Is a fourth AS essential?

I'm predicted A's and A*'s for my GCSE's at the moment, but i'm not sure if I really want to do four AS levels. The three i've got so far are:
History
Geology
Biology

I really don't know what to take for a fourth, and not sure if I want the extra pressure to be honest, I have struggled with the amount of GCSE exams i'm taking. With my grades I know I probably should take four, but there's nothing else that particularly appeals to me. I've considered geography, but I ended up hating that at GCSE, and i'm not particularly inclined towards maths or english. Any suggestions? If it helps i'm aiming for archaeology or a related history course at university.

Reply 1

aeturnium

I suppose it's not essential but the extra few ucas points could be the difference you getting into your firm or your insurance 👍

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Reply 2

ameliarose48

I would like to take a fourth subject so theres a wider range for uni's to look at, but i'm just unsure what would really fit in with the ones i've picked, and be relevant to the kind of career I want...

Reply 3

tnetennba

Hardly any unis care

If your school wants you to take 4, I would go for critical thinking/general studies

Reply 4

llamaspoon

If you're struggling to find something that will 'fit in' with the others, then don't. Just pick something you enjoy, regardless of whether or not it's the odd one out.

Reply 5

nivrap402

There's not really too much work with geology so a fourth wouldn't be too hard I don't think, if your looking at a top uni it shouldnt really matter though. Why history by the way? if you decide to go for a science at uni doing history is going to make your offer one grade higher as it will only be 2 sciences

Reply 6

Hannie Rose

It depends on which universities you're hoping to apply to. I dropped an AS earlier this year, so only study 3 and now cannot apply to some universities that state on their entry requirements that they require a pass in a fourth AS subject.

Reply 7

Piledriver

I made the decision a month into college to drop down to 3 AS because I missed a lot of college due to illness. I couldn't regret it more, I thought by doing three I'd be able to get AAA as opposed to a mix of more 'average' grades but two months in one of my teachers left, leaving me with no english teacher for half of the year and dropping my grade to a D :mad:

- It also turns out the Uni's I'm looking at all require a fourth AS. So as I'm going to have to re-sit english, and take up another AS I have to do an extra year at college..

I'd say doing 3 is restricting yourself before you've even begun, at least try it for a bit - I know plenty of people who dropped one AS after their january mocks when they get a firm indication that they can't handle the workload :smile:

Reply 8

ralts

I don't think 4 AS levels are essential. Some schools make you take 4 to begin with and allow you to drop later in the year (like my school). Obviously, it's not great doing part of an AS-Level for two months if you know you're going to drop it, but that's what happens usually I'm afraid :frown:

Really, it's completely up to you. Most people do start off with 4 AS Levels and sometimes drop down to 3, but I think that's because most schools/colleges ask for you to choose 4 to begin with.

Hope I helped! :smile:

Reply 9

GMT

I would take another one just for 1 reason: So that next year you have more options to choose your career from. A personal advice would be to take maths, as it would complement well with your options and could lead you into a science or business/economic carreer. On the other hadn, you've already got an essay based subject... would you prefer to choose another essay subject such as english?
Or perhaps a "soft" subject such as Business or ICT which could require less work?

Plus, some unis require a 4th AS (Eg. UCL), so at least try to take the 4 of them during the first trimester. If you see its too much, just drop it :wink:

As well, GCSE stuff is so different to AS+A2, after 3 or 4 months you may realise a subject isnt as you expected, may be more boring, too much work or just too theoretical for your liking, or just because the teacher is horrendous and you don't learn anything... so its good to have a 4th back up, so you can drop a subject.

Investigate it :wink:

P.S. Advice given by a student that took 6 AS during his first year haha

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 10

jwf13

At GCSE my favourite subjects were Geography, Spanish, English lit and History (in that order) and my least favourite was RE. Because I go to a catholic school, I had to do an RE AS, which I thought I was going to hate.

Now my preferences are:

1- Geography 2-History (really enjoy these two, want to do geography at uni) 3-RE (unexpectedly enjoyed it this year, found it really interesting), 4) English lit (It's ok but really hard and I don't enjoy it as much as GCSE), 5) Spanish- at the end of GCSEs I was considering doing Joint honours in Geography and Spanish, but now I'm on the C/D borderline for AS...

Basically, if I'd taken 3 AS Levels I would have done Geography, English and Spanish, and at the minute I'd be on A A C/D, as apposed to A A A A C/D, while not fully enjoying two of my subjects (and a lot of geography unis are now asking for AAA/AAB). Therefore, I'd check to see if there are any subjects you find interesting (check the A-Level syllabus because some are quite different to GCSE, such as English language) or if any relate to extra-curricular activities you enjoy (such as Art, Drama, Music, Photography etc.), just in case it turns out you don't like or don't do as well as expected for one of your AS Levels (I got 98% for GCSE Spanish and in my first AS mock in January I got a D (one mark from an E), I didn't take to AS that well)

Based on History, you could try: Philosophy, RE/Ethics, MFL, Classics, Sociology, Politics or Psychology (I would recommend geography but I'm a bit biased!)