Best A levels for Law?

Hi im currently a year 11 student and i want to study next year
for a levels

History/English
Philosophy and Ethics (RS)
Computing
Business (only for AS)

Are these A levels good enough for a law degree in a top 30 university?

Also, which subject would i be better off with History or English?

Please someone anwerrr :frown:

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

lilyelisabeth

I would honestly say do both history and English instead of one of the others just because they complement each other really well. But that's just me 😊

Reply 2

Izxxx

You should go for;
English literature or combined English
History
Geography

And perhaps Economics, Psychology or a MFL ( French or German)
It also depends what universities your thinking of Oxbridge and the Russell Group would want 'hard subjects' eg English literature, history, geography and French or any other modern foreign language. Lower ranking unis tend to be more lenient with subject choices.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 3

cleverasvoltaire

Original post by libszzy300

I'm applying for law at Cambridge and I'm doing History, English, Maths and Economics. From what I've read that is probably the best combo however you can replace econs with one of the 3 sciences or a language :smile:

Reply 4

Tree321

You don't really need to have specific alevels, although subjects like history or English would be helpful purely for the skills gained.

Reply 5

libszzy300

Original post by Tree321

You don't really need to have specific alevels, although subjects like history or English would be helpful purely for the skills gained.

I know but i cant choose between the two thats the problem. Which would you advice me to go for? I want to do the subject which is more interesting and less time consuming.

Difficulty is much of a problem for me

Reply 6

Tree321

Original post by libszzy300

Well i do history alevel, and let me just say I HATE IT. There is so much reading for coursework, and its just a lot of work! My worst alevel, maybe government and politics, i find it interesting, and you can still use some skills Don't really know about english but i assume it'll be the same. I do ICT, politics, and history, and hopefully will be doing a law conversion so let me know if you have any questions!

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 7

libszzy300

Original post by Tree321

Well i do history alevel, and let me just say I ****ING HATE IT. There is so much reading for coursework, and its just a lot of work! My worst alevel, maybe government and politics, i find it interesting, and you can still use some skills Don't really know about english but i assume it'll be the same. I do ICT, politics, and history, and hopefully will be doing a law conversion so let me know if you have any questions!

i dont really mind the reading because my school exam board are introducing a new exam paper which contains more interesting stuff.

My main problem with History is the stupid sources you do at GCSE, do you have those at A level?

Reply 8

Izxxx

Original post by libszzy300

My school only offer English Literature and i really dont want to do both. The workload would be way to much. Also, i did'nt do Geography at GCSE so it wouldnt be best for me to do it at A level considering im not that interested.

Im defnietly going for Religious Studies and Computing. They're really good subjects and Religious Studies is even on par with subjects such as History and English on the list of facilliating subjects posted by Cambridge.

My only problem is choosing between English and History

I also didn't do GCSE Geography and have taken it for A-Level and I'm predicted an A*, so the fact that you have not taken it before should not hinder your chances of doing well. However if you do not find it interesting then that's fine.
If you want to choose between history and eng lit then you need to think what you find more interesting and what are your strengths. History will be based more on memorisation but at the same time you would need to have great essay skills as you do have to have for English. English lot is a more subjective subject where you need to understand the texts as well as being to make your own judgements about the meaning of the books, poems or play. It all depends on your strengths and what you enjoy. It is more than likely that history and English will include some portion of coursework so the workload is fairly equal.
You mention that doing both of these subject is a heavy load however law has an immense workload and if you are not able to cope with doing both history and English than you would find law at university level very hard.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 9

username1533709

Posted from TSR Mobile

I would say
English
History
Any subject that requires intuitive logic but not a high workload like Physics or maths.
Business will do.

Reply 10

Izxxx

Also the fact that computing and religious studies are facilitating subject on the Cambridge list does not mean that they will necessarily allow you get into law.
Law is an incredibly competitive subject, therefore in order to have a chance of being accepted you need to take subjects that are considered to be of certain 'quality' eg English, history, MFL as well as econ Maths further maths or a science subject.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 11

confusinggenes

English Lit
History
Philosophy... and ethics!! (The OCR exam board)

Reply 12

kandykissesxox

Economics, English Lit, Possibly Chemistry with History, would a good combination :smile:

Reply 13

libszzy300

Original post by Izxxx

The thing is I dont want to do both Enlglish and History because i dont feel like i need to do both. When i said heavy workload, i didnt mean im not capable, i meant that i wouldnt be able to concentrate on one subject and focusing on both would jeprodise my chances of getting the best grade.

Anyway, what i should of made clear was that i actually want to do a degree called "Philophy and Law" which is a joint degree. Therefore it is an imperative that i have Philosophy and Ethics as an A level as i would gain insights to what Philosophy entails.

I have a love for computers and for that reason im pretty sure i want to do computing as an A level. Like maths, it shows your a logical thinker.

Im only doing Business studies as an AS.

this leaves me with History/English. I just need to decide between the 2. The only thing i dont like about History is the sources. Do you still have that at A level? and also i like both literature and history but i just cantt decide. I love history but i like lit too. Which of the 2 is least boring. I dont mean preference wise, i mean which of the 2 is more of the subeject that you can walk into happy and eager to learn

Reply 14

Studentppe

History is easier than English, I do both and the mark scheme for English is so vague.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 15

username1533709

Original post by kandykissesxox

Economics, English Lit, Possibly Chemistry with History, would a good combination :smile:

Wouldnt the workload from chemistry be too much,with all those essay subjects ?

Reply 16

libszzy300

Original post by Studentppe

History is easier than English, I do both and the mark scheme for English is so vague.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Are there sources for History???

Reply 17

kandykissesxox

Original post by Kadak

Wouldnt the workload from chemistry be too much,with all those essay subjects ?

I shouldn't think so, a friend of mine is wanting to go into the law profession and she is currently studying history, maths, psychology and biology.

Geography is also an alternative :biggrin:

Reply 18

Tree321

Original post by libszzy300

I think it depends on your board, i do OCR which has one sources paper, but uses a different technique from gcse, and you have to use sources for coursework as well!

Reply 19

Izxxx

Original post by libszzy300

If I were you I would take English literature as I do not like history very much. However you need to be the one that makes the decision as only you know what you enjoy most.
I feel like there is something that we need to make very clear to you. If you are thinking of Oxbridge or LSE you have a very small chance of getting in.
They have certain prerequisites that you need to full fill. There are no specific subjects mentioned on their website for this course however they NEED you to take hard, challenging subjects. Yes computing is based on logic but it is not nearly as academic as physics or maths. Similarly with business studies, not nearly as hard as economics. If the admissions officer had to chose between someone who did English lit geography, maths and economics (As) and some one who did English lit computing and philosophy and ethics and business studies (AS) they will go for the former, purely because they show that they can succeed even with a heavy work load as well as being able to take on both logical and creative subjects.

Posted from TSR Mobile