Does General Studies carry any worth?

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I have to do it for AS/A2 anyway, so it dosen't matter whether it is of any value. I think there are advantages and disadvantages

Advantages
1. You can earn yourself another A-Level in a relatively short period of time compared to other subjects
2. It incorporates different areas from a wide range of diciplines, so it is useful to know about world events and current affairs anyway - not just for the exam
3. It helps to develop essay writing skills and perhaps a good grade indicates that you have a wide awareness of world issues - not sure if this is valid though because they don't always tend to pick events that have been on the news.
4. It can sometimes be used as a barganing tool if you midly miss a university offer.
5. It has been suggested that it provides a reliable indicator as to overall University performance - not sure I agree with this! Develops essay writing skills as well though.

Disadvantages
1. Some of the higher level unviersities don't accept the subject
2. You might have to attend lessons - time which some would consider better spent on othe subjects to improve performance
3. You have to sit the exams or in some cases write a piece of coursework
4. Not everyone is interested in all of the areas that it covers and some people might find parts of it more difficult than others, so you could be at a disadvantage
5. If it was regarded as being of the same value as other courses, then it would be accepted as a 'traditional' A-Level subject.

Reply 41

SugarExplosion

I do think it's a good subject to have.
1) it shows you can relate back to subjects at GCSE and that you don't just learn the work for exams, but actually remember it
2) shows you have a good overall knowledge. universities want well-rounded students
3) i've got loughborough as my first choice and my A in general studies A level is accepted as part of my loughborough. loughborough this year is 6th in the university league tables (showing good universities do accept it)

Reply 42

allymcb2

Much as I think general studies is a load of crap, certainly not worth an A-level, it has to be more intellectually stimulating than watching Friends or eating ice-cream. So if you arent busy it might be a time filler.

Reply 43

henryt

allymcb2

At least you have the demanding task of choosing what flavour to have when guzzling ice-cream :p:

. GS is not even worth that 3 hours of exam time in the Summer.

Reply 44

Jigglypuff

allymcb2

Southampton is one of the arguments for reducing the number of uk unis. It is worse than pretty crap. I dont care if I annoy you and I shant shut up.

How can one of the universities which stays in the top 30 in all of the league tables I have seen be worse than pretty crap? And how can it be an argument for reducing the number of uk unis? There are some universities which spring to mind (Southampton Solent, for example, who regularly fake degree results or bump them up to 2.1s) which I would have understood as being one of those arguments, but Southampton is a decent university. And even the worst universities in the UK- why should they be reduced? Surely everyone should have the chance to study and gain a degree? If the number of universities in the UK were reduced, say to only include the ones that you listed, many people would not have the chance nor the grades to gain a degree. That's pretty selfish and unnecessary. Nobody is asking you to apply to Southampton anyway.

You're going to Oxford or Cambridge right? I think, ultimately, what one gets out of university is partly defined by the people they shared the experience with. All I'm saying is that thank God not everyone at Cambridge is as arrogant or as naive as you or I would have turned down the offer and accepted Southampton in a heart beat. Sure, it lacks the prestige Cambridge has but I don't think I could stand being around elitist snobs 24/7.

Reply 45

rockthecasbah

Even though everybody complains about GS and how rubbish it is, there are some universities (ok, not some of the best universities, although I was surprised to find Manchester and Birmingham do) that accept it, and to me that's all that matters. Heck, it's a grade, use it, for all you know it could make the difference on results day whether a university accepts or rejects you.

Reply 46

allymcb2

Everyone would still have a chance to get a degree. They would just need to get higher grades...

Under the current system 40% of people dont even have a-levels, so still not everyone has the chance to go to university. For a good proportion of people university is a waste of time. It would benefit them more to make GCSEs and A-levels hard enough to actually count for something other than entry to education.

And what exactly is naive about my statement? Disdainful and snobbish I could accept.

Reply 47

Kittennffc

Not everyone achieves 4 A grades at Alevel, yet work damn hard to get the best they can. Everyone should be allowed a chance to get a degree, whether it be from Oxford, or TVU.

Reply 48

kellywood_5

I'm pretty much in the middle on this. In some ways, I agree with allmcb2, but in others, I agree with Jigglypuff and Kittennffc. I don't think unis like Southampton should close down because it's actually pretty good and the entry requirements seem reasonable. But I do think the minimum grades any uni should accept should be CCC in 3 full A-levels. Everyone has the right to an education up to GCSEs, but only those who get Cs have the right to do A-levels because they're the ones capable of doing well. Similarly, only those who get Cs at A-level should have the right to do a degree because anyone with lower grades than that is unlikely to cope. This would enable those who are quite frankly wasting their time at university to pursue something more suitable like an apprenticeship and would also stop degrees being devalued.