A-levels!?!?!?! I don't know what i want to do in life.
you've probably seen my zillion posts on here about what to pick for A-level courses but right now my head's going to explode 
i don't know what i want to do in the future but i know i want to pick out of these A-levels. i have no preferance except for english literature, and the rest i'm interested in. may i just say i'm predicted a B in maths for GCSE though.
English lit
History
Economics
Maths
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
which four will keep my options open? i don't understand what to pick and open evening's made it worse for me. will a careers interview actually help?
sorry about the crazy essay...
thanks!
i don't know what i want to do in the future but i know i want to pick out of these A-levels. i have no preferance except for english literature, and the rest i'm interested in. may i just say i'm predicted a B in maths for GCSE though.English lit
History
Economics
Maths
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
which four will keep my options open? i don't understand what to pick and open evening's made it worse for me. will a careers interview actually help?
sorry about the crazy essay...
thanks!
Scroll to see replies
Original post by onesoulfortwo
you've probably seen my zillion posts on here about what to pick for A-level courses but right now my head's going to explode i don't know what i want to do in the future but i know i want to pick out of these A-levels. i have no preferance except for english literature, and the rest i'm interested in. may i just say i'm predicted a B in maths for GCSE though.
English lit
History
Economics
Maths
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
which four will keep my options open? i don't understand what to pick and open evening's made it worse for me. will a careers interview actually help?
sorry about the crazy essay...
thanks!
i don't know what i want to do in the future but i know i want to pick out of these A-levels. i have no preferance except for english literature, and the rest i'm interested in. may i just say i'm predicted a B in maths for GCSE though.English lit
History
Economics
Maths
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
which four will keep my options open? i don't understand what to pick and open evening's made it worse for me. will a careers interview actually help?
sorry about the crazy essay...
thanks!
Sorted.
Maths, English Lit, Chemistry and Physics. Best subjects out of those options.
Best balance of workload and versatility.
Best balance of workload and versatility.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Rebellious-Steve
Maths, English Lit, Chemistry and Physics. Best subjects out of those options.
OP's already said he's not strong at maths, if he's not strong at maths this might hinder him in physics.
Original post by Mission
OP's already said he's not strong at maths, if he's not strong at maths this might hinder him in physics.
No he didn't. I had a B in Maths GCSE and got an A* in Maths A-level. It's irrelevant.
Original post by Rebellious-Steve
No he didn't. I had a B in Maths GCSE and got an A* in Maths A-level. It's irrelevant.
The majority of people who get a B in GCSE maths are not able to do the A-level, in my maths group everyone who had a B dropped it.
English Literature
Mathematics
History
(A science of your choice)
If you want to do an economics or financial degree, you're sorted with mathematics.
If you want to do humanities, you're sorted with English and History.
If you want to do a science, you're sorted with mathematics and the science of your choosing.
This cannot fail.
Mathematics
History
(A science of your choice)
If you want to do an economics or financial degree, you're sorted with mathematics.
If you want to do humanities, you're sorted with English and History.
If you want to do a science, you're sorted with mathematics and the science of your choosing.
This cannot fail.
Original post by Mission
The majority of people who get a B in GCSE maths are not able to do the A-level, in my maths group everyone who had a B dropped it.
If he/she find mathematics too hard, he/she can usually change course within the first few weeks. I doubt he/she will have a problem.
Original post by Mission
The majority of people who get a B in GCSE maths are not able to do the A-level, in my maths group everyone who had a B dropped it.
It's irrelevant. B at GCSE is fine. I know multiple people who've gotten Bs in GCSE and A*s at A-level. GCSE Maths grade is in no way indicative of your skill in Mathematics.
They are all strong subjects, but if it were me picking personally I would choose English Lit, Biology, History and Economics. If you wanted to go into Medicine you would need Chemistry and Biology, so if you're interested in this route you're narrowed down there.
Maths is very difficult, I got an A at GCSE and struggled with certain parts of the A-level so dropped it and did a free-standing qualification instead but if you think you are capable of putting the time in and have a genuine interest then go for it. If you're shaky on Maths, Physics might be hindered by this so just be careful
Maths is very difficult, I got an A at GCSE and struggled with certain parts of the A-level so dropped it and did a free-standing qualification instead but if you think you are capable of putting the time in and have a genuine interest then go for it. If you're shaky on Maths, Physics might be hindered by this so just be careful
Original post by Rebellious-Steve
It's irrelevant. B at GCSE is fine. I know multiple people who've gotten Bs in GCSE and A*s at A-level. GCSE Maths grade is in no way indicative of your skill in Mathematics.
Okay.
Original post by SpicyStrawberry
They are all strong subjects, but if it were me picking personally I would choose English Lit, Biology, History and Economics. If you wanted to go into Medicine you would need Chemistry and Biology, so if you're interested in this route you're narrowed down there.
Maths is very difficult, I got an A at GCSE and struggled with certain parts of the A-level so dropped it and did a free-standing qualification instead but if you think you are capable of putting the time in and have a genuine interest then go for it. If you're shaky on Maths, Physics might be hindered by this so just be careful
Maths is very difficult, I got an A at GCSE and struggled with certain parts of the A-level so dropped it and did a free-standing qualification instead but if you think you are capable of putting the time in and have a genuine interest then go for it. If you're shaky on Maths, Physics might be hindered by this so just be careful
Economics is seen as a lesser A-level and is in no way similar to Economics at degree standard. Mathematics is a far better choice if you have a finance career in mind.
Original post by Rebellious-Steve
Economics is seen as a lesser A-level and is in no way similar to Economics at degree standard. Mathematics is a far better choice if you have a finance career in mind.
I know, but from personal experience I hated Maths and I was saying if it were me deciding I would go for Economics instead. The other choices I listed are strong, so choosing Econ won't hinder you that much in the grand scheme of things (depending on what you want to do). Plenty of people at my college went on to do Economics degrees without Maths at good institutions, but if you're aiming for things like LSE or Oxford then yes you probably do need Maths.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Rebellious-Steve
It's irrelevant. B at GCSE is fine. I know multiple people who've gotten Bs in GCSE and A*s at A-level. GCSE Maths grade is in no way indicative of your skill in Mathematics.
How many is multiple?
Original post by Rebellious-Steve
Maths, English Lit, Chemistry and Physics. Best subjects out of those options.
Best balance of workload and versatility.
Best balance of workload and versatility.
swap physics for bio
Original post by Zuzuzu
How many is multiple?
Around 12+ or so.
Original post by High VOLTAGE
swap physics for bio
I would perhaps recommend this if you were planning to go down a Medicine route, otherwise, don't.
From personal experience, I'll tell you that careers interviews will most likely not help. You'll just get to know what you're good at, but when I did the questionnaire thing, I already had a career in mind so mine turned out pretty biased. People in my class who had no idea what they were doing got absolutely random results.
I won't agree with the two posters before me. The first one hasn't chosen Maths, which is essential in science and very useful in every field, so along with Lit I would definitely take Maths. As for the second, not bad, but if you aren't that good at these sciences or you aren't that interested, they could be a torture.
Really depends on what you can see yourself doing in the future. I'd say that if you're getting a B in Maths, you should expect to need to put in a lot of effort next year in AS Maths. But once again, definitely Maths.
I'd say if you took:
Lit, History, Maths and Economics, your path is pretty open to whatever you want to do, but you definitely won't be a scientist. You could go into economics, business, politics, you could be a lawyer. You could be a teacher of something... You could be a historian, almost anything.
I don't know how good your predicted grades for science are. One thing I'll tell you is that you need to be really excited about that stuff, because if you are, despite all the difficulties, you'll actually enjoy it. I took my IGCSEs last year and got A* for Chemistry and Physics. While Physics isn't going too bad - I could improve, though - Chemistry is quite a mess. Lots of completely new concepts being shoved straight into your brain, and lots of calculations in the first unit. Just thought I'd warn you.
But honestly, if you're a high B to A* in Chemistry and Physics and you're really interested, take them. It'll be a blast. So take either Physics and Chemistry, like I did (and Maths and Lit, since you like it), or Biology and Chemistry.
And I'll add that hey, I'm guessing you're in Year 11, so you really shouldn't worry. You still have all year left to consider everything. Plus, if you begin to choose in your mind which subjects you're going to study later and which ones come off as useless, your GCSE grades for them might go down (personal experience). Just worry about your GCSEs for now, and towards March 2012 you'll vaguely know what you want to do.
Good luck!
I won't agree with the two posters before me. The first one hasn't chosen Maths, which is essential in science and very useful in every field, so along with Lit I would definitely take Maths. As for the second, not bad, but if you aren't that good at these sciences or you aren't that interested, they could be a torture.
Really depends on what you can see yourself doing in the future. I'd say that if you're getting a B in Maths, you should expect to need to put in a lot of effort next year in AS Maths. But once again, definitely Maths.
I'd say if you took:
Lit, History, Maths and Economics, your path is pretty open to whatever you want to do, but you definitely won't be a scientist. You could go into economics, business, politics, you could be a lawyer. You could be a teacher of something... You could be a historian, almost anything.
I don't know how good your predicted grades for science are. One thing I'll tell you is that you need to be really excited about that stuff, because if you are, despite all the difficulties, you'll actually enjoy it. I took my IGCSEs last year and got A* for Chemistry and Physics. While Physics isn't going too bad - I could improve, though - Chemistry is quite a mess. Lots of completely new concepts being shoved straight into your brain, and lots of calculations in the first unit. Just thought I'd warn you.
But honestly, if you're a high B to A* in Chemistry and Physics and you're really interested, take them. It'll be a blast. So take either Physics and Chemistry, like I did (and Maths and Lit, since you like it), or Biology and Chemistry.
And I'll add that hey, I'm guessing you're in Year 11, so you really shouldn't worry. You still have all year left to consider everything. Plus, if you begin to choose in your mind which subjects you're going to study later and which ones come off as useless, your GCSE grades for them might go down (personal experience). Just worry about your GCSEs for now, and towards March 2012 you'll vaguely know what you want to do.
Good luck!
Personal opinions aside, play to your strengths...there are no 'better' or 'worse' subjects on that list, only those which you will find more or less suited to you & the direction you want to go in...think about what you really enjoy the most & why you do/do not want to do each of those, if you don't know what direction you want to go in, take the individual subjects that you like the most, and these should be the most likely to lead towards a degree subject that you'll also enjoy, if not then you can consider changing direction later on, unfortunately no one else can really give you advice past this 
By the sounds of it English Lit is your strength
but from what you've written you're better at english than math...think about whether that's because of natural ability, enjoyment or because of other factors? Again think about what your motivations for doing the subject are
As a general guideline people I know who enjoy English most tend to like history as well, & find biology to be their favourite science. Those who don't find math easy tend not to enjoy physics as much...but these are just generalisations & they don't hold true for individuals...
I'd disagree with the definitely take maths part, if you want to do maths then it can be a really great subject, I certainly enjoyed it, and it can lead on to many things but don't be scared into doing it just because it's 'useful': it's a requirement if you want to go into physics, engineering or maths, so if you want to do either of these in the future then yes, you really must do it, & it's advisable if you want to go into economics or computing courses as some courses in these subjects ask for a math A level as well, but if, for example, you were looking at biology courses you'd find many ask for biology + 1 other science or maths, so in that case you'd have to take biology and physics or maths or chemistry, chemistry courses tend to be similar...it's all about what you're most interested in, if you decide eventually (again just as an example) that you'd most like to do English/History/Biology/Chemistry at A level, because that's what you're interested in you'd be set up for a degree in English, chemistry, history or biology as well as many other related options...ie the sorts of things you'd decided you were interested in
That last paragraph might be a bit confusingly written so tl;dr: subject combinations are important in some situations, but that's for good reason, don't be scared into doing subjects you won't enjoy at the expense of ones you want to do, as that just means that they'll lead on to more of what you won't like & less of what you do
That sounds flimsy but there's reasoning in there behind the bad wording I promise
As for the careers interview depends on the individual you talk to, some schools have great careers advisors & hopefully they'll be able to help you sort things out, others...not so much, and even the best careers advisors can only help you to order your thoughts, at the end of the day the decision is still down to you, either way good luck with whatever you choose
By the sounds of it English Lit is your strength
but from what you've written you're better at english than math...think about whether that's because of natural ability, enjoyment or because of other factors? Again think about what your motivations for doing the subject areAs a general guideline people I know who enjoy English most tend to like history as well, & find biology to be their favourite science. Those who don't find math easy tend not to enjoy physics as much...but these are just generalisations & they don't hold true for individuals...
I'd disagree with the definitely take maths part, if you want to do maths then it can be a really great subject, I certainly enjoyed it, and it can lead on to many things but don't be scared into doing it just because it's 'useful': it's a requirement if you want to go into physics, engineering or maths, so if you want to do either of these in the future then yes, you really must do it, & it's advisable if you want to go into economics or computing courses as some courses in these subjects ask for a math A level as well, but if, for example, you were looking at biology courses you'd find many ask for biology + 1 other science or maths, so in that case you'd have to take biology and physics or maths or chemistry, chemistry courses tend to be similar...it's all about what you're most interested in, if you decide eventually (again just as an example) that you'd most like to do English/History/Biology/Chemistry at A level, because that's what you're interested in you'd be set up for a degree in English, chemistry, history or biology as well as many other related options...ie the sorts of things you'd decided you were interested in
That last paragraph might be a bit confusingly written so tl;dr: subject combinations are important in some situations, but that's for good reason, don't be scared into doing subjects you won't enjoy at the expense of ones you want to do, as that just means that they'll lead on to more of what you won't like & less of what you do
That sounds flimsy but there's reasoning in there behind the bad wording I promise
As for the careers interview depends on the individual you talk to, some schools have great careers advisors & hopefully they'll be able to help you sort things out, others...not so much, and even the best careers advisors can only help you to order your thoughts, at the end of the day the decision is still down to you, either way good luck with whatever you choose
(edited 12 years ago)
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