Im stuck with my a level options! Should i do media studies? Business or economics?

Economics has a fair bit of maths to understand, so business studies might be more suited to you. Both business studies and media are considered more 'soft subjects' than, say, economics and history but depending on what you want to do later wouldn't necessarily be a problem. Also, do you need to do 4 subjects? Isn't 3 enough?

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I would disagree with Reality Check about the maths content in Economics. At A Level, there really isn't a lot of maths that you need to do. All you will have to remember is a few (almost identical) formulae that involve basic multiplication and division. You might also need to know how to work out percentage changes and ratios. Really straightforward stuff.

But if I don't want to have two soft subjects then should I just suck it up and do Economics so I can do Media? The thing is, I'm targerted A for maths and I'm not horrific at it but I really dont like it like it and when it makes my head hurt when its complex lol. Is maths majorly whats Economics about as in, is that the focus? Do you just sit and do sums all day or what?

And no, I don't have to do 4 but I would rather have 4 and drop to see if I can handle it (or keep it) than just do 3 and be wondering what it would have been like.

Thanks

I would disagree with Reality Check about the maths content in Economics. At A Level, there really isn't a lot of maths that you need to do. All you will have to remember is a few (almost identical) formulae that involve basic multiplication and division. You might also need to know how to work out percentage changes and ratios. Really straightforward stuff.

Even though the maths at A level has been removed, if you were ever to go on to do Economics at degree level then you'd get a terrible shock - yes, there's a LOT of maths in economics. But then you'd expect that. It sounds like you'd be fine at A level though with just reasonable GCSE maths (I can't believe I"m typing that).

I think you need to decide what you want to do at University before deciding on which A levels are best for them.

Thank you!

But, and I really should have thought of this earlier, a big part of economics A Level is understanding, remembering and reproducing graphs that illustrate economic theories. Now this isn't really maths but I'd just like to warn you.

The stuff you learn at first is literally as simple as two or three lines:



And this is essentially as difficult as it is going to get:



Don't be worried if you don't understand them right now. Just be aware that a lot of micro is like this.

It must have changed since I did it then and the mathematical content has been watered down - there used be quite a lot. Thanks for the update.

i am in year 11 about to do my mock exams in a few days and I have to start thinking about my a level options. originally i wanted to law but i thought about it and wasnt sure if Id be happy 10 years down the line. personally, i love like media, social media, fashion/beauty, business, and the idea of making money! (I didnt do business at GCSE though) so I think the best thing to do would be marketing/business/public relations! I also hope to have my own cosmetics/fashion/hair company in the future. now... which a levels do i pick?

I know for sure that I'm doing English Lit and Psychology. I want to do media as it seems interesting but i've been told that its an easier subject for less abled kids (targeted A's in everything except B in German). Also I'm not sure if i should pick business studies or economics. one thing i do know is that i hate maths (well hate is strong but i really dont like it) , i find it complicated and boring so would I cope with economics? Im not sure about business because many people see it as a soft subject and i dont want to not get uni places because i dont have that many facilitating subjects.

So my choices are:

English Lit
Psychology
Economics or Business
Media Studies (?????)

Help! Any ideas?

A big thank you to those who take their time to help me! its appreciated

Out of curiosity, what was the maths like in the old Econ specs?

i am in year 11 about to do my mock exams in a few days and I have to start thinking about my a level options. originally i wanted to law but i thought about it and wasnt sure if Id be happy 10 years down the line. personally, i love like media, social media, fashion/beauty, business, and the idea of making money! (I didnt do business at GCSE though) so I think the best thing to do would be marketing/business/public relations! I also hope to have my own cosmetics/fashion/hair company in the future. now... which a levels do i pick?

I know for sure that I'm doing English Lit and Psychology. I want to do media as it seems interesting but i've been told that its an easier subject for less abled kids (targeted A's in everything except B in German). Also I'm not sure if i should pick business studies or economics. one thing i do know is that i hate maths (well hate is strong but i really dont like it) , i find it complicated and boring so would I cope with economics? Im not sure about business because many people see it as a soft subject and i dont want to not get uni places because i dont have that many facilitating subjects.

So my choices are:

English Lit
Psychology
Economics or Business
Media Studies (?????)

Help! Any ideas?

A big thank you to those who take their time to help me! its appreciated

Media is a joke. If you can handle business/econimics, go for econ.

Lol no way are there QUADRATICS in a level economics! The maths is very simple- just percentage change and adding, multiplying. Don't worry about those diagrams- if you take economics just watch pajholden and econplusdal videos and trust me you'll be fine! I did business at GCSE- but at a level it is considered a "soft" subject (as is media studies); however economics is not. The business GCSE and a level courses are pretty similar. Economics is also a lot broader- looks at the impact on the whole economy rather than how it just affects businesses.
I think you should take economics!

Hello,
The subject combination you have chosen is appropriate for higher studies.
Literature in English is not compulsory, however it is a good subject that maybe awarded points at Universities.
Psychology and English Literature is a good combination if you are studying further with a social degree, or psychology or english degree.
If you hate maths, doing Economics is strongly not recommended as it will be a major problem after AS.
Media Studies is actually a new subject introduced by CIE. It's quite okay and is a little easy if you are doing literature in English.
Therefore, in my opinion, you should choose as below.
RECOMMENDED COMBINATION
Psychology
Literature in English
Media Studies
IF YOU ARE DOING A FOURTH SUBJECT
Business