Choosing your A levels? Your questions answered here!
Discussion for A-Level students and for those choosing their A-Level subjects.
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Choosing your A levels? Your questions answered here!Choosing A-Levels can be a difficult decision to make so early on in life for those who choose to do them. There are many threads on A-Level choices being posted at this time of the year, so to we've created this thread for all questions about choices to help everyone to get the most effective help.
How do I choose which A-Levels to take?
What to do if I know which career path I would like to follow?
The first and most effective thing to do is to have a look on the website of the university/college you wish to attend to see which A-Levels are required and which grades from each subject you need for the course. Alternatively you can search for your course on www.ucas.com and click on ‘specific course entry requirements’ to see the grades and the subjects required for a course at a university or college. Also, you can post in the subject specific sub forums in the University and University Courses forum for advice from current students and other students who are also either in the same position or would like to take the same course as you and have already chosen their options.
Not everyone likes to go straight onto university after completing A-Levels, so if you would prefer to look into what career paths are available then make a thread in the appropriate sub forum in the Careers and Employment forum, or if you would prefer an apprenticeship, make a thread in the Apprenticeships sub forum.
What to do if I don’t know which career path I would like to follow?
In general, it's often good to try to take a wide range of subjects, such as a science subject (e.g. maths or physics), a humanities subject (e.g. history or English), an arts subject (e.g. a foreign language) and/or a social sciences subject (e.g. business or law). This will open up many career paths options to you. However the danger here is if you decide to go into a career which requires 2 or 3 subjects with are part of one particular area of such as 2 science subjects or 2 humanities subjects for a course then you may not be able to get a place on your desired course. We would suggest that you try and make a short list of possible courses you would be interested in doing, looking at all of the subjects they like you to take and pick your favourite ones or most suitable ones from that.
How hard are A-Levels?
It cannot be doubted that there is a relatively large jump between GCSEs and AS-Level. However the first module of each A-Level subject is designed to give you the basic knowledge for the rest of the A-Level, and make up for any gaps of knowledge that may be present. But it does not mean that it is impossible to do well at a subject, even if you did not achieve or are not predicted one of the top grades at GCSE for those subjects. The key is in understanding the basic knowledge of each course by doing a little bit of work or background reading each day on each subject to make sure that you know the course material well. At A-Level you can't do little work over the course of the unit then cram the night before as easily as it is claimed to be for GCSE subjects so persistent reading and extra study is required throughout A-Levels in order to gain a good grade. As a guideline it is good to try and get around 5 hours of additional independent study for each subject done each week in order to gain a good grade. This may increase to around 6-7 hours for those wanting to achieve the highest grade possible. Please remember though that this is only a guideline and it is variable for each individual.
How will I know if I will be able to cope with a particular subject?
The simple answer to this is that you just don’t know, and you'll never know unless you try! However if you are concerned about taking a subject on to A-Level or are considering it but are unsure, the best thing to do is to talk to your subject teacher and ask for their opinion on the matter.
How many subjects should I take?
The majority of A-Level students take 3 or 4 A-Level subjects. Many take 4 subjects in their AS year and drop one subject in their A2 year so that they also have an extra AS qualification on top of their full A-Levels (ASs count as a qualification on their own, and they do count for UCAS points. See www.ucas.com for more details on UCAS points, or post in the Applications and UCAS sub forum).
Few students take 5 ASs or more and take all of their subjects onto A2. This will all depend on how much work you do and how suited to the subjects you are taking. However, in many cases you will not gain an advantage when making university applications by taking more than 3 A-Levels as most university courses only require 3 A-Levels to gain a place. If you are unsure if your chosen university course requires 4 A-Levels to gain a place on the course, contact the admissions officer for that course at your preferred universities and they will be able to provide you with this information.
Can I change to a different subject if I don't like one that I've chosen?
Most sixth forms and colleges would allow you to do this very early on into a course (maybe a maximum of 2 weeks) if there is a legitimate reason for you wanting to change. To do this you will have to speak to the person at your sixth form or college who deals with your A level courses. If you are unsure who this is, then speak to your tutor or subject teacher to find out. It might be a good idea to speak to your subject teacher before deciding to change as well. They won't be offended if you ask for their opinion on the matter, I'm sure.
What do the Russel group think?
They've just published this list on which A levels they prefer and which degrees require which A levels.
You may have noticed references to certain A-Levels subjects being 'blacklisted' by universities as being 'easier' than others. In general, the official line from universities is that there is no such 'blacklist', but this is something that has been strongly rumoured by many in the media and can't be dismissed. It is notable that Trinity College at Cambridge University, LSE and Sheffield University have published lists of 'preferred' A-Level subjects, as linked below, but these should not be taken as a strict 'blacklist'. You should also remember that these lists are from these institutions individually and are not recognised by other universities.
- Trinity College, Cambridge University: http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604
- LSE: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/study/undergra...uirements.aspx
- Sheffield University: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/undergrad...olicies/alevel
If you would like to ask other users on their opinions of a particular A-Level subject, make a thread in the appropriate sub forum. There are 3 main forums which lead to many specific subject sub forums. These are:
- Art and Humanities Academic Help
- Maths, Science and Technology Academic Help
- Social Science and Social Care Academic Help
- A Guide to Further Education - Wiki Guide
TSR member Paulwhy has written up an extensive guide setting out his personal interpretation of the various publications and discussion on this issue, which you can read here if interested.
If you have any more general questions regarding choosing A-Levels, then please post in this thread.Last edited by Illusionary; 30-07-2012 at 23:16. -
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Re: Russell Group guidance on soft A LevelsAlternative link as some people couldn't get the previous one to work. You will need a .pdf reader.
http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/russel...study-choices/ -
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Should I take 4 or 5 A Levels?hey (:
i'm sorry there are loads of threads out there similar to this one but not exactly what i want to ask, so yeah here goes..
i want to study medicine, i'm definitely taking maths, biology, chemistry and physics for a-level but i want to take a 5th subject so that i don't have to go gen. studies or crit. thinking. either: philosophy and ethics, sociology or further maths?
any comments about those three subjects would be great + any advice about whether taking a 5th subject would put me at an advantage seeing as i'd be likely to take RS which is an art subject?
thanks (: -
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Re: Should I take 4 or 5 A Levels?I'm in the same situation except I've picked psychology instead of physics
I would advise against further maths as medical schools generally don't view it as a good qualification although it would be fine as a 5th A level.
Also, taking a 5th subject is like you said, going to give you an advantage if you get good grades. I'm thinking of doing a 5th subject for this reason as to get into med school you kind of need all the advantages you can get since there are so many applicants
Anyway out of the subjects you listed I'd advise sociology =) -
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Re: Should I take 4 or 5 A Levels?I would say take an essay subject - everyone seems to suggest at least one on here to show that you are well-rounded. English lit/history/philosophy! Make sure you don't attempt to take on more than you can handle, though.
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Re: Should I take 4 or 5 A Levels?Do 20 alevels just so you can cover everything medicine might possibly be related to.
Unless you just enjoy doing the work, 4 should be easily enough, you are doing the important ones for medicine, maths and chem.
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Re: Should I take 4 or 5 A Levels?Five wouldn't give you an advantage. yes you'll get an extra qualification but you're also going to be very busy, so if you have an active social life, it's really going to suffer no matter how organised you are. Do the four your already have in mind.
