help choosing a-levels
I am currently in year 11 studying for GCSEs, but I'm still a little unsure on what A-Levels to take!
These are my predicted grades:
Business Studies - A
Media - A
English (Literature/Language) - A
Maths - A*
German - A*
Religious Studies - A*
Biology - A*
Chemistry - A*
Physics - A*
AS Critical Thinking - A
At the moment the only careers I can think of that I would be interested in doing would be something in Media (working in the TV/Film/Music industry), or Criminology. I'm not really certain on any A-Level choices at the moment, and people have put me off doing Media as they say it's not valued by universities, or it's a difficult career to go into! I have also been told that doing English Literature at Uni would be a better path to go down than doing Media at Uni for getting a job in Media...
So, what A-Levels would be useful for these careers?
Any help would be much appreciated!
Edit: I'm now thinking of going for English Literature, Media, Biology and either Psychology or Maths, do these seem like an okay mix? And what are the courses for these like at A-Level?
These are my predicted grades:
Business Studies - A
Media - A
English (Literature/Language) - A
Maths - A*
German - A*
Religious Studies - A*
Biology - A*
Chemistry - A*
Physics - A*
AS Critical Thinking - A
At the moment the only careers I can think of that I would be interested in doing would be something in Media (working in the TV/Film/Music industry), or Criminology. I'm not really certain on any A-Level choices at the moment, and people have put me off doing Media as they say it's not valued by universities, or it's a difficult career to go into! I have also been told that doing English Literature at Uni would be a better path to go down than doing Media at Uni for getting a job in Media...
So, what A-Levels would be useful for these careers?
Any help would be much appreciated!
Edit: I'm now thinking of going for English Literature, Media, Biology and either Psychology or Maths, do these seem like an okay mix? And what are the courses for these like at A-Level?
(edited 12 years ago)
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Sociology could be a good choice for A Level if you are considering criminology, but it depends on your exam board, as I know OCR does a crime unit at A2, but anyway, I believe Sociology could be a good shout
good luck picking and just make sure you pick what you enjoy/ looks interesting!
good luck picking and just make sure you pick what you enjoy/ looks interesting!
Original post by abigailjoy
I am currently in year 11 studying for GCSEs, but I'm still a little unsure on what A-Levels to take!
These are my predicted grades:
Business Studies - A
Media - A
English (Literature/Language) - A
Maths - A*
German - A*
Religious Studies - A*
Biology - A*
Chemistry - A*
Physics - A*
AS Critical Thinking - A
At the moment the only careers I can think of that I would be interested in doing would be something in Media (working in the TV/Film/Music industry), or Criminology. I'm not really certain on any A-Level choices at the moment, and people have put me off doing Media as they say it's not valued by universities, or it's a difficult career to go into! I have also been told that doing English Literature at Uni would be a better path to go down than doing Media at Uni for getting a job in Media...
So, what A-Levels would be useful for these careers?
Any help would be much appreciated!
These are my predicted grades:
Business Studies - A
Media - A
English (Literature/Language) - A
Maths - A*
German - A*
Religious Studies - A*
Biology - A*
Chemistry - A*
Physics - A*
AS Critical Thinking - A
At the moment the only careers I can think of that I would be interested in doing would be something in Media (working in the TV/Film/Music industry), or Criminology. I'm not really certain on any A-Level choices at the moment, and people have put me off doing Media as they say it's not valued by universities, or it's a difficult career to go into! I have also been told that doing English Literature at Uni would be a better path to go down than doing Media at Uni for getting a job in Media...
So, what A-Levels would be useful for these careers?
Any help would be much appreciated!
hmmmm well tbh last year i was in the same position as you and really enjoyed media at gcse but everyone told me not to do it for alevel. well i ignored them and at the minute am doing Media
its greatt soo easy. If you want to do media in university or as a future degree il definatly take it. i may be wrong but as im looking at many university sites, it doesnt say anywhere that media will not be taken strongly etc etc In my opinion i thinnk personally the alevels you should do are: Media, English and 2 of your own subjects which you really really enjoy because at alevel it gets REALLY hard and you cant do well in a subject you dont enjoy
Good Luck .. (sorry if i waffled but hope you get my point)
I'm not too sure about Media, but for Criminology, Sociology will be very handy as you'll by learning a module "Crime and deviance". It isn't difficult as long as it is something you enjoy and you put the work in. My AS class had 13 people, 4 of them didn't sit the exam, 1 got a U, some Ds and Cs and two of us managed to get full marks in both papers
English Language is a good one too as you can develop your essay-writing skills.
Have you thought about Psychology or Biology? You managed an A* in German so you can always continue with it.
If you find any Media or Criminology students here on TSR you can always ask them
English Language is a good one too as you can develop your essay-writing skills.
Have you thought about Psychology or Biology? You managed an A* in German so you can always continue with it.
If you find any Media or Criminology students here on TSR you can always ask them
Original post by abigailjoy
I am currently in year 11 studying for GCSEs, but I'm still a little unsure on what A-Levels to take!
These are my predicted grades:
Business Studies - A
Media - A
English (Literature/Language) - A
Maths - A*
German - A*
Religious Studies - A*
Biology - A*
Chemistry - A*
Physics - A*
AS Critical Thinking - A
At the moment the only careers I can think of that I would be interested in doing would be something in Media (working in the TV/Film/Music industry), or Criminology. I'm not really certain on any A-Level choices at the moment, and people have put me off doing Media as they say it's not valued by universities, or it's a difficult career to go into! I have also been told that doing English Literature at Uni would be a better path to go down than doing Media at Uni for getting a job in Media...
So, what A-Levels would be useful for these careers?
Any help would be much appreciated!
These are my predicted grades:
Business Studies - A
Media - A
English (Literature/Language) - A
Maths - A*
German - A*
Religious Studies - A*
Biology - A*
Chemistry - A*
Physics - A*
AS Critical Thinking - A
At the moment the only careers I can think of that I would be interested in doing would be something in Media (working in the TV/Film/Music industry), or Criminology. I'm not really certain on any A-Level choices at the moment, and people have put me off doing Media as they say it's not valued by universities, or it's a difficult career to go into! I have also been told that doing English Literature at Uni would be a better path to go down than doing Media at Uni for getting a job in Media...
So, what A-Levels would be useful for these careers?
Any help would be much appreciated!
Getting into the Media industry is very competitive, and there are no guarantees, there is no specific degree for getting into the Media industry, they don't care if you're a History graduate or an English Literature graduate, as long as you can act and be confident in front of the camera, you don't really need a degree to be an actor. Let's be frank, they don't give a ____ if you got a good grade in whatever degree, they don't care if you're not educated, as long as you are good in front of the camera, that's all that really matters.
There are hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of people who want to be an actor due to the influence of celeb culture in the UK, so realistically (sorry to sound so pessimistic), what are the chances of you successfully appearing on TV or Film?
If I were you, I'd choose a degree which you enjoy and has relatively safe career options, science graduates statistically are more likely to find a job and have better pay
Here's a list of 'respected' A level subjects:
-Maths
-Further Maths
-Chemistry
-Biology
-Physics
-History
-English Literature
-R.E.
-Philosophy
-Economics
-Geography
-All the modern languages
Here's a list of the less respected subjects:
-Media Studies
-Photography
-Sociology
-ICT
-Photography
...and the list goes on
(edited 12 years ago)
English Literature definitely (Says an English student who is taking English at university so forgive the bias).
If you want to go into media then doing English at A level if not university is a fantastic opportunity whilst having an A level or degree valued by employers for being able to think and write critically: essential for media. A degree in English from a good university like York, Warwick, Exeter or UCL if not Oxbridge is a brilliant place to start in the media e.g. through writing for student newspapers, participating in student-run TV and radio stations etc. Media sounds like a bit of a doss from some of my friends who do it and English Lit will allow you to explore the way texts are read, written and interpreted, integral skills for the media profession. Apart from anything, if you enjoy reading, it is amazing fun
Personally, I've found English to go well with other languages, i.e. German, but many universities still value English students who pursue science as opposed to humanities at A level. As long as you are good at what you take and can illustrate enthusiasm for English or Media and have decent grades in other respectable A levels then what you actually take shouldn't matter hugely.
And also, if you can't get into media, then you can use your English degree for practically anything increasing it's value: perhaps media is a bit too vocational?
(Says an English student who is taking English at university so forgive the bias). If you want to go into media then doing English at A level if not university is a fantastic opportunity whilst having an A level or degree valued by employers for being able to think and write critically: essential for media. A degree in English from a good university like York, Warwick, Exeter or UCL if not Oxbridge is a brilliant place to start in the media e.g. through writing for student newspapers, participating in student-run TV and radio stations etc. Media sounds like a bit of a doss from some of my friends who do it and English Lit will allow you to explore the way texts are read, written and interpreted, integral skills for the media profession. Apart from anything, if you enjoy reading, it is amazing fun
Personally, I've found English to go well with other languages, i.e. German, but many universities still value English students who pursue science as opposed to humanities at A level. As long as you are good at what you take and can illustrate enthusiasm for English or Media and have decent grades in other respectable A levels then what you actually take shouldn't matter hugely.
And also, if you can't get into media, then you can use your English degree for practically anything increasing it's value: perhaps media is a bit too vocational?
Original post by Simple Symphony
I'm not too sure about Media, but for Criminology, Sociology will be very handy as you'll by learning a module "Crime and deviance". It isn't difficult as long as it is something you enjoy and you put the work in. My AS class had 13 people, 4 of them didn't sit the exam, 1 got a U, some Ds and Cs and two of us managed to get full marks in both papers
English Language is a good one too as you can develop your essay-writing skills.
Have you thought about Psychology or Biology? You managed an A* in German so you can always continue with it.
If you find any Media or Criminology students here on TSR you can always ask them
English Language is a good one too as you can develop your essay-writing skills.
Have you thought about Psychology or Biology? You managed an A* in German so you can always continue with it.
If you find any Media or Criminology students here on TSR you can always ask them
I was debating doing Sociology, but I wasn't sure whether Psychology would be more interesting..
German is definitely a no-no haha, I don't enjoy it at all! Biology is a possibility but I've heard it's quite hard at A-Level?
I think I'd prefer to take English Literature to English Language, but I don't know if one would be more helpful to Media than the other?
Thanks for the help anyway!
Original post by em807
English Literature definitely (Says an English student who is taking English at university so forgive the bias).
If you want to go into media then doing English at A level if not university is a fantastic opportunity whilst having an A level or degree valued by employers for being able to think and write critically: essential for media. A degree in English from a good university like York, Warwick, Exeter or UCL if not Oxbridge is a brilliant place to start in the media e.g. through writing for student newspapers, participating in student-run TV and radio stations etc. Media sounds like a bit of a doss from some of my friends who do it and English Lit will allow you to explore the way texts are read, written and interpreted, integral skills for the media profession. Apart from anything, if you enjoy reading, it is amazing fun
Personally, I've found English to go well with other languages, i.e. German, but many universities still value English students who pursue science as opposed to humanities at A level. As long as you are good at what you take and can illustrate enthusiasm for English or Media and have decent grades in other respectable A levels then what you actually take shouldn't matter hugely.
And also, if you can't get into media, then you can use your English degree for practically anything increasing it's value: perhaps media is a bit too vocational?
(Says an English student who is taking English at university so forgive the bias). If you want to go into media then doing English at A level if not university is a fantastic opportunity whilst having an A level or degree valued by employers for being able to think and write critically: essential for media. A degree in English from a good university like York, Warwick, Exeter or UCL if not Oxbridge is a brilliant place to start in the media e.g. through writing for student newspapers, participating in student-run TV and radio stations etc. Media sounds like a bit of a doss from some of my friends who do it and English Lit will allow you to explore the way texts are read, written and interpreted, integral skills for the media profession. Apart from anything, if you enjoy reading, it is amazing fun
Personally, I've found English to go well with other languages, i.e. German, but many universities still value English students who pursue science as opposed to humanities at A level. As long as you are good at what you take and can illustrate enthusiasm for English or Media and have decent grades in other respectable A levels then what you actually take shouldn't matter hugely.
And also, if you can't get into media, then you can use your English degree for practically anything increasing it's value: perhaps media is a bit too vocational?
Yeah I think English Literature is a definite for A-Level aha, I do enjoy reading and don't mind analysing texts and stuff, I just hope that it's not too hard! And I don't know if I love English enough to take it as a full degree
A lot of people have said that Media is a bit vocational, and I could find a 'better' job if I went down the science route, but it is something I really enjoy..
Original post by abigailjoy
I was debating doing Sociology, but I wasn't sure whether Psychology would be more interesting..
German is definitely a no-no haha, I don't enjoy it at all! Biology is a possibility but I've heard it's quite hard at A-Level?
I think I'd prefer to take English Literature to English Language, but I don't know if one would be more helpful to Media than the other?
Thanks for the help anyway!
German is definitely a no-no haha, I don't enjoy it at all! Biology is a possibility but I've heard it's quite hard at A-Level?
I think I'd prefer to take English Literature to English Language, but I don't know if one would be more helpful to Media than the other?
Thanks for the help anyway!
Oops I meant English literature
Well if you're leaning towards criminology, sociology would be much more useful. But then again you can always take both :P!
Biology isn't too hard at all, it's very interesting. Those who complain that its hard are often those who don't put the work in
Your welcome!
I'm a chemistry student so should be shouting everyone down in favor of the sciences, but I'll be sensible for once...with media/criminology I'm fairly certain a lot of Uni's won't specify subjects just grades. I have friends who have gone on to do journalism and film with very random mixes of A Levels and I know psychology here doesn't demand psychology A Level for example.
Take something you can be sure is useful and that you're good at but stick to what you enjoy!
I did biology, chemistry, physics and randomly drama & theatre studies and dropping physics A2 in favor of drama did me no damage at all, cause I was still destined for A grades and that was what mattered! Don't worry about "vocational" if it is 40% or less practical it is still considered by top Universities as they still consider it "academic"...even Oxford (Oxford told me so on a Sutton Trust Camp so don't bother arguing!) Sometimes having the crazy vocational balance can help you stand out!
Take something you can be sure is useful and that you're good at but stick to what you enjoy!
I did biology, chemistry, physics and randomly drama & theatre studies and dropping physics A2 in favor of drama did me no damage at all, cause I was still destined for A grades and that was what mattered! Don't worry about "vocational" if it is 40% or less practical it is still considered by top Universities as they still consider it "academic"...even Oxford (Oxford told me so on a Sutton Trust Camp so don't bother arguing!) Sometimes having the crazy vocational balance can help you stand out!
Original post by lrobbo89
I'm a chemistry student so should be shouting everyone down in favor of the sciences, but I'll be sensible for once...with media/criminology I'm fairly certain a lot of Uni's won't specify subjects just grades. I have friends who have gone on to do journalism and film with very random mixes of A Levels and I know psychology here doesn't demand psychology A Level for example.
Take something you can be sure is useful and that you're good at but stick to what you enjoy!
I did biology, chemistry, physics and randomly drama & theatre studies and dropping physics A2 in favor of drama did me no damage at all, cause I was still destined for A grades and that was what mattered! Don't worry about "vocational" if it is 40% or less practical it is still considered by top Universities as they still consider it "academic"...even Oxford (Oxford told me so on a Sutton Trust Camp so don't bother arguing!) Sometimes having the crazy vocational balance can help you stand out!
Take something you can be sure is useful and that you're good at but stick to what you enjoy!
I did biology, chemistry, physics and randomly drama & theatre studies and dropping physics A2 in favor of drama did me no damage at all, cause I was still destined for A grades and that was what mattered! Don't worry about "vocational" if it is 40% or less practical it is still considered by top Universities as they still consider it "academic"...even Oxford (Oxford told me so on a Sutton Trust Camp so don't bother arguing!) Sometimes having the crazy vocational balance can help you stand out!
Ahh right, that's interesting! Was Physics still manageable without taking Maths? I think I should do at least 1 science at A-Level just because I'm good at it, but I don't think I'll take Maths as well... And are the science courses at A-Level different or similar to those at GCSE?
A Level Chemistry is a massive jump and most people grow to despise it at A Level, and to be honest I had my moments with it and I'm doing an MChem.
Physics is OK without maths, but it will use maths you haven't yet come across so it is dependent on whether your school/ mates doing maths are supportive enough to get you through.
Stick to the one you enjoy the most is the best tactic but if that's physics do speak to maths/physics in your school- I'm sure with your predicted grades they'll be happy to help!
Physics is OK without maths, but it will use maths you haven't yet come across so it is dependent on whether your school/ mates doing maths are supportive enough to get you through.
Stick to the one you enjoy the most is the best tactic but if that's physics do speak to maths/physics in your school- I'm sure with your predicted grades they'll be happy to help!
Ah right. I don't know whether doing Biology would be best then, since it would probably help with Criminology if that's what I wanted to go into. Chemistry is okay at the moment but there are some bits I hate and find really hard, so I don't know how I'd cope at A-level! Thanks for the help
Original post by Politricks
Here's a list of 'respected' A level subjects:
-Maths
-Further Maths
-Chemistry
-Biology
-Physics
-History
-English Literature
-R.E.
-Philosophy
-Economics
-Geography
-All the modern languages
-Maths
-Further Maths
-Chemistry
-Biology
-Physics
-History
-English Literature
-R.E.
-Philosophy
-Economics
-Geography
-All the modern languages
What about Latin/Classical Greek?
Original post by Mazzini
What about Latin/Classical Greek?
There are more respected A levels like Art History, Classical Civilisation etc...
I just included the more well known ones which are available at all (well most) schools
Original post by Politricks
There are more respected A levels like Art History, Classical Civilisation etc...
I just included the more well known ones which are available at all (well most) schools
I just included the more well known ones which are available at all (well most) schools
Latin and Greek are among the most respected A levels. Trust me, I know a member of the Cambridge admissions staff.
Original post by Mazzini
Latin and Greek are among the most respected A levels. Trust me, I know a member of the Cambridge admissions staff.
I know they're respected A levels, I said my list consisted of mainly the more available A levels which are present at most schools
Original post by Politricks
I know they're respected A levels, I said my list consisted of mainly the more available A levels which are present at most schools
You also said this:
There are more respected A levels like Art History, Classical Civilisation etc...
Original post by Mazzini
You also said this:
By "more respected A levels" I meant more A levels like Art History and Classical Civilisation, I didn't mean more as in more respectable.
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