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Sixth-Form Options

I was wondering if you guys could help me.We've been told to start thinking about our AS-Level options and I have ideas of what I want to do, but I want to do more than I can. So I was wondering if you could suggest which I should do and which are the best.

I need to choose 4 from:
Computing
Law
Philosophy
Politics
Pyschology

Which are the most interesting etc.

Also I am considering doing Sociology, but I would have to do it at college after school on a Tuesday for 3 hours (6:30-9:30). Would it be too much trying to tackle 5 AS-Levels? Would losing Tuesday evenings affect work?

Thank You

Reply 1

hannah_dru

You might have to take AS General Studies as well on top of that. I know a boy who did 5/6 AS Levels but I don't know how well he managed. I found it fairly hard managing 4 so I'd say it's too much. Depends on your personal preference though and on the subjects.

Reply 2

Purple

What type of career/degree are you wanting to do?

I dont think loosing one evening a week would affect you too much but if it does you could always drop the subject.

Reply 3

leenick

Candi_Ice

So I was wondering if you could suggest which I should do and which are the best.

As kirstinx touched upon, its more important that you work out what you want to do after A-levels, as this will be the factor that chooses them. Hell, it doesn't even matter if you absolutely hate what you pick (long as you get the grades).

I know it may sound absolutely ridiculous, but let me put it in perspective for you. Your going to spend 2/3 years on A-levels, but around 20+ years (hopefully) in your chosen career. Taking the wrong A-levels now could quite easily delay or block your path.

Things to consider (in order of imposed importance by society at large)
-What does your chosen career require
-What does your chosen University require
-What do your greater aspirations or personal development require

When I started A-levels, I never thought of the first two and let the third requirement guide the way. Having specialised in Computing, Law and Politics I'm now in a pickle since I wish to do CompSci at University (usually requires a scientific/mathmatical bias).

Best of luck tho's! :biggrin:

Reply 4

Ywiss

Psychology is a fascinating subject - but at AS it requires a lot of learning. Though on the plus side, at A2 you get to do your own experiment.

Philosophy is quite literary - you have to read a lot of philosophy texts and answer essay style questions on them in the exam. Apparently it's really fun - everyone in my school who's doing it really enjoys it.

Politics is also interesting apparently...don't know much else about it.

Computing is supposed to be really fun because you understand the programming behind the software and everything...you get to learn programming languages and things. But they get a lot of homework. A lot. And they're practically never out of the IT rooms.

Law I know nothing about...but I know that some universities would prefer you to study a core subject such as History or English rather than Law (not generally respected).

But as has been said, think about your university choices, look at what they want of you, and choose nice solid A-levels. 5 A-levels + GS is a lot of work, but if you really enjoy your subjects, then go for it!

Good luck xxx

Reply 5

becky.fm

This is a good website i found today, most of you will probably already seen it because it is BBC, but i think the pages are quite helpful :biggrin:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/education/index.shtml?16#topics

Reply 6

Horatio Caine

Psychology is great, initially I chose media but hated it and changed to Psych and I love it. So make sure you pick that. :biggrin:

Reply 7

nayiseda

It depends on what you want to do in the future and what type of uni you want to go to.
For instance if youre looking at at a competitive course that requires certain a levels you need to think about that. Becasue as far as i am aware, none of your subjects are neither very traditional nor a definite requirment for a university course.

Reply 8

Realist101

law a level is seen as **** by many reputable unis if you want to do an LLB. its a black listed subject also. from what i gather, my friends have told me this, law is really a memory test at a level. many admissions tutors also feel that the a level makes you a worse undergrad for LLB. so best to do english or history.

Reply 9

Realist101

by the way sociology is WAY better than psychology.

Reply 10

nayiseda

Yeh its true your subjects dnt really open any major doors for you, but they do close a hell of a lot doors at the same time.
If i had to choose out of your 5 i would choose:
Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Computing
However if i was you i would swap psychology and computing for a science/a language/maths

But if you really want to do the 5 youve already chosen thats fine. Its more important to get the good grades and enjoy what you're doing

Reply 11

kellywood_5

Presumably you've never studied any of those subjects before, so find out as much as you can about each of them. Find out exactly what topics you'd be studying and how they're assessed, ie percentage of exams vs coursework, length of exams and type of questions asked. If possible, also ask people currently studying them for their opinions. 5 AS levels would be a lot of work, especially as all of those subjects except computing are essay based, but if you made good use of your frees in school to get homework done and spent a little time in the evenings and at weekends working as well, you could probably manage it. Sociology is really interesting, by the way. It's the only subject of the ones you're considering that I studied.

Reply 12

Q.E.D

I know that everyone above says that you must look at your uni/ career choices, but I would also stress the importance of enjoying/ having an interest in you subjects. Having said that- it is still vital that you make sure that you have ensured that any course that you might want to do at uni doesn't have specific subject requirements which you cannot fulfill. I would say try and read around each of you subjects, and find out how dedicated you really will be. Also ask yourself why exactly you want to study each of those subjects, that might help clarify in your mind which ones you actually want to choose.
5 ASs are fine if and only if you are willing to put in a hell of a lot of hard work. As has already been said- Law at A level is badly looked upon, so that should probably help narrow down the field.
Good Luck in making the decision- I found it really hard to choose, but now I have started my courses, it really doesn't seem like that big a deal, so I wouldn't worry too much