[ellenabethx]

Hi
I am really interested in economics even though I am only in Year 11, and I would love to study this subject at uni, to go into a job based in finance.

For my AS levels I have chosen to do Maths, Further Maths, Business Studies, Government & Politics and Spanish.

Unfortunately my school does not offer Economics at A Level.

These options are not set in stone, and I can change my mind.

I would welcome any advice from people already studying Economics, or fellow Year 11/12 students wishing to do an Economics degree, on which subjects they have taken/took for A Levels.

However, my school has given me the option to study Economics at the Brother School (I go to an All girls school) but I would have to travel there myself and would only be able to make 4-5/7 lessons per week

Please give me some advice

[123maz]

I myself want to do french at uni but I would say you should study economics at A level,

Economics
Further maths and maths
Business Studies
Government and politics

[placenta medicae talpae]

Your A Level choices sound fine.
Don't worry too much about not having A Level economics -- it's quite different to what you'll do in an economics degree.

If you do well in maths and further maths, you'll definitely have the technical grounding to start an econ degree, so just make sure you have a bit of economic intuition by keeping up with the news and learning what they mean when they're talking about all of those things like interest rates and inflation.

[ellenabethx]

(Original post by placenta medicae talpae)
Your A Level choices sound fine.
Don't worry too much about not having A Level economics -- it's quite different to what you'll do in an economics degree.

If you do well in maths and further maths, you'll definitely have the technical grounding to start an econ degree, so just make sure you have a bit of economic intuition by keeping up with the news and learning what they mean when they're talking about all of those things like interest rates and inflation.

Thanks,
I am just worried that someone might get the place at the uni I want to go to if they studied Economics

[justinawe]

(Original post by ellenabethx)
Hi
I am really interested in economics even though I am only in Year 11, and I would love to study this subject at uni, to go into a job based in finance.

For my AS levels I have chosen to do Maths, Further Maths, Business Studies, Government & Politics and Spanish.

Unfortunately my school does not offer Economics at A Level.

These options are not set in stone, and I can change my mind.

I would welcome any advice from people already studying Economics, or fellow Year 11/12 students wishing to do an Economics degree, on which subjects they have taken/took for A Levels.

However, my school has given me the option to study Economics at the Brother School (I go to an All girls school) but I would have to travel there myself and would only be able to make 4-5/7 lessons per week

Please give me some advice

I'm looking to do something or the sort as well.

For AS I've picked Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics. I might do an Accounting AS too, undecided on that one.

No Economics isn't a huge deal, most if not all Economics courses at unis only have Maths as a prerequisite, and Further Maths could be useful since as far as I'm aware, Economics degree courses do have quite a bit of maths content.

Since you have both of those, you have pretty much everything covered. Your subject combination is fine, don't worry about it.

[Groat]

(Original post by ellenabethx)
x

If you're that worried about doing A-Level Business Studies, don't take it and mention in your personal statement that you'd rather spend time reading about economics?

If you are strong at English or History, I'd replace those for Government and Politics.

[Airfairy]

I used to study economics (dropped out), and my A-Levels are economics, psychology, law and biology. So a bit random. Maths should be a must have though, it was so hard without it.

As for you not doing economics A-Level, wouldn't worry. I found degree to be miles different, and there were loads who hadn't done it at college.

[Boy_wonder_95]

Your subjects choices sound fine especially Maths & Further Maths. However if you're planning on doing Economics A level don't do Business Studies alongside with it as universities don't like this combination as they see there is an overlap between them. However if unable to study Economics, Business Studies would be a suitable alternative and you won't be at a disadvantage (as long as you mention it in your PS )

The best possible combination is Maths, Further Maths, Economics + any subject of your choice (excluding Business Studies if offering Economics).
I am also in year 11 and wish to study Economics at uni and next year I'll be doing Maths, Further Maths, Economics and Physics.
Also, what grades are you predicted/expecting to get in your GCSEs?

[ellenabethx]

(Original post by Boy_wonder_95)
Your subjects choices sound fine especially Maths & Further Maths. However if you're planning on doing Economics A level don't do Business Studies alongside with it as universities don't like this combination as they see there is an overlap between them. However if unable to study Economics, Business Studies would be a suitable alternative and you won't be at a disadvantage (as long as you mention it in your PS )

The best possible combination is Maths, Further Maths, Economics + any subject of your choice (excluding Business Studies if offering Economics).
I am also in year 11 and wish to study Economics at uni and next year I'll be doing Maths, Further Maths, Economics and Physics.
Also, what grades are you predicted/expecting to get in your GCSEs?

Thankyou, I knew about the business studies and economics combo being a no no, they are just too similar to even consider.
My predicted grades for GCSE are:

Maths - A* (already awarded)
Further Maths - (unknown, exam only established this year)
English Lang - A
English Lit - A
Core Science - A* (already awarded)
Additional Science - A*
Spanish - A
History - A*
Business Studies - A*
PE - A
RS - A*
IT - Distinction
Food Tech - A


so pretty good, I hope I can achieve these grades

[Boy_wonder_95]

(Original post by ellenabethx)
Thankyou, I knew about the business studies and economics combo being a no no, they are just too similar to even consider.
My predicted grades for GCSE are:

Maths - A* (already awarded)
Further Maths - (unknown, exam only established this year)
English Lang - A
English Lit - A
Core Science - A* (already awarded)
Additional Science - A*
Spanish - A
History - A*
Business Studies - A*
PE - A
RS - A*
IT - Distinction
Food Tech - A


so pretty good, I hope I can achieve these grades

Those are a pretty nice set of results , how did you manage an A* in business? :O. And what unis do you intend to apply to for economics?

[good-guy]

almost same combo i take economics instead of business. if i remember well, economics at uni require a high level of maths so your double math is a great choice! they sort of like diverse subjects like spanish and your gov&pol is great as an semi essay-based subject! as for business, well, i dont think it will give you a lot of advantage as it is regarded as a "weaker" subject and taking economics would help you considerably. many of my friends got economics offers in places like UCL, LSE, Warwick, Cambridge etc and their subject combination were all different from each other, so you shouldn't worry about it. e.g. "law, economics, pure maths" - "pure maths, stats, econs, accounting" etc. so unis dont look only at your subjects

ps. i am starting year 12 this september

[ellenabethx]

(Original post by Boy_wonder_95)
Those are a pretty nice set of results , how did you manage an A* in business? :O. And what unis do you intend to apply to for economics?

Business is easy that is why, i could have sat that exam without even turning up to a lesson, its just common sense :')

As of the Moment I would apply to:
London School of Economics
Durham
Oxford
Exeter
Leeds/York/Bristol (unsure)

[ellenabethx]

(Original post by good-guy)
almost same combo i take economics instead of business. if i remember well, economics at uni require a high level of maths so your double math is a great choice! they sort of like diverse subjects like spanish and your gov&pol is great as an semi essay-based subject! as for business, well, i dont think it will give you a lot of advantage as it is regarded as a "weaker" subject and taking economics would help you considerably. many of my friends got economics offers in places like UCL, LSE, Warwick, Cambridge etc and their subject combination were all different from each other, so you shouldn't worry about it. e.g. "law, economics, pure maths" - "pure maths, stats, econs, accounting" etc. so unis dont look only at your subjects

ps. i am starting year 12 this september

That is the annoying thing, economics isnt offered at my school's sixth form. I know that business is seen as "easy", but i wanted to take an A level with some relevance towards Economics. Would you recommend changing Business for something like Biology or Classical Civilisation?

[Mr Inquisitive]

Maths, Further Maths, and then two more 'traditional' subjects - e.g. Physics and History.

[good-guy]

(Original post by ellenabethx)
That is the annoying thing, economics isnt offered at my school's sixth form. I know that business is seen as "easy", but i wanted to take an A level with some relevance towards Economics. Would you recommend changing Business for something like Biology or Classical Civilisation?

YES. if you can change business for another subject then definitely do it.
at a-level i dont think business has any relevance to economics whatsoever .the preferred subject is economics, but if you can't take it, you should go for physics because the topics you will learn in further maths will help your mechanics so it fits well. you are taking four subjects already and unis usually include only three subject conditions in offers (plus one AS), so you shouldn't even worry about taking a fifth as it will result in extra unnecessary work.

[Boy_wonder_95]

(Original post by ellenabethx)
Business is easy that is why, i could have sat that exam without even turning up to a lesson, its just common sense :')

As of the Moment I would apply to:
London School of Economics
Durham
Oxford
Exeter
Leeds/York/Bristol (unsure)

Yh I know buts its just that the coursework element in Business Studies is so time-consuming and quite hard to score well in. I only got a B in the Coursework as I ran out of time, which might bring my overall grade down :/.

You do realise Oxford dont offer pure Economics; their course is Economics & Management (something to take into account, whether you would enjoy management).
And as for the last choice I would recommend Bristol as their course is quite mathematical, much more so than the others and I'm taking it you enjoy maths?

[ellenabethx]

(Original post by good-guy)
YES. if you can change business for another subject then definitely do it.
at a-level i dont think business has any relevance to economics whatsoever .the preferred subject is economics, but if you can't take it, you should go for physics because the topics you will learn in further maths will help your mechanics so it fits well. you are taking four subjects already and unis usually include only three subject conditions in offers (plus one AS), so you shouldn't even worry about taking a fifth as it will result in extra unnecessary work.

Unfortunately I have to do 5 if I want to do further maths...
my school said i could go to the brother school to do economics and travel to and from. luckily i live opposite our brother school, do you reckon i should do that? and swap for business?
if not i think i could only take these subjects from my ability:
1.physics
2.religious studies
3.history
4.biology

HELP ME CHOOSE

[ellenabethx]

(Original post by Boy_wonder_95)
Yh I know buts its just that the coursework element in Business Studies is so time-consuming and quite hard to score well in. I only got a B in the Coursework as I ran out of time, which might bring my overall grade down :/.

You do realise Oxford dont offer pure Economics; their course is Economics & Management (something to take into account, whether you would enjoy management).
And as for the last choice I would recommend Bristol as their course is quite mathematical, much more so than the others and I'm taking it you enjoy maths?

I know about Oxford, management doesn't bother me. Infact I think i'd quite like it.
I love maths, i'm a bit of a maths geek.
My business studies teacher refuses to give us our coursework mark back! He said none of us got below our target grade...mine is an A* sooo fingers crossed

[sw3]

economics
maths
further maths
a science such as physics or chemistry

try refrain from business studies, politics etc. Stick to traditional a-levels

[16dan2life]

Really good choices

Don't worry, A level economics isn't needed(although I think Bath require it for one of their Econ courses). Maths and FM are great subjects to take, admission tutors prefer Maths and FM than A level economics.

If you don't feel comfortable travelling to your brother school then don't, like I said before, you don't need it. Just make sure you do some outside reading in your spare time for economics.

Don't hesitate to ask me more questions on economics

NOTE- If anyone requires AS/A2 Economics notes, PM me your email and I'll send them straight away for FREE!