What A levels should I take to get into Economics?

I am about to pick my A Levels and wondered what I should take if I want to do economics at university. I am thinking about taking Maths, Further Maths, Biology and Chemistry as this is a wide variety of subjects. What would be the best to get into the course?
Thanks

Reply 1

Viridiana

12

Looks nice to me although maybe consider some contrasting but respected subject like History? Also if you want a science, you could go for Physics, the counting involved might prove to be more valuable for you than the content involved in, say, Biology.

Reply 2

sydneybridge

11

You will need a top grade in Maths to be taken seriously by a leading Uni. Other subjects aren't as important as the grades - a requirement of AAA or A*AA isnt uncommon - so beyond Maths, pick the 2 subjects you know you will enjoy and get the best grades in.

Lots more info etc here : http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Economics_Degree

Reply 3

Light_bulb

8

Id say Further Mathematics, Mathematics, Physics and Economics should be a fitting combo.

Reply 4

Flather

13

Have seen a few universities say they don't count Maths and FM as 2 subjects and some say for economics you need an essay subject so economics, geography, politics something like that might help and would probably give you knowledge useful for studying economics

Reply 5

groovyd97

14

Original post by alexm1234

I am about to pick my A Levels and wondered what I should take if I want to do economics at university. I am thinking about taking Maths, Further Maths, Biology and Chemistry as this is a wide variety of subjects. What would be the best to get into the course?
Thanks

All are good but why wouldn't you do Econ? Swap bio or chemistry for Econ.

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Reply 6

sydneybridge

11

You dont need Economics A level to do Economics at University.

This is because a) many schools dont offer Economics and b) it isnt that helpful at University level study.

Be aware that IF you take Economics, your performance could be a deal-breaker ...... if you take Economics at A level you can end up with a situation where you dont get a place because you are predicted a low grade, whereas if you hadnt done Economics at all you would have a place. Be careful.

What RG Unis in particular DO want is stellar Maths grades. You can teach someone Economics - but if they lack the aptitude for Maths they you cant teach them that.

PS. A subject such as Law, Politics, Sociology or History would be more useful than 2 sciences. You need to show you can deal with 'text' - both reading it and writing coherently. Maths and Science don't show that. And the subject matter of one of those subjects would be useful in terms of understanding Economics.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 7

Bloxorus

16

Original post by sydneybridge

You dont need Economics A level to do Economics at University.

This is because a) many schools dont offer Economics and b) it isnt that helpful at University level study.

Be aware that IF you take Economics, your performance could be a deal-breaker ...... if you take Economics at A level you can end up with a situation where you dont get a place because you are predicted a low grade, whereas if you hadnt done Economics at all you would have a place. Be careful.

What RG Unis in particular DO want is stellar Maths grades. You can teach someone Economics - but if they lack the aptitude for Maths they you cant teach them that.

PS. A subject such as Law, Politics, Sociology or History would be more useful than 2 sciences. You need to show you can deal with 'text' - both reading it and writing coherently. Maths and Science don't show that. And the subject matter of one of those subjects would be useful in terms of understanding Economics.

However if you don't take Economics A level when it IS offered by your school, then that may raise concerns about how interested you actually are in the subject. How can you write about how you're passionate about econ in your personal statement if you chose not to take it for A level. (although this is more for the ultra competitive econ unis, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Warwick etc).

The other side of this is that if you don't take econ at a level, your first year will be made twice as hard having to catch up with everyone who has taken it. I'm in my first year at UCL and those who didn't take Econ at A level found the first term especially tough.

Reply 8

sydneybridge

11

Original post by Bloxorus

However if you don't take Economics A level when it IS offered by your school, then that may raise concerns about how interested you actually are in the subject.

Rubbish.

a) No University is going to know or check if your school offers Economics or not.

b) Being able to talk about an interest in Economics depends on personal reading, attending public lectures and University study days, reading relevant journal articles etc. You dont have to be taking Economics A level to be able to do this.

Reply 9

Boy_wonder_95

15

Original post by sydneybridge

You dont need Economics A level to do Economics at University.

This is because a) many schools dont offer Economics and b) it isnt that helpful at University level study.

Be aware that IF you take Economics, your performance could be a deal-breaker ...... if you take Economics at A level you can end up with a situation where you dont get a place because you are predicted a low grade, whereas if you hadnt done Economics at all you would have a place. Be careful.

What RG Unis in particular DO want is stellar Maths grades. You can teach someone Economics - but if they lack the aptitude for Maths they you cant teach them that.

PS. A subject such as Law, Politics, Sociology or History would be more useful than 2 sciences. You need to show you can deal with 'text' - both reading it and writing coherently. Maths and Science don't show that. And the subject matter of one of those subjects would be useful in terms of understanding Economics.

What on earth are you talking about... are you even studying Economics at uni? I'm a current first year and the A level has helped a fair bit getting to grips with things since I haven't had to go look up concepts which Ive been previously exposed to, people who haven't done the A Level would struggle a lot more as, contrary to popular belief, they're not gonna teach you from scratch so you'd be expected to find your own two feet.

You're right, it isn't needed for the sake of not putting off students from schools not offering it, but that doesnt mean you wouldnt be at a disadvantage if they didnt do it. Cambridge list Economics A Level as "desirable" alongside FM, and 90% of their cohort have it so clearly they care, and I'm sure there's a similar mentality amongst other top unis in that it isn't needed but they like to see it. I'm not sure if they check but you'd be expected to have it mentioned in your reference if the school don't offer it.

As for your last point I agree, having an Arts subject would be useful for showing those skills, but what better Arts subject to take for Economics than A Level Economics itself?

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(edited 9 years ago)

What A levels should I take to get into Economics?

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