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Help with Highers? (S5)

Hi everyone. I'm currently in s4, or fourth year and am finalising my highers this month for s5. I'm just a little lost on what to pick especiaally regarding one particular column and would appreciate a little guidance. Right now, I currently take and am doing exams for -

National 5 English
National 5 French
National 5 Drama
National 5 History
National 5 Modern Studies
National 5 Biology
National 4/5 Maths (Started Nat 5 not long ago, not doing final exam this year)

So I am doing 6 exams this year. I'm terrible at Maths, and i really dislike the subject. My teacbers have informed me, however, that a lot of university courses require Maths, with at least a C grade at National 5, which i'm not doing this year. However, i'm not entirely sure which course i would like to take at university but just for a general reference point i looked at the entry requirements for a few courses at Edinburgh University, at a lot of the courses that i am interested in states a requirement for a Grade C in Maths OR a Science. As stated before I take Biology at National 5. Would this mean that if I achieved a C grade or better in the final exam then i could drop Maths, or would this still put me at a disadvantage somehow? There are 6 combinations of 5 subjects that i would consider choosing next year according to the columns that they are displayed in.

H. French
N5 Maths
H. History
H. English
H. Drama

H. French
H. Politics (Crash, typically only available for s6 pupils, but i may be allowed to take it if i get an A in History. This particulat column is quite dodgy, there are only Politics, RMPS and Maths in this column for Higher, the only other viable option for me in the Nat 5 column is Maths, so N5 Maths or H. Politics)

H. History
H. English
H. Drama

H. French
H. Politics
H. Modern Studies
H. English
H. History

H. French
N5 Maths
H. Modern Studies
H. English
H. History

H. English
H. Politics
H. Modern Studies
H. Drama
H. History

Last one very sorry haha

H. English
N5 Maths
H. Modern Studies
H. Drama
H. History

Sorry if i am rambling, I'm just quite at a loss of what to pick. At university, i think i would like to study either English, History or Law (Likely Law), which typically requires (at the University i want to go to, AAAA-ABBB. In your honest helpful opinion, which combination of subjects would suit me best. So sorry if i rambled again. I am predicted As and Bs in all of my subjects if that helps. Thank you so much for any helpful advice.
Reply 1
I'd suggest doing a combination that you're happy with, and one that is relative to the course that you want to do at uni. English, History and Law are all very wordy, essay based degree choices, so by choosing Highers that reflect that would be a good start, ie; English, History, Modern Studies, etc. Languages also look fantastic on your academic CV, so taking French perhaps isn't a bad idea at all. Politics and Modern Studies are essentially just like Biology and Human Biology - Incredibly simlar. If I were you, I'd take one or the other as opposed to taking both, some universities will discount a subject if it is too similar to another subject you're taking (Edinburgh uni).

I also hated maths at school, and whilst I attained excellent grades in my essay based subjects (4xA1xB1xC) I did horrendously in maths, and dropped it after my dismal prelim result. This was, by far, one of the worst decisions that I have ever made. All the uni courses that I subsequently wanted to go to, like you've stated, required a C or above in Nat 5 Maths and because I didn't have this grade I've unfortunately had to take a year out to resit the course in college.

Sorry for the wordy response, but at the end of the day for your degree choices you want subjects based around the Social Sciences, perhaps combining this with Nat 5 Maths or whatever. I'd perhaps suggest taking the route of;

H. French
N5 Maths
H. Modern Studies
H. English
H. History

But it's obviously up to you, and something you definitely need to bare in mind is that you can sit more highers with your AH's in S6, don't be pressured into taking all your highers this year! Best of luck!
Original post by Merfie
I'd suggest doing a combination that you're happy with, and one that is relative to the course that you want to do at uni. English, History and Law are all very wordy, essay based degree choices, so by choosing Highers that reflect that would be a good start, ie; English, History, Modern Studies, etc. Languages also look fantastic on your academic CV, so taking French perhaps isn't a bad idea at all. Politics and Modern Studies are essentially just like Biology and Human Biology - Incredibly simlar. If I were you, I'd take one or the other as opposed to taking both, some universities will discount a subject if it is too similar to another subject you're taking (Edinburgh uni).

I also hated maths at school, and whilst I attained excellent grades in my essay based subjects (4xA1xB1xC) I did horrendously in maths, and dropped it after my dismal prelim result. This was, by far, one of the worst decisions that I have ever made. All the uni courses that I subsequently wanted to go to, like you've stated, required a C or above in Nat 5 Maths and because I didn't have this grade I've unfortunately had to take a year out to resit the course in college.

Sorry for the wordy response, but at the end of the day for your degree choices you want subjects based around the Social Sciences, perhaps combining this with Nat 5 Maths or whatever. I'd perhaps suggest taking the route of;

H. French
N5 Maths
H. Modern Studies
H. English
H. History

But it's obviously up to you, and something you definitely need to bare in mind is that you can sit more highers with your AH's in S6, don't be pressured into taking all your highers this year! Best of luck!


Thank you very much! I appreciate the long reply and this was very helpful. I think i may just have to take Maths unfortunately, but better to be safe than sorry i suppose. Thanks again for your reply.
I agree that it's not fair that you have to have National 5 Maths in order to get into a lot of uni courses, but it will honestly be worthwhile just in case to take maths. I think taking both Modern Studies and politics would as stated before, be like taking Biology and Human Biology, so i would choose Modern Studies. This, I see however will make you unable to take Drama if you want the MS and History combination along with it.

This happened to me in school also, however my subjects were vastly different from yours - I took Maths, Physics, Graphic Communication and Computing Science. I ended up having to drop Art in order to take computing science, as they were in the same column and i wanted to be an engineer or something haha currently doing my degree in Engineering. The point is, do what you want to do as long as its beneficial - if that makes sense. It would be fine for you to take drama, provided you definitely take history, as it is very important to all of your degree aspirations, obviously history. French does look very impressive on your CV and it will open doors for you. English is essential for all of your degree choices, it is a must have, although English is in all of your cominations so that is fine. I assume you are a very Arts based person, which works to your advantage, as i see you are dropping Biology. I would suggest that you take -

Higher French
Nat 5 Maths
Higher Modern Studies
Higher English
Higher History

Edinburgh generally only requires 4 highers anyway, with the exception of Medicine and such, so give yourself a break. Do 4 highers instead, 5 is a lot to handle, especially the subjects that you have chosen, which are primarily essay based. If you only need 4, do 4. It will help you to focus better. Keep English and History definitely though, you will need these two for the things that you want to do. Long reply, i'm rambling. Good luck and try not to get too stressed out, you have next year for all of that hand cramp. Good luck with your exams x
I would say:
H French
N5 Maths
H Modern Studies
H English
H History

Its better to get your N5 maths in at least 5th year as I know a couple of people in 6th year currently holding conditionals for uni and their only condition being they need c at N5 Maths even thought the degree is completely unrelated. All degrees you've mentioned are very much essay based therefore I would recommend doing essay based subjects apart from French but it's still a written subject. If you really wanted to you could do politics in 6th year but I don't think you should be crashing highers in 5th year if you don't need to.
Reply 5
Law is a very competitive course, so I think you may be better doing 5 highers in one sitting. You can then do national 5 maths in s6 if you need to.

Also, having done higher modern studies and politics, I can say that there is very limited crossover between the two courses.
Hi guys thanks for the replies. Just wondering about something. Is there anyway i can achieve enough qualifications in s5 as i was planning on leaving at the end of s5. I also checked, while i can study law with 4 highers in one sitting, they are the MINIMUM entry requirements (AAAA-ABBB). Does this put me at a distinct disadvantage? Sorry if this sounds dumb, I'm just not sure that i want do sixth year, but of course if i have to i have to. Also what are the minimum amount of subjects that i can take in 6th? Just wondering, as i have to take 5 this year (school rules). Thanks i appreciate any helpful answers.
Reply 7
Original post by PiercedPapaya
Hi guys thanks for the replies. Just wondering about something. Is there anyway i can achieve enough qualifications in s5 as i was planning on leaving at the end of s5. I also checked, while i can study law with 4 highers in one sitting, they are the MINIMUM entry requirements (AAAA-ABBB). Does this put me at a distinct disadvantage? Sorry if this sounds dumb, I'm just not sure that i want do sixth year, but of course if i have to i have to. Also what are the minimum amount of subjects that i can take in 6th? Just wondering, as i have to take 5 this year (school rules). Thanks i appreciate any helpful answers.


You could apply for uni for after s5 but you'll have to work hard and you might get a conditional offer. Staying on for s6 gives you more time to gain experience and really just dip into different subjects you want to do. Your school will probably make you do 3/4 subjects in S6


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Original post by alana_p
You could apply for uni for after s5 but you'll have to work hard and you might get a conditional offer. Staying on for s6 gives you more time to gain experience and really just dip into different subjects you want to do. Your school will probably make you do 3/4 subjects in S6


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Thank you
Original post by PiercedPapaya
Hi guys thanks for the replies. Just wondering about something. Is there anyway i can achieve enough qualifications in s5 as i was planning on leaving at the end of s5. I also checked, while i can study law with 4 highers in one sitting, they are the MINIMUM entry requirements (AAAA-ABBB). Does this put me at a distinct disadvantage? Sorry if this sounds dumb, I'm just not sure that i want do sixth year, but of course if i have to i have to. Also what are the minimum amount of subjects that i can take in 6th? Just wondering, as i have to take 5 this year (school rules). Thanks i appreciate any helpful answers.


I know a few people who have applied uni in s5 and got offers. But they are all conditional offers so you have to get all As in your highers (for a competitive course like law). If you think you can achieve that, then it's definitely worth applying.
The minimum amount of subjects you can take is 2 advanced highers or 3 highers(I think? every school varies slightly
Original post by Junioh
I know a few people who have applied uni in s5 and got offers. But twphey are all conditional offers so you have to get all As in your highers (for a competitive course like law). If you think you can achieve that, then it's definitely worth applying.
The minimum amount of subjects you can take is 2 advanced highers or 3 highers(I think? every school varies slightly


Would really appreciate some advice regarding final exams, I was not successful in my prelims and would really like to achieve 5A's I'm so nervous about exams I have started revising and was wondering what techniques and methods of revision work best to ensure that you will secure an A grade in the final exams. If it helps the subjects I take are higher: maths, English, French, chemistry and physics I would love to do medicine and am hoping to get 5 as I am a determined person and hard worker just looking for some guidance and advice thanks a lot in advance

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