A level choice help

I am not sure on if I should take bio Chem psychology or psychology sociology and English lit.The only reason why I would take science subjects is because I'm not sure on what I want to do yet and don't want to close doors if I take second option even tho I enjoy those subjects more and I am better at them

Reply 1

xxKristenxx

13

You could always choose either bio or chem and then do english lit (along with psych and socio). I do biology, psychology and sociology and enjoy the fact that the subjects overlap (there are a few related areas) but there is also variety. Honestly if you do not really enjoy a subject don't choose it at A-Level, it will make things much more difficult to handle for you. Any more questions feel free to ask me :smile:

Reply 2

Leighamc

5

I would say definitely choose subjects you enjoy, soooo many people in my year chose just 'core' subjects because they didn't know what to do, they hated them, had no interest and dropped them! Besides, you'll likely apply for a degree in something you enjoy too, and if you enjoy those A levels you'll get a feel for whether there's anything you'd like to explore further. Good luck in your results soon! (btw I just finished English Lit so ask me ANYTHING you want :smile:

)

Reply 3

Lara121

OP

9

Original post by Leighamc

I would say definitely choose subjects you enjoy, soooo many people in my year chose just 'core' subjects because they didn't know what to do, they hated them, had no interest and dropped them! Besides, you'll likely apply for a degree in something you enjoy too, and if you enjoy those A levels you'll get a feel for whether there's anything you'd like to explore further. Good luck in your results soon! (btw I just finished English Lit so ask me ANYTHING you want :smile:

)

How different is a level English lit to GCSEs English lit

Reply 4

Lara121

OP

9

Original post by Leighamc

I would say definitely choose subjects you enjoy, soooo many people in my year chose just 'core' subjects because they didn't know what to do, they hated them, had no interest and dropped them! Besides, you'll likely apply for a degree in something you enjoy too, and if you enjoy those A levels you'll get a feel for whether there's anything you'd like to explore further. Good luck in your results soon! (btw I just finished English Lit so ask me ANYTHING you want :smile:

)

It's just that I'm not sure whether I would ever Ben interest in doing a degree which needs sciences such as bio and Chem

Reply 5

Leighamc

5

Original post by Lara121

How different is a level English lit to GCSEs English lit

It's similar but a lot more varied than at GCSE; whilst at GCSE you do three small books and an unseen paper (from my exam board at least, I don't know how similar the others are), at A level we did 3 plays, 2 novels, 2 poetry anthologies and an unseen paper, as well as a 4000-word piece of coursework. It's also VERY independent, you'll be in charge of researching your books - especially for coursework - and there is no set essay structure for exams that will help you get top marks. It's very enjoyable, lots of debates and a great opportunity to develop your writing style, which is very useful when it comes to writing personal statements. The main difference is, whilst at GCSE you can read the book, be aware of a few themes and quotes and get an A*, at A level your analysis is a lot more in depth, with contexts, critics, language analysis, comparison and well written responses. It's a lot more work than GCSE, but also much more enjoyable.

Reply 6

Leighamc

5

Original post by Lara121

It's just that I'm not sure whether I would ever Ben interest in doing a degree which needs sciences such as bio and Chem

Maybe have a look at courses online that would be more science orientated, to get a feel for the content, and then compare them to courses in psychology/English etc. Does your school have a prospectus for the A level options?

Reply 7

bloated_utopia

17

first and most important thing is do what u enjoy!! within that it's nice to have one or two facilitating subjects (opens doors). english lit, if you enjoy it, is a good essay subject because it has aspects of sociology and psychology (freudian literary theory). if you may want to go into science you need two science subjects at a level, and i believe psychology counts as one but i'm not 100% sure and it may differ from uni to uni. if you wanted to keep the maximum amount of doors open taking two subjects that count for science and english lit would be your best bet but open doors are pointless if you are dreading getting through them (not enjoying your subjects).

Reply 8

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Pick things you enjoy, certainly, but also consider what you are good at - if you enjoy reading, but you're not very good at writing long form essays, English is probably not going to pan out too well.

Also bear in mind even if you don't take science subjects, you can do a science foundation year as part of a BSc/MSci course at many universities (e.g. Loughborough, Southampton). These are designed for students who didn't take the relevant subjects in 6th form - they're not (primarily) designed for international students to develop generic study skills etc, as with the various international foundation years (such as INTO).

Reply 9

Lara121

OP

9

Original post by artful_lounger

Pick things you enjoy, certainly, but also consider what you are good at - if you enjoy reading, but you're not very good at writing long form essays, English is probably not going to pan out too well.

Also bear in mind even if you don't take science subjects, you can do a science foundation year as part of a BSc/MSci course at many universities (e.g. Loughborough, Southampton). These are designed for students who didn't take the relevant subjects in 6th form - they're not (primarily) designed for international students to develop generic study skills etc, as with the various international foundation years (such as INTO).

So would I still be able to do dentistry or chemistry degree if I later changed my mind

Reply 10

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Lara121

So would I still be able to do dentistry or chemistry degree if I later changed my mind

Chemistry yes, dentistry...debatable.

The "medical" degrees (i.e. medicine, vet med, dentistry) have different formats to other degrees - foundation year type things for these courses are primarily widening access programs for students who meet specific criteria. It's uncommon for "subject changer" foundations for these - I don't know about dentistry in particular but certainly for medicine there are only a couple I believe.

If your aim is to study any of those courses your best option is to take the relevant subjects in 6th form and excel in them, while also getting some relevant work/shadowing experience. The nature of these professions requires you to commit early - the tenacity to push through the difficult aspects of the preparation and educational periods is necessary to eventually enter these professions, and to handle the post graduate training periods, etc.

For more general STEM subjects though it's fairly straightforward to go via a foundation year - although these are specific to each university and it's typically unusual to do a foundation at one university and then apply in that same year to another. This may be relevant particularly if you are considering e.g. Oxbridge, Imperial and so on, which don't offer such foundations.

A level choice help

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you