What A levels should I do?

I've been trying to decide what a levels to do for AGGESSS now and i'm just so indecisive I can't come to a conclusion. I've put down Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Spanish which I would love to be able to do but I'm thinking it would be far too hard for me. I am also considering PE which I would like to do but lots of people have told me it is a subject that is looked down upon. Psychology also interests me but I don't know which subject I would swap it for. For reference I get A/A* in Science and A* in Maths and well, in my Spanish mock I got a D but since then I've been getting A/A* . However I feel I'm not very good at understanding Science and Maths and my confidence in all these subjects is very low and I only get those grades because I work really hard when revising. I love Spanish but thats probably my weakest out of them all, I am doing well at GCSE maths that we're doing at the moment and I used to love maths but tbh I'm not really enjoying it at the moment as I feel like I don't understand any of the Further Maths work were doing, and I find Science really interesting although when we get taught it I never understand it and it takes lots of looking over it at home before I get it. If anyone has any advice please let me know and any other suggestions on any subjects i haven't mentioned!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

AfcFob

Do what YOU enjoy, don't worry too much about the amount of work because you will manage!!

My bit of advice is don't do psychology because it's boring and not worth the time- that tell you it's really interesting but it isn't! Biology and math are both brill subjects imo

Reply 2

Firefly13

Like the person above says, do what you enjoy.

I know loads of people who took subjects they liked at GCSE or were good at and ended up hating them at A Level. Maybe look around the forum and see what people are saying about the subjects at A Level? A Levels are going to be hard, but as long as you have the motivation to revise then you'll be fine - teachers are always there to help if you don't understand. If it helps I found I got a lot more confident at A Level compared with GCSE. You have more time to focus on things you don't understand because you're only doing four or so subjects

Also think about what you would like to do after A Levels. You seem to enjoy the more maths/science side from what you've said? If you'd be interested in pursuing that at degree level you'll need at least two sciences or science and maths. Have a look at a few courses you'd be interested in on UCAS and see what they say about it if you haven't already

If you enjoy PE then do PE. It isn't seen as being as 'good' as some other A Levels, but that shouldn't stop you doing it if you like it. It can always be a fourth or fifth option, if you have three 'hard' subjects universities are probably not going to care about the other one. And if you really like it you can always drop one of the other subjects after AS Levels (for example, if Spanish doesn't go as well as you'd like). If, for example, you wanted to combine what interests you into a subject like Sport Science then having PE (along with Biology and Maths/Chemistry/Spanish) would be excellent.

Best of luck! :h:

(I have to agree with the person above, Psychology is awful. You'll either love it or hate it and most people I knew hated it! Biology, Maths and Chemistry are great though if you feel you can keep up with the work :smile:

)

Reply 3

shahanne

While it's good to do subjects you love, make sure that you can find a clear career path you can follow using your A Level Qualifications.

-Shahane's Sister x

Reply 4

bobbysharkfella

Do something easy - like scienec

Reply 5

izpenguin

I did biology, chemistry, maths and Spanish at AS and I mostly liked them. They're not easy but you'll be okay of you're prepared to put the hours in. The hardest one for me was Spanish and that was the only one I didn't enjoy very much, but it varies from person to person. I got A*s in all 4 at GCSE and got aaab at AS with the B in Spanish. I dropped Spanish at AS and got A*AA at A2 with the A* in biology. Feel free to ask me any more specific questions about any of the subjects.

Reply 6

chazwomaq

Original post by izziehough

I get A/A* in Science and A* in Maths and well

However I feel I'm not very good at understanding Science and Maths and my confidence in all these subjects is very low and I only get those grades because I work really hard when revising.

If you get A/A* in science you ARE good at it. You sound like you underestimate yourself, which is quite common in science, especially in girls.

Original post by AfcFob

Do what YOU enjoy, don't worry too much about the amount of work because you will manage!!

Original post by Firefly13

Like the person above says, do what you enjoy.

Enjoyment is fine, but you should temper that with what is academically useful and rigourous. Are you planning to go to university? And if so, which subjects might interest you? If so, as an A/A* student, you should concentrate on traditional respected subjects which top universities like. See "informed choices" by the Russell Group. I would only do PE as a fourth if at all.

Reply 7

izziehough

Original post by izpenguin

thanks, what did you not enjoy about spanish? and do you wish you picked any others than the 4 you took?

Reply 8

izpenguin

Original post by izziehough

thanks, what did you not enjoy about spanish? and do you wish you picked any others than the 4 you took?

It was quite hard and there was a lot of grammar to learn. The oral exam caused me a lot of stress. To be fair, part of why I didn't like it was because I didn't think my teachers were very good.
In hindsight, I might have done economics instead of Spanish, but I don't know if I would have liked that any better.