choosing A Levels

c1995

hi,

I'm currently in year 11 and will be picking my Alevels soon. The problem is I don't know which subjects would be best for impressing uni's and future employers.

I was wondering if anyone would recommend what a levels I should think of taking or even any jobs that I would be good at based on my current grades from coursework and trial exams for GCSE..

English- A* for coursework, A for exams.
Maths- A
Biology- A*
Chemistry- A*
Physics- A
Geography A*
Business- A*
PE- A, although I don't want to do this for another two years.
German- A* writing and speaking, A reading and listening
RE- A

Any suggestions would be so helpful. Thank you..

Reply 1

username908197

I would do (based on grades) German, Chemistry, Biology and English lit or geography. Languages always hold a lot of respect along with sciences (including geography) and so does english lit.

You could then go to uni and (if you like languages) study german and beginners russian etc. Then become a translator, teacher or interpreter abroad or in england.

Chemistry and Biology leave the door open to do medicine, and then go on to be a doctor. These a levels are highly though of and a degree in medicine from anywhere is very highly though of.

English lit also leaves open the door to do law. You could then become a lawyer or barrister etc. Very hard to get into (same with medicine) but very highly though of.

Here you have a range of sciences, a language and an essay based subject. This is a good range and all are very highly though of and keep lots of doors open. Hope this helps :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2

c1995

Thanks so much.

If I was thinking of going into a science based subject, would I need to do a maths based subject because I prefer English/Geography? :smile:

Reply 3

username908197

Well actually universities prefer people with more rounded a levels. They don't like just sciences or just humanities. They might prefer you to have maths if you want to do medicine ( chemistry is a definite, biology preferred and maths is better than physics and then you have a fourth as whatever you want) but for others such as biochemistry they shouldn't care. Having an essay based subject shows you are not just a one trick pony and can also write essays and analysie texts.

You could do five but that would be A LOT of work.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 4

blondie :)

Do subjects that you're interested in - you must enjoy certain subjects more than others! If you prefer English/Geography then take them... Maybe look into courses that you haven't done previously (e.g I find Economics really helpful with my Geography work) also Biology goes well with Geography. Maybe if you're not sure if you want to do Science or more arty subjects like English then take Chemistry, as it's needed for a lot of science based courses :smile:

Reply 5

physicsfuntimes

Original post by c1995

Thanks so much.

If I was thinking of going into a science based subject, would I need to do a maths based subject because I prefer English/Geography? :smile:

If you are tending towards biology or chemistry based degrees, then they're good A levels (obviously). If you want to do maths, engineering, physics or anything mathsy, you will definitely need maths. To be honest, maths would be very helpful for a chemistry degree too but I don't think it's necessary.

If you want to do a science subject (apart from medicine) then it doesn't matter toooo much if you have an essay subject or not, though it certainly isn't a bad thing if you do one as it shows you have the abilities to write and all. So if you're leaning towards bio or chem, pick english or geog over maths if you prefer them. If a more mathsy course, you'd better go for maths. If you're unsure at this point, I'd be tempted to say to try and include maths because it will keep your options open, and can be dropped if you don't get along with it, but if you change your mind and haven't taken it, bad times. Unis do love to see maths though, if that sways you?

Think more on future plans, and unless you have a degree-specific career in mind, like medicine, I wouldn't worry too much about career yet. A lot of people won't end up in jobs relevant to their degree, so try and find something that really interests you without just focussing on the career after (though this should factor in somewhere!). To be honest, you're likely to be swayed by one or two of your A levels, if you really enjoy them - they're so much better than GCSEs, trust me! Or so much worse :tongue:

Reply 6

Oaktree

German, Biology, Chemistry, Maths, English literature

(if you only want to do 4 then drop english, but judging by your gcse grades you should have no problem with doing 5)

Reply 7

c1995

thanks everyone!

I would find it easier choosing 5, but my school have a 4 maximum so I'd have to move if I wanted to do an extra A Level. I think I will take Biology, Chemistry, Geography and then either English Literature, Maths, Economics or German depending on how I've done in my trials..

Reply 8

Woodworth

Original post by c1995

I'd recommend Maths.
It goes well with absolutely everything.
You also can't do a chemistry degree without Maths. Well, maybe at some uni's

Maths is a ticket to any job!

How ever, if you don't enjoy maths, you wont like it at A level. And if u dont enjoy it youll do poorly at it.