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Geography or history A level??

I cant't decide between geography or history A level. My other options are physics, maths and further maths. I got an A* in both at GCSE. I'm worried about the essays in history. Can I have some advice on what to do??
(edited 7 years ago)

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Do you have to take one of them? I'd advise against it personally, unless you really enjoy them...
Theres much better options to complement your other subjects, and if you just want a 'softer' 4th subject, go with something easier or the subject you'll enjoy more, overall just go with what you enjoy most.
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beth1910
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Original post by lw8
Do you have to take one of them? I'd advise against it personally, unless you really enjoy them...
Theres much better options to complement your other subjects, and if you just want a 'softer' 4th subject, go with something easier or the subject you'll enjoy more, overall just go with what you enjoy most.


I get to pick 4 A levels so I was trying to decide on one a bit different and one I enjoyed at GCSE. Why is the workload too heavy in geography/history a level? Thanks for the advice
Original post by lw8

Theres much better options to complement your other subjects, and if you just want a 'softer' 4th subject, go with something easier or the subject you'll enjoy more, overall just go with what you enjoy most.


Actually I disagree with you completely. Both History and Geography are 'facilitating subjects', therefore not 'softer subjects at all.

Also if you plan on applying to university (especially the top universities) it would add credibility to your application to offer an essay-based A level (even if you're applying for a STEM subject).
Original post by beth1910
I get to pick 4 A levels so I was trying to decide on one a bit different and one I enjoyed at GCSE. Why is the workload too heavy in geography/history a level? Thanks for the advice


I haven't actually done either, but I've heard history is hard with a hefty work load, and Geography is rather easy but not very highly regarded, which shouldn't be a problem should you drop it after AS. If its the subjects you enjoy though, you should take one of them for sure.
Have you considered economics? It would go well with your other subjects and i would personally recommend it but thats just me:biggrin:, everybody is different though. Like i said, go with what you enjoy, that's the main secret to success at AS level.
Original post by tantalised
Actually I disagree with you completely. Both History and Geography are 'facilitating subjects', therefore not 'softer subjects at all.

Also if you plan on applying to university (especially the top universities) it would add credibility to your application to offer an essay-based A level (even if you're applying for a STEM subject).


I never said they were softer (geography is, but whatever), i just suggested she take a softer subject as a fourth to lower the work load as her other 3 are extremely hard and you can always drop the 'soft' one after AS :biggrin:
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beth1910
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Original post by tantalised
Actually I disagree with you completely. Both History and Geography are 'facilitating subjects', therefore not 'softer subjects at all.

Also if you plan on applying to university (especially the top universities) it would add credibility to your application to offer an essay-based A level (even if you're applying for a STEM subject).


Could either be seen as an essay based subject? And how does each one rank on how hard the essays are, if you know?
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Hamidah
Geography in my opinion is much more engaging and possibly easier as well
Original post by lw8
I never said they were softer (geography is, but whatever), i just suggested she take a softer subject as a fourth to lower the work load as her other 3 are extremely hard and you can always drop the 'soft' one after AS :biggrin:


Again I repeat Geography is NOT a 'soft' subject at all. It is a facilitating subject.

http://russellgroup.ac.uk/for-students/school-and-college-in-the-uk/subject-choices-at-school-and-college/

What on earth is the point taking a 'softer subject' just to drop it at the end of year 12? You would be better off just taking the three A levels and not bothering with the fourth...
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beth1910
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Original post by lw8
I haven't actually done either, but I've heard history is hard with a hefty work load, and Geography is rather easy but not very highly regarded, which shouldn't be a problem should you drop it after AS. If its the subjects you enjoy though, you should take one of them for sure.
Have you considered economics? It would go well with your other subjects and i would personally recommend it but thats just me:biggrin:, everybody is different though. Like i said, go with what you enjoy, that's the main secret to success at AS level.


Thanks. I'm worried about the workload of history with my other a levels so I'm a bit put off. And I feel I'm enjoying geography more at the moment yet enjoyed history more at GCSE. Sadly my sixth form doesn't offer economics as an a level, seems like it would fitted well. So am stuck deciding between geography and history
As a A2 Geography student, I would recommend against taking Geography, unless you really are willing to put in the effort. It's very stressful and there is a lot to learn. I assume it would be the same for History.

If you really want to take any as a 4th, go for it. But personally, after looking at your other options, it might be better to pick a softer/easier subject that you might enjoy (if there are any) however, if you're willing to work hard and you really enjoy it, then go ahead

Hope this helps:h:

And btw, Geography is definitely not a soft subject....

EDIT: Both are essay-based subjects
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by tantalised
Again I repeat Geography is NOT a 'soft' subject at all. It is a facilitating subject.

http://russellgroup.ac.uk/for-students/school-and-college-in-the-uk/subject-choices-at-school-and-college/

What on earth is the point taking a 'softer subject' just to drop it at the end of year 12? You would be better off just taking the three A levels and not bothering with the fourth...


By 'soft' subject, i mean something that is easy, which it is, there's no arguments against that. Geography is one of the easier subjects you can take, and if you take it any further into degree level it gets to the point of laughable, may as well take fine arts.
In my experience A level history was WAY different to GCSE. Not even the step up but just the content and style of exams. If you want to learn a lot about a period in year 12 then learn even more about a completely different period with no link at all in year 13 then history is for you. I managed to get an A but god it was boring and I regret picking it even now.
Original post by beth1910
I cant't decide between geography or history A level. My other options are physics, maths and further maths. I got an A* in both at GCSE. I'm worried about the essays in history. Can I have some advice on what to do??


I currently do Geography at A Level. I do the old AS/A2 spec but nevertheless it might help you since you'd probably be doing the new spec. (Good Luck!)
Geography is very content heavy and the exams can be quite difficult. However, it's not impossible. You will develop a wider range of understanding about how the world works and also be able to build on your essays throughout the year.

I can't really say much about History, but I know that it's also very content heavy, more so than Geography.

I would recommend that you look at the specification and see which one you like more. If you're unsure about which exam board then you can just ring up your school/college and ask them.
(edited 7 years ago)
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Original post by VMD100
In my experience A level history was WAY different to GCSE. Not even the step up but just the content and style of exams. If you want to learn a lot about a period in year 12 then learn even more about a completely different period with no link at all in year 13 then history is for you. I managed to get an A but god it was boring and I regret picking it even now.


Sounds difficult. How was the step up with the essays? Was it hard to learn the technique?
Original post by lw8
By 'soft' subject, i mean something that is easy, which it is, there's no arguments against that. Geography is one of the easier subjects you can take, and if you take it any further into degree level it gets to the point of laughable, may as well take fine arts.


That is very subjective. What you as an individual may find easy, another may struggle with. I do A level History not A level Geography so I can't really comment. But obviously the Russell Group don't see Geography as an 'easy' A level otherwise it wouldn't be on their list of 'facilitating' subjects...
Original post by tantalised
That is very subjective. What you as an individual may find easy, another may struggle with. I do A level History not A level Geography so I can't really comment. But obviously the Russell Group don't see Geography as an 'easy' A level otherwise it wouldn't be on their list of 'facilitating' subjects...


Very true, it is subjective, cant argue with that, but I've never known anyone to get less than a C in Geography.
Original post by beth1910
Sounds difficult. How was the step up with the essays? Was it hard to learn the technique?


I'll be honest I can't even remember what the GCSE exams were like but in AS you had 2 exams. One was actually very easy it was pretty much you're presented with sources and just have to apply a tiny bit of knowledge and analyse their reliabilities etc. The other was an exam you chose to answer two questions. One from each different topic. Ours was Franco and Mussolini. The techniques for these weren't overly bad. Year 13 was far harder. It may have changed with the new A level system but we only had one exam and the other component was a series of coursework essays. These were pretty tough to get into higher marking bands on. Then we had an exam I believe was 2.5 hours on the topics covered in year 13. Again the quality of essay you had to produce in this exam was pretty difficult to achieve. If you have a genuine interest in history go ahead and pick it. But if you were just good at it at GCSE and pick it on that basis (what I did) you won't find it enjoyable.
(edited 7 years ago)
Don't do history unless you like it, otherwise you'll be the annoying person in class who moans 24/7 and holds the class back.
Original post by lw8
Very true, it is subjective, cant argue with that, but I've never known anyone to get less than a C in Geography.


Maybe not you personally. I know a handful of individuals who have failed all of their A levels (Geography included).

Anyway, my point is, I don't think it would be a bad idea to take an essay-based subject. But obviously if you're not very confident with neither Geography or History then you're probably better off sticking with the three A levels. I wouldn't take a 'soft' subject just for the sake of taking a fourth A level though because there is still going to be an element of work involved. Universities aren't particularly interested in the AS grade anyway, especially if you've got three decent A2 grades. Saying that, you probably won't even be entered for the AS exams with the recently reformed A levels...

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