The Student Room Group

5 AS Levels - Is it worth it?

Scroll to see replies

Totally worth it - I did exactly the same five AS levels as you last year and with a lot of hard work (particularly in Biology in my case), it paid off big time.

For Further Maths I had about 2 hours lesson time per week and spent 1-2 hours per week on it outside of lessons, but you'll probably need a bit more if you're self-teaching. even so, it's not as much work as you might think :smile: also if you end up doing medicine, bear in mind that a lot of unis don't accept further maths AS, which seems kind of stupid to me but there you go :/
Reply 21
Original post by young volcano
Totally worth it - I did exactly the same five AS levels as you last year and with a lot of hard work (particularly in Biology in my case), it paid off big time.

For Further Maths I had about 2 hours lesson time per week and spent 1-2 hours per week on it outside of lessons, but you'll probably need a bit more if you're self-teaching. even so, it's not as much work as you might think :smile: also if you end up doing medicine, bear in mind that a lot of unis don't accept further maths AS, which seems kind of stupid to me but there you go :/


wait what do you mean they don't accept further maths AS?
Original post by pathosL
wait what do you mean they don't accept further maths AS?


my bad; I might have exaggerated a bit when I said 'a lot' :P when I was looking at medicine there were a couple that wouldn't take further maths (birmingham and cardiff spring to mind) but I suppose you'd just have to apply to those that do accept further maths, of which there are plenty :smile:
Reply 23
Original post by young volcano
my bad; I might have exaggerated a bit when I said 'a lot' :P when I was looking at medicine there were a couple that wouldn't take further maths (birmingham and cardiff spring to mind) but I suppose you'd just have to apply to those that do accept further maths, of which there are plenty :smile:


just checked, cardiff doesn't accept further maths but birmingham doesn't say they don't. where did you get that from?
Reply 24
Original post by pathosL
Doing maths chemistry physics biology and then further maths externally at just AS level. Would the dumbing down of my other grades be worth the extra qualification? and for people who have done it how have they found it? how many hours were you putting in overall every week on average also, thank you :colone:


Not the best idea I've heard, seeing as there's not January exams. You'd have 12 exams. Good luck.
Reply 25
Original post by halpme
Not the best idea I've heard, seeing as there's not January exams. You'd have 12 exams. Good luck.


:eek: scary
Original post by pathosL
just checked, cardiff doesn't accept further maths but birmingham doesn't say they don't. where did you get that from?


yeah I just checked birmingham too and I can't see anything on there about them not taking further maths so they must do now..I swear there was a time when they didn't! :s
Reply 27
Original post by young volcano
yeah I just checked birmingham too and I can't see anything on there about them not taking further maths so they must do now..I swear there was a time when they didn't! :s


ah that's good they do now then :biggrin:
Reply 28
pathosL I think I'm also in a similar situation to you.
Currently about to start Year 13 having done Maths (Mechanics), chem, bio and phys last year.
I also considered a fifth A level but I think after doing 4 this year, while the workload during the year may not be too intense, the stress and pressure during exam time definitely is!

Edit: As mentioned earlier, it's even more pressure/stress considering there is no longer January exams.
OP, i would say it depends on your school. At mine almost everyone does 4 and doesnt drop one. The more clever do 5AS and drop one and the cleverest do 5. So if you went here I would suggest at least 5 AS and then maybe drop one. I assume you must be quite clever and an eager learner to actually inquire in to it, so you should be able to cope with the workload in my opinion (even though the subjects you are doing are rigorous subjects). People say "do 3, 4 if you are keen and clever" but i think that's a load of ****. Whilst A Levels are preparing you for Uni and one of the main focuses, you should do as many as you feel comfortable with and in subjects you want to learn about. If you want to learn more into Maths than regular Maths goes, then do Further Maths... Even if you do worse than expected (but know the content) then personally you will feel very satisfied (if you get Bs and Cs i would suggest dropping one after or during the first year).

"You regret the things you don't do!"
Reply 30
Original post by Bixel
pathosL I think I'm also in a similar situation to you.
Currently about to start Year 13 having done Maths (Mechanics), chem, bio and phys last year.
I also considered a fifth A level but I think after doing 4 this year, while the workload during the year may not be too intense, the stress and pressure during exam time definitely is!

Edit: As mentioned earlier, it's even more pressure/stress considering there is no longer January exams.


yeah the fact that there's no more january exams is actually why i'm starting to doubt doing 5, but i want to study all 5 of these subjects and cannot choose between them :frown:
Reply 31
Original post by Blake-inator
OP, i would say it depends on your school. At mine almost everyone does 4 and doesnt drop one. The more clever do 5AS and drop one and the cleverest do 5. So if you went here I would suggest at least 5 AS and then maybe drop one. I assume you must be quite clever and an eager learner to actually inquire in to it, so you should be able to cope with the workload in my opinion (even though the subjects you are doing are rigorous subjects). People say "do 3, 4 if you are keen and clever" but i think that's a load of ****. Whilst A Levels are preparing you for Uni and one of the main focuses, you should do as many as you feel comfortable with and in subjects you want to learn about. If you want to learn more into Maths than regular Maths goes, then do Further Maths... Even if you do worse than expected (but know the content) then personally you will feel very satisfied (if you get Bs and Cs i would suggest dropping one after or during the first year).

"You regret the things you don't do!"


5 at A2? wow that seems crazy tbh, id like to do 4 at A2 but i think having further maths AS will help get me into a good uni, i also want to study the subject cus i want to do mechanics which i find quite interesting. and my school isn't very academic i don't know many people who've done 5 AS levels throughout the years so i think it'd be quite an achievement
Reply 32
How smart are you? and how much do you love your subjects?

I continued with 5 at A2 as well and I did really well. I was advised to drop at least one at A2 but was genuinely upset when I didn't go to my Physics lessons for a week so I picked it up again and while I admit it was exhausting work, I am happy that I did it now.
Do it if you really love the subjects and and if you're very passionate about them, although beware: being overworked could make you loathe your loves and turn your passions into chores, and could leave you a bit disillusioned. In this way, it could cause detriment to your potential mark in the subjects. However, education isn't all about marks, and each person is different and can handle different loads. I don't know you, so I can't say too much, because, for all I know, taking all these subjects could be the finest potential line of action for you.

If I were you, I'd take all subjects initially and then drop one if you're getting too stressed/overworked. That's the most comprehensive way of doing things, because it factors in your actual experiences, aptitude and "load capacity". I don't want you to make a decision you'll regret, so make sure you really think things through, although you've come to a forum to discuss it, so evidently you think things through thoroughly anyway, which is good. :biggrin:
Original post by pathosL
i'm not really sure if i can cope but i think i can, maybe im underestimating a levels slightly. im puzzled really not sure what to do :s-smilie:


Teach yourself a bit first, see how you cope, and then see if you think you'd be able to do the subject along side 4 others.

Quick Reply

Latest