Need help picking a levels as someone with multiple interests.

I am really interested in both engineering (mechanical or civil) and forensic science and really want to do one when i leave college. I have a place at a college doing maths, f. maths and physics but i have until september or even slightly later to change that.

Basically i am not sure which path i want to pursue yet and am not sure which a levels to choose. I feel that 4 a levels will be too tough for me, even though i am a dedicated student. Do you think a level physics biology chemistry and maths is very hard?

Would physics maths and chemistry keep both options open? can you do engineering without further maths or forensic science without biology? i should also mention i want to go to a good university, probably russell group, but not necessarily like oxbridge or one of the very most competitive unis.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

Casisalive

You can do engineering without further maths but it is useful to have, another solution would be to self study further maths at your own pace so when it comes to uni it won't be a introduction just more of a recap.

Reply 2

hvvhhvhj

Original post by Casisalive

do you think a decent uni, preferably russell group, would accept me without further maths?

Reply 3

Colorplause

Civil Engineering will always be more stable but Mechanical Engineering can offer a lot more in terms of job oppurtunities.

Do NOT study mediocre a level subjects (biology, english, art, history, chemistry etc.)

If you're smart and able to handle the work load, go for:
- Maths
- Further Maths
- Physics
- Engineering or Design (if your college provides it)

If you are studying 4 A-Levels, get ready to say goodbye to your social life. No more going out on a bender on the weekend, no more nandos, just straight revision every day of the week. But it'll all be worth it.

Choosing Maths and Physics will keep your career paths very open. You could go into Finance, Engineering, Astronomy, Statistics, System development, Game development, Software development, Piloting etc.

Stay away from biology and chemistry, do not fall in to that trap. The boring options will reward you the most.

Reply 4

Aerospengie

Original post by hvvhhvhj

do you think a decent uni, preferably russell group, would accept me without further maths?

Definitely, most of first year maths is just spent teaching FM for those who didn't take it.

Reply 5

hvvhhvhj

Original post by Colorplause

I don't understand your objection to chemistry and biology, both are valuable and fascinating subjects. I also said i was interested in engineering and forensics, and wanted to keep those options available, not the others you suggested. Very confused by this comment.

Reply 6

hvvhhvhj

Original post by Aerospengie

Definitely, most of first year maths is just spent teaching FM for those who didn't take it.

Interesting. Do you think further maths at a level gives you an advantage when applying to universities?

Reply 7

Aerospengie

Original post by hvvhhvhj

Interesting. Do you think further maths at a level gives you an advantage when applying to universities?

Maybe, maybe not. I didn't have it, I was accepted into Surrey to do MEng Aerospace and hold an offer this year for the same at Southampton.

Reply 8

Colorplause

Original post by hvvhhvhj

Biology is a fascinating subject, my favourite subject actually but I realised that it's a dead end qualification. There's just not much you can do with a biology qualification.

If you want to go in to forensics, just choose Chemistry as you'll still be eligible for the course without biology. Don't bog yourself down with a biology a-level; it's practically as useless as an A-Level in Physical education.

Reply 9

harrycompsci

Obviously its up to you, but forensic science is a very narrow field (very few jobs compared to engineering) so if I were you'd i'd steer towards more engineering-like subjects as it will definitely give you more career prospects. You only really need physics and maths for engineering (some universities will even accept you with just maths), so you could take on chemistry and biology as your other 2 AS subjects then leave your decision up to next year.

Reply 10

erserryjt

Original post by Aerospengie

Maybe, maybe not. I didn't have it, I was accepted into Surrey to do MEng Aerospace and hold an offer this year for the same at Southampton.

What a levels did you take and what results did you get?

Reply 11

username2560671

Original post by hvvhhvhj

Of course you can into engineering at a Russell Group uni without further maths... i have this friend who applied for mechanical engineering to all Russel Group unis and received offers from 4/5

Reply 12

Aerospengie

Original post by erserryjt

What a levels did you take and what results did you get?

Biology, Physics, Maths (A2) Chemistry (AS)
A*, A, B, C respectively

Reply 13

Vikingninja

Good subjects for civil

Maths
Further mathematics
Physics
Geology (if you can find it)
Geography
Chemistry*
Computer sciences*

Maths necessary, physics is the first optional subject you should have, rest depends on the university (bath likes a humanity above FM) though chem and CS are less than others. ICE states that maths, physics, geology and geography are the best subjects along with ICT though geology is a rare subject. I wouldn't take com science just because of this since its basically just helping with modelling programmes etc. which you will be taught anyway. Further maths really isn't important for engineering unless you go to a very high ranking uni, my first semester was pretty much up to further maths content with some higher.

I personally did study maths, physics, geology and geography, don't worry about not choosing geography and geology, its maths and physics that are the important ones but they do help with applying for it.