Do the subjects you take truly matter? (Going into Y12)
I've been looking at different university entry requirements and it seems most of them look at the UCAS points rather than the subjects you took, so I was going to ask you guys whether it mattered as to which subjects I really took? I'm not expecting to go to a university such as Oxford/Cambridge though definitely a Russel Group uni or whatever.
These are the subjects I was planning to take, I was initially going to take Maths however I only just scraped an A and don't really think I would do too well at A Level.
- English Literature (love English and I did very well at GCSE)
- Biology (it was easy for me at GCSE and I kind of enjoy it)
- Media Studies, it was in the block I had to choose from. I feel like it'd kind of be an easy grade, per say? I've always been good at English hence why I'm choosing to take it at A-Level.
- I was going to take either Computer Science or Film Studies; hear me out on this one! Probably the most difficult choice so far. I want some diversity in my choices, hence why I'm hesitant to take Film Studies since it's so similar to Media/Lit or whatever, I also know it's probably not a 'respectable' A-Level however I have been told that points matter more than the subject itself. I want to take CS too however the courses I've been looking at from different universities don't require you to have an A-Level in Computer Science, seeing how it's recently new, they only look at UCAS points, so I don't really think it is too big of a problem.
Honestly, I have no idea what I want to do as a career path. It was initially something to do with Architecture but since I'm not taking Physics/Maths I highly doubt that's a possibility. With the subjects I'm taking I'll go into something English based or possibly Software Engineering.
Thank you, I could really do with some advice.
These are the subjects I was planning to take, I was initially going to take Maths however I only just scraped an A and don't really think I would do too well at A Level.
- English Literature (love English and I did very well at GCSE)
- Biology (it was easy for me at GCSE and I kind of enjoy it)
- Media Studies, it was in the block I had to choose from. I feel like it'd kind of be an easy grade, per say? I've always been good at English hence why I'm choosing to take it at A-Level.
- I was going to take either Computer Science or Film Studies; hear me out on this one! Probably the most difficult choice so far. I want some diversity in my choices, hence why I'm hesitant to take Film Studies since it's so similar to Media/Lit or whatever, I also know it's probably not a 'respectable' A-Level however I have been told that points matter more than the subject itself. I want to take CS too however the courses I've been looking at from different universities don't require you to have an A-Level in Computer Science, seeing how it's recently new, they only look at UCAS points, so I don't really think it is too big of a problem.
Honestly, I have no idea what I want to do as a career path. It was initially something to do with Architecture but since I'm not taking Physics/Maths I highly doubt that's a possibility. With the subjects I'm taking I'll go into something English based or possibly Software Engineering.
Thank you, I could really do with some advice.
Original post by richpanda
Media Studies and Film Studies will not get you into any respected course at any respected uni, let alone the Russell group. I'd do maths, computer science, biology and english
Are my options limited without Maths? I know most people do only 3 A Levels, so what if I was to do CS/Bio/English Lit.
Most CS courses in university (such as the RGU) don't even ask for the specific A-Levels, they only look at your UCAS points.
I'm not choosing to do Maths just because I only got an A at GCSE and do not think I could go on to do the same at A-Level
I think all Russell Group unis base their offer on grades rather than UCAS points, so I'd take a look at various courses at Russell groups and see what their standard offer is.
I'd advise against choosing Media Studies and Film Studies if you're doing it for 'easy points' or an easy grade. Choose the subject that will get you into the course you want to do. I'd recommend taking maths even though you don't enjoy it, it's highly desirable for most architecture and computer science courses. I'm going into year 13, and I reckon around 130/150 people in my year at sixth form are taking maths
I'd advise against choosing Media Studies and Film Studies if you're doing it for 'easy points' or an easy grade. Choose the subject that will get you into the course you want to do. I'd recommend taking maths even though you don't enjoy it, it's highly desirable for most architecture and computer science courses. I'm going into year 13, and I reckon around 130/150 people in my year at sixth form are taking maths
Subjects do matter. Russel group Unis don't look at UCAS points.
Media and film isn't a good choice
Media and film isn't a good choice
Original post by Wikia
Are my options limited without Maths? I know most people do only 3 A Levels, so what if I was to do CS/Bio/English Lit.
Most CS courses in university (such as the RGU) don't even ask for the specific A-Levels, they only look at your UCAS points.
I'm not choosing to do Maths just because I only got an A at GCSE and do not think I could go on to do the same at A-Level
Most CS courses in university (such as the RGU) don't even ask for the specific A-Levels, they only look at your UCAS points.
I'm not choosing to do Maths just because I only got an A at GCSE and do not think I could go on to do the same at A-Level
Nope, if you wanted to do CS at an RG, they will look at your individual grades and subjects. Most common combination would probably be maths, further maths and CS.
I did Maths and Further Maths at GCSE and came out with an A in both. If you put your head down in year 12 then you will be able to do it. I was 2 marks off an A in AS maths.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Wikia
I've been looking at different university entry requirements and it seems most of them look at the UCAS points rather than the subjects you took, so I was going to ask you guys whether it mattered as to which subjects I really took? I'm not expecting to go to a university such as Oxford/Cambridge though definitely a Russel Group uni or whatever.
These are the subjects I was planning to take, I was initially going to take Maths however I only just scraped an A and don't really think I would do too well at A Level.
- English Literature (love English and I did very well at GCSE)
- Biology (it was easy for me at GCSE and I kind of enjoy it)
- Media Studies, it was in the block I had to choose from. I feel like it'd kind of be an easy grade, per say? I've always been good at English hence why I'm choosing to take it at A-Level.
- I was going to take either Computer Science or Film Studies; hear me out on this one! Probably the most difficult choice so far. I want some diversity in my choices, hence why I'm hesitant to take Film Studies since it's so similar to Media/Lit or whatever, I also know it's probably not a 'respectable' A-Level however I have been told that points matter more than the subject itself. I want to take CS too however the courses I've been looking at from different universities don't require you to have an A-Level in Computer Science, seeing how it's recently new, they only look at UCAS points, so I don't really think it is too big of a problem.
Honestly, I have no idea what I want to do as a career path. It was initially something to do with Architecture but since I'm not taking Physics/Maths I highly doubt that's a possibility. With the subjects I'm taking I'll go into something English based or possibly Software Engineering.
Thank you, I could really do with some advice.
These are the subjects I was planning to take, I was initially going to take Maths however I only just scraped an A and don't really think I would do too well at A Level.
- English Literature (love English and I did very well at GCSE)
- Biology (it was easy for me at GCSE and I kind of enjoy it)
- Media Studies, it was in the block I had to choose from. I feel like it'd kind of be an easy grade, per say? I've always been good at English hence why I'm choosing to take it at A-Level.
- I was going to take either Computer Science or Film Studies; hear me out on this one! Probably the most difficult choice so far. I want some diversity in my choices, hence why I'm hesitant to take Film Studies since it's so similar to Media/Lit or whatever, I also know it's probably not a 'respectable' A-Level however I have been told that points matter more than the subject itself. I want to take CS too however the courses I've been looking at from different universities don't require you to have an A-Level in Computer Science, seeing how it's recently new, they only look at UCAS points, so I don't really think it is too big of a problem.
Honestly, I have no idea what I want to do as a career path. It was initially something to do with Architecture but since I'm not taking Physics/Maths I highly doubt that's a possibility. With the subjects I'm taking I'll go into something English based or possibly Software Engineering.
Thank you, I could really do with some advice.
English and Software Engineering are totally different subjects - given that you've got this choice in front of you, are you sure that you've put enough thought into this? Subject choice does matter and the subjects you would be well advised to take at A Level are very different for the two. If you want to do anything related to computing, Maths is absolutely essential. Other good A Level subjects to take would be Further Maths (there is a lot of maths involved in a computer science degree so if that's not something you want then computer science is not the degree for you), Computer Science or Physics. For English, you've got more choice but generally speaking you want to take at least 2, if not 3 'facilitating' subjects (have a very good read of this document if you're aiming at Russel Group universities). I do not recommend that you take both Media Studies and Film Studies - take one of them if you really want but not both.
(edited 7 years ago)
In my opinion, I would say it does matter which subjects you do, as it should relate to your chosen career path. I'm not saying that all subjects you take should relate to your future career path, but you should take the subjects that universities want you to take in order to get into your university course (they usually require around 2 specific subjects I think???- check up on this). You say that you want to go down an english based or software engineering based root , so I'd recommend having a quick look at the sorts of subjects they'd require you to do and make a comparison to your own choices. If it helps, perhaps call up some Russel Group Universities yourself and ask them which sorts of subjects you should take in order to be considered for an english/software engineering based degree. You are usually able to take subjects which don't relate alongside the related subjects. If you are really unsure about what you want to do at university, I'd take subjects that will allow some flexibility. I think the most important thing is that you choose subjects you're actually interested in and truly enjoy- if you enjoy it, you will be more motivated to do well. I want to stress that I'm not an expert in this, but I'm taking subjects which relate to what I want to do- I needed to take two specific subjects for the course I want to do. Really do have a look at what universities require in the sort of courses you may want to do. All courses are different though (and I don't know the requirements for the degree types you're thinking of doing), so I'd recommend doing a bit of research. I hope this has helped a bit.
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