please help!! experience needed for a history degree???

I'm currently studying A levels in History, German, Maths and Physics and hope to apply to university next year to study German and History.
I've been doing some research to see what I should be doing to boost my application and a couple of articles have mentioned completing an independent research project.
I was just wondering if anyone knew exactly what would be meant by this? Does it mean research a topic and write notes or write an essay and ask your teacher to look at it?
Thank you to anyone who bothers to read this aga

I'm currently studying A levels in History, German, Maths and Physics and hope to apply to university next year to study German and History.
I've been doing some research to see what I should be doing to boost my application and a couple of articles have mentioned completing an independent research project.
I was just wondering if anyone knew exactly what would be meant by this? Does it mean research a topic and write notes or write an essay and ask your teacher to look at it?
Thank you to anyone who bothers to read this aga

I'm currently studying A levels in History, German, Maths and Physics and hope to apply to university next year to study German and History.
I've been doing some research to see what I should be doing to boost my application and a couple of articles have mentioned completing an independent research project.
I was just wondering if anyone knew exactly what would be meant by this? Does it mean research a topic and write notes or write an essay and ask your teacher to look at it?
Thank you to anyone who bothers to read this aga

They are talking about an EPQ. Although helpful for entry into university, it most definitely isn't compulsory to do in order to get in. It's a completely separate qualification which requires like 90 hours of independent research and a presentation at the end. It's most definitely not just a few notes lol, it is equivalent to an AS Level.

I doubt you can formulate an independent research project in college. You'll do that during your third year.
If you want to have some original sentences to place in your personal statement, perhaps you can try volunteering for your local record office, or a historical museum or society.

Thank you so much!! I definitely didn't just mean a few notes though aha, I meant more like enough to actually learn about the subject I've read about the EPQ and I think my school offer it in year 13 so I will keep looking into it, thanks again!!!

I think people mean the EPQ (Extended Project Qualification).

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If you have the opportunity to do it, I would recommend to do so! I am starting it next year and it broadens your horizons further than just the set syllabus of the A Level subjects you are doing.

Ahh have you decided what topic/idea you're going to do it on??

Well I'm doing History + 2 languages at A Level so I might try to combine those subjects into one topic, maybe about colonisation of continents and how language spreads and has spread because of this.

I'm also interested in International Relations though, especially the Cold War USA/USSR relations, as I have covered the basics in GCSE History and know that I find it incredibly fascinating.

I haven't even decided for myself yet however, but we get assigned a teacher to help us with it so they might be able to guide me with it.

That's so interesting! I was thinking of following a similar kind of path, since I am doing German A level and want to carry it on at uni! What languages are you doing?
My History syllabus is 50% German history though so I'd have to think of a way of making it different as well in some way, maybe by focussing more on something political.
Did you say you were starting yours next year? Are you in year 12 at the moment? Sorry for so many questions aha it's just only been mentioned briefly in my school and idk anyone else who wants to do it, never mind on a subject so similar to what I was thinking.

Haha it's fine about asking questions, it's basically what TSR is for

I'm doing French and Spanish, I would have loved to have taken German as well but unfortunately we had to choose either Spanish and German for a second language in year 8

I'm in Year 11 at the moment, mid way through GCSE exams. We start the EPQ at Year 12, and finish it by November in Year 13, but other schools do it differently. I think our school does it so that we can work on it over summer.

Yeah, it would be really cool to do something political which combines History and German, as you will encounter that a lot in university. You can literally do it on anything, though. You don't even have to do one which matches your subject choices - it's a qualification at the end of the day. The only reasons why it would be good to do it about something similar to your choices is for bragging rights in your Personal Statement and for a head start in topics which you could cover at university

By the sounds of it though, especially since you are doing German History in A Level History, you might find it easier to do something about that.

Ahhh, I'm so jealous! I took Spanish for GCSE and would've loved to carry it on at A level! I even considered taking it as a fifth subject for a while but after our induction week I realised how bad of an idea that was aha

And I think that way of doing it sounds better tbh that's why I'm trying to think about it now; so I'll have a head start un September!

Not sure if you've already said, but do you know what you plan to do after A levels?? This time last year I had no idea aha I was thinking about engineering so round of applause to you if you have an idea already

That's so cool that you took German and Spanish at GCSE Level - every school I know makes you take either French, Spanish or German on its own or Spanish or German combined with French (that's what I took)

Yeah I've heard that taking 2 languages at A Level is hard but I wouldn't have Maths and Physics on the side of it as well as History and another language like you did at the start of AS Level!

Yup, I'm surprised not more schools do it like mine does. It seems to be more logical - however I guess that some people might not do any work over the summer for it and get behind, so schools decide to prevent that by making everyone start when we are just about to finish.

I definitely don't know for sure what I'll be doing post-A Level - however I can say that I will probably be doing something language orientated. I am quite keen on doing Spanish and Russian (going back to Cold War, haha) at this present moment, however it has been French and Arabic in the past, but also Politics, International Relations, Law and History at other periods in my GCSEs.

Haha it's cool that you have such a breadth of degrees to be able to do - I'm more or less stuck with languages or humanities. You have those choices as well as sciences - not my cup of tea but nonetheless very nice that you have such a big choice!

Going back to what I want to do at uni, it could change like your decision did. I'm just trying to be as open as possible - in the past I've been too narrow with my subject choices and regretted it. I don't want to go to uni for a degree in French then decide that I wish I'd thought about doing History instead!

Yeah, I'm glad I had the options but physics was definitely a mistake! I probably should've done Spanish or politics but hey ho you live and learn!

The thing a lot of people have been saying to me is that once you get into university if you change your mind on your degree then it's easy enough to change (as long as it's not a massive difference like history and engineering for example), so luckily we both still have plenty of time to choose.

I've found as well with my A level choices (so similarly with yours) that there are soooo many courses I never would've thought of, such as criminology, sociology and almost any other social science. And then once you've graduated, the career options are so broad because I guess companies are looking more for the skills you learn rather than the knowledge itself (unless you wanted to do be a lawyer or something like that).

Especially with languages you can do so many things and having one (or more!) to degree level is so well regarded. I went to a uni open day specifically for German and one of the speakers said that businesses would often to be inclined to hire someone with a language degree in comparison to, say, a business degree.

The world is our oyster, George

I guess you're dropping Physics for next year then? I'm sure you've learnt scientific rigour and logic that will be helpful in a History and German degree however. Every cloud has a silver lining

Exactly, there are so many degrees you can do that outnumber the A Level subjects that you could end up doing something new. And yes, if I don't like it, I can change with ease, which is good as well!

That's the good thing about humanities and languages, that I can go into so many job sectors as my degree won't prohibit my future aspects such as what a Medicine degree would, for example. Just today a relative of mine who has friends who live in New York told me that once I finish education I need to get straight to NYC for big companies, as they scan for linguists for business and finance.

The world is our oyster, Sarah! Here's to a good future with many opportunities

Omg New York would be a dream aha And yes I second that!! Good luck with the rest of your exams, I'm sure they'll go brilliantly!
Thank you for your help and words of wisdom, I'm sure I'll be messaging you at some point panicking over EPQ and don't worry if you ever need to do the same!