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Which A levels should i take?

I always wanted to be an accountant, or do something to do with finance, however i have recently taken an interest in Law. I was considering taking English Lag/Lit, Law, Business Studies and Maths as A levels.

Reasons for these subjects:
I considered taking Accounting or financial management, however my school tutor said he believed that Maths would be a better subject to take. I have only started to enjoy English over the last 2 years, and i believe that it would be a good subject to take if i go to university, as well as a good subject to have on my CV, as i will learn good skills. I would like to take business as I really enjoy the subject at GCSE level, i believe that it would give me a sound understanding to take into a lot of jobs, especially business management if i wanted to go down that career path. I wanted to take Law at A level as i believe it would help me decide whether or not i wanted to study it later on and pursue a career in it, as i don't want to go to law school, and then find that i actually hate the subject, as it wasn't a choice to take at GCSE i have no understanding of how much i will enjoy studying law.

After doing some research i found that many universities would advise not to study business or law at A level, even to the extent that they turn people down who have taken it? I really don't want to study subjects that will sabotage my chances of getting into a good university. Has anyone taking business or law at A-level and found them to be a waste of time?

Other subjects that i have considered, aside from Maths, English, Business and Law, are critical thinking, Economics, Psychology, Sociology, Accounting, personal and business finance, communication and culture and statistics.

Some colleges offer the courses as a BTEC, these subjects are ones such as law and business, however i can do them along with other A levels. What it actually says is "BTEC National Level 3, Certificate/Subsidiary Diploma in the stated subjects. The qualification is equal to either an AS or a full A level.". This is at the college closer to me, however if i travel a bit further, law and business are subjects which are real A levels, would i benefit from travelling further, or are the BTECs okay?

I have a lot of worries about my a levels, and can get very stressed, which is why i have been advised to write out all my options, although this has helped, it hasn't helped me decide what subjects i want to take, and which will be best for me..?
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by leonieantonia
I always wanted to be an accountant, or do something to do with finance, however i have recently taken an interest in Law. I was considering taking English Lag/Lit, Law, Business Studies and Maths as A levels.

Reasons for these subjects:
I considered taking Accounting or financial management, however my school tutor said he believed that Maths would be a better subject to take. I have only started to enjoy English over the last 2 years, and i believe that it would be a good subject to take if i go to university, as well as a good subject to have on my CV, as i will learn good skills. I would like to take business as I really enjoy the subject at GCSE level, i believe that it would give me a sound understanding to take into a lot of jobs, especially business management if i wanted to go down that career path. I wanted to take Law at A level as i believe it would help me decide whether or not i wanted to study it later on and pursue a career in it, as i don't want to go to law school, and then find that i actually hate the subject, as it wasn't a choice to take at GCSE i have no understanding of how much i will enjoy studying law.

After doing some research i found that many universities would advise not to study business or law at A level, even to the extent that they turn people down who have taken it? I really don't want to study subjects that will sabotage my chances of getting into a good university. Has anyone taking business or law at A-level and found them to be a waste of time?

Other subjects that i have considered, aside from Maths, English, Business and Law, are critical thinking, Economics, Psychology, Sociology, Accounting, personal and business finance, communication and culture and statistics.

Some colleges offer the courses as a BTEC, these subjects are ones such as law and business, however i can do them along with other A levels. What it actually says is "BTEC National Level 3, Certificate/Subsidiary Diploma in the stated subjects. The qualification is equal to either an AS or a full A level.". This is at the college closer to me, however if i travel a bit further, law and business are subjects which are real A levels, would i benefit from travelling further, or are the BTECs okay?

I have a lot of worries about my a levels, and can get very stressed, which is why i have been advised to write out all my options, although this has helped, it hasn't helped me decide what subjects i want to take, and which will be best for me..?


I'm by no means an expert on law, but at least from the perspective of the universities, I presume most of them will want to see a selection of 'accommodating' A Level subjects. I don't know the individual policies with regard to BTECs but, especially for a subject as competitive as law, A Levels would definitely be looked upon more favourably. The Russel Group's 'informed choices' guide recommends 3 accommodating subjects (in particular history) for students wishing to study law. The accommodating subjects are: Maths, Further Maths, English Literature (not Language apparently), Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Geography, History, and Languages.

This definitely doesn't mean that you won't get into a good University without three of these subjects, but it would give you an advantage.

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