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Hard or Soft

At GCSE/A-Level, are these subjects considered 'hard' or 'soft'? Or somewhere in the middle?

Psychology
Sociology
Media Studies
Law
Business Studies
Religious Studies
Archaeology
Music
Reply 1
Avatar for HaiHai
HaiHai
2
In my experience, and going by reputation:

Psychology - middle/hard
Sociology - middle
Media Studies - soft
Law - middle/hard
Business Studies - middle/hard
Religious Studies - hard
Archaeology - hard
Music - hard

However, when applying to universities most will accept all of those as A-Levels. Unless it's something that is rarely counted, like General Studies or Critical Thinking, a high grade in any one of those is perfectly acceptable. :smile:
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 2
Avatar for jamestg
jamestg
21
Psychology - middle/hard
Sociology - soft/middle
Media Studies - soft
Law - middle
Business Studies - soft/middle
Religious Studies - middle
Archaeology - no clue
Music - hard
Reply 3
Avatar for Exon
Exon
15
1. Anything with 'studies' at the end is probably on the soft side.
2. Law holds a lot more respect at degree level than it does at A-level to the point that it's not even recommended.
3. I have no idea where Archaeology comes into the soft/hard consensus.

The others are a matter of what degrees you're interested in.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 4
Avatar for ozmo19
ozmo19
16
Original post by jamestg
Psychology - middle/hard
Sociology - soft/middle
Media Studies - soft
Law - middle
Business Studies - soft/middle
Religious Studies - middle
Archaeology - no clue
Music - hard


This...
Psychology - v soft
Sociology - soft
Media Studies -v soft
Law - soft
Business Studies - soft
Religious Studies - middle
Archaeology - soft
Music - hard
Good to see music being put as hard.
Oh, man, this was not what I was hoping it would be :frown:
Reply 8
Avatar for Oshi
Oshi
5
Music is really darn difficult. Can't speak for the rest.
Reply 9
Avatar for 1732757
1732757
16
Music is not hard guys....

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Lazy Cynic
Psychology - v soft
Sociology - soft
Media Studies -v soft
Law - soft
Business Studies - soft
Religious Studies - middle
Archaeology - soft
Music - hard


no way music is harder the psych and psych is harder than sociology you pros like 6
Original post by _jarv_
At GCSE/A-Level, are these subjects considered 'hard' or 'soft'? Or somewhere in the middle?

Psychology
Sociology
Media Studies
Law
Business Studies
Religious Studies
Archaeology
Music

Based off A Level's:

Psychology - Hard. Taken a lot more seriously now, would be a good A Level to have, but is essay and revision-heavy, with a lot of case studies.

Sociology - Middle. It's growing in respect, being a relatively newly popular subject, but I do have a preference for sociology, and think it is a really important subject to learn about.

Media - Soft. I would be careful when picking media unless you want to do a creative degree. If you're wanting to do something science/maths/theory based, I wouldn't recommend media to accompany, as some universities will not recognise it as an A Level for certain courses.

Law - Hard. Looots of work, lots of reading, very sparse amount of roles.

Business - Soft/middle. Has elements that are really useful in the workplace, but not considered an intellectual subject.

Religious Studies - Middle/hard. Not as respected as sciences etc, but an age-old subject that is recognised.

Archaeology - not sure how common this is as an A level but I'd consider it middle/hard.

Music - Depends on what you do with it. Not relevant with all subjects, but I would say middle.

Sophie - UoP rep :smile:
Original post by University of Portsmouth Student Rep
Based off A Level's:

Psychology - Hard. Taken a lot more seriously now, would be a good A Level to have, but is essay and revision-heavy, with a lot of case studies.

Sociology - Middle. It's growing in respect, being a relatively newly popular subject, but I do have a preference for sociology, and think it is a really important subject to learn about.

Media - Soft. I would be careful when picking media unless you want to do a creative degree. If you're wanting to do something science/maths/theory based, I wouldn't recommend media to accompany, as some universities will not recognise it as an A Level for certain courses.

Law - Hard. Looots of work, lots of reading, very sparse amount of roles.

Business - Soft/middle. Has elements that are really useful in the workplace, but not considered an intellectual subject.

Religious Studies - Middle/hard. Not as respected as sciences etc, but an age-old subject that is recognised.

Archaeology - not sure how common this is as an A level but I'd consider it middle/hard.

Music - Depends on what you do with it. Not relevant with all subjects, but I would say middle.

Sophie - UoP rep :smile:

I wouldn't say law was hard
Original post by University of Portsmouth Student Rep
Based off A Level's:

Psychology - Hard. Taken a lot more seriously now, would be a good A Level to have, but is essay and revision-heavy, with a lot of case studies.

Sociology - Middle. It's growing in respect, being a relatively newly popular subject, but I do have a preference for sociology, and think it is a really important subject to learn about.

Media - Soft. I would be careful when picking media unless you want to do a creative degree. If you're wanting to do something science/maths/theory based, I wouldn't recommend media to accompany, as some universities will not recognise it as an A Level for certain courses.

Law - Hard. Looots of work, lots of reading, very sparse amount of roles.

Business - Soft/middle. Has elements that are really useful in the workplace, but not considered an intellectual subject.

Religious Studies - Middle/hard. Not as respected as sciences etc, but an age-old subject that is recognised.

Archaeology - not sure how common this is as an A level but I'd consider it middle/hard.

Music - Depends on what you do with it. Not relevant with all subjects, but I would say middle.

Sophie - UoP rep :smile:

Why are you promoting the idea that some subjects are 'soft'? This is something that AFAIK all UK universities have stepped away from.
Original post by glassalice
Why are you promoting the idea that some subjects are 'soft'? This is something that AFAIK all UK universities have stepped away from.

exactly the hard and soft system made students not take subjects as a whole cause they were scared unis didn't want them, that not the case

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