TSR ON THE BBC: Students complain of bad A-level advice for degree path

A part of me says that people should do their research before choosing which subjects to take. At the same time I think help should be provided

I was laughed at when I mentioned Cambridge...

Luckily I ignored and still chose the right a levels.

Though I agree people don't get good advice and pick rubbish stuff

Yeah as if these people could know you better than you...

Well it was a state school lady

And you think nobody in a state school knows anything about Cambridge, or went there?

Why do people need 'advice'? Surely by the time you're ready to go to college, you should have decent knowledge of good and bad A-levels, as well as the path, if not the direct career, which you want to go into. Saying that, it doesn't stop idiots taking subjects like Psychology, Sociology and Drama

Hence less than 30% had 5 A*-C, probably even less with maths and English, so nope, none of them were qualified to give advice imo.

Well, some people aren't ready for college

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Why do people need 'advice'? Surely by the time you're ready to go to college, you should have decent knowledge of good and bad A-levels, as well as the path, if not the direct career, which you want to go into. Saying that, it doesn't stop idiots taking subjects like Psychology, Sociology and Drama

Someone with a little more experience of the world advising a student would know that grades are more important than subjects and therefore once one moves outside the absolute academic top drawer, it would be much better to recommend that someone take sociology rather than say maths or history if the adviser thinks they have the potential to get a B in sociology but only a C or D in those other two subjects. The B is likely to open more doors than sociology closes.

X

It may open more doors in regards to the degree they can do; but in terms of earning potential, they will be limited by it. Advertising a C in A-level maths is unquestionably more desirable than advertising a B (or even A) in sociology. In the real world, the hardline subjects go much further

Wait until you get into the real world and you will see that A level subject choice is of extremely limited relevance for graduates.

However, the real flaw in your argument is that you make the assumption that the person ends up in the same place. For example the student with the B in sociology is reading law at Liverpool. The person with the C in maths is reading law at Cumbria.

People keep talking about how people should know what they want to study at uni, but what about if they change their minds on what course they want to study during A-levels and aren't taking suitable subjects for their new courses. Surely simply advising children to think about alternative courses alone would be a good one!