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Physics/Chemistry and F Maths/Geography

OK - I have been offered a place at a sixth form which i intend to take up but I have a problem lol - I can only do 4 subjects and I am having a bit of trouble narrowing it down. So:

I definitely want to do: English Lit and Maths.

I wanted to do Geography with that combination which was fine until I said I wanted to do further maths and then there was a timetable clash. I don't know what i want to do at uni but Maths is one of me best subjects however I really like Geography and find it interesting. So I wanted your advice on which one would be better to take in order to keep my options open.

Also, if I was to take English Lit, Maths and Geography - for my fourth option which would be more beneficial to me: Chemistry or Physics??????? If I do a maths degree then I know it is Physics and if I want to do a maths degree without further maths i know i will not get in without at least physics. I know I probably won't go into medicine so chemistry is a tad pointless. However I have heard that Physics is one of the hardest A levels and it is the science I am least good at but I think this is down to the fact that my teacher doesn't understand it and finds it hard to explain it to us because she didn't do physics past GCSE level herself.

So to sum up: what should I do considering I am undecided on career path: further maths or geography and if i do geog what would be better: physics or chemistry.

Sorry this is so long.
Thanks in advance
Laura

Reply 1

Echolife

Have you had a look at some uni prospectuses to see what courses appeal to you then look at their A level requirements?

Reply 2

Laura2712

No I hadn't but thanks for the advice I will do. :smile:

Reply 3

kellywood_5

If you're considering taking maths at a top uni, I'd go for further maths. Geography may be interesting and you may really like it, but unless you're considering taking it at uni, you won't be disadvantaging yourself if you don't take it. But if you do decide on geography, I'd go for phyics because it relates more closely to maths and you seem to prefer it.

Reply 4

qwerty3

Take Further Maths i think Geography is a waste if your not definetly going to do geog at uni, my friend also said that geog is pointless and hes doing maths at uni so i wouldnt i would go for Further Maths, much better and as your not doing medecine FM will count as a 3rd A level.

Reply 5

stumpy

I do Chemistry, English Lit, Maths and Geography and it all works out fine together. In fact, I find the subjects provide a nice contrast to each other! So, if you are anything like me, then you would hopefully enjoy that combination. I personally find that chemistry probably fits into geography more than physics would (though it still isn't used a great deal - maybe a little in some aspects such as pollution). If it's of any interest, I will be starting a chemistry degree in October.

However, that is just me. You expressed interest in a maths degree, so Further Maths would definately benefit you more than geography would. As for physics vs chemistry... you are right that physics would be better for a maths degree, but if you would prefer chemistry then that would be fine as well, as long as you have further maths. As someone has said, look up some uni courses you may be interested in (but remember that you can easily change your mind during your A levels - I certainly did!) and see what their requirements are. Then weigh this against what you really enjoy doing, and hopefully you should be able to decide.

Good luck with it all. :smile:

Reply 6

Abra

Further maths is an advantage if you want to study (tell me if I missed of a subject)

Aerospace, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Physics, Accountancy, Economics and Mathematics.

Reply 7

fblade

^^ You should have put maths first on that list :p:

Reply 8

Laura2712

Thanks for all the help! :tsr2:

So you lot think I should drop Geography and do F Maths? :frown:

Argh!!!!!!!! These are like my two best subs - I could got to university and do either!!!!! lol - This is hard - do you think it would be an idea if I self studied 1 or do you think that would be too difficult? Opinions from further maths students/Geography students please.

If I did not do Further Maths - is physics really hard??? Apparently it is the hardest A Level to do? So could people share their experiences please? Just in case this helps with advice - my teacher has predicted me an A* (ridiculously)! I am more likely to come out with a low A/high/low B. I am doing triple award and my module results were (never got told the numbers): A in energy, A in Physics in Action and C in electricity (this is the one I am most worried about because I really didn't understand it and I am worried that the same will happen with A Level - but I think I may have done foundation accidentally but I don't know!!!!! Do you think I would find Physics at A Level really difficult? Btw - if someone sat down with me and explained electricity I think I might understand it - we did at the beginning of Year 10 but I understand more of it now than I did then. :smile:

Help! Please!
Laura

Reply 9

Eau

Here's my personal choice according to your limits:

Either

(i) Do further maths.

or

(ii) Do geography and chemistry.

Reply 10

ChemistBoy

Do chemistry and geography - this will give you more options.

Reply 11

stumpy

Laura2712

Thanks for all the help! :tsr2:

So you lot think I should drop Geography and do F Maths? :frown:

I believe it would probably be hard to self-teach geography - I don't know what resources you would have access to, but I remember in the Glaciation module the textbook we used in class was not sufficient for getting good grades. My teacher actually made us a comprehensive CD-rom of revision materials etc, which we would simply not have had access to with self-teaching. However, others may have entirely different experiences on self-teaching geography - that is just my experience with the subject!

As I mentioned earlier, I do Maths, Eng Lit, Chemistry and Geography, all of which you definately want to do/are considering. If you want to talk about the combination in more detail then feel free to PM me. :smile:

Unfortunately I know very little about physics, but friends who do it say that, aside from one ridiculously hard module, chemistry is harder. I'm not sure which exam board they are with though. :p:

Reply 12

TheRandomer

You sound like you really want to do geography.. as much as I'd recommend doing further maths because I love it.. go for what you really will enjoy! I think physics + geog would be a better combination than chem + geog, too. I'm loving physics atm, it's way better than GCSE.. and don't be fooled like I was cuz chemistry gets really hard at AS!! =[ I used to like it but it's a lot more in-depth now.. we all think in my class you have to be way interested in that kind of career to take it tbh. Or if you need it. [I take AQA in physics and chem btw]
Check out what you need for any uni courses too. I didn't know before I started my ASs that I needed 2 sciences for a physics degree, for example. Good luck!

Reply 13

Laura2712

Okay - the general view here seems to be to take Geography and opt out of F maths so...
What would you say was easiest/most interesting? Chemistry or Physics and why?
Do you think it would be worth self studying F Maths at least to AS Level as I looked and several universities say that you need Maths and F Maths and that Physics is desirable?
How difficult is it to self study maths? Will I be taking too much on if I do self study?

Reply 14

*River

The trouble with doing Further Maths, is that some universities will disreguard it as a qualification if you're applying for a subject that's totally unrelated to Maths (eg. English Lit).

Reply 15

silent ninja

Do you even like Physics or Chemistry?
I get the impression you dont really like Physics and want to do it only because you believe it will enahnce your chances for uni. I did AS Physics even though i disliked it at GCSE (i was useless at it, esp electricity!) due to timetable clashes. I found the course mainly boring, but challenging and dropped it after AS. During the course I questioned why the heck i took it in the first place; it was pretty hard to get motivated. If anything, the maths modules helped physics not the other way round. I dont see Physics helping that much for a maths degree, Chemistry is just as rigorous (i found it more interesting as well!), and F.Maths will be more than sufficient to get you in. Bear in mind most of the top uni's now want or prefer at least AS Further Maths. In the end yes i was glad to have done Physics, but it was a struggle at one point simply because I chose something I didnt enjoy.

You could self-study F.Maths, but dont your school offer an accelerated maths course? That would be best. F.Maths can be self studied but if you're doing something like the Edexcel syllabus, i'm not sure you'd be able to do the F.Maths modules without the normal Maths knowledge.

Incidentally I had a similar problem with clashes between F.Maths and Biology. I chose to self-study Maths in the corner of the classroom so that i'd get course funding, and completed that in a year. It was difficult at times but enjoyable and you need to be fairly well organised. I'd recommend self-study as a last resort only if you've exhausted ALL other options. The maths board on here are THE best resource BTW!

Reply 16

Abra

Take Chemistry and Geography. :smile:

Reply 17

Laura2712

Yes - I do like Chemistry and I do like Physics apart from electricity. No the school don't offer an accelerated maths course - apparently a lot of people self study Further Maths so I think I will try that and then because I am self studying if it gets too hard I can just drop it.
So I now just need to make a decision: Chemistry or Physics. Physics will probably be more interesting and help me more. I have heard that Chemistry at A Level is totally different to GCSE - is this the case?
Thanks
Laura