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Are these A-level subjects good to get in to a top university

I am planning on doing Biology, Psychology and Sociology or Bio, Psychology and Business Studies. I know that Business Studies is considered a soft subject that's why I'm thinking about it. I do not exactly know what I want to do at uni but I do like science so something science related or a psychology degree as I enjoy it as well.
(edited 7 years ago)
I would get rid of business studies and replace it with economics if you want to get to a top uni if I were you.
Trust me, for a Psychology degree your choices are on point. I am at a major disadvantage if anything because my options are quite essay based + Psychology but I have good AS grades and an even better Personal Statement so its all good 😅

Those are absolutely fine though. If you take Economics instead as mentioned before, make sure you have no problems with Maths. But Econ will be good in proving you can do Maths for a Psychology course that does involve some stats!

Good luck!:smile:

Edit: btw with my Alevels in English Lit, Psychology and Sociology I am applying to Kings, Birmingham and Southampton which are all very very good for Psychology (russell group) so you will be fine!

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(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by LenniesRabbit
Trust me, for a Psychology degree your choices are on point. I am at a major disadvantage if anything because my options are quite essay based + Psychology but I have good AS grades and an even better Personal Statement so its all good 😅

Those are absolutely fine though. If you take Economics instead as mentioned before, make sure you have no problems with Maths. But Econ will be good in proving you can do Maths for a Psychology course that does involve some stats!

Good luck!:smile:

Edit: btw with my Alevels in English Lit, Psychology and Sociology I am applying to Kings, Birmingham and Southampton which are all very very good for Psychology (russell group) so you will be fine!

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Thank you for your advice much appreciated. Btw what did you get in your A-levels? What course are you planning on pursuing at university?


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Original post by Abirella
Thank you for your advice much appreciated. Btw what did you get in your A-levels? What course are you planning on pursuing at university?


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Haven't done A-levels just yet, I've just completed the first year of AS with an AAAAB (the fourth A was an EPQ) so I am being predicted an A* A* A for A-level in order to do a Psychology degree. :smile:

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Reply 5
Original post by LenniesRabbit
Haven't done A-levels just yet, I've just completed the first year of AS with an AAAAB (the fourth A was an EPQ) so I am being predicted an A* A* A for A-level in order to do a Psychology degree. :smile:

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Heyyy I just went to a sixth form today and they said I could do English Literature, Psychology and Sociology. Where can these a levels lead me in life? I am not too sure what I want to do and also I may want to do Law at university. And your predicted grades are really really good and of course I wish you the best of luck and hope you can do your Psychology degree at your desired uni.
Original post by Abirella
Heyyy I just went to a sixth form today and they said I could do English Literature, Psychology and Sociology. Where can these a levels lead me in life? I am not too sure what I want to do and also I may want to do Law at university. And your predicted grades are really really good and of course I wish you the best of luck and hope you can do your Psychology degree at your desired uni.


Oh thank you so much! I will try my best :tongue:

Those were the same A-levels as mine so you definitely do Psychology. Law, I believe, requires History A-level on most courses (don't quote me on that. I'm 85% sure) so that may be a bit of a restriction. Some Universities will definitely allow you to do Law with those A-levels but you have to check!

You could also do:
Criminology
Sociology
English Literature (or a joint course e.g. BSc English Literature and Psychology)
History
Philosophy
Education degree
Psychology with Language Sciences

Hope this helps! :smile: If you have any other questions at any time don't hesitate to message me
I think the grades are more important, but in terms of your subjects, no problems whatsoever. Even business is fine, since you have 5 AS levels, and realistically at most take 4 to A2.
Reply 8
Original post by LenniesRabbit
Oh thank you so much! I will try my best :tongue:

Those were the same A-levels as mine so you definitely do Psychology. Law, I believe, requires History A-level on most courses (don't quote me on that. I'm 85% sure) so that may be a bit of a restriction. Some Universities will definitely allow you to do Law with those A-levels but you have to check!

You could also do:
Criminology
Sociology
English Literature (or a joint course e.g. BSc English Literature and Psychology)
History
Philosophy
Education degree
Psychology with Language Sciences

Hope this helps! :smile: If you have any other questions at any time don't hesitate to message me


You are soo helpful! Honestly! Thanks for your advice and everything, I will definitely follow you now lol. How cool is it that we are doing the same subjects too? Well you are already finished aren't you? I do genuinely enjoy Psychology but what job can I get with a Psycholgy degree? Can I earn a lot with it? :biggrin:
Reply 9
Original post by Xphoenix
I think the grades are more important, but in terms of your subjects, no problems whatsoever. Even business is fine, since you have 5 AS levels, and realistically at most take 4 to A2.


Wouldn't that be too much workload though? So say I wanna do English Literature, Psychology, Sociology and Business Studies at AS? Wouldn't that be too much? :biggrin:
Original post by Abirella
Wouldn't that be too much workload though? So say I wanna do English Literature, Psychology, Sociology and Business Studies at AS? Wouldn't that be too much? :biggrin:


It might be, but it depends on a case by case basis. There's people at my school doing 5, and some even plan on taking it to A2. I personally think 5 can be too much, and 4 is a good number for the AS year.
Even then, Business is ok, but you might have to reconsider taking it to A2, Or do Economics instead.
Original post by Abirella
Heyyy I just went to a sixth form today and they said I could do English Literature, Psychology and Sociology. Where can these a levels lead me in life? I am not too sure what I want to do and also I may want to do Law at university. And your predicted grades are really really good and of course I wish you the best of luck and hope you can do your Psychology degree at your desired uni.


Just to interrupt here :smile: , the subjects I'm doing next year in the IB are similar to yours (Psychology, English and Anthropology at higher level) and I was worried where the subjects was going to take me, as I'm not good with the sciences. But you can definitely get a good job with a psychology degree and those subjects. Good luck!

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(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Abirella
You are soo helpful! Honestly! Thanks for your advice and everything, I will definitely follow you now lol. How cool is it that we are doing the same subjects too? Well you are already finished aren't you? I do genuinely enjoy Psychology but what job can I get with a Psycholgy degree? Can I earn a lot with it? :biggrin:


I'm happy to help, no problem.
I haven't completely finished with my subjects! I am i Year 13 now so I am in the second year studying A2; what you are studying right now is AS (first year) :smile:

So with a job in Psychology you can essentially do whatever you like. I personally am more drawn to research e.g. within a lab or academic setting like a Uni in order to come up with new theories and investigate common mental illnesses through experiments, so there is that.
The most common Psychology job is Clinical Psychology. This is where you would treat someone with any mental issues or worries face-to-face within a medical-ish environment (or private practice like a GP) But this area is SUPER tough to get into and is pretty much not recommended anymore.

Developmental Psychologist - working with children and analysing their development psychologically.
Forensic Psychology - Focusing on the psychology of those who commit crimes mostly within a prison environment or mental hospital etc. If you've ever watched shows such as Sherlock where someone is assessing a psychopaths motives for killing or whether or not they are likely to do it again, that is pretty much your role. This was one of my favourite areas of Psychology!
Health Psychology - focus on how to encourage people to stay healthy etc. Kind of like a normal everyday Psychologist.
Social Psychologist - this is one of the most popular ones too because it's a really fun area of Psychology that you will grow to love when you begin your Alevel course! It focuses on the Psychology of society. How we interact with others. Why you may act a certain way with your best friend but act differently in a group + your thought process in that situation.
Organisational Psychology - working with businesses to motivate staff etc.
Therapist - face-to-face therapy with people. One of the popular types of therapy is called CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and is like a talking therapy to make people feel better about their situations!
Sports Psychology is trying to find ways to motivate athletes and sports persons to work to their full potential. E.g. athletes such as Usain Bolt hire sports psychologists to help with the mental side of running a race in order to motivate them and help them to win!
Cognitive Psychologist - This is my favourite area of psychology. You will focus a lot on perception. Classic example is the question "is the colour red that I see the same as the colour red that you see". Also focus on memory: why we forget some things and remember another.
You can also get into Neuropsychology which relates to the brain. Become a mental health nurse, become a lecturer or professor.

Then there are less psychology based careers:
With a good degree grade in psychology you are almost bound to get a managerial job in retail/sales etc. because you will know how to work with people and know how to manage them aswell.
Coaching, market research (seeing what sells and what doesn't and why), advice worker, advertisement account planner, careers advisor etc.

Here is an amazing link for more information!
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/psychology

Oh and in terms of pay, yes you can earn quite a lot but it depends on what grade you pass with at University and what job you're in.
Average you would earn with a Uni degree in Psychology is £18,000 per year. If you go to a top university e.g. Kings, Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, UCL it could end up being £23,000+ :smile:
(edited 7 years ago)

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