4 A levels

Hiya. Would studying 4 a levels be too many? I am in year 11 now and I want to study 4 I don’t want to drop any but my family and teachers have raised concerns that 4 is too many. Any opinions on this? Is 4 too many or would it be manageable? The 4 would be English lit, French, psychology and sociology. Thanks

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

If two of those are Maths and Further Maths, not necessarily - it depends on your preparation and aptitude for those two subjects (and your others).

For any other combination yes.

Reply 2

l4l4l4l4l4

9

It depends what they are. Some A levels are considered easier and some harder (mostly its relative but still). Like one of my friends does computing and physics. He says that computing is so much easier because second year content is pretty much first year content with some bits added so he finds it really easy. However physics apparently adds so much stuff in the second year and you still have to rememeber to revise the first year content in the second year so I would say its manageable but depends on which subjects you will be doing. You could always drop one of them at the end of the first year and still get UCAS points aswell.

Reply 3

amyando

13

I had the same problem as you, (I’m in year 11 too) and I think that it’ll definitely be challenging but it’ll be doable if you put a lot of effort in. However you have to keep in mind that most universities would prefer 3 good grades rather than 4 more average ones. Maybe try looking at what university’s you want to go to (if you do) are asking for in terms of grades, and the same for jobs.

Reply 4

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by vicslanexx

Hiya. Would studying 4 a levels be too many? I am in year 11 now and I want to study 4 I don’t want to drop any but my family and teachers have raised concerns that 4 is too many. Any opinions on this? Is 4 too many or would it be manageable? The 4 would be English lit, French, psychology and sociology. Thanks

2 of your choices are non traditional, easier A levels so doing 4 is absolutely fine if youre on reasonably good GCSEs.

however, i would rather see you do 3 traditional A levels to give you the best chance at the top unis. it's difficult to see why you have chosen this particular combination of a levels?!?! what are your aspirations?

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by vicslanexx

The 4 would be English lit, French, psychology and sociology. Thanks

This would be inadvisable, since it's a huge workload and you don't really gain much by taking all 4 - the main point of these subjects is the transferable skills you pick up. While French and English Literature do serve as prerequisites for degrees in those same subjects, if you aren't specifically considering these they don't offer anything more or less than any of the other subjects selected.

Neither Psychology nor Sociology are required prerequisites for any degree course I know of, and as above they largely cover the same transferable skills (communication, writing, research etc). If you have an interest in these areas, by all means take them - but then you wouldn't be simultaneously planning to pursue a literature and foreign language course, so it's reasonable to only take one of the other two options.

I would probably note, while I did not do a language to A-level equivalent, from what I've heard they're very challenging. If you aren't very strong in French and have realistic aspirations to study/work in France (for a year abroad during your degree or otherwise) it may be more work than is worth it. If you are very undecided, I would suggest maxmising your options for which it would be advisable to only take one of Psychology or Sociology, unless you decide to not take French per the above. You can always do research on the subject matter in your spare time as it allows (equally, you can always do language learning through e.g. duolingo or similar, and universities often have cheap language courses available in evenings/weekends for students through their language faculty/departments).

Reply 6

vicslanexx

OP

5

Original post by CollectiveSoul

2 of your choices are non traditional, easier A levels so doing 4 is absolutely fine if youre on reasonably good GCSEs.

however, i would rather see you do 3 traditional A levels to give you the best chance at the top unis. it's difficult to see why you have chosen this particular combination of a levels?!?! what are your aspirations?

English lit and French are, by a mile, my strongest subjects at gcse so I don’t see why I should drop them to do something I’m not as good at. And psychology and sociology I find very interesting and could help me if I want to get into teaching when I go to uni.

Reply 7

AzureCeleste

20

It depends on you and your work ethic and wether you think you can handle it.
I did one subject more than normal and I managed it fine. However I did keep in mind whilst I was taking it that at any moment I could drop one if I wanted to, if it all became too much

Reply 8

peralta99

13

It depends on the grades you're aiming for too. I know someone doing 4 but with a few months left to exams they've decided to not spend any time at all on their 4th subject, aside from attending the lessons, because they need 3 As for their uni offer. I think 4 is a lot harder now with it being linear.

Reply 9

CandidateZero

14

I currently study Maths, Further Maths, Modern History and Economics A-levels alongside the EPQ. I'd suggest that with good time-management skills and strong passion for your chosen subjects, 4 A-levels is by no means unmanageable.

N.B. Year 12 currently, as to whether this will stand true or not in Y 13, I cannot answer!

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 10

thotproduct

19

There are certain situations where doing 4 would be seen as 'better', the situations I know are if you're doing Maths and Further Maths, where you either do the whole of one in a year so it's more manageable, or have a good aptitude so can handle both.

Doing 4 A Levels is all about that key word, aptitude. It's not easy.

If you're genuinely passionate about the subjects you do, and I mean genuinely and are more than willing to put the time in, then go for it, if you really cannot live without doing those subjects, however one thing to keep in mind is that unis more often than not, only care about 3 A levels for their offers, doing 4 can be a double edged sword, because on the one hand if it's a 3 subject offer, you can afford to neglect one that isn't your offer, however they may list an equivalent offer, with your 4th subject included, so it's just making it harder for yourself.

My advice? Do it only if you actually like the subjects enough to put the hours in, don't do 4 for the sake of doing 4, you can save yourself the hassle and do 3 if that's the case.

Reply 11

i13614SKS

2

Original post by vicslanexx

Hiya. Would studying 4 a levels be too many? I am in year 11 now and I want to study 4 I don’t want to drop any but my family and teachers have raised concerns that 4 is too many. Any opinions on this? Is 4 too many or would it be manageable? The 4 would be English lit, French, psychology and sociology. Thanks

I currently do 4 A levels an all I would say is that it really depends on your work ethic- as long as you're willing to accept that you might not have the same amount of free time as friends just because of your workload, then it should be fine. If you do find at any point it's too much, then you can always drop one, especially as you will have a much better idea of which A levels you enjoy best. This is important cos sometimes it's really annoying when you regret not picking something/doing a different subject, But basically you need a good work ethic- it's easy enough to fall behind at A Level, but is much harder to catch up when doing four.

Good luck in deciding!

Reply 12

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by vicslanexx

English lit and French are, by a mile, my strongest subjects at gcse so I don’t see why I should drop them to do something I’m not as good at. And psychology and sociology I find very interesting and could help me if I want to get into teaching when I go to uni.

no, i wasn't suggesting dropping english or french but the opposite! i think you could EITHER cope with both sociology and psychology (seeing as they are both easier a levels) OR do an entirely different subject.

I personally think you should consider doing English, French and History (or Geography)

4 A levels

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