Which subject do I drop?

It's between english lit and geography. I like geography more but do like lit too, however I got an E in Geog and D in Eng, but wasnt far from the next grades (D and C). I'm interested in either neurosci, geology, or engineering (foundation year if eng). Geography is more relevant but I want to be able to get high grades and it may be more realistic with lit, especially since requirements are high.

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Reply 1

jackien1

What are your other subjects and their grades?

Reply 2

abc:)

Original post by Arcai

As someone else has mentioned, your other subjects and the grades in those are quite relevant here. Instinctively I want to say Geog, as it's much more relevant to your interests, but if you're really struggling in all your other subjects, and you think English could save you, you might want to consider that.

Basically in short - if your other subjects are ok, keep Geog. If your other subjects are similar to / worse than your D and E, keep English.

Edit - Also not to be horrible, but if you want to go on to do one of the subjects you mentioned, I think you need to work really hard to boost up your grades. You said you weren't far from C and D, which is promising, but you really want to be getting above Ds if you are serious about going into engineering, geology etc.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 3

jackien1

Original post by abc:)

Edit - Also not to be horrible, but if you want to go on to do one of the subjects you mentioned, I think you need to work really hard to boost up your grades. You said you weren't far from C and D, which is promising, but you really want to be getting above Ds if you are serious about going into engineering, geology etc.

Im gonna play devil's advocate here and say that being close to a C or D is not something that should give you as much hope as it seems to give you. Honestly Cs and Ds are horrible and if you are scoring this low at this comparatively low level of education, how is it possible to become much more gifted in the future and do well at higher levels? It will just be continuous hard work for an average result. Someone more naturally inclined in these particular areas would probably claim your uni spot with half your effort.

This is just my opinion and I recognise that it is very harsh, so disregard it if you feel your results were fluke and you are actually capable of so much more.

Reply 4

abc:)

Original post by jackien1

I don't see anything wrong with Cs, or even, say, one D. It's certainly not ideal and OP may struggle with these subjects once they get even tougher, but theoretically, it will still be possible to get into uni, albeit one further down the league table.

Reply 5

jackien1

Original post by abc:)

A single bad grade out of four may be okay if the rest are stellar. OP has two bad grades. That aren't Cs.

Theoretically, nearly anything is possible.

I guess I'm just projecting my own aims onto OP.

Reply 6

Arcai

Biology B, Spanish C, was close to a B aha..

Reply 7

EmilyPlatypus

If you really feel that you can commit to geography and work hard this year, it is possible to bring it up to a higher grade (you could also inquire about resits for the exam you didn't do best on to pull up your AS grade)
Ultimately it is down to what you want to do in future and if Geography is more helpful than English, you should keep that. It is all down to whether you think you can achieve a higher grade

Reply 8

Arcai

Thanks for the replies so far and being honest everyone, I've honestly planned to work much harder this year, especially since English has now grown on me more than at the beginning of as. I know a D and E aren't great and to be honest i'm not very happy with them, but then again I can still work my hardest to change those. But I don't understand how you can say Cs are bad at all..

Also, even though i'm not the best at english lit and maybe geography a level, my biology could prove something for neuroscience..? That I'm capable of that kind of degree

Also considering spanish on the side or as joint/minor

Reply 9

jackien1

Well then neuroscience at majority of the UK unis is completely out of the question since you're not doing chemistry. Well, majority of the science courses are out of the question. Plus the requirement is usually two sciences including chem or chem plus math. So. no science courses for you at all.

Some unis require two sciences for Geology. Some require just one. Manchester requires just one so you have that. Grades required: ABB. That's possible if you work hard enough. Geology isn't out of the question.

Reply 10

Arcai

My teachers feel it's less risky if I take lit too, and remarks weren't recommended at as in case they go down and thats just extra marks to need in A2 (will remark fourth dropped subject though perhaps). If it's more likely for me to get a higher grade since my as base is a bit better than geog, would it be wise to take it? Of the courses/degrees mentioned, I can get onto neurosci with bio, and some unis accept geol with just bio, of course depending on where it is.

As for resits, my school do not recommend it due to the extra pressure but i'm not sure..

Reply 11

EmilyPlatypus

I guess people with high expectations of themselves would not consider a C that great. I do not look down upon C's myself as A levels are a lot harder than GCSE and sometimes people find the jump difficult. At my school they do not allow students to continue into A2 if they got an E in AS so it must be different for your school if they're allowing you to do so. It is around this stage where you do need to set in stone what you want to do at university as it is coming up to the time you need to write personal statements etc...
So if you are set on neuroscience (from your post above) then I guess it doesn't matter too much which one you drop. Yet English is very good in giving you essay writing skills which a biology/neuroscience degree will look favourably upon. :smile:

Reply 12

jackien1

Original post by Arcai

At which uni are you able to take neuroscience with JUST biology?

Reply 13

Arcai

Your point about neurosci isn't true...Aston accept one science

Reply 14

jackien1

Original post by Arcai

Your point about neurosci isn't true...Aston accept one science

Is Aston a respected science uni...? I've only ever heard of people doing business related courses at it. But it is your choice to do neuroscience there if you manage to get in.

Reply 15

Arcai

Obviously chem is important/required for many science degrees, but i've found one's only requiring one or just bio, its not impossible if i'm being honest

Reply 16

Arcai

Original post by jackien1

Is Aston a respected science uni...? I've only ever heard of people doing business related courses at it. But it is your choice to do neuroscience there if you manage to get in.

It's a decent uni, that provides numerous science degrees, not just neuroscience.

Reply 17

EmilyPlatypus

If only one university you've found so far lets you do neuroscience without chemistry, what about your four other university options? What would you apply for at those?

Reply 18

jackien1

Original post by Arcai

It's a decent uni, that provides numerous science degrees, not just neuroscience.

Sure, if that's what you want to tell yourself. That it's a decent uni.

Are you this keen on neuroscience? Or is this because biology is the only AS you did okay in? Why didn't you take chemistry to begin with?

It's not impossible sure, and I'll definitely congratulate you if you make it in and graduate, but what about after you graduate? What job are you planning to do with your neuroscience degree from Aston?

Will employers like that your science degree comes from Aston?

And the competition is FIERCE. Only an intake of 20 students.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 19

Arcai

Original post by jackien1

It's not about where the degree comes from, its what you score. That's what matter most. Also maybe scientific research.

Care to explain why it's not decent? I can sense you feel that way and I'm interested in your thoughts.

I'm not going to take neurosci just because I did fine in Biology, liking the subject matters, if not more. I wouldn't go onto a degree if I knew I had no interest in it and didn't like it. I did a project on neuroscience (futurelearn) and found it very appealing too.

Getting a 2.1 but it being from aston makes no difference. They don't say 'oh you went to this uni, time to reject you!'..