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taking geography as a fourth a level?

I am currently in year 11 and thinking about my a level choices. I am definitely going to take: maths, chemistry and phyics, because i'd like to do a degree related to maths/science. Im most interested at meteorology at the moment but would like to keep my options somewhat open.
Would taking geography as a fourth a level be too much to handle? I'm predicted 7s-9s in GCSES if that makes any difference. I thought I would have beem able to handle 4 a levels but many people have advised me against it, is it really that hard? Any help/advice appreciated, thanks.

Reply 1

ajayma

4 a Levels is a lot lot more work and completely unnecessary unless the course requires it (medicine) I would advise against it unless you are going to do medicine.

Reply 2

ns_2

4 A-levels may be too much; especially a combination of Maths, Sciences and then Geography.

If you want to do 4 A-levels, go ahead; but, I would recommend, with your combination, taking Further Mathematics, if available. Though I cannot vouch for it, FM provides a greater depth into the realm of Mathematics and is said to help with Physics especially.

Reply 3

black1blade

Original post by ajayma

4 a Levels is a lot lot more work and completely unnecessary unless the course requires it (medicine) I would advise against it unless you are going to do medicine.

Medicine doesn't need 4 though. There's like 1 degree where having 4 specific a-levels is a plus and that's physics natsci at cambridge.

Reply 4

liv.......

Original post by ns_2

Ah okay, I will look into further maths then because I do enjoy maths, thanks.

Reply 5

liv.......

Original post by black1blade

Medicine doesn't need 4 though. There's like 1 degree where having 4 specific a-levels is a plus and that's physics natsci at cambridge.

Yeah i'm not really interested in medicine anyways so...
See if I did get the grades then I might apply to physics natsci Cambridge, however I guess geography won't be any advantage there. I think I'll forget about geography then and look more into further maths, thanks for the reply!

Reply 6

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

As above, 4 A-levels isn't required. However, more generally, Geography isn't a requirement for most courses, so doesn't add that much. Even if you were specifically interested in Earth Sciences (using the term broadly, i.e. not just geology but also oceanography, climate science, environmental science, etc, etc) it's not a requirement, although can be a useful way to explore the aspects of the subject. You could do an EPQ similar to the Geography coursework (in more depth of course) on some physical Geography/Earth Sciences subject which is less likely to "overload" you than taking Geography itself.

Further Maths is very useful for Maths/Physics/Engineering, and for other physical sciences is reasonably helpful but not required by any real means. If you're considering something like Geophysics (or pursuing a Geophysical path in Earth Sciences at Oxbridge) then it'd be worth taking, but otherwise you will probably catch yourself up reasonably without it and should only take it if you actually particularly enjoy and are good at Maths.