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A-Level Choices Help!

Hi everyone, I’m going into Year 12 in September and I need to pick my A-Level options really soon! It’s stressing me, as your A-Level choices literally determine what careers you can go into and I don’t want to regret any choices. I’m thinking of doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics but I’m stuck on deciding between Economics or Computer Science as my 4th A-Level.

At GCSE, I’m good at Computer Science and I do like it, but what’s putting me off is the programming project at A-Levels and that it isn’t reflective of the degree. At sixth form taster days, I liked Economics and found it interesting and appealing as I also do like Finance and Current Affairs. Both A-Levels would also help me see if I want to do it at degree level, but I’m just so stuck!

Regarding Further Maths, I don’t know whether I’d be good at it, as the taster days were kind of scaring me with the content, but then, I do need Further Maths for CompSci or Economics at degree level at top Universities. In my gcse mocks, I usually get 9’s for maths but I do struggle with math competition questions like UKMT ones (maybe because I don’t practise enough idk). I don’t “love” maths, I’m just fine with it.

I also can’t decide if I wanna go into medicine too 😭
I’ve always liked IT, business, physics (stuff like that) but I’m curious into everything.

Reply 1

deep_sea_thing

I had a similar problem where I sort of liked everything and didn't have fixed career aspirations so I struggled to choose my A levels.

I can tell you right now that in my opinion, Medicine doesn't seem like the right choice for you. You haven't mentioned Chemistry or Biology, both of which you would almost certainly require to get into 'top' med schools. Medicine is all consuming - you need to be committed fairly early on to get through the many many years of education. I had this lack of certainty and decided against applying for med a few months into Y12, because there's always the option of applying for a graduate program in medicine! And lots of graduate entry med programs (such as Cambridge, St Andrews, Barts) accept non science degrees, so if you're still considering med 3/4 years down the line, this could be a good option.

I'm wondering if you're considering between a uni degree in Econ and a career in Computer Science, why not choose both and ditch physics? You are correct in saying that many top unis for econ would prefer you to have FM (even though it's not strictly required), so I would stick with further maths, especially if you are getting 9s in GCSE maths, you absolutely have the capability of achieving high grades. But physics is not at all necessary, and Maths, FM, Comp Sci and Econ is a really solid combination of subjects that covers all your bases.

I know it feels rubbish to ditch a subject that you enjoy, so my best advice would be to talk to people, watch videos, read articles about doing Econ and CS A levels and see if you're feeling inspired. From what I've heard from friends, Econ is very content heavy but also extremely interesting, and CS is very good if you're have your programming nailed down (but yes, the coursework is irritating). I take Physics, Bio, Chem and Maths, and find Maths easy but Physics significantly harder; A Level Physics is worlds apart from GCSE Physics.

Look at the curricula for CS, Econ and Physics. Take a note of what sounds interesting, what sounds boring and what sounds hard. Ask your teachers for their opinions, look at your GCSE results when they arrive to aid your decision. Also, ask your sixth form if you are allowed to switch an A level before the first half term (many schools allow this), and this gives you a contingency plan if you have any major regrets. Overall, it's going to take a lot of introspection and future thinking from your side, but you got this! Good luck :smile: