[AShipley]

I'm sorry to make such a requesting and obnoxious first post, but I am currently researching for my application to Oxford this time next year.
Currently, I am a student at [cringe] Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School [/cringe] and I have wanted to study History for some time now
At the moment, I intend to take 5 AS-Levels:
History, Politics, Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry
and 3 A-Levels:
History, Politics and Maths
Although Politics is still debatable - would people recommend English Literature instead?
Also, which colleges have the best departments with regard to History, particularly the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Thank You in advance
Shipley

[necessarily benevolent]

I'm taking English Lit and I think it is very beneficial for studying History at university, but I don't really think they care as long as you're not taking any 'weak' A levels.

And all colleges that offer History are good for the subject. The course is the same throughout the university so there is no particular period that colleges specialise in. Every college library will be able to get their hands on any book. It would probably be beneficial to go for a college close to the History faculty and the Bodleian, so that you have constant access to resources. That narrows it down to about 30, lol.

[Aconite]

Why is Haberdashers Aske's a cringe? The headmaster in The History Boys thought it was some hot ****.

Oh, and the Politics vs Eng Lit thing? Eng Lit. Admittedly I do have a vested interest as it's my subject, but really, you can't go wrong with a nice solid Hardcore Subject like English.

[AShipley]

the thing is, i've spent two years of eng lit despairing of the quality of the people around me, and i think that would ruin my enjoyment of the subjects, whereas politics is fascinating, to the extent that i'm even considering a dual application for Hist + Pol

[sundogs]

Originally Posted by AShipley

the thing is, i've spent two years of eng lit despairing of the quality of the people around me, and i think that would ruin my enjoyment of the subjects, whereas politics is fascinating, to the extent that i'm even considering a dual application for Hist + Pol

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by this...care to clarify because it sounds like you're saying 'everyone else is rubbish and I'm amazing'.


But on your original question..
Well you've answered your own question...

take Politics, especially if you're considering a dual application.
Politics and History are definitely complimentary, so if you enjoy one you're likely to enjoy the other.
Oxford certainly wouldn't discriminate against somebody who's taken Politics, even if it's not the most 'academic' of subjects, if you were to get an A in it, you'd definitely have a good chance of getting in (if you raped your personal statement + interview)


Good luck!

[Aconite]

Well, if you've got doubts...

However, I'll point out that if you love a subject enough, you'll be fine. I spent two years in an English class with people who couldn't paragraph properly and liked to divert the class by talking about having sex in stock cupboards.

[tinaturnerbunsenburner]

Originally Posted by AShipley

I'm sorry to make such a requesting and obnoxious first post, but I am currently researching for my application to Oxford this time next year.
Currently, I am a student at [cringe] Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School [/cringe] and I have wanted to study History for some time now
At the moment, I intend to take 5 AS-Levels:
History, Politics, Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry
and 3 A-Levels:
History, Politics and Maths
Although Politics is still debatable - would people recommend English Literature instead?
Also, which colleges have the best departments with regard to History, particularly the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Thank You in advance
Shipley

damn straight! you guys knocked us out of the finals last year!

[tropical-twist3]

drop chemistry and take eng lit

[AShipley]

im not dropping chemistry - i prefer it to maths.
and im sorry if i came across like that in relation to english - but i read at around 150 pages an hour, and i love to write - and most of the people at my school are people who have been pushed to attend by their parents and have no interest in the subjects

and, my brainiac-loving friend, the finals of what? i can only hope to take any responsibility if its rugby, which i highly doubt, or MUN, which hasn't any semi-finals. debating, maybe?

i think im going to do politics. also, any more ideas on the colleges???

[tropical-twist3]

Originally Posted by AShipley

im not dropping chemistry - i prefer it to maths.
and im sorry if i came across like that in relation to english - but i read at around 150 pages an hour, and i love to write - and most of the people at my school are people who have been pushed to attend by their parents and have no interest in the subjects

and, my brainiac-loving friend, the finals of what? i can only hope to take any responsibility if its rugby, which i highly doubt, or MUN, which hasn't any semi-finals. debating, maybe?

i think im going to do politics. also, any more ideas on the colleges???

would you drop further maths and do eng lit? its quite surprising that you're taking further maths and not taking it on to Alevel and also dont want to do maths at uni...so therefore most likely wont get a job that would involve that depth of maths...unless you really enjoy maths I don't see why you need to take further maths, for history I think english lit or philosophy would be much more beneficial, and I think you don't appreciate it until you've been doing them for a while.

[Bekaboo]

I don't really see the push to do English lit. I agree that it would be useful, but I'm also fully aware that if you end up hating a subject because of the poorly planned lessons and complete lack of interest from the class then you just end up hating hte subject. The OP hasn't picked bad subjects - yes he might be slightly better off doing English, but not so much so that he should do it even if it makes him want to remove his eyeballs with a screwdriver. The benefit in doing FM as far as I can see is that doing FM tends to mean you do a lot better in regular maths (not just because people who do FM tend to be v good at maths, but because you basically get more practice).

[AShipley]

im doing FM because i felt i would get bored doing just single maths, and i didnt want to use up two timetable slots on FM - so now im doing an FM AS in the time of my normal maths.
also, it made my dad happy - he did maths at Keble

[Audrey Hepburn]

Originally Posted by AShipley

im not dropping chemistry - i prefer it to maths.
and im sorry if i came across like that in relation to english - but i read at around 150 pages an hour, and i love to write - and most of the people at my school are people who have been pushed to attend by their parents and have no interest in the subjects

and, my brainiac-loving friend, the finals of what? i can only hope to take any responsibility if its rugby, which i highly doubt, or MUN, which hasn't any semi-finals. debating, maybe?

i think im going to do politics. also, any more ideas on the colleges???

Only geniuses can read that super fast!

[AShipley]

well, thats if im reading crap, like harry potter etc.
it gets slower as it gets heavier

[Budgie]

Originally Posted by Aconite

Why is Haberdashers Aske's a cringe? The headmaster in The History Boys thought it was some hot ****.

And they're good at debating!

History advice is not my forté but I would say this; don't plan which A levels you're going to take before you've started AS. Your opinions may well change after the first year and results.

[necessarily benevolent]

Originally Posted by AShipley

well, thats if im reading crap, like harry potter etc.
it gets slower as it gets heavier

That's a lie. It took me about a month to get through Mein Kampf. Oh, the pain.

[Bekaboo]

Originally Posted by necessarily benevolent

That's a lie. It took me about a month to get through Mein Kampf. Oh, the pain.

Eh? He said that he can read harry potter at 150 pages per minute, but reads heavier stuff slower... How does this contradict your ability to read Mein Kampf in a month?

[Mayfly]

Originally Posted by Bekaboo

Eh? He said that he can read harry potter at 150 pages per minute, but reads heavier stuff slower... How does this contradict your ability to read Mein Kampf in a month?

I think it's more the 'reading crap' aspect.

[Milady de Winter]

I did politics at A2 and it didn't do me any harm

I rather know what you mean about English Lit. - I dropped it after the AS Level, even though I enjoyed the material, because the rest of the class were so uninterested and dimwitted that I wanted to cry. Politics was a real challenge though.

Regarding college choice, bear in mind that you will have most of your tutorials out of college anyway. But for 18th/19th century history (18th century FTW!), the person who springs to mind is William Whyte at St John's. If you email the History Faculty, I'm sure there's a list lurking somewhere, which details who teaches what, and where, which they can send to you. Bear in mind that there seems to be far more of an emphasis on 19th century history, than 18th, currently at Oxford.

[AShipley]

Thats fine by me, as my interest is biased in a similar fashion. does anyone have any recomendations of things to read for history; having just read Pulp by Bukowski I have little to read, i have started my copy of gibbon, but i dont think i have the staying power.

thanks
x