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Are 5 A Levels too Much?

English LIT
Spanish
Biology
Geography
Politics/Psychology
I've seen this more times than I care to admit on TSR...
People doing 5 A levels are typically trying to show off for the university, problem is you can ONLY put down 3 A levels and 1 As level on your UCAS application and so, the fifth is mostly there for people who enjoy the subject.

Trust me, universities DO NOT want any more than 4 and doing 5 is just adding extra weight with no added benefit.
If you want to do one in your spare time then please do so but, I ask you take my advice and don't do 5.

So, TL;DR answer:

It's not too much but it doesn't benefit you in terms of your uni application AT ALL.
Original post by studentjjs
English LIT
Spanish
Biology
Geography
Politics/Psychology


It depends, the country where I was applying to, you NEED 5 AS levels. Maybe you could drop two after AS as I did? I know people who have done 5 a levels, all sciences math + IT, and 6 AS levels. I did 5 as levels, and 3 a levels. It is not impossible, it is upto you.
Yes, I think 5 A Levels are too much. Universities prefer having 3-4 A Levels, and don't tend to recognise or give much value to a 5th one.

Take 4 in Year 12, then drop your weakest/least favourite one for Year 13. Trust me, the more subjects you take, your chance of failing greatly increases.

You're better off taking 3 subjects, perhaps two challenging ones and a more simple one, then do some extra-curricular activities and perhaps venture into your own academic interests. For example, for Spanish you could do some further reading about a Spanish-speaking country or for Psychology you could explore a topic that isn't on the specification. This is by far more important than an extra subject, which will consume valuable study periods and free time.

Plus, remember this will be your final two years of school, it can be fun and productive. You must not get into the trap of slaving yourself into work, otherwise you will regret it.

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