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Psychology A-level vs Two languages A-level

Hi, I'm unsure what a levels to choose. I definitely would like to do French and Maths, and then it's between German or Psychology. I love languages, but Psychology also seems interesting. What would look more impressive to top universities (such as Oxford and Cambridge)? Is psychology interesting? I've heard mixed opinions - if you are interested in it, what interests you about it and if you're not interested in it, why not? What is it like to do two languages at A-level? I'm currently getting 9s in both French and German

Reply 1

dogz32

Hey - I also had a similar dilemma ! I’m in Year 12 now studying English lit, French and history for alevels but I also took French and German for GCSE (receiving very high grade 9s in both of them) and was genuinely considering studying them both at A-Level. I started off studying German along with my other 3 at the beginning of sixth but, as someone who is not bilingual , I found I was unable to dedicate as much time to each language as I would have liked (this might have been cos I was trying to juggle an EPQ on top of 4 A-Levels lol) so I dropped German. While I still miss German and love languages in general I realised I can easily pick German back up again at uni (which I intend on doing). I’d much rather focus all my attention on trying to get an A star in A-Level French (which is extremely challenging as you’re up against all the bilinguals in the country) than settling for lower grades in both French and German. In terms of choosing between the two I’d say think about which one you’re willing to engage with on a daily basis (required at A-Level) and maybe which one interests you more culturally. Any more questions pls lmk, hope this helped 🙂

Reply 2

dogz32

Original post by matildaeeeee

I’d say if u feel u can, doing 2 languages at A-Level looks extremely impressive to the top unis, but also consider what you’d like to do in the future: if you definitely want to do a languages degree then pick French and German but if you’re unsure whether you want to study psychology or modern languages or linguistics or something else, taking psychology would defo keep ur options open :smile:

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 3

thegeek888

Maths, German and French will be much less work than Maths, German and Psychology or French. Because there is one big 50% worth of marks Listening, Reading and Writing paper and another 20% worth of marks paper for a novel and film. However, it is just 300 word essays!!! 😀 lol Also, the Research project is easy marks if you choose a project you're enthusiastic about as well as the Oral exam worth a huge 30% of marks.

More importantly, you will be able to study French and German at Cambridge University or Oxford University with a 50% chance of an offer being made. 😉