help: geography or ict for GCSE?? reply quickkkkk
so far I've picked:
triple science
geography
economics
spanish
but I'm thinking of changing the geography to ICT. I know geography is really important because it's a humanities subject and most good universities look for it. I'm definetly going to do something academic with my life (doctor, engineer, accountant e.t.c) but is ICT required for engineering?? I don't want to drop geography but I don't know if ICT is required if I'm considering engineering? I've also read that ICT is considered one of the "soft" subjects in universities can someone clarify why?? It seems like all the arrows are pointing to geography but i don't know if engineering universities require ICT!!
Your opinions?!?!?!?!
triple science
geography
economics
spanish
but I'm thinking of changing the geography to ICT. I know geography is really important because it's a humanities subject and most good universities look for it. I'm definetly going to do something academic with my life (doctor, engineer, accountant e.t.c) but is ICT required for engineering?? I don't want to drop geography but I don't know if ICT is required if I'm considering engineering? I've also read that ICT is considered one of the "soft" subjects in universities can someone clarify why?? It seems like all the arrows are pointing to geography but i don't know if engineering universities require ICT!!
Your opinions?!?!?!?!
(edited 10 years ago)
Hi,
I know choosing your GCSE's can prove difficult at times, especially as doing so can restrict your choice at A-Level. I too found it difficult to decide.
It's great that you know what you want to do with your life, career wise. That will give you some indication of what subjects you should choose.
ICT was compulsory in my school, therefore I didn't have a say in it. I did geography too.
You're thinking about doing very strong, academic subjects, which will open many doors for you at A-Level; geography being one of them, as it is a 'traditional' subject, which are 'generally' favoured by universities (not all Universities, you'd need to contact your University of choice and get more information on this)
ICT is a soft subject, however it relates more to your desired career path than geography. It all depends on what you want to do at A-Level.
University of Cambridge for example require specific subjects, such as Maths and Physics at A-Level, and would like you to have a third subject in a science/maths/technology subject, which I assume includes ICT.
As you're already considering strong GCSE's, my advice is to go with ICT (Or technology for that matter) - I enjoyed both Geography and ICT, so either way, you should be happy.
Hope this helps.
I know choosing your GCSE's can prove difficult at times, especially as doing so can restrict your choice at A-Level. I too found it difficult to decide.
It's great that you know what you want to do with your life, career wise. That will give you some indication of what subjects you should choose.
ICT was compulsory in my school, therefore I didn't have a say in it. I did geography too.
You're thinking about doing very strong, academic subjects, which will open many doors for you at A-Level; geography being one of them, as it is a 'traditional' subject, which are 'generally' favoured by universities (not all Universities, you'd need to contact your University of choice and get more information on this)
ICT is a soft subject, however it relates more to your desired career path than geography. It all depends on what you want to do at A-Level.
University of Cambridge for example require specific subjects, such as Maths and Physics at A-Level, and would like you to have a third subject in a science/maths/technology subject, which I assume includes ICT.
As you're already considering strong GCSE's, my advice is to go with ICT (Or technology for that matter) - I enjoyed both Geography and ICT, so either way, you should be happy.
Hope this helps.
Take what you enjoy more. Unless you're looking to do Geography or ICT/CompSci at A-Level (or uni) then it doesn't really matter. If you apply for engineering for instance, a university won't be bothered about whether you took ICT or Geography at GCSE. Good luck 
Most people at my school really dislike ICT (but maybe that's the teacher).
I found that Geography wasn't too hard, but everyone said ICT took time from your other subjects.
I found that Geography wasn't too hard, but everyone said ICT took time from your other subjects.
Firstly, it is important to know that Universities care much more about your GCSE grades than the subjects you took. The only subjects they're going to care about are English, Maths and Science - as long as you've got those, they couldn't care less what other GCSEs you've taken as long as you've got good grades in them.
No University has a requirement or even a preference for GCSE ICT. ICT is absolutely unnecessary (definitely not for engineering because the ICT you learn at GCSE is extremely basic) for any course. As I said, Universities don't really care about your peripheral subject choice at GCSE so it technically doesn't really matter which you choose, as long as you know you can do well. Personally, I would strongly recommend Geography because I think it's an important subject to take as a human living in an unsustainable society, but it's up to you.
No University has a requirement or even a preference for GCSE ICT. ICT is absolutely unnecessary (definitely not for engineering because the ICT you learn at GCSE is extremely basic) for any course. As I said, Universities don't really care about your peripheral subject choice at GCSE so it technically doesn't really matter which you choose, as long as you know you can do well. Personally, I would strongly recommend Geography because I think it's an important subject to take as a human living in an unsustainable society, but it's up to you.
Original post by Chlorophile
Firstly, it is important to know that Universities care much more about your GCSE grades than the subjects you took. The only subjects they're going to care about are English, Maths and Science - as long as you've got those, they couldn't care less what other GCSEs you've taken as long as you've got good grades in them.
No University has a requirement or even a preference for GCSE ICT. ICT is absolutely unnecessary (definitely not for engineering because the ICT you learn at GCSE is extremely basic) for any course. As I said, Universities don't really care about your peripheral subject choice at GCSE so it technically doesn't really matter which you choose, as long as you know you can do well. Personally, I would strongly recommend Geography because I think it's an important subject to take as a human living in an unsustainable society, but it's up to you.
No University has a requirement or even a preference for GCSE ICT. ICT is absolutely unnecessary (definitely not for engineering because the ICT you learn at GCSE is extremely basic) for any course. As I said, Universities don't really care about your peripheral subject choice at GCSE so it technically doesn't really matter which you choose, as long as you know you can do well. Personally, I would strongly recommend Geography because I think it's an important subject to take as a human living in an unsustainable society, but it's up to you.
It depends on which subject you enjoy more. If I were u I would choose geography because I've heard so many people think ICT is a waste of time.
I would second a good few of these posts, take subjects that you enjoy as you'll be able to motivate yourself to go that extra mile and get the best possible grade. In terms of ICT and it being a 'soft subject', it really depends on the type of it you would be doing. Do you know the board for the course? I am in my final GCSE year taking GCSE Computing, which is now highly regarded as a more academic subject with it being focused on programming. You have two controlled assessments which I believe weigh in at 60% of the overall grade. I would say if this course in on offer then have a good think about it. Echoing what others have said, Geography is important and as an Earth Science would fit well with your choice of triple science. In summary, do what you enjoy. Good luck making those all important choices.
Original post by LM12345
Thanks this is really helpful, I was leaning more to geography anyway! What subjects did you take?! Just curious and what are your career plans?!
Maths, Further Maths, English Language, Literature, French, German, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, History, Graphic Products. Not sure what I want to do, but I'm leaning towards Earth Science/Civil Engineering.
Original post by LM12345
so far I've picked:
triple science
geography
economics
spanish
but I'm thinking of changing the geography to ICT. I know geography is really important because it's a humanities subject and most good universities look for it. I'm definetly going to do something academic with my life (doctor, engineer, accountant e.t.c) but is ICT required for engineering?? I don't want to drop geography but I don't know if ICT is required if I'm considering engineering? I've also read that ICT is considered one of the "soft" subjects in universities can someone clarify why?? It seems like all the arrows are pointing to geography but i don't know if engineering universities require ICT!!
Your opinions?!?!?!?!
triple science
geography
economics
spanish
but I'm thinking of changing the geography to ICT. I know geography is really important because it's a humanities subject and most good universities look for it. I'm definetly going to do something academic with my life (doctor, engineer, accountant e.t.c) but is ICT required for engineering?? I don't want to drop geography but I don't know if ICT is required if I'm considering engineering? I've also read that ICT is considered one of the "soft" subjects in universities can someone clarify why?? It seems like all the arrows are pointing to geography but i don't know if engineering universities require ICT!!
Your opinions?!?!?!?!
Geography is a good subject, because like you said, its a humanities subject and good for universities. I'm doing ICT, it's compulsory, if I could drop it I would, I absolutely hate it, I've also heard many other people that took ICT didn't like it either. I'm not sure if it's needed for Engineering...
Geography is super useful - you get a lot of skills - actually its good for engineering if you're interested in the environmental impacts your work would have, which is actually a pretty big part of any engineering project nowadays.
ICT is thought of as soft. Definitely don't need it for engineering.
ICT is thought of as soft. Definitely don't need it for engineering.
I did both ICT and Geography GCSE.
Personally, Geography was more interesting.
ICT was easy (easy A* if you know what you are doing and are organised) but there was too much coursework and pretty boring.
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Personally, Geography was more interesting.
ICT was easy (easy A* if you know what you are doing and are organised) but there was too much coursework and pretty boring.
Posted from TSR Mobile
ICT is an easy A*, but it's also boring and unfulfilling. Geography is harder but if you're into it it's much more fun - though you'll have a couple of the most boring school trips you've ever had to endure.
Honestly, I can't tell you how many people I've found who've had Cs, Ds and Es at GCSE and then an A* in ICT...
Honestly, I can't tell you how many people I've found who've had Cs, Ds and Es at GCSE and then an A* in ICT...
ICT is an easy A*, but it's also boring and unfulfilling and has a lot of coursework. Geography is harder but if you're into it it's much more fun - though you'll have a couple of the most boring school trips you've ever had to endure.
Honestly, I can't tell you how many people I've found who've had Cs, Ds and Es at GCSE and then an A* in ICT...
Honestly, I can't tell you how many people I've found who've had Cs, Ds and Es at GCSE and then an A* in ICT...
From my own personal experience:
Geography: I loved geography, I found the content interesting, challenging and incredibly useful. I'm in Y13 and still use my GSCE geography knowledge quite frequently even though I don't do it at A Level.
ICT: WHY. JUST WHY. The biggest waste of time ever. The coursework was long winded and boring. There was far too much focus on making compiling a log of primary and secondary sources used than actually looking at what skills had been used (e.g. using formulas in a spreadsheet). The theory for the written exam was questionable:mobile phones and GPS systems made an appearance. I facepalmed at the ridiculousness of it all.
I learnt nothing from that subject. Dropped it two weeks before the exam because I was sick of it and wanted to focus on my other subjects.
I can promise you that you will most definitely not need ICT GCSE for anything in your life ever, even Computer Science. However I think the new breed of ICT qualifications (which are actually called Computer Science) will have a larger focus on computer programming, which is a very useful skill in today's market.
Geography: I loved geography, I found the content interesting, challenging and incredibly useful. I'm in Y13 and still use my GSCE geography knowledge quite frequently even though I don't do it at A Level.
ICT: WHY. JUST WHY. The biggest waste of time ever. The coursework was long winded and boring. There was far too much focus on making compiling a log of primary and secondary sources used than actually looking at what skills had been used (e.g. using formulas in a spreadsheet). The theory for the written exam was questionable:mobile phones and GPS systems made an appearance. I facepalmed at the ridiculousness of it all.
I learnt nothing from that subject. Dropped it two weeks before the exam because I was sick of it and wanted to focus on my other subjects.
I can promise you that you will most definitely not need ICT GCSE for anything in your life ever, even Computer Science. However I think the new breed of ICT qualifications (which are actually called Computer Science) will have a larger focus on computer programming, which is a very useful skill in today's market.
Original post by bettsbubbles
I can promise you that you will most definitely not need ICT GCSE for anything in your life ever, even Computer Science. However I think the new breed of ICT qualifications (which are actually called Computer Science) will have a larger focus on computer programming, which is a very useful skill in today's market.
Yeah, like I was saying earlier, I'm taking GCSE Computing which is far more fulfilling and more respected in terms of an IT Qualification. It is almost entirely focussed on Programming. There are two controlled assessments involved, accounting for 60% of the overall grade. The final 40% comes in the form of just one exam. It's certainly something to consider if it is offered at your school if programming is something that you enjoy.
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