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changing subjects y12 - y 13?

hi, im currently in year 12, and studying law, criminology and sociology. to put it shortly, earlier in the year a lot of things had happened in my life which caused my mental health to decline pretty badly, and i ended up taking up to almost an entire month off of college. im still massively behind in work, and im scared i wont get a pass/good enough grades in mocks coming up bc of it. i think i want to drop law to change it to psychology, as its not something im interested in anymore and wont help me with my future career + i cant take psych in the unis i wanna go to without taking it at college. i plan to take a gap year anyways, so i was thinking if its possible for me to continue sociology and crim now, and then take psych in y13 for 2 years aswell. tbh, im scared to ask my tutor about it but i think its something i want to do even tho im worried. i just dont want to take the risk of continuing on as i am and get 3 really bad grades if i could do this and possibly get 3 better grades. sorry this was so long but if anyone has any advice/tips for me id extremely appreciate it as im just so lost on what to do!! thankyou :smile:
Original post by 3lliejane
hi, im currently in year 12, and studying law, criminology and sociology. to put it shortly, earlier in the year a lot of things had happened in my life which caused my mental health to decline pretty badly, and i ended up taking up to almost an entire month off of college. im still massively behind in work, and im scared i wont get a pass/good enough grades in mocks coming up bc of it. i think i want to drop law to change it to psychology, as its not something im interested in anymore and wont help me with my future career + i cant take psych in the unis i wanna go to without taking it at college. i plan to take a gap year anyways, so i was thinking if its possible for me to continue sociology and crim now, and then take psych in y13 for 2 years aswell. tbh, im scared to ask my tutor about it but i think its something i want to do even tho im worried. i just dont want to take the risk of continuing on as i am and get 3 really bad grades if i could do this and possibly get 3 better grades. sorry this was so long but if anyone has any advice/tips for me id extremely appreciate it as im just so lost on what to do!! thankyou :smile:


Consider repeating year 12 and taking all three subjects together. A lot of unis require a science to study psychology so check the entry requirements for the unis you are interested in. Also, if you are taking WJEC Level 3 Applied Diploma in Criminology, please be aware that it is not accepted as an A level by some unis.
What you're proposing is similar to what I did.

I started Yr 12 doing French, Spanish, Law, and History.
Halfway through the year I dropped Law and French.
I started Classical Civilisation in Year 13.
Then I stayed for an extra Year 13 to finish off Classical Civilisation. As that wasn't enough to fill my timetable sufficiently, I also resat French (I'd gotten a C but wanted a B), and did GCSE Italian.

I then took a gap year, and started uni (University of Leeds) 2 years "late".

So yes it's doable, or at least it was in my case. Although unis do prefer you to take all three A-Levels together, if it's not an oversubscribed course you're going for, you have a high chance of being considered regardless. Unfortunately I do think that psychology is very popular at unis, so they may be more picky, so do bear that in mind.
(edited 1 year ago)
Reply 3
Original post by normaw
Consider repeating year 12 and taking all three subjects together. A lot of unis require a science to study psychology so check the entry requirements for the unis you are interested in. Also, if you are taking WJEC Level 3 Applied Diploma in Criminology, please be aware that it is not accepted as an A level by some unis.

thank you! ill definitely talk about the options more with tutor today and see whats possible/best to go forward with
Reply 4
Original post by PinkMobilePhone
What you're proposing is similar to what I did.

I started Yr 12 doing French, Spanish, Law, and History.
Halfway through the year I dropped Law and French.
I started Classical Civilisation in Year 13.
Then I stayed for an extra Year 13 to finish off Classical Civilisation. As that wasn't enough to fill my timetable sufficiently, I also resat French (I'd gotten a C but wanted a B), and did GCSE Italian.

I then took a gap year, and started uni (University of Leeds) 2 years "late".

So yes it's doable, or at least it was in my case. Although unis do prefer you to take all three A-Levels together, if it's not an oversubscribed course you're going for, you have a high chance of being considered regardless. Unfortunately I do think that psychology is very popular at unis, so they may be more picky, so do bear that in mind.

thank you!! this makes me really relieved to know its at least possible haha, ill talk more with someone today to see whats the best option moving forward with this in mind.

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