How to choose your A-level subjects! *Including links to subject guides*

I want to study medicine at uni but I'm worried that I will change my mind later on or won't get the grades, I love it and am very interested in it but I've only really wanted to do it for a few years. My family and teachers want me to do art as I am predicted an A* and have done it since I was very young but I cant imagine enjoying it as a job as GCSE put me of it and I find it more fun as a hobby with no pressure, things also never turn out how I want with it. So basically, Ive applied for Biology, Chemistry, English Lit and possibly psychology. I love science but is it too much to do too A levels of it. So overall Im torn because I wanna do two sciences because I do enjoy it and got a A in my mock but is it worth risking this? I'm thinking of just waiting until my results and they will decided for me as I need to get 6 sixes to get into the school I want and a 7 in combined science but my issue is if I'll be able to change them. I'm a really creative person but its more of a hobby, it's kind of a safe option and I don't really wanna go for it because I don't really enjoy it but I know I can probably get high grades with it and I really wanna get grades like AAA or A*AA in my A levels to get into a good uni so idk tbh. Any advice?

It's really really rare for someone getting B's or 6's at GCSE to get A's at A level without putting in insane amounts of effort.

Thanks but thats legit not what I said at all, I said the minimum grades to get into the school I want to go to is 6 B's, I did not mention my predicted grades at all for any other subjects except art. I'm actually hoping to get alot higher than that and am predicted a lot higher but there is always uncertainty in what grades you will get. My GCSEs are also on the new specification so I have no idea of grade boundaries or what I will get. I actually just wanted advice more indepth from someone who possibly who had experience in studying medicine but thanks anyway.

Hi! So I'm currently trying to choose my A Level subjects, and I've narrowed it down to Economics, Psychology and English. However, I can't seem to choose between Global Perspectives - a subject I took and loved in IGCSE and have heard that universities love it too, and Maths - which would be helpful if I choose to pursue an Economics or Psychology degree eventually. What would you suggest?

Hi!

I've been seeing a lot of threads lately about A-level options, and as a current Year 12 who was pretty stuck myself this time last year, I thought I'd put together a few tips on how you might like to go about making these all-important choices. Don't hesitate to ask whatever questions you'd like to below, or PM me! I eventually settled on maths, further maths, English literature, French and Latin, in case you have questions about what it's like to study those particular subjects.

1) Choose subjects you love.
You probably hear this a lot from your teachers, but it is without a doubt the most important piece of advice you could receive. If you choose subjects you're not that interested in, having many more hours per week than you're used to of those subjects is going to make your school day pretty tiresome. This is why it's really important to make sure you can see yourself going into much more depth in the subject areas you choose! Even if you're not particularly passionate about anything, if certain topics or skills within a subject interest you or you don't think you'd mind studying that subject for several hours per week, it might be a good idea to choose it.

2) Make sure your subjects complement each other.
That doesn't mean they all have to be sciences or all have to be humanities, but studying subjects which help with each other or which show a varied but complementary set of skills will look good and also make your life easier. For example, if you're interested in politics, choosing multiple essay subjects like history and English will show that you have the skill set you need and give you lots of opportunity to practise those skills, but you might want to show that you're more versatile by picking something like maths alongside your essay subjects. Generally, only one A-level should be contrasting so that you don't lose focus, unless you want to go into quite a diverse field (you could do psychology with biology, chemistry, history and English for instance). Also, since the sciences (inc. maths) are so interlinked, choosing just one science probably isn't the best option.

3) Think about careers and uni.
You certainly don't need to be 100% set on a degree and career at this point, but having an idea of what areas interest you and what skills you might need to pursue degrees or jobs in these areas will help. Many university courses will list recommended A-levels on their requirements pages, so it might be useful to browse through course catalogues on university websites and check which A-levels are required or recommended for any courses which sound attractive. Equally, it's important to bear in mind that most jobs do not require specific degree subjects, let alone specific A-levels, so don't feel obliged to choose A-level economics just because you think you might want to go into finance, for example. The skills you learn from your A-levels are, in many cases, more important than the actual content.

4) Do your research.
This doesn't just have to involve looking up the A-level specifications and content of the subjects you're interested in, although this is a good thing to do. It could mean talking to students who are studying or have studied a subject you're considering, talking to your subject teachers about the course content, even sitting in on lessons and borrowing textbooks if your teachers let you. If you can't decide, narrowing your choices down to a list of possibilities, thinking about which combinations of these possibilities would complement each other and finding out as much about them as you possibly can will certainly help (lists of pros and cons are also extremely useful!).

5) Interested in too much?
So was I! To give you an idea of just how confused I was, my list of possibilities at the start of year 11 was maths, further maths, physics, chemistry, French, German, Latin, English literature and philosophy. I ended up hurriedly changing German to Latin two months after the options deadline and having a huge physics vs. English dilemma for several months - and it all worked out in the end! If you like too many subjects, try to work out what you like about each one and make sure your final choices include all of those aspects so that you don't end up missing a dropped subject too much. Don't be afraid to change your choices later if you have a sudden realisation; usually, schools and colleges will be quite accommodating.

6) If all else fails...
Here are some versatile, well-regarded subjects to mix and match if you really have no idea!

Subject

To help you make the decision, we've put together a series of threads which answer some of the most common questions you might like to consider before taking the course.

In each thread there is information about the GCSE and A level syllabus (including for core subjects), and if you have any other questions then you can ask on the thread

Maths
English
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Computing
Modern Foreign Languages
Geography
Geology
History
Philosophy/RS
Sociology
Economics
Design Technology etc.
Music

More guides will be added as they are made

Hi!

I've been seeing a lot of threads lately about A-level options, and as a current Year 12 who was pretty stuck myself this time last year, I thought I'd put together a few tips on how you might like to go about making these all-important choices. Don't hesitate to ask whatever questions you'd like to below, or PM me! I eventually settled on maths, further maths, English literature, French and Latin, in case you have questions about what it's like to study those particular subjects.

1) Choose subjects you love.
You probably hear this a lot from your teachers, but it is without a doubt the most important piece of advice you could receive. If you choose subjects you're not that interested in, having many more hours per week than you're used to of those subjects is going to make your school day pretty tiresome. This is why it's really important to make sure you can see yourself going into much more depth in the subject areas you choose! Even if you're not particularly passionate about anything, if certain topics or skills within a subject interest you or you don't think you'd mind studying that subject for several hours per week, it might be a good idea to choose it.

2) Make sure your subjects complement each other.
That doesn't mean they all have to be sciences or all have to be humanities, but studying subjects which help with each other or which show a varied but complementary set of skills will look good and also make your life easier. For example, if you're interested in politics, choosing multiple essay subjects like history and English will show that you have the skill set you need and give you lots of opportunity to practise those skills, but you might want to show that you're more versatile by picking something like maths alongside your essay subjects. Generally, only one A-level should be contrasting so that you don't lose focus, unless you want to go into quite a diverse field (you could do psychology with biology, chemistry, history and English for instance). Also, since the sciences (inc. maths) are so interlinked, choosing just one science probably isn't the best option.

3) Think about careers and uni.
You certainly don't need to be 100% set on a degree and career at this point, but having an idea of what areas interest you and what skills you might need to pursue degrees or jobs in these areas will help. Many university courses will list recommended A-levels on their requirements pages, so it might be useful to browse through course catalogues on university websites and check which A-levels are required or recommended for any courses which sound attractive. Equally, it's important to bear in mind that most jobs do not require specific degree subjects, let alone specific A-levels, so don't feel obliged to choose A-level economics just because you think you might want to go into finance, for example. The skills you learn from your A-levels are, in many cases, more important than the actual content.

4) Do your research.
This doesn't just have to involve looking up the A-level specifications and content of the subjects you're interested in, although this is a good thing to do. It could mean talking to students who are studying or have studied a subject you're considering, talking to your subject teachers about the course content, even sitting in on lessons and borrowing textbooks if your teachers let you. If you can't decide, narrowing your choices down to a list of possibilities, thinking about which combinations of these possibilities would complement each other and finding out as much about them as you possibly can will certainly help (lists of pros and cons are also extremely useful!).

5) Interested in too much?
So was I! To give you an idea of just how confused I was, my list of possibilities at the start of year 11 was maths, further maths, physics, chemistry, French, German, Latin, English literature and philosophy. I ended up hurriedly changing German to Latin two months after the options deadline and having a huge physics vs. English dilemma for several months - and it all worked out in the end! If you like too many subjects, try to work out what you like about each one and make sure your final choices include all of those aspects so that you don't end up missing a dropped subject too much. Don't be afraid to change your choices later if you have a sudden realisation; usually, schools and colleges will be quite accommodating.

6) If all else fails...
Here are some versatile, well-regarded subjects to mix and match if you really have no idea!
[ul]
[li]Maths - goes with absolutely everything.[/li]
[li]English literature - a core subject like maths, particularly useful in combination with humanities but also a good contrasting subject for science students.[/li]
[li]A "traditional" science: biology, chemistry or physics. These should be taken with at least one other science (traditional or otherwise) and/or maths.[/li]
[li]A foreign language (ancient or modern); these are useful and go with any other subject combination, but they are a lot of work![/li]
[li]A "traditional" humanities subject: history or geography. History is a good subject for people taking English, languages or other essay subjects, while geography complements the sciences and economics quite well; both work well as contrasting subjects.[/li]
[/ul]

Subject

To help you make the decision, we've put together a series of threads which answer some of the most common questions you might like to consider before taking the course.

In each thread there is information about the GCSE and A level syllabus (including for core subjects), and if you have any other questions then you can ask on the thread

Maths
English
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Computing
Modern Foreign Languages
Geography
Geology
History
Philosophy/RS
Sociology
Economics
Design Technology etc.
Music

More guides will be added as they are made

Hi! It really depends on whether you're looking for something more theoretical or something more practical; econ is more about the theory behind markets, finance etc. while business is more practical and might be better if you're just looking to go into business management or something more hands-on. Econ is generally regarded as more rigorous, so if you want to pursue an academic degree rather than something more vocational, I'd say it's a better choice. It also complements human geography very well in case you were thinking of geography at uni.