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Picking my a-levels (help)

I'm meant to be picking my A-levels in less than a month yet I have no clue on what to pick.Sociology is the only thing that seems appealing to me and Biology (or eng lit/lang) are the only facilitating subjects that I'm considering to chose.I have no idea what else to pick.Hows psychology?

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I have just finished AS Psychology and it is very very interesting. There is a lot to learn but if you put the effort in it honestly is not a difficult subject. I also do English Literature and Law should you want any information on those :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by THiddy123
I have just finished AS Psychology and it is very very interesting. There is a lot to learn but if you put the effort in it honestly is not a difficult subject. I also do English Literature and Law should you want any information on those :smile:


Thank you :smile:
well, i enjoy reading things about psychology so looking forward to it but I hate maths and was wondering what level of maths it has on it.With English literature, i'm considering it but I know that I struggled a bit with revising 15 poems, a book and 2 plays so I'm not sure if I would be able to keep up with that side of it.
Original post by H4leem3
Thank you :smile:
well, i enjoy reading things about psychology so looking forward to it but I hate maths and was wondering what level of maths it has on it.With English literature, i'm considering it but I know that I struggled a bit with revising 15 poems, a book and 2 plays so I'm not sure if I would be able to keep up with that side of it.


Don't worry I also hate maths :biggrin: In AS maths is incorporated into the final section of the second paper but isn't all that dominating, for example in my paper I was only asked one maths question (this was incredibly easy compared to what I had expected). I have been told there will be a bit more maths at A2 but I'm unable to help you with how much because I honestly have no idea (hopefully not much). You do have to learn certain things like the sign test etc. which was completely new to me

In English Literature at AS I have done two novels, one play and 28 poems but these all carry on to A2 with extra novels and plays so if you struggle to keep up it might not be the best for you- to study English Literature at A level its always best to love to read but go to open days and talk to teachers that may be able to help.
Reply 4
Original post by THiddy123
Don't worry I also hate maths :biggrin: In AS maths is incorporated into the final section of the second paper but isn't all that dominating, for example in my paper I was only asked one maths question (this was incredibly easy compared to what I had expected). I have been told there will be a bit more maths at A2 but I'm unable to help you with how much because I honestly have no idea (hopefully not much). You do have to learn certain things like the sign test etc. which was completely new to me

In English Literature at AS I have done two novels, one play and 28 poems but these all carry on to A2 with extra novels and plays so if you struggle to keep up it might not be the best for you- to study English Literature at A level its always best to love to read but go to open days and talk to teachers that may be able to help.


Haha okay, true- I probably am going to start doing that, I feel like reading is the easy bit because I enjoy it, but the worst bit is the poetry (as much as I love analysing them) because they're closed book exams it just feels like a memory game.
Original post by H4leem3
Haha okay, true- I probably am going to start doing that, I feel like reading is the easy bit because I enjoy it, but the worst bit is the poetry (as much as I love analysing them) because they're closed book exams it just feels like a memory game.


Because English Literature is a reformed subject, you'll have clean copies of all the texts at A level I think. That's how it went for me and so I assume it will be the same for you, might depend on your exam board though (Edexcel for me)
Reply 6
Original post by THiddy123
Because English Literature is a reformed subject, you'll have clean copies of all the texts at A level I think. That's how it went for me and so I assume it will be the same for you, might depend on your exam board though (Edexcel for me)


maybe because i have aqa :eek::eek::eek::eek::s-smilie:
Original post by H4leem3
maybe because i have aqa :eek::eek::eek::eek::s-smilie:


I just check out the aqa website and apparently its closed book :frown::frown:
Reply 8
Original post by THiddy123
I just check out the aqa website and apparently its closed book :frown::frown:


oh well guess ill have to make some sort of decision depending on my actual grades, good luck with your exams!:smile:
Original post by H4leem3
oh well guess ill have to make some sort of decision depending on my actual grades, good luck with your exams!:smile:


Thank you :smile: You too!
Original post by H4leem3
I'm meant to be picking my A-levels in less than a month yet I have no clue on what to pick.Sociology is the only thing that seems appealing to me and Biology (or eng lit/lang) are the only facilitating subjects that I'm considering to chose.I have no idea what else to pick.Hows psychology?


Do you have any idea what you want to do as a degree? My tips are:
- Pick things you enjoy, this will keep you sane.
- Pick things you got grades for (you can always change them on results day) as you will need this background.
- You can have totally different subjects - I took two sciences, two humanities, and this year I'm taking English Lit, History and Biology to do Biology at uni! :smile:
- Do NOT let anyone pressure you into doing a subject because it might be 'good for you in the future'. Even if it's to get into certain unis to do a certain degree, if you don't like that subject, you won't enjoy it at A Level and will struggle to do well.
- Play to your strengths - if you're good at essays, pick essay subjects or coursework subjects! If you're not, go for sciences :smile:
- Don't be afraid to have a variety!
- If you have absolutely no idea what you want to do in the future, pick subjects you love above all else.
Reply 11
Original post by nerdydaydreamer
Do you have any idea what you want to do as a degree? My tips are:
- Pick things you enjoy, this will keep you sane.
- Pick things you got grades for (you can always change them on results day) as you will need this background.
- You can have totally different subjects - I took two sciences, two humanities, and this year I'm taking English Lit, History and Biology to do Biology at uni! :smile:
- Do NOT let anyone pressure you into doing a subject because it might be 'good for you in the future'. Even if it's to get into certain unis to do a certain degree, if you don't like that subject, you won't enjoy it at A Level and will struggle to do well.
- Play to your strengths - if you're good at essays, pick essay subjects or coursework subjects! If you're not, go for sciences :smile:
- Don't be afraid to have a variety!
- If you have absolutely no idea what you want to do in the future, pick subjects you love above all else.
of content

-I enjoy biology sociology and psychology it's just that I know the jump between GCSE bio and A-levels is huggeee so it's putting me off (especially with a number of topics it has) as much as I enjoy it I've heard that most people who study it have to prioritize it over other subjects because the amount of content.
-I'm not sure about what degree I would like to go for probs psych/bio related because I feel like the three subjects go hand in hand so whatever I study will go towards it.:smile:
-Currently, in my mocks, I passed everything with above a B except maths (physics I received a b)
Although I have a wider range to chose from because of my mocks I feel like it's just making my decision harder.I want to go to a Russell group uni so feel like if I don't do bio (instead id do philosophy) it would effect my chances.
-Ill probably be applying for the Excellence programme anyway- so I have slightly easier requirements.:smile:
Original post by THiddy123
I just check out the aqa website and apparently its closed book :frown::frown:


Hey there, I'm doing English Lit for A Level with AQA!

In the first year, your drama text is closed book, and your poetry is asked on a specific poem from your anthology, which you are given, but you are not given the rest of the anthology to make links with!
You get given blank copies of both prose texts and your unseen prose. :smile:

In your second year, you have to redo some of the texts from your first year. Your drama text from first year is still closed book, and you are given your prose text and poetry anthology.
For the books you study in your second year, your drama is closed book and prose and poetry are open book I believe. You're also given an unseen poetry text.

However this may be subject to change! This is how it is for me though.
Reply 13
Original post by nerdydaydreamer
Hey there, I'm doing English Lit for A Level with AQA!

In the first year, your drama text is closed book, and your poetry is asked on a specific poem from your anthology, which you are given, but you are not given the rest of the anthology to make links with!
You get given blank copies of both prose texts and your unseen prose. :smile:

In your second year, you have to redo some of the texts from your first year. Your drama text from first year is still closed book, and you are given your prose text and poetry anthology.
For the books you study in your second year, your drama is closed book and prose and poetry are open book I believe. You're also given an unseen poetry text.

However this may be subject to change! This is how it is for me though.

The new GCSE English is like that
I had to read Macbeth
Blood Brothers and A Christmas Carol
and 15 poems from a 'power and conflict' cluster.One appeared in the exam and then I had to pick another from my anthology to compare it with.x
Original post by nerdydaydreamer
Do you have any idea what you want to do as a degree? My tips are:
- Pick things you enjoy, this will keep you sane.
- Pick things you got grades for (you can always change them on results day) as you will need this background.
- You can have totally different subjects - I took two sciences, two humanities, and this year I'm taking English Lit, History and Biology to do Biology at uni! :smile:
- Do NOT let anyone pressure you into doing a subject because it might be 'good for you in the future'. Even if it's to get into certain unis to do a certain degree, if you don't like that subject, you won't enjoy it at A Level and will struggle to do well.
- Play to your strengths - if you're good at essays, pick essay subjects or coursework subjects! If you're not, go for sciences :smile:
- Don't be afraid to have a variety!
- If you have absolutely no idea what you want to do in the future, pick subjects you love above all else.


I completely agree with you!
I did bio, chem, physics and maths for AS level and the jump was huge. I'm sitting bio, chem and maths this year. Biology is definitely the biggest jump and there is a lot of content but you should definitely do what you enjoy. It makes A levels slightly more tolerable!

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Reply 15
Original post by SashaWicks
I completely agree with you!
I did bio, chem, physics and maths for AS level and the jump was huge. I'm sitting bio, chem and maths this year. Biology is definitely the biggest jump and there is a lot of content but you should definitely do what you enjoy. It makes A levels slightly more tolerable!

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True- do you still like the subjects you've chosen?
Original post by H4leem3
True- do you still like the subjects you've chosen?


I do, chemistry is my favourite! Biology is good too, I think it's my hardest because mainly biology exams have a lot of data interpretation and is sometimes quite hard to get the marks and not a lot of factual recall like chemistry but AQA biology grade boundaries are so low; it was 59% in AS to get an A!

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Reply 17
Original post by SashaWicks
I do, chemistry is my favourite! Biology is good too, I think it's my hardest because mainly biology exams have a lot of data interpretation and is sometimes quite hard to get the marks and not a lot of factual recall like chemistry but AQA biology grade boundaries are so low; it was 59% in AS to get an A!

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i guess thats a plus going to look into it and read more about the syllabus to see if id like it :smile:
Original post by H4leem3
i guess thats a plus going to look into it and read more about the syllabus to see if id like it :smile:


That's a good idea, I didn't do that for physics and all the topics I liked weren't until the end of A2!

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FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT DO BIOLOGY

I currently do biology and chemistry and let me tell you this. Biology is absolut hell and chemistry is the best subject you will ever take.

Let me tell you this, bioogy may seem like an easy subject, and i thought this too, but dont let them trick you.

I would advise you to choose chemistry instead of biology as there is less content and its simple and easy to understand.

Biology is only for those doing medicine.
You can do biochemistry at uni without even doing biology.

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