Help me with my a level choices to study law (at Oxford)

I’m planning to study law at Oxford but I’m undecided on my A level choices.

I’m not sure what subject combination I want to take, English lit is ideally a non-negotiable for me but I know history is also a really good a level for law, but is it too much to do both English lit and history (and potentially another essay subject, like psychology) ? I’m planning on taking two essay based subjects, but most of the subjects I’m considering are essay based and I was wondering if three essay subjects isn’t a good idea as it doesn’t show a varied skill set.
What are some good non-essay subjects for law at Oxford?

The a levels I’m currently considering are:
- English lit
- psychology
- maths
- history
- economics
- politics
- sociology (is it a soft a level?)
- Biblical Hebrew

Note about Biblical Hebrew: I currently take it as a gcse and I do really enjoy it, although it seems quite irrelevant, aren’t classical languages regarded quite highly in Oxford?

Reply 1

gsimrun

6

for a law degree, you can do any subject to get an admission to any university like oxford. i strongly recommend to do subjects you are passionate about and subjects you enjoy. doing an essay writing based subject like english or history could be quite useful as law is largely based on writing chunks of essays. maths is a well respected and valuable a level so if you enjoy maths and if you are really good at it then i really suggest you to take it. however, i cannot stress enough that you must do subjects you are interested in and are good at do not take it because it will look good on a ucas!

Reply 2

mikiw08

OP

2

Original post by gsimrun

for a law degree, you can do any subject to get an admission to any university like oxford. i strongly recommend to do subjects you are passionate about and subjects you enjoy. doing an essay writing based subject like english or history could be quite useful as law is largely based on writing chunks of essays. maths is a well respected and valuable a level so if you enjoy maths and if you are really good at it then i really suggest you to take it. however, i cannot stress enough that you must do subjects you are interested in and are good at do not take it because it will look good on a ucas!

Thank you that’s, really helpful. I think it is a bit over zealous of me to take history and English, considering I’m finding the history gcse a bit overwhelming already.
I just don’t want to be in a position come two years -when I’m applying to unis- regretting not taking certain a levels that would help me get into Oxford yk?

Reply 3

Muttley79

20

Original post by mikiw08

Thank you that’s, really helpful. I think it is a bit over zealous of me to take history and English, considering I’m finding the history gcse a bit overwhelming already.
I just don’t want to be in a position come two years -when I’m applying to unis- regretting not taking certain a levels that would help me get into Oxford yk?

Are you on track for grade 9s for all your GCSEs? That's the first hurdle ...

(edited 6 months ago)

Reply 4

Username123ab

13

Pick the three you like the most because you can take any subjects for law and you may as well pick the ones that you will be able to get the easiest A*s in. History, English lit, and maths would be a good combination if you're really not sure though.

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by mikiw08

I’m planning to study law at Oxford but I’m undecided on my A level choices.

I’m not sure what subject combination I want to take, English lit is ideally a non-negotiable for me but I know history is also a really good a level for law, but is it too much to do both English lit and history (and potentially another essay subject, like psychology) ? I’m planning on taking two essay based subjects, but most of the subjects I’m considering are essay based and I was wondering if three essay subjects isn’t a good idea as it doesn’t show a varied skill set.
What are some good non-essay subjects for law at Oxford?

The a levels I’m currently considering are:
- English lit
- psychology
- maths
- history
- economics
- politics
- sociology (is it a soft a level?)
- Biblical Hebrew

Note about Biblical Hebrew: I currently take it as a gcse and I do really enjoy it, although it seems quite irrelevant, aren’t classical languages regarded quite highly in Oxford?

Literally any combination of three of those subjects is fine. They don't care about your subjects specifically, they just want to see that you do well in traditionally academic subjects in general (all of those fitting the bill). Take whichever ones you think are interesting and you will do well in.

Reply 6

gsimrun

6

Original post by mikiw08

Thank you that’s, really helpful. I think it is a bit over zealous of me to take history and English, considering I’m finding the history gcse a bit overwhelming already.
I just don’t want to be in a position come two years -when I’m applying to unis- regretting not taking certain a levels that would help me get into Oxford yk?

i understand your point of view however if you do research and look at oxford's website you can do any subject apart from subjects like art or drama. all oxford cares about at the end of the day are your alevel results and grades and if you choose a subject like history that you don't enjoy there is a possibility you won't get the best grade possible therefore that's why i'm suggesting you should only do subjects you are strongly passionate and good at.

Help me with my a level choices to study law (at Oxford)

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you