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A-level choices query...

Hello, I'm looking to study English or Law or Politics at a good university and wonder what you think about my A-level choices:

-English Literature
-History
-Philosophy
-Politics

I think I'll get mostly As and A*s in my GCSEs and a few of Bs (sciences).

What do you think?
:smile:

Thanks in advance.

Suitable choices.

Law instead of philosophy?

Reply 3

bubbaa

1

Definitely good choices, they like essay subjects for those courses :smile:

Reply 4

bubbaa

1

anameofsomesort

Law instead of philosophy?

and i wouldnt suggest doing law instead of philosophy, apparently it isnt thought useful by the tutors, thats what i've read anyway

Reply 5

vgstrat

9

Law would be a good option..

You can swap philosophy with Law..

Reply 6

draikzer

16

They're all good. I wouldn't say to change any...

A/A* will give you leverage into good unis. Good luck!

Reply 7

JayDay92

7

Is it true that Unis prefer that you not study Law at A-levels for an undergrad law degree?

Reply 8

draikzer

16

bubbaa

and i wouldnt suggest doing law instead of philosophy, apparently it isnt thought useful by the tutors, thats what i've read anyway

I'd say probably if you're applying to LSE this is accurate.

Law is neither preferred or hated by most law admissions tutors.

If you wanted to change philosophy - Law would be a good choice. It's more highly regarded, and does give you a good understanding of whether you want to study it further.

As you are doing politics it might be good to do law too, so you can see what you'd wanna study further.

Generally... Law is actually more highly regarded than it used to be. And will not disadvantage you.

Reply 9

Killer Bean

13

Those are excellent. A couple of other good choices would be Maths or a science, but if you don't like/ are not good at those, don't bother.

Additionally, DO NOT do A-level Law. Universities prefer you not to have an A-level in Law - it misconstrues degree content and is also a "soft" A-level, which would fail to adequately prepare you for a degree. Good Luck. :smile:

Reply 10

draikzer

16

JayDay92

Is it true that Unis prefer that you not study Law at A-levels for an undergrad law degree?

Some say they prefer candidates not to. This is really just LSE, who had it on their blacklist.

But generally most unis say it's neither advantageous or disadvantageous.

It's a good essay subject, it's a good indication of your capability to study law, especially if you got A/A*

Reply 11

draikzer

16

Killer Bean

Those are excellent. A couple of other good choices would be Maths or a science, but if you don't like/ are not good at those, don't bother.

Additionally, DO NOT do A-level Law. Universities prefer you not to have an A-level in Law - it misconstrues degree content and is also a "soft" A-level, which would fail to adequately prepare you for a degree. Good Luck. :smile:

Blah. A level Law is NOT a soft subject by any stretch of the imagination.

It was once regarded as soft, however universities are coming to the realisation that is it a good essay based subject. Not saying it prepares you for law... but saying it is soft. Well... I'll give you my Special Study + Criminal Law papers to do, yeah?

Reply 12

Killer Bean

13

draikzer

Blah. A level Law is NOT a soft subject by any stretch of the imagination.

It was once regarded as soft, however universities are coming to the realisation that is it a good essay based subject. Not saying it prepares you for law... but saying it is soft. Well... I'll give you my Special Study + Criminal Law papers to do, yeah?

I don't mean any disrespect when I say "soft subject" - I actually think that sciences are overrated myself and find Psychology harder than Maths. But the truth is that Law isn't really that favourably looked upon, although it can be a worthwhile choice for certain people; just not the majority of Law applicants.

http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604

As you can see, Cambridge rank all of the other A-levels that OP is thinking of above Law, and it's rather safe to assume that most, if not all other law schools will not think all that much differently about it.

Reply 13

tehforum

20

becbec- got into Law at Cambridge doing Law as an A-level

Reply 14

Muffinz

16

I think they're amazing choices, but alot of the material from Politics and Philosophy will overlap. If you think that that might be too much, you might wanna swap one of those out for something else.

Reply 15

draikzer

16

Killer Bean

I don't mean any disrespect when I say "soft subject" - I actually think that sciences are overrated myself and find Psychology harder than Maths. But the truth is that Law isn't really that favourably looked upon, although it can be a worthwhile choice for certain people; just not the majority of Law applicants.

http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604

As you can see, Cambridge rank all of the other A-levels that OP is thinking of above Law, and it's rather safe to assume that most, if not all other law schools will not think all that much differently about it.

This is one specific Cambridge college - it cannot generalise to all other universities.

Also, Politics is in the exact same group as Law in that list. This doesn't mean it is not a good A-Level.

I find the fact Law is frowned upon stupid. I wouldn't have found my passion for law if I hadn't have studied it at A-Level... I suppose my university didn't really care.

I'm not gonna apply for a course when I haven't studied it in some detail, not just reading random books.

Reply 16

draikzer

16

tehforum

becbec- got into Law at Cambridge doing Law as an A-level

Yeah, my friend got into Durham.

I got into KCL.

Loads of people do Law at A-Level and get into Cambridge/Oxford/Durham even LSE who profess their hate for Law.

The way I see it Law may not advantage you (I'm pretty sure my in depth criminal law exam will be moderately helpful in my module at uni...) but it's a strong and rigorous essay based subject. When combined with other good A-Levels, it can show a really good candidate.

Reply 17

tehforum

20

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/member.php?u=248677

AS: AAAAA in English, History, Government and Politics, Math and Law

Firm: Cambridge (Trinity College) . Offer - A*AA .

Funny how the offer is from Trinity College.

:biggrin:

Reply 18

Killer Bean

13

draikzer

This is one specific Cambridge college - it cannot generalise to all other universities.

Also, Politics is in the exact same group as Law in that list. This doesn't mean it is not a good A-Level.

I find the fact Law is frowned upon stupid. I wouldn't have found my passion for law if I hadn't have studied it at A-Level... I suppose my university didn't really care.

I'm not gonna apply for a course when I haven't studied it in some detail, not just reading random books.

These are fair points I guess. Most people I know that do Law at A-level regret it, and isolated cases of people getting into top universities with A-level Law doesn't convince me of much in the same way that that list does not convince you of much; I just don't really think it's a wise decision to make in general. Additionally, I think the other 4 A-levels there complement the other two degree prospects there. So I think there's no real reason to make such a fuss over Law when OP didn't mention it: it is not likely to be of any more use than any of the other four A-levels.

However, as I said, those are some good points and it sure is true that there is no reason that universities will look too harshly upon applicants holding an A-level in the degree for which they wish to apply. I think in this case it's rather arbitrary, as Law degrees do not really require a certain A-level combination as long as it consists of three strong ones, so I would suggest to Goose that she try to get some "tasters" for her A-levels before making her final decision, but the current ones listed are just fine.

Reply 19

infintywhirls

2

Doing law will not be a disadvantage, as long as it's not done as a main alevel (like if you did 2 alevels that only included "2 soft" subjects). Tbh, you can stick to what you have or change one to law. I doubt it will make a difference as long as you enjoy the subjects. That's what I have heard anyway.

A-level choices query...

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