[rrahimer]

Biology, chemistry, eng lit and psychology would work well, based on what you've said you should consider it imo.

[Muffinz]

English Lit is far more like the English you'll know from GCSE. There are some creative writing componants depending on what exam board you follow - I did WJEC and did a creative writing task in my AS year (40/40 yay!). I did Lang for about two lessons, and got bored of how scientific it was compared to the history you explore in Lit classes. You'll learn more about language in an A-level lit class anyway, and it's seen as more prestigious if you're into that. In any case I fully recommend you change Lang to Lit!

[whitesky]

Thanks so much! I'll double check my option revisions with my Head and i'll be off.
I think I will change Lang-> Lit, and i'll keep thinking about the Drama -> Chemistry.
It really means a lot to me as I do have ambition and i'm not afraid to say so. Heck, even if I do end up in a Strip Club atleast I tried and tbh- it's good money anyway
So thank you so much for everything, I hope everything goes good for you all in everything you want to do
Duckzilla- sorry if I got a little stressy :L as i said, it's just cause I get passionate about things XD thanks especially to you for all your help

[Duckzilla]

(Original post by whitesky)
Duckzilla- sorry if I got a little stressy :L as i said, it's just cause I get passionate about things XD thanks especially to you for all your help

Ha, you weren't stressy at all. It was me being stressy by urging you to take biology and questioning your motives for a psychology degree XD

[Flippin-Mad]

(Original post by whitesky)
Hello potential helpers! :P

I am interested in taking Psychology at University due to many personal reasons, not because I want to learn 'mind-tricks' etc. My interest in the subject itself started when my sister used to come home from her classes and tell me about various case-studies.
I was selected as one of the potential Oxbridge candidates at my school, and I would love to go to one of the top universities for Psychology, even if the university isn't seen as being one of 'the best' all-round.

I've done a lot of research through reading forums, jobs4u etc to university websites, and so I just wanted to close my 'investigation' of sorts by posting my own situation on a forum.

Currently my a-level options are Psychology, English Language, Drama, and I am unsure of what to take for my fourth option as I don't really want to drop anything ... I know it would be a good choice to take Biology as I don't want to take maths, but I also enjoy History (when not being taught by my teacher).

So, i'm faced with the classic dilemma of A-level options - in particular, my fourth.

If I'm honest, I couldn't care less about plants biological systems, and I would much rather learn about how our brain and body works. However, I also know that if I want to achieve my goal of going to a top university I will have to learn things that are completely uninteresting to me in order to get there. Biology seems to be useful, (though not essential), as universities do like a mix of sciences etc.

History is also a contender as I do find it interesting, but this probably won't be reflected as well as it could be in my GCSE results due to a bad teacher. I would enjoy this more than Biology, but I am unsure whether Biology would look better for me than History.

I'm also struggling to decide between English Language and Lit. I do love Lit but Language sounds interesting, even though Lit does seem to be a popular choice. I do love analysing texts but I am wary that a very large part of my success at GCSE was due to my excellent teacher, and so am concerned if I end up with one of the rubbish teachers I won't do as well as I could. I chose Language after my brother telling me about language change & acquisition aspect of the course, and also because I can be creative with my writing.


Drama may seem to be an odd choice, but as I am also a dancer I will also be auditioning for Musical Theatre / Contemporary dance schools at 18 as well as sending off applications for Universities. So drama will be useful if I do go to dance school, while also potentially showing my 'arty' side.

I am predicted As and A*s for all my subjects, and currently achieve A* in my sciences so I would probably be able to do Biology, but I am worried that my lack of interest may lead me to not put as much effort into it as I want to and lower my grade.

Another note is that I tend to do a lot better in coursework as I like to take a lot of time to think through things and map them out, and so am not sure whether or not I am taking the correct options. I just wanted to open the question to the floor and see what others think of my situation and whether or not someone has been through the same thing.

I'm planning on talking to my Head Of Year on results day, it's just been difficult as I only discovered I would have to stay on for Sixth Form due to funding problems for dance school at the end of my exams.

Sorry for writing so much! I did do my best to cut out a lot of waffle, but I want it to be easier for you to understand my situation and give advice.
Thank you so much if you can help

hey I'm starting a psychology degree in september so have done plenty of research of entry requirements etc...to my recollection I didnt come accross a single university that required a science although some, such as royal holloway will lower their entry grades if you take one or more science subject (this includes maths). I also didnt come accross a ssingle university which required biology...i definately would have noticed this as I didnt take biology a level, I hate the subject even though I dont mind the biological aspects of psychology, although their are obvious overlaps so it could be useful.
English lit is more respected than english lang so unless you have a strong preference then I would go for lit.
Most unis wont mind you having drama as a 4th option so long as it wasnt 1 of 3 A2s and you either take all 4 options to A2 or drop drama after AS it should be fine, like someone else above me said cambridge dont like it, but they dont do a straight psychology degree anyway so if this is what you want to do then thats irrelevant except for it might suggest oxford think similarly. You can always mention in your personal statement that you use drama/dance as a means of relaxation blah blah blah and as I said before if its a 4th option should be fine.
History is a well respected A Level although as you pointed out, less relevant than a science or maths, ultimately if you enjoy a subject you are more willing to work for it which results in better grades, and psychology is increasingly competetive leading to higher entry grades so this is important.

Generally, if you quite like and are good at one of the sciences or maths (it doesnt really matter which one) you are likely to get slightly lower offers at some unis so English Lit, Psych, Drama, Science/maths would be the best combo, but if you really enjoy history compared to the sciences then english lit, psych, drama, history still gives you a strong combination of subjects, so long as you are aware psychology has high percentage of maths/science type stuff in it. Don't feel pressurised into doing biology if you dont enjoy it particularly if its the planty stuff you dont enjoy which is irrelevant to psych, I do have chem and maths but not biology and got all 5 offers, admittedly I didnt apply to oxford but I didnt apply to any unis that tested on animals in the psychology department which ruled them out. For psychology, within reason, unis seem to generally be more concerned with the grades you get over the subjects you take, but be prepared as to get into a good uni, particularly without a science you are likely to need AAA.

[xaviergreenwood]

Hey!

My intention is to do a degree in Classics, as that is what I adore, and to work in the city. Hopefully I'd like to be a Stockbroker/Investmentbanker/Actuary etc....

For AS level, my current choices are English, Latin, Greek and Economics. Should I change my Economics to Maths, because I know Economics degrees require Maths A level but not Economics. My assumption is that jobs in the city are the same. Thanks

[wer343lit]

(Original post by xaviergreenwood)
Hey!

My intention is to do a degree in Classics, as that is what I adore, and to work in the city. Hopefully I'd like to be a Stockbroker/Investmentbanker/Actuary etc....

For AS level, my current choices are English, Latin, Greek and Economics. Should I change my Economics to Maths, because I know Economics degrees require Maths A level but not Economics. My assumption is that jobs in the city are the same. Thanks

Should you not do a degree in Maths/Economics/Acturial Science?

I know it's possibly to get into finance type jobs after any degree, but it's making it harder for yourself.

[xaviergreenwood]

(Original post by Jonty99)
Should you not do a degree in Maths/Economics/Acturial Science?

I know it's possibly to get into finance type jobs after any degree, but it's making it harder for yourself.

I just don't know :/ because I would love to do Classics at uni as I adore the literature of it etc. but I can't see many job prospects. I think out of your three suggestions I would choose economics/ppe, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough, whereas I know I would be good enough for Classics.

[Duckzilla]

(Original post by xaviergreenwood)
I just don't know :/ because I would love to do Classics at uni as I adore the literature of it etc. but I can't see many job prospects. I think out of your three suggestions I would choose economics/ppe, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough, whereas I know I would be good enough for Classics.

What are you expected to get in GCSE maths? If you're on for an A or A* grade you should be good enough to do really well in A-level and hopefully degree level if you put the work in. You wouldn't be able to do an economics degree at a decent uni needed to get you into a good actuarial science career or any good maths related career if you changed your mind away from classics if you don't have A-level maths, economics A-level won't be enough.

[xaviergreenwood]

(Original post by Duckzilla)
What are you expected to get in GCSE maths? If you're on for an A or A* grade you should be good enough to do really well in A-level and hopefully degree level if you put the work in. You wouldn't be able to do an economics degree at a decent uni needed to get you into a good actuarial science career or any good maths related career if you changed your mind away from classics if you don't have A-level maths, economics A-level won't be enough.

I'm expected to get an a* but i'm definitely better at classics.

[elenii]

Hi! I'm currently doing my GCSEs, and in a few months I have to pick my A-Levels. I'll probably be doing a Geography degree, so I was wondering which subjects I should take. I will be going for careers advice etc. but I'd like your opinions ^_^

My choices are:

Geography (obvious choice )
Biology
Chemistry
English Lit
English Lang
Maths (already done the GCSE, expected A*, but I don't like maths at all :x)
Spanish
Economics
History

Edit: Forgot to mention this + it's pretty important, I'm interested in both human + physical geography! (:

[indifferencepersonified]

(Original post by elenii)
Hi! I'm currently doing my GCSEs, and in a few months I have to pick my A-Levels. I'll probably be doing a Geography degree, so I was wondering which subjects I should take. I will be going for careers advice etc. but I'd like your opinions ^_^

My choices are:

Geography (obvious choice )
Biology
Chemistry
English Lit
English Lang
Maths (already done the GCSE, expected A*, but I don't like maths at all :x)
Spanish
Economics
History

I'd say biology was a good choice, as is chemistry. Don't take maths if you don't like it. For a fourth take anything you enjoy.

[elenii]

(Original post by indifferencepersonified)
I'd say biology was a good choice, as is chemistry. Don't take maths if you don't like it. For a fourth take anything you enjoy.

Thank you (: Just one thing, do you think I'd be at a disadvantage if I only took one science plus geography to A2? I'll be taking English Lit at least to AS but I might want to continue it :x

[indifferencepersonified]

(Original post by elenii)
Thank you (: Just one thing, do you think I'd be at a disadvantage if I only took one science plus geography to A2? I'll be taking English Lit at least to AS but I might want to continue it :x

Can't you take four to A2 (2 sciences, geography and Lit)? If not it shouldn't affect you much. I know someone who is doing geography (at newcastle) with no science subjects. But I'd recommend at leat 1 other science to A2.

[elenii]

(Original post by indifferencepersonified)
Can't you take four to A2 (2 sciences, geography and Lit)? If not it shouldn't affect you much. I know someone who is doing geography (at newcastle) with no science subjects. But I'd recommend at leat 1 other science to A2.

Actually I think it might be possible, I thought it wasn't but I'm checking again (: I'll do that, thanks a lot!!

[Duckzilla]

(Original post by elenii)
Thank you (: Just one thing, do you think I'd be at a disadvantage if I only took one science plus geography to A2? I'll be taking English Lit at least to AS but I might want to continue it :x

You'd be fine, even the very top universities don't need more than geography and one science for a geography degree. Would you want to do biology and chemistry AS? Biology would probably be better to take at A2 because there's not going to be any maths like in chemistry (the maths will get harder at A2), and biology is more relevant to geography.

Cambridge university say:

'If you are particularly interested in contemporary human geography or historical geography, then economics, English literature, history, and sociology are helpful.'

So even the very top will like your subjects, and English literature will be a big plus

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/unde...uirements.html

[BedSocks]

Hi,
I'm doing my GCSEs but have to pick my AS choices pretty soon, and was wondering which subjects would best?

I'm quite set on doing languages (preferably French & Russian) at uni, and will have an AS in Spanish before I start the rest of my A-levels. Because I'm not a native speaker, to carry it on to A2 would be a lot of work on top of my other subjects, and I don't know if it would be worth it?

My choices are:
French

And 3 of:
English Lit
Music
Maths
Latin

Any advice on which 3 of these to take would be much appreciated!

[moomalade_815]

Just wondering can you take both Biology and Human Biology at A level because I think I might change my music choice to human biology?

[Flippin-Mad]

(Original post by BedSocks)
Hi,
I'm doing my GCSEs but have to pick my AS choices pretty soon, and was wondering which subjects would best?

I'm quite set on doing languages (preferably French & Russian) at uni, and will have an AS in Spanish before I start the rest of my A-levels. Because I'm not a native speaker, to carry it on to A2 would be a lot of work on top of my other subjects, and I don't know if it would be worth it?

My choices are:
French

And 3 of:
English Lit
Music
Maths
Latin

Any advice on which 3 of these to take would be much appreciated!

Just an idea but why not do French, 2 of the other things on the bottom list and Spanish A2 in year 12...then do the other 3 in year 13 that way you get 4 A Levels rather than 3A Levels and 2 AS's if you were planning on dropping a subject after AS without the extra workload? If you liked all the subjects you listed equally I would probably do French, English Lit, Maths and A2 Spanish in year 12. Maths just because doing Latin, Spanish and French might be language overkill and it is better respected than music. But if you think you could cope with all languages go for it, and if you really like music it should be ok as a 4th option

[Duckzilla]

(Original post by moomalade_815)
Just wondering can you take both Biology and Human Biology at A level because I think I might change my music choice to human biology?

You can, but there's absolutely no point in doing so. Employers and universities are just going to consider them as the same subject but with different names, as the content overlaps so much, and they both have 'biology' in their names.

What other A-levels do you want to do, and what do you want to study at university, or do you want a job right after A-levels? Then we can see what other A-level would be best to replace music with.