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do unis take action if you take easy a levels to bump up your ucas score?

let's say I took maths and economics to get into a certain field, would the unis discount me if I took two soft a levels like business and media studies and would it disadvantage me for getting into university?


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Original post by Tommy1499
let's say I took maths and economics to get into a certain field, would the unis discount me if I took two soft a levels like business and media studies and would it disadvantage me for getting into university?


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the answer to that is yes. some unis prefer facilitating subjects. they take that into account when making the offers
Reply 2
Original post by Tommy1499
let's say I took maths and economics to get into a certain field, would the unis discount me if I took two soft a levels like business and media studies and would it disadvantage me for getting into university?


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I wouldn't say business and media studies are soft, but they wouldn't because most subjects at uni have a maximum of 2 essentials, or subjects you have to take, the rest are either recommended or irrelevant. Assuming you're doing maths and economics to go into economics at uni, business is relevant for the course. Take note though you will lose out if you take a language you already speak as a A-Level.

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Many universities will not consider economics and business as full A levels if taken together.

You really need to research specific universities requirements beyond just the A level grades in their standard offer.
Research facilitating subjects when making your AS choices.

You (normally) take 4 AS subjects, and I would advise at least 2 have to be facilitating. Preferably three (four may be quite a bit for most people, and it won't help considerably as you drop one after AS anyway).

That being said, do not take a subject you are not interested in at all because it's facilitating, and don't let anyone stop you taking a soft subject you are passionate about (you'll probably end up wanting to do it at uni anyway!).
Ditto what PQ says.

Do be aware that many unis (particularly those at the top end) do not ask for UCAS points, they ask for specific grades in three subjects. Many unis that ask for UCAS points will specify that they have to come from 3 A Levels, so your fourth would be irrelevant.

Concentrate on getting good grades in three subjects rather than trying to game the system.

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Hi

I've had to remove quite a few posts from this thread and I'd just like to remind everyone that even if you disagree with a poster, it's better to explain why you disagree, rather than attacking/insulting the poster. If someone does attack/insult you, it's better to report the post, rather than retaliating. Let's try to keep things friendly from now on, thanks :h:

WRT the original question, most universities are very clear on their website about preferred subjects/ specific subject requirements. They may require specific subjects in order to get offers, or not include certain subjects when giving offers. They may also give lower offers if subjects are more appropriate or perceived as harder.

The facilitating subject information can be useful if you're not sure what you want to do at uni and want to take good A-levels that will keep most of your options open. However, if you have a specific goal in mind, it is much better to check specific university websites as they may have stricter requirements, or not stick to the facilitating subject guidance. The facilitating subject information is just a guide, and universities are totally free to ignore it if they wish, and evidence suggests that lots of universities give offers that don't really follow the guidance given.
Original post by Tommy1499
let's say I took maths and economics to get into a certain field, would the unis discount me if I took two soft a levels like business and media studies and would it disadvantage me for getting into university?


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Bare in mind that media studies has one of the lowest rates for achieving high A level grades (1.4% A* compared with 5.1% for sociology and maths 17.3%). That may be connected with the quality of the cohort but if you sign up for media studies in order to get a high grade you will be trying to buck a trend.
Reply 8
Original post by nulli tertius
Bare in mind that media studies has one of the lowest rates for achieving high A level grades (1.4% A* compared with 5.1% for sociology and maths 17.3%). That may be connected with the quality of the cohort but if you sign up for media studies in order to get a high grade you will be trying to buck a trend.


yes but people who take maths take it because they are good at it and know they will do well , you pretty much have to have an A or A* just to get into the coarse compared to media studies,


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Original post by Tommy1499
yes but people who take maths take it because they are good at it and know they will do well , you pretty much have to have an A or A* just to get into the coarse compared to media studies,


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But that doesn't alter the fact that if say the average VIth form has 25 students doing A level media studies, a student will get an A* grade only once in every four years.

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