The Student Room Group

A-Level Choice Help ?!?

Ok so basically i am currently trying to finalise my A-Level choices for next year and am having big problems!! so far i plan to take:

English Literature
Textiles
16th Century History

i am having trouble with my last option. i cant decide between Psychology or Maths.

i think Psychology looks really interesting but recently loads of people i know have decided to take it and i am getting worried that it is a dos subject and i dont want to be at a disadvantage.

i really enjoy maths when i understand it and i have had an amazing teacher the last 2 years so i have done better than ever, however i find maths exams very hard and i never seem to be able to portray my ability. i hear maths is a big jump from GCSE so i am worried that i will struggle badly in the exams. i am predicted a B/A at GCSE.

i would prefer to take traditional subjects and i dont want to take any "soft subjects" that would be a drawback at uni applications.

so basically thats my life story (sorry about that!!) but if anyone has any suggestions as to which i should choose or any alternatives i could consider it would be a big help!

thanks :smile: x x x
What do you want to do after A-Levels? You say "soft subjects" maybe a "drawback". This isn't neccessarily so, depending on course and University.
You haven't said what you want to do at uni. . .
Anyway, if you get a B at maths gcse then it may prove a little difficult with the difference in difficulty at AS-level. If you get an A then you do probably have the ability to do at least AS-level. I don't do psychology but from what I can gather it isn't a dos subject as such, but is less intense than for example, maths (please no psychology people shoot me!). I would do maths, but then again, I do maths.
Reply 3
maths- simple as that... it will open more doors for you but make sure your good at it

GCSE maths and A level maths aint the same- i mean it aint straight forward
Reply 4
Maths is the more respected of the two, very traditional. If you keep up with the work, you'll be fine; the problems will only come if you ignore a topic you find hard, rather than working on it. They normally crop up again in the next core module etc.
Reply 5
Do maths! Universities will prefer it and it will develop your logical thoughts! :smile: What degree are you thinking about?
Maths is more beneficial. Psychology isn't needed for anything at uni, even if you wanted to do a Psychology degree but Maths is vital for a lot of subjects, so if it turns out you decide to apply for say Engineering, Maths or something science related Maths will really help you.

Since it would appear you're on the art/humanities side the decision isn't that important anyway if you're going to drop it after AS.

But I would still definetly reccomend Maths. Even if you don't do anything sciencey at uni, it's a "skills" subject rather than an "information" subject like psychology. So it teaches you skills you can apply to life situations and studies rather than just lots of information you have to remember.

Hope I could help :smile:
Reply 7
ok i got my results and i got 7 A's and 3 B's
i got a B in maths with my 3 module results being A,B,B but i am only a few marks off getting an overall A. i am considering getting it remarked because i really want to do it next year but i dont want to take it if i am going to do badly!
im still not sure about uni courses yet; possibly a Fashion Styling course but possibly Teaching. therefore because i dont really know what i want to do i want to keep my options as open as possible! x