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Not the GCSE grades I was hoping for.

Hello everyone,

I have just received my GCSE grades and I can't say it was what I was hopping for:
Art: A
DT: B
English literature: B
English language: D
Biology: C
Chemistry: C
Physics: C
French: C
Geography:C

Some of these grades were rather unexpected and in the case of my english lang, were even a shock especially considering I achieved a B in the supposedly harder english lit.

I have revised my sixth form choices because a lot of them require a B in the subject or a C in english lang. I don't really want to go to college and I am hoping to stay on at my school if possible.

If my school do take me on they will want me to re take the english alongside my chosen a level subjects:

Economics
Sociology
Biology
Psychology or English literature

My first question is do you think these subjects will be a bit to full especially alongside my english resit?

Also, what do Economics, Sociology and Psychology consit off and will doing them alongside a science be difficult?

Any answers/advice as to what to do would be much appreciated !

P.s. I am hoping to go into law
Reply 1
I can only speak for sociology and psychology here: both subjects have a very heavy work load as they both individually consist of memorising lots of theories, hundreds of names, studies and numbers. I remember in preparation of my synoptic psychology exam, I needed to know nearly 100 names/studies and on average, 2-4 numbers (in the form of statistics such as percentages) per study. Psychology took up 70% of my total revision time. I would only take them if you were dedicated to learning these subjects, as yes, they would be very suitable for a law course.
Reply 2
I have to slightly disagree with the person above. I've done sociology and economics (a level) and, English literature and psychology at AS and I have to say, sociology doesn't actually have that big of a workload in my opinion. You have to learn different names and theories etc but it is all completely manageable.
Psychology on the other hand... I wouldn't recommend to anyone unless they were willing to put in the time and effort to learn everything that is required... Which is a lot.
Economics consists of learning different diagrams, applying when necessary and learning about markets and about the wider economy... I found it very boring.. But I know people who love it.. Not too hard to get a good grade in this.
And English literature requires a very good memory and, in my opinion, love for the subject.

Why you are taking biology if you're 100% sure you want to go into law is beyond me though.. Unless you are trying to keep your future options open.
Original post by AlissaNB
I can only speak for sociology and psychology here: both subjects have a very heavy work load as they both individually consist of memorising lots of theories, hundreds of names, studies and numbers. I remember in preparation of my synoptic psychology exam, I needed to know nearly 100 names/studies and on average, 2-4 numbers (in the form of statistics such as percentages) per study. Psychology took up 70% of my total revision time. I would only take them if you were dedicated to learning these subjects, as yes, they would be very suitable for a law course.


Thank you, I will definitely take that into consideration!
Original post by Words
I have to slightly disagree with the person above. I've done sociology and economics (a level) and, English literature and psychology at AS and I have to say, sociology doesn't actually have that big of a workload in my opinion. You have to learn different names and theories etc but it is all completely manageable.
Psychology on the other hand... I wouldn't recommend to anyone unless they were willing to put in the time and effort to learn everything that is required... Which is a lot.
Economics consists of learning different diagrams, applying when necessary and learning about markets and about the wider economy... I found it very boring.. But I know people who love it.. Not too hard to get a good grade in this.
And English literature requires a very good memory and, in my opinion, love for the subject.

Why you are taking biology if you're 100% sure you want to go into law is beyond me though.. Unless you are trying to keep your future options open.


Thanks a lot, that was very helpful. I will consider this when deciding! Also, I enjoy Biology and have always been relatively good at it. Many people have told me to take subjects you enjoy/ love, others have also said a maths or science look good when applying to uni. Having said this, I will look into other subjects I could also take.

Do you happen to know anything about government and politics?
Reply 5
Original post by StudyMunchkin
Thanks a lot, that was very helpful. I will consider this when deciding! Also, I enjoy Biology and have always been relatively good at it. Many people have told me to take subjects you enjoy/ love, others have also said a maths or science look good when applying to uni. Having said this, I will look into other subjects I could also take.

Do you happen to know anything about government and politics?


Yeah.. So, basically..
I did Economics, Sociology and Politics (A-Level) and, English Literature and Psychology (AS) as I did English AS a year early.
Politics, in my opinion, can definitely be an easy A depending on which route your school has chosen. Most schools do Edexcel Government and Politics. AS is very, very easy.. The easiest AS I've done (with the right textbook). A2 can get a bit trickier as, if you don't study the US option, there are no textbooks for you to use so it just depends on how well you can work independently.. Would still recommend though nevertheless.
Original post by Words
Yeah.. So, basically..
I did Economics, Sociology and Politics (A-Level) and, English Literature and Psychology (AS) as I did English AS a year early.
Politics, in my opinion, can definitely be an easy A depending on which route your school has chosen. Most schools do Edexcel Government and Politics. AS is very, very easy.. The easiest AS I've done (with the right textbook). A2 can get a bit trickier as, if you don't study the US option, there are no textbooks for you to use so it just depends on how well you can work independently.. Would still recommend though nevertheless.



Thanks so much, that has really put my mind at ease. If you don't mind me asking, what sort of grades did you get at GCSE/ A-levels and what career did you go into?
Original post by Words
I got a good set of As and Bs at GCSE.. And for A-Levels, I got ABB initially... And then AAB with a remark. I just finished my A-Levels and so, I do not have a career yet.


Thanks. Well done! I hope you got what you need for uni :biggrin: Good luck with everything!!
Original post by StudyMunchkin
Thanks. Well done! I hope you got what you need for uni :biggrin: Good luck with everything!!


Hi,

if i go on to study these at A-levels what can i do with them at university? I want to go into law, but apart from that are there any other career prospects?

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