Is sociology too soft?

My first choice for A Level was biol, chem, history and English lit. Unfortunately, English and chem clashed, so to take another essay-based subjects I chose sociology. After a few weeks I decided I no longer wanted to pursue a career in science, but rather stick to my original choice of a degree which was either history or law. So, as I dropped chem I could finally take English lit, so I did along with economics. Now I’m taking English lit, history, sociology and economics.

But, I’m not entirely sure I want to carry on with either sociology or economics. We’re forced to take the Welsh baccalaureate, which is as much work as an A Level, so effectively I’m taking 5 A Levels. I’m aware that economics is far more academic, but also a lot more boring and it will be harder to get an A*/A in, which will obviously be a lot easier with sociology. My main problem is that I don’t want to take sociology instead of economics for the fear of unis looking down on it. I had one of highest GCSE results in my school and feel I’ll be cheating myself if I take the easy way out. Despite this, I’ve found sociology quite fascinating as we study Marxism etc, but I don’t want people thinking I’m not that intelligent if I took sociology. Do people think sociology is for people who aren’t intelligent? What would you advise?

My first choice for A Level was biol, chem, history and English lit. Unfortunately, English and chem clashed, so to take another essay-based subjects I chose sociology. After a few weeks I decided I no longer wanted to pursue a career in science, but rather stick to my original choice of a degree which was either history or law. So, as I dropped chem I could finally take English lit, so I did along with economics. Now I’m taking English lit, history, sociology and economics.

But, I’m not entirely sure I want to carry on with either sociology or economics. We’re forced to take the Welsh baccalaureate, which is as much work as an A Level, so effectively I’m taking 5 A Levels. I’m aware that economics is far more academic, but also a lot more boring and it will be harder to get an A*/A in, which will obviously be a lot easier with sociology. My main problem is that I don’t want to take sociology instead of economics for the fear of unis looking down on it. I had one of highest GCSE results in my school and feel I’ll be cheating myself if I take the easy way out. Despite this, I’ve found sociology quite fascinating as we study Marxism etc, but I don’t want people thinking I’m not that intelligent if I took sociology. Do people think sociology is for people who aren’t intelligent? What would you advise?

Sociology goes very well with English Lit and History and I don't think it's a soft subject (it's very difficult all those essays!) but very underrated. If you wanted to do law I'm sure it's fine as it counts as a 'Social science' (it's rocket science compared to A level Law) and teaches you a lot to prepare you for Law so you should totally keep it! You wouldn't likely be looked down upon as it fits in very well in your career path. Most people in my class took that combination to do law. So go for it!
Good luck!

My first choice for A Level was biol, chem, history and English lit. Unfortunately, English and chem clashed, so to take another essay-based subjects I chose sociology. After a few weeks I decided I no longer wanted to pursue a career in science, but rather stick to my original choice of a degree which was either history or law. So, as I dropped chem I could finally take English lit, so I did along with economics. Now I’m taking English lit, history, sociology and economics.

But, I’m not entirely sure I want to carry on with either sociology or economics. We’re forced to take the Welsh baccalaureate, which is as much work as an A Level, so effectively I’m taking 5 A Levels. I’m aware that economics is far more academic, but also a lot more boring and it will be harder to get an A*/A in, which will obviously be a lot easier with sociology. My main problem is that I don’t want to take sociology instead of economics for the fear of unis looking down on it. I had one of highest GCSE results in my school and feel I’ll be cheating myself if I take the easy way out. Despite this, I’ve found sociology quite fascinating as we study Marxism etc, but I don’t want people thinking I’m not that intelligent if I took sociology. Do people think sociology is for people who aren’t intelligent? What would you advise?

Sociology goes very well with English Lit and History and I don't think it's a soft subject (it's very difficult all those essays!) but very underrated. If you wanted to do law I'm sure it's fine as it counts as a 'Social science' (it's rocket science compared to A level Law) and teaches you a lot to prepare you for Law so you should totally keep it! You wouldn't likely be looked down upon as it fits in very well in your career path. Most people in my class took that combination to do law. So go for it!
And also would you rather have A*A*D or A*A*A*
Universities would prefer if you had an A* in A level sociology then a low grade in A level a Economics.
Good luck!

You're clearly very intelligent and motivated, which is proven by the subjects you have chosen to study. Honestly, from experience, and my personal opinion, I would say go with what is more enjoyable to you, and what will essentially be more motivating to study. There's nothing better than being genuinely interested in a subject that you're studying and because of this genuine interest, you may well find yourself naturally doing some wider reading outside the syllabus opposed to just learning what you have to learn, if this makes sense?

I know of someone who did Sociology at A-level and a few other "soft" subjects, but they got grades in them. Because of this, they went on to pursue a Law degree at LSE! I think we can both agree LSE is a highly regarded University, and hard to get into, especially for Law.

Please just do what you enjoy the most, and it will pay off in the end. Try not to get too wound up in what looks better, these are ultimately subjects that will be taking up the most of your time for the next few years, don't make it miserable for yourself.

Also, the fact that you have a genuine interest in the topics will make writing your personal statement a lot easier!

Good luck, I hope this helps!

With the whole LSE thing, do you know if she took 4 AS Levels?

With the whole LSE thing, do you know if she took 4 AS Levels?