A level Geography

Hi, i was wondering how you find a level geogaphy? Is it a hard a level? Is it similar to GCSE and how does it change? I am about to choose my A levels and am not sure what to choose, any advice would be much appreciated, Thanks.

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Reply 1

Katie97

Geography AS level is my favourite. I didn't particularly enjoy geography in lower years but chose it anyway and now it's the only lesson I look forward to. Content is enjoyable and actually useful. Sometimes I think people who don't do geography are cut off from the world a little as it's such an important subject to study. Look at what your college covers in year 12/13 and see if it interests you.

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Reply 2

Darkwarrior23

AS geography is really interesting and enjoyable. We've started A2 now and the same can not be said from what I have seen so far. :redface:

Reply 3

lkaratu

Original post by Katie97

At AS my school does rivers, floods, cold environments, population change, energy and geographical skills, what does yours? And also what other a levels do you take and how are you finding them?

Reply 4

lkaratu

Original post by Darkwarrior23

AS geography is really interesting and enjoyable. We've started A2 now and the same can not be said from what I have seen so far. :redface:

Oh man, what other A levels are you doing and how are you finding them?

Reply 5

ZebraWindy

Original post by lkaratu

At AS my school does rivers, floods, cold environments, population change, energy and geographical skills, what does yours? And also what other a levels do you take and how are you finding them?

I just finished AS geography last month and did the exact same topics. There's a lot of content to learn, and the annoying thing is that a lot of what you learn won't even show up in the exam, but I guess that's the same with most subjects. It's worth it though, it's interesting and if you managed at GCSE then you'll manage at AS.

Reply 6

lkaratu

Original post by ZebraWindy

If you don't mind me asking what grade did you get at gcse geography? And also what other subjects do you take and how do you find them?

Reply 7

Darkwarrior23

Original post by lkaratu

Oh man, what other A levels are you doing and how are you finding them?

I'm doing biology chemistry on top of geography, they haven't changed much to be honest only got a bit more advanced... I guess the reason why I suddenly disapprove of geography is because it seems to lack the "sciencey" content it previously had.

EDIT: what exam board are you on? I did edexcel and it was structured into 2 units

unit 1 was my favourite with the science of physical geography and global human geography being really interesting

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 8

ZebraWindy

Original post by lkaratu

If you don't mind me asking what grade did you get at gcse geography? And also what other subjects do you take and how do you find them?

Yeah no problem, I got an A at GCSE. My other subjects are maths, economics and psychology. Maths is my favourite/best subject. Economics is interesting and enjoyable and has a few links with human geography which make it pretty useful. Psychology is a bit of a pain and I kind of regret taking it but I'll be dropping it next year.

Reply 9

lkaratu

Original post by Darkwarrior23

Oh right, i think my school is using Edexcel

Reply 10

tgwktm

Original post by lkaratu

for me AS geography was kind of similar to gcse only it was in more depth i enjoyed AS although A2 is a lot better, the topics are more interesting and you can apply your knowledge a lot easier. a lot of case studies for A2 can come from sources other than textbooks which makes learning a lot more interesting, in my case i didn't touch a textbook in A2. it also helps if you have teachers who are passionate about the subject, like mine were.

Reply 11

stefanny24

Original post by tgwktm

HI, im just started my A2 courses this week, and when i saw the syllabus, i have to admit that im kind of scared about the subject. May i ask you what resources such as revision website or case studies website that could help me with A2 Geography? thanks so muc.

Reply 12

stefanny24

HI, im doing my A2 at the moment, and the topic seems pretty interesting yet kind of scary, do you mind telling me the resources you used? like notes and such things? thankyou very much..

Reply 13

HobbiTom

Hi, I've just finished my A2 Geography course, and despite the content being far tougher at A2, I've loved the whole 2 years of it! So much so that I'm doing Geography at uni! Compared to A2, AS Geography is a breeze in my opinion. The good thing is though that you learn how to deal with the stuff in A2 by doing the AS.
I did Population Change, Rivers, Cold Environments, and Energy at AS, and I've just finished doing Weather & Climate, Conflicts, Tectonics, and World Cities at A2.
I loved every topic except from Energy and World Cities...mainly because I far prefer physical to human geography! :smile:

Reply 14

tgwktm

Original post by stefanny24

well i have uploaded a lot of my notes to this website called stuvia. you buy notes people upload from there usually ranging from £1-£3. I also have a blog i write that has a lot of articles based on past A level essay questions. links to both are below:

https://www.stuvia.com/
http://vamoswearegolden.wordpress.com/geography/

other than that the resources i used for geography were not specifically revision based websites etc. I got a lot of my material from news articles, journals other blogs along with things my teacher provided. i did have a textbook but i never used it. If you were going to get a textbook then they could be helpful to get the basic idea of your course before you start it but don't rely on it when you actually study.

Reply 15

girlygiggle

Original post by lkaratu

Hello,

I have just finished A2 Edexcel Geography. If you are doing edexcel, unit 1 of AS is very similar in terms of the GCSE question style, so it eases you into the course quite nicely. With Unit 2, fieldwork is very useful for the exam.
At A2, i would say there is more of a step change from AS than there is from gcse to AS. It is hard, but it helps if you find the topics interesting, as then you will be more motivated!
It is also worth me pointing out that edexcel seemed to me more leaning towards the human side of geography, so this is good if your interest lies primarily in the human side. However, if not, the edexcel A level course is still good as you can take some very physical topics as part of unit 4 in A2.

Overall, geography was my favourite out of all the subjects I took for A level. It is a great subject and I would highly recommend it.

Let me know if you have any questions :smile:

Reply 16

thewishfulwriter

Original post by lkaratu

I've done AQA geography at AS level and really enjoyed it- not a huge step up from GCSE as the exam style is similar and you just need to have more information for case study questions. But that might just be my exam board. :smile:

Reply 17

DanHUK

When answering questions you need to be as structured as possible. This is so important (especially for 15 marker questions) otherwise that could be the difference between getting an A to almost failing.