A-Level help?

I’ve heard Classical Civilisation isn’t perceived very well. So I’d go for the first one.

I’ve heard Classical Civilisation isn’t perceived very well. So I’d go for the first one.

thank you!

Don't listen to this person at all. Trinity College Cambridge used to have a list of A-levels that it liked, which realistically still stands today. Classical civilisation was in the good list, along with subjects like history, philosophy and modern languages. English language was in the 'A-levels of limited suitability' list which meant they didn't like those subjects as much as the ones on the good list.

You'll look like you're lacking diversity by doing both English subjects at A-level. Classical civilisation would give you more variety and would show you other a wider range of interests other than English.

Don't listen to this person at all. Trinity College Cambridge used to have a list of A-levels that it liked, which realistically still stands today. Classical civilisation was in the good list, along with subjects like history, philosophy and modern languages. English language was in the 'A-levels of limited suitability' list which meant they didn't like those subjects as much as the ones on the good list.

You'll look like you're lacking diversity by doing both English subjects at A-level. Classical civilisation would give you more variety and would show you other a wider range of interests other than English.

Which will look better??

1) English Lit, Lang & History

or

2) English Lit, Classical Civilisation & History?

It might depend on the university. I was warned multiple times when picking courses not to do that because, essentially, I was told it was useless.

You still haven't provided the names of any universities or people who told you that, just someone told you. Yes it would be useless for a science degree, not an arts/humanites degree that OP is obviously gearing towards.

Hi there,

I would advise that you pick your subject choices based upon what you want to do after your A-levels and your career ideas and try not to think too much about what would look better to a university.

It is better to look at it from a what will look better for the degree subject I am applying to.

It would be really helpful if you could get back in touch with what it is you want to move onto after A-levels and your career ideas.

Thanks - Sophie.

Family and researching it.

I would like to do a degree in English Literature. Thank you for your reply!

Your family is an unofficial source and they clearly have no idea what they're talking about. Classical civilisation is on LSE's preferred subject list (so is English language, but as I said the OP will be lacking diversity by doing both English subjects at A-level).

'Examples of narrow subject combinations might be Economics, Business Studies and one other or English Language, English Literature and one other'

'Common traditional academic/'generally preferred' subjects:

Ancient History
Biology
Classical Civilisation
Chemistry
Computing
Economics
English (English Language, English Literature and English Language and Literature)
Further Mathematics*
Geography
Government and Politics
History
Languages: Modern Foreign, Classic and Community**
Law
Mathematics
Music
Philosophy
Physics
Psychology
Religious Studies
Sociology'

http://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Undergraduate/Prospective-Students/How-to-Apply/Entry-Requirements

Although this is for LSE it stands to reason that if it's good enough for LSE then it's good enough for anywhere.

I would like to do a degree in English Literature. Thank you for your reply!

Thanks for getting back to me.

Based on your subject choice I would advise Language and Literature within your subjects.

I've been looking on UCAS at a range of different universities offering English Lit degrees, some ask for both Lang & Lit some only ask for English Literature.

It may be helpful to do some research into the uni's you would like to go to and what their entry requirements are before making your final decision -
https://digital.ucas.com/search/results?filters=Destination_Undergraduate&SearchText=English%20Literature

I hope this helps - Sophie.

@baeornot DO NOT listen to this person.

The universities are not asking for both English language and English literature at all. There is a combined A-level called English language and literature that is a single A-level on its own (this A-level is less commonly available at schools and colleges than either subject on its own). It is an acceptable, though realistically less preferred alternative for English literature A-level when applying for an English literature degree.

Hi there,

Really appreciate your input here, it's important to look at this from different angles.

There are some universities who's entry requirements are both language and literature or the combined English A-level, some just ask for literature some don't have any specific subjects but ask that you achieve certain grades. Every university is different.

My advice to @baeornot was to do some research into different literature degrees at different universities before ultimately making their final decision which is their decision to make, but with some research can make a well-informed decision.

I am sorry for any confusion my last post may have caused.

Thanks.

Please stop giving out wrong information. There absolutely is no university in the whole country that asks for both English language and English literature as separate A-level subjects for an English literature degree. Please provide some evidence that this is the case (you won't be able to).

Universities will be asking for English language at GCSE and not A-level for an English literature degree. The age-old reputation that careers advisers have no idea what they're taking about is really shining through here.

We seem to have got off on the wrong foot here @Glassapple - please accept my apologies for any confusion I may have caused.

There are almost 2,000 English degree courses in the UK and unfortunately I can't go through them all but I was able to pick out some which prefer you to have Lang & Lit or the combined English lit & Lang A-level as you rightly pointed out:


https://digital.ucas.com/courses/details?coursePrimaryId=229d807f-2534-2e9f-cbc5-319f4c038ed0&courseOptionId=8937cbab-22e9-0c42-3046-9f3ae6a1c217



https://digital.ucas.com/courses/details?coursePrimaryId=ef35f53d-0abb-87eb-e0b8-1cd2508ef480&courseOptionId=f1b3b935-ece3-8afe-a51d-ba8228b57487



https://digital.ucas.com/courses/details?coursePrimaryId=7364dc5f-3b7f-1bc7-0516-3ddd1f569738&courseOptionId=479d6931-7b6b-dcf8-acc1-9495bc2347e4



https://digital.ucas.com/courses/details?coursePrimaryId=5caa99a1-753c-9f8b-1996-e5f08a0d006e&courseOptionId=140fab41-86e2-dfa2-fc76-821b7c97635b

I would like to try and clear this up for anyone reading the thread, it isn't essential for you to have both English subjects for all degree courses and I have come across uni's that accept Classical Civilisation as an A-level subject too. My advice is to check with the universities you have in mind and what their specific entry requirements are before making final decisions on A-level subjects.

Thanks.