A Level Choices - English Lit, Biology, Law, Psychology

Hi everyone, I am looking for some guidance on whether or not I am making the right choices for my A Levels next year. I am currently in year 11, finishing my GCSE's. I am interested in studying something to do with law at university, and possibly becoming a lawyer/solicitor/barrister...

I am currently planning on taking the following A Levels:

English Literature -- traditional subject.

Biology -- traditional subject. Will this benefit me with with a career in law?

Psychology -- how is this looked upon by universities? Will it benefit me with a career in law? Is it a traditional subject? Is it frowned upon, or classed a a 'soft' A Level?

Law -- I have read many rumours about taking Law at A Level. Should I take Law at A Level if I wish to have a future in Law? Will it benefit/hinder me when applying to universities? Is it classed as a 'soft' A Level, or would universities rather me do another subject, even though I want to do something with Law in the future?

Also, if these 4 subjects are good choices to take, which should I drop after the first year -- law or psychology? And furthermore, what is an AS level worth in comparison to a A2 level? Do universities care about your 1 AS Level from the subject you dropped?

Finally, am I right in understanding that if I wish to go to a good university, I must take 2 traditional subjects -- English Literature and Biology, and then also a 3rd subject which may be anything? (so law or psychology)

Thank you for any help :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

ellieHA

I think History might benefit you more than Biology? I think it counts as a traditional subject. This way if you did:

AS: English Lit, History, Psychology, Law

you would have 2 traditional essay-based humanities subjects, a maybe not so traditional science subject (although I would say psychology is quite respected i'm not sure about top unis depending on what course you want to do) and then law which is obviously relevant

then for A2: English Lit, History, Psychology/Law

i'm not sure how respected law is as a subject

Some unis care about your 4th AS level and will include it in your offer, some don't

Reply 2

justinawe

Original post by Hilton184

Hi everyone, I am looking for some guidance on whether or not I am making the right choices for my A Levels next year. I am currently in year 11, finishing my GCSE's. I am interested in studying something to do with law at university, and possibly becoming a lawyer/solicitor/barrister...

I am currently planning on taking the following A Levels:

English Literature -- traditional subject.

Biology -- traditional subject. Will this benefit me with with a career in law?

Psychology -- how is this looked upon by universities? Will it benefit me with a career in law? It is a traditional subject? Is it frowned upon, or classed a a 'soft' A Level?

Law -- I have read many rumours about taking Law at A Level. Should I take Law at A Level if I wish to have a future in Law? Will it benefit/hinder me when applying to universities? Is it classed as a 'soft' A Level, or would universities rather me do another subject, even though I want to do something with Law in the future?

Also, if these 4 subjects are good choices to take, which should I drop after the first year -- law or psychology? And furthermore, what is an AS level worth in comparison to a A2 level? Do universities care about your 1 AS Level from the subject you dropped?

Finally, am I right in understanding that if I wish to go to a good university, I must take 2 traditional subjects -- English Literature and Biology, and then also a 3rd subject which may be anything? (so law or psychology)

Thank you for any help :smile:

Psychology isn't looked at as a "soft" subject by universities, but it isn't a traditional/facilitating/"hard" subject either. A sort of in-between, if you may.

Biology won't directly benefit you with a career in law in mind, but as a traditional subject, it would definitely strengthen your application. I'd say an essay subject like History would be of more benefit though.

If you're interested in the Law A-Level and all, then you'll be fine taking it since you already have 2 traditional subjects, but if you're just taking it because you want to do law at uni, don't. It would be better to maybe take History over that, leaving you with E.Lit/Bio/Psychology/History AS-Levels. If you really want to take Law A-Level, then either stick with your current AS-Levels or replace Biology with History. :smile:

Reply 3

Hilton184

Ok, thanks for the responses, but I cant take history -- I took Geography at GCSE and didn't do history :frown:

But overall, with:

AS E.Lit/Biology/Psychology/Law,
and
A2 E.Lit/Biology/Psychology (Or Law) --- (which would best best to drop)

would most universities accept me if I got A/A/A -- for example, would they not turn me down simply because 1 of my A2 levels is not traditional/respected, and 2 of my AS levels are not traditional/respected?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 4

justinawe

Original post by Hilton184

Ok, thanks for the responses, but I cant take history -- I took Geography at GCSE and didn't do history :frown:

From the LSE website:

Successful applicants normally offer three A levels (A2s) in our generally preferred subjects, or two generally preferred subjects and one from the following list of subjects that are 'non-preferred.' The list is regularly reviewed by Admissions Tutors:

Accounting
Art and Design
Business Studies
Communication Studies
Design and Technology
Drama/Theatre Studies
Home Economics
Information and Communication Technology
Law
Media Studies
Music Technology
Sports Studies
Travel and Tourism

An A level (or equivalent) in your first/native language may not be counted.

Meaning that there are successful applicants with two preferred and one non-preferred A2. If that's the case for LSE, I'm sure you'll be fine for less competitive unis for Law.

I wouldn't decide on which one to drop at A2 just yet - it's best you wait and see which one you enjoy more at AS, and take that one to A2.

Reply 5

Hilton184

OK thank-you justinawe, just one last question -- psychology is not listed on either of their list of preferred or non preferred subjects (as with many other universities)... I can understand that it is in between, so is it preferred over law, but not as preferred as one of the facilitating subjects?

And finally, what would be the best combination of subjects to take for law in your opinion? please note that I cannot take history, but I could take maths (should get A/A* at GCSE), chemistry, and possibly geography, if they would be better options to take for a future in law over psychology/law A Levels.

Reply 6

justinawe

Original post by Hilton184

That's how I understand it, but I'm not 100% sure.

And finally, what would be the best combination of subjects to take for law in your opinion? please note that I cannot take history, but I could take maths (should get A/A* at GCSE), chemistry, and possibly geography, if they would be better options to take for a future in law over psychology/law A Levels.

It's hard to say what exactly would be the "best combination". Economics could be helpful - would you be able to take that?

Maths isn't directly applicable to Law, but the logic skills you get from it can be useful, I'd say it's more related than something like Biology. Plus, Maths is a very respected subject, no matter what course you're applying to.

Chemistry is probably on the same boat as Biology, if you're going to pick between the two then just pick the subject you prefer.

I'm not actually too sure what Geography entails, I haven't done any sort of Geography since lower secondary school (didn't take it at GCSE), but if it's an essay subject of any sort I'd say that's a plus.

If you're looking in terms of how they're respected, Economics/Maths/Chemistry/Geography are definitely better than Psychology/Law. Of course, it's best to choose what you'd enjoy more, with 2 traditional subjects having another non-traditional probably won't disadvantage your university applications, and a good grade in a less respected subject is better than a bad grade in a respected one.

Reply 7

Hilton184

Okay, so what if I go with, 3 traditional subjects -- English Literature/Biology/Chemistry OR Maths

In addition to either Psychology OR Law

So one of these options:

E.Lit/Biology/Chemistry/Psychology
E.Lit/Biology/Chemistry/Law

E.Lit/Biology/Maths/Psychology
E.Lit/Biology/Maths/Law

Would one of those be much better than choosing both psychology and law, for a career in Law.

And I don't want to do economics, I would much rather do chemistry/maths, and again, possibly geography. So is one of the above options an optimum choice to go on to study Law at Uni? Thanks again.

Reply 8

justinawe

Original post by Hilton184

I'd say any of those four combinations are good. Provided you get good grades, the fact that you have 3 respected subjects probably would make your application stronger. Your 4th AS doesn't matter too much, so just pick your preference.

Reply 9

Hilton184

Okay, so English Literature is a facilitating subject, as well as an essay writing 1. I am 100% sure of taking this.

Biology/Chemistry/Maths are all facilitating subjects --> are they all seen in the same light? I will definitely take 2 of these.

And then psychology/law as a fourth subject, just up to AS level.

So am I good to go with 1 essay writing subject, 3 facilitating subjects and then 1 extra? Thanks for all your help.

Reply 10

justinawe

Original post by Hilton184

I don't think it'll make any difference to your application which 2 of Maths/Chemistry/Biology you pick. Just take whichever two you'd like.

Yes, I'd say you're good to go with that. You've got a mix of science and essay subjects, universities generally like to see that.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 11

Hilton184

OK thanks so much for your help!

Reply 12

Mr Inquisitive

Original post by Hilton184

Ok, thanks for the responses, but I cant take history -- I took Geography at GCSE and didn't do history :frown:

So? I didn't take History GCSE but got an A* in my History A-Level...

Reply 13

vk94

PLEASE DO NOT DO LAW!!!! U WILL REGRET IT. Biology, Psychology and English Lit is fine. Choose Mathematics or History or Geography.

Reply 14

sabrina246

Hi everyone, I'm trying to choose Humanities A levels subjects and so far it's Economics, Psychology, Eng Literature and Law/Maths and I'm unsure about whether to take maths or Law, which will be more beneficial for me?

Reply 15

MoniC255

Original post by sabrina246

Definitely Maths. ALL universities regard maths as a 'facilitating' subject, which means in essence a 'hard' subject. I suggest that you take Maths.
But what grade are you in Maths? You'd need to be at least an A grade student to cope with maths. Although I'm not saying if you achieve a B you're not capable of studying it. But it is entirely based on how much you revise, your chosen place of education, and how good the teaching is.

Coincidentally, I'm going to choose the exact same A-levels as you (Economics, English Literature, Law/Psychology and Maths (If you decide to chose it of course), after I finish school next year.

Reply 16

JadeSi

Hi. I want to take Maths, E.lit, Biology and Philosophy at A level but have been told these subject combinations will prove to be difficult to study later on. What do you think?

Reply 17

Chlomc

Original post by Hilton184

Ok, thanks for the responses, but I cant take history -- I took Geography at GCSE and didn't do history :frown:

I know a lot of schools (I moved and had to start a different school so looked at a few for sixth form) don't require you to have taken the GCSE in order to do the A level. In the school I went to, I actually had 3 people in my History class who didn't do the GCSE and they all came out with A's/B's So if you're interested definitely talk to you're teachers and check. History was one of my favorite subjects, totally recommend it.

I wouldn't suggest taking Biology at all if the only reason you're considering it is because it's traditional. Don't even take it if you were good at GCSE. Only take it if you enjoy it. I took bio at AS because I was good at GCSE and got A*'s but I didn't enjoy it. Got kicked off the course 2 months later. It won't add anything more than than doing well in another essay based subject would. So just pick what you enjoy. I wish I had!