A-Level Choices

Hey! I’m a year 10 and my school has recently started talking to us about choosing our a levels and making choices about the subjects we would like to pursue. I’ve researched sixth forms that I like near to where I live and I’ve come up with a few subjects that I like the sound of. These are:
- economics
- history
- maths
- psychology
- politics
- criminology
I already take maths, history and psychology at school.
I was wondering if anybody who takes these A-Levels could give any advice or opinions!
Or, if you could give some advice about how to choose between subjects.
Thankyou!

Hey! I’m a year 10 and my school has recently started talking to us about choosing our a levels and making choices about the subjects we would like to pursue. I’ve researched sixth forms that I like near to where I live and I’ve come up with a few subjects that I like the sound of. These are:
- economics
- history
- maths
- psychology
- politics
- criminology
I already take maths, history and psychology at school.
I was wondering if anybody who takes these A-Levels could give any advice or opinions!
Or, if you could give some advice about how to choose between subjects.
Thankyou!

Criminology is not an A-level it is a level 3 qualification, which means some universities don't look at it as favourably as actual A-levels, which is probably something to bear in mind.

Maths is the ideal subject if you are good at it. It opens more doors than anything and is a required subject for many universities for economics and is useful for business courses. If you are not good at it and dont take it you might find yourself restricted.

Criminology is probably the wjec level 3 rather than A level. Some top universities dont accept so you will be classed as just having 2 subjects.

History is a good essay based subject for Humanities degrees.

Economics is rarely a required subject but might be useful for things like Economics, Accountancy and Business courses.

Politics is a very well thought of subject for Humanities courses such a Law, Politics etc.

Psychology is a good subject and sometimes classes as a science so has that usefulness.

You need to view these courses more fully and decide which is right for you. What is right for one person is not the same for another.

Hey! I’m a year 10 and my school has recently started talking to us about choosing our a levels and making choices about the subjects we would like to pursue. I’ve researched sixth forms that I like near to where I live and I’ve come up with a few subjects that I like the sound of. These are:
- economics
- history
- maths
- psychology
- politics
- criminology
I already take maths, history and psychology at school.
I was wondering if anybody who takes these A-Levels could give any advice or opinions!
Or, if you could give some advice about how to choose between subjects.
Thankyou!

Hey @isabella829138

it's great that you're starting to think ahead about A Levels. Do you have an idea of what you might like to do at university? I'd recommend taking your time over the summer to research some different university degrees for what you think would most interest you. Take a look at what their entry requirements are, not just the grades but if they have specified that they need maths or english for example. Most universities are looking at your best three A levels. Some require an 'essay based subject' and history is good for that.

If you enjoy it, I'd definitely suggest taking maths for A Level as it is so useful. The first year of a lot of degrees is kind of a 'speed-run' of different topics that you might have come across before but they go into much more detail. This is to get everyone up to the same level. Someone that has studied maths will have a greater understanding of certain modules like economics or statistics and it will not be as difficult to get your head around topics as someone that is trying to remember what they had done at GCSE a few years before.

Basically do what you think you will enjoy, but preferably relevant to a few degrees. It's not expected to have a final degree choice in mind now, as you will change your mind a million times between now and then, but working backwards from:

Potential career / industry field
↓
Degrees they like to hire from
↓
A levels needed to study those degrees
↓
What you enjoy and excel at

Have a great summer and good luck in your education journey!

Best wishes - Essex Student Rep - Hayley

Thankyou this is great advice! I know i’d like to have a career in psychology so i’m trying to stem off that!

Hey! I’m a year 10 and my school has recently started talking to us about choosing our a levels and making choices about the subjects we would like to pursue. I’ve researched sixth forms that I like near to where I live and I’ve come up with a few subjects that I like the sound of. These are:
- economics
- history
- maths
- psychology
- politics
- criminology
I already take maths, history and psychology at school.
I was wondering if anybody who takes these A-Levels could give any advice or opinions!
Or, if you could give some advice about how to choose between subjects.
Thankyou!

Thankyou this is great advice! I know i’d like to have a career in psychology so i’m trying to stem off that!

Hey! I’m a year 10 and my school has recently started talking to us about choosing our a levels and making choices about the subjects we would like to pursue. I’ve researched sixth forms that I like near to where I live and I’ve come up with a few subjects that I like the sound of. These are:
- economics
- history
- maths
- psychology
- politics
- criminology
I already take maths, history and psychology at school.
I was wondering if anybody who takes these A-Levels could give any advice or opinions!
Or, if you could give some advice about how to choose between subjects.
Thankyou!

Hey @isabella829138

In that case I'd recommend Maths + Psychology A level + something fun that you think would be interesting.

Psychology is great as there are so many degree options from it. For example at Essex you can do also do combination degrees like psychology + economics or psychology + cognitive neuroscience,
https://www.essex.ac.uk/course-search?query=psychology&f.Department%7CDepartment=Psychology&f.Level%7CUG=Undergraduate&collection=uoe-courses-meta

criminology + social psychology
https://www.essex.ac.uk/courses/ug00092/1/ba-criminology-with-social-psychology

Sociology + social psychology
https://www.essex.ac.uk/courses/ug00372/1/ba-sociology-with-social-psychology

There's also psychoanalytical studies
https://www.essex.ac.uk/courses/ug01035/1/ba-psychosocial-and-psychoanalytic-studies

Have a look at a few of these. All universities offer different types of psychology degrees so don't just take my word for it, check out some other universities too. A lot of degrees don't specify what they want your best three A levels to be, as the personal statement that you write when you're making your university choice is super important and gives them an idea of who you are and why you want to study what you do.

Best wishes
Essex Student Rep - Hayley

It will depend ultimately on what you plan on doing post-sixth form. However, I wouldn't pick A Level Maths unless you have either a true proficiency in it, or love for it.

I do A Level Politics and couldn't recommend it more. If you any specific questions regarding it, feel free to ask.

If you are interested in Psychology check whether you may need Biology.

Heya!
If it helps, check out this uniguide alvl explorer to check out what you can do with different combos Think about what you want to do in the future + look at the content of the courses and pick the one that interests you more.

I hope this helps!
Milena
UCL PFE
Study Mind

Hey! I’m a year 10 and my school has recently started talking to us about choosing our a levels and making choices about the subjects we would like to pursue. I’ve researched sixth forms that I like near to where I live and I’ve come up with a few subjects that I like the sound of. These are:
- economics
- history
- maths
- psychology
- politics
- criminology
I already take maths, history and psychology at school.
I was wondering if anybody who takes these A-Levels could give any advice or opinions!
Or, if you could give some advice about how to choose between subjects.
Thankyou!

politics is definitely on my list of subjects i’d like to take! i’m trying to decide between politics and history. do you find it extremely difficult, is the content interesting?
Thankyou!

Hello as a fellow Yr 10 my advice would be...
1. What kinda career path do you want to do? Bc a levels impact the degrees or jobs you can get in the future
2. Obvs pick subjects you already/or think you would enjoy unless it's needed for a entry requirement in a qualification etc
3. I suggest using uni guides a level tool to see what certain a level combos can take you
I hope this helps if you got any questions or want me to elaborate more just lmk

It's definitely my favourite subject! Generally, you'll do three papers:
Paper 1: Government and Politics of the UK
Paper 2: Government and Politics of the USA or Global Politics (depending on your sixth form)
Paper 3: Political Ideas

Once you have the structure down, I find it's quite manageable. It's very much an 'alive' subject - you have to keep up with current affairs and use them as examples in your essays. It can seem a bit daunting, but it's really as simple as following some news accounts on Instagram and maybe downloading the BBC app (if you don't have it already).

The content tends to be quite interesting (as interesting as constitutional reform can get), and it's pretty digestible. You don't necessarily have to learn everything by the book, I've come up with some pretty inventive arguments in my essays.

I don't take history, but a lot of my friends do (I have one friend who takes both) and the general feeling is that history is more difficult. Obviously, it's subjective - but it does tend to be a bit more demanding.

Hey! I’m a year 10 and my school has recently started talking to us about choosing our a levels and making choices about the subjects we would like to pursue. I’ve researched sixth forms that I like near to where I live and I’ve come up with a few subjects that I like the sound of. These are:
- economics
- history
- maths
- psychology
- politics
- criminology
I already take maths, history and psychology at school.
I was wondering if anybody who takes these A-Levels could give any advice or opinions!
Or, if you could give some advice about how to choose between subjects.
Thankyou!