5

rxns_00

Original post by GEEKSruletheworld!

Not really, they don't require revision until near the exam period, unlike essay subjects which take practice over the year

Reply 6

Peppercrunch

Original post by TheGameChanger

The workload isn't very high. All of them except biology are fairly content light, compared to like history.

I have a friend who did all these subjects at AS and he did fine without having to do a LOT of work.

Reply 7

Abscissa

Original post by rxns_00

Not really, they don't require revision until near the exam period, unlike essay subjects which take practice over the year

Depends. If you're doing 5 A-Levels you're probably looking at Oxbridge. Cambridge really cares about AS UMS, a 95% UMS average across your best 3 subjects is generally required, this requires significant practice over the year. Oxford cares less about this, but there is no point in having 5 AS grades if they're all B's or just scraped A's.

Reply 8

Bulletzone

Universities only look for 3 A-levels, 4 Max.

It's pointless doing 5.

Reply 9

GEEKSruletheworld!

Original post by rxns_00

Not really, they don't require revision until near the exam period, unlike essay subjects which take practice over the year

I do 3 of these subjects (bio, chem, maths) and from my own experience I think it requires constant revision because you have to keep revisiting the methods (especially for maths). Biology you can get away with last minute revision, like I'm doing right now :tongue:

and maybe chem, if you play it smart.

Reply 10

Abscissa

Original post by Bulletzone

Universities only look for 3 A-levels, 4 Max.

It's pointless doing 5.

This is true, even for Oxbridge. But, some people, like myself, enjoy a variety of subjects.

Reply 11

Plagioclase

Original post by TheGameChanger

I wouldn't recommend taking all five to A2 unless you're absolutely confident that it's not going to hurt your grades. You can have all the passion in the world but if you miss your offer, you miss your offer.

Reply 12

username2130115

you are crazy for wanting to do 5 a-levels. in y13 you'll have over 12 exams

Reply 13

tribiasfour

I do five and did EPQ and so long as you are willing to work, it shouldn't be too awful! If you're going to do this, I would recommend past papers as your main form of revision, as they have helped me get all the knowledge into my head way more than staring at a textbook - though each to their own of course! Just be sure to monitor your mental health - in hindsight, I haven't been at my most healthy while studying 5 A levels - I have, however, been fulfilled on the academic front, so for me it's worth it! Good luck! :smile:

xxx

Reply 14

AAls

Original post by TheGameChanger

My friend was in your situation and dropped Biology after a few weeks (because of the workload ) and ended up doing very well in the other four. However if you're aiming really high anyways Oxbridge/Imperial and would put the effort from the first week then you should be fine.

Reply 15

username1518841

Original post by TheGameChanger

Dont let them change your mind...haters gonna hate. If you have the passion for it, do it. I loved all of them and took them all to A2. It is definitely do-able, especially if you're good at maths, its basically just taking triple science. I barely had to spend time on maths and had plenty of free time in BOTH AS and A2. In short, it will be manageable, if not easy, if you are both gifted and passionate :smile:

Reply 16

Abscissa

Original post by BlueIsTheNewRed

Where do you have offers from?

Reply 17

PotAuFeu

Original post by Bulletzone

Universities only look for 3 A-levels, 4 Max.

It's pointless doing 5.

Some universities will make offers which include all 5 A-levels as well, which seems a bit unfair as people who only do 3 only get an offer with 3.

Reply 18

Abscissa

Original post by PotAuFeu

Some universities will make offers which include all 5 A-levels as well, which seems a bit unfair as people who only do 3 only get an offer with 3.

Citation needed

Reply 19

kawehi

I did all of these at AS, and I dropped Physics at A2 (not because of the workload, I just didn't like the subject enough!) It was completely fine for me, I didn't really have to do too much work and it wasn't very stressful either. Definitely way less work than coursework heavy subjects or essay subjects! As long as you are reasonably academic, are good at math and enjoy sciences, you'll do fine.

Also, I really think that this helped me out with uni applications - despite what everyone says about unis only wanting 3 A-levels, my offer is for four, and so is everyone else's that has an offer for my particular course.