choosing alevels

im thinking of doing maths, biology and psychology for alevel but the interviewer said that ive chose hard subjects and suggested i do btecs instead because of my predicted grades (5 and 6 mostly). could someone please give me their honest opinion for these subjects?

Reply 1

User_2804122826

those a levels arent the easiest ones, but if you enjoy them then nothing is stopping you from succeeding in them, but you'll probably have to put in more work than others.
Also it depends on what you want to do in the future.

Reply 2

Hellllpppp

I do maths and biology (+ chemistry). Personally I really enjoy them but they’re tough (especially maths). I got 9s in these subjects at GCSE with mostly 6s in other subjects just for context.

In both biology and maths year 1 wasn’t too big a jump from GCSE especially as I did further maths which covered a lot of AS maths and food tech which covered the first topic in biology. You’ve got to enjoy maths especially algebra and be willing to put in a lot of time to practice to do well, people who picked it just because they were good at gcse are mostly struggling now. In maths the problem solving is really enjoyable and I’ve really liked how the year 2 content has built on year 1. I would say at least a 6/7 would be recommended as it is very tough. In biology the content is really interesting but there’s a lot of it. My top tip is if you start struggling get help straight away because it’s all links together and you will find yourself struggling to understand future concepts. Biology content isn’t too hard but the exam questions where you have to apply your knowledge can be really difficult. If you use your independent study time well and focus on exam questions you’ll be absolutely fine.

Reply 3

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by wikigus

I haven't done BTEC, but maths, biology, and psychology aren't the hardest A Levels there are.

Maths is somewhat achievable if you work hard at it. It will involve a lot of reflection, and you need to ask a lot of questions.
Psychology to my knowledge (I've only done AS) isn't that particularly hard. The maths in it is incredibly basic, and the subject revolves around research method than actual theory on psychology.
Biology will probably be as challenging as maths. You would need to be able to express detailed subjects concisely. A lot of diagrams are recommended for revision.

In my opinion, your GCSE grades would probably be a poor reflection of what you can achieve at A Level. On the other hand, A Levels are significantly harder than GCSEs.
I have friends who got equivalent of 5s and 6s at GCSEs, and ended up with As and Bs. On the other hand, I know people who got 7s and 8s at GCSEs and ended up with Cs. Nothing is set in stone.

The listed A Levels are very academic in nature, so if you don't learn best by reading and making copious notes, then it might not be for you. If you learn better vocationally and by using your hands, then BTEC might work out better.

A better question to ask is what do you want to do after your BTEC/A Levels. That might help you decide on what to do.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 4

HuntersShadow

completely agree with the above comment. Nothing is set in stone! I know a girl who was an A-A* pupil and she only managed to get a B in Mathematics in the end. A similar thing happened in GCSE mind, that same girl got an A in English, whereas this other girl who was on B's and C's (though mostly B's) actually managed to get an A* and was the highest out of English GCSE. I would say to think about what you want to do after A-levels. I regret mine and wish I had done psychology (but at the time, no one had passed it in a couple of years). I also wanted to do BTEC ICT but the general opinion was that BTEC's were for the less academic. However, looking back I wish I had done what I wanted rather than what someone else said/the general opinion. So if it's something you want to study-go for it. In my opinion, I would say those are harder subjects. What do you want to do after A-levels?

Reply 5

FutureTuition

Original post by wikigus

Those are tough subjects, but if they are the ones you enjoy most then you should be able to motivate yourself to do your best.

You should make the most of your time between now and September to solidify your knowledge of the Higher GCSE Maths syllabus and ensure you have a good grasp of GCSE Biology/Science. You might also want to do some reading on topics that interest you in each of those subjects.

The most important thing for A-level study is keeping a consistently high standard of work throughout your course, so you will need to be really focussed in all your classes, taking good notes and then re-reading etc, doing homework and continuous revision, and then preparing for coursework and exams. Be really honest with yourself about how much work you are willing to put in. Do you want 3 challenging and scientific subjects? However, if you are happy with your choices and sure you can manage a heavy workload then I'd say go for it.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 6

wikigus

Original post by MindMax2000

I haven't done BTEC, but maths, biology, and psychology aren't the hardest A Levels there are.

Maths is somewhat achievable if you work hard at it. It will involve a lot of reflection, and you need to ask a lot of questions.
Psychology to my knowledge (I've only doen AS) isn't that particularly hard. The maths in it is incredibly basic, and the subject revolves around research method than actual theory on psychology.
Biology will probably be as challenging as maths. You would need to be able to express detailed subjects concisely. A lot of diagrams are recommended for revision.

In my opinion, your GCSE grades would probably be a poor reflection of what you can achieve at A Level. On the other hand, A Levels are significantly harder than GCSEs.
I have friends who got equivalent of 5s and 6s at GCSEs, and ended up with As and Bs. On the other hand, I know people who got 7s and 8s at GCSEs and ended up with Cs. Nothing is set in stone.

The listed A Levels are very academic in nature, so if you don't learn best by reading and making copious notes, then it might not be for you. If you learn better vocationally and by using your hands, then BTEC might work out better.

A better question to ask is what do you want to do after your BTEC/A Levels. That might help you decide on what to do.

after sixth form im thinking about studying neuroscience at uni as ive found it very interesting. the minimum entry requirement is ABB and it requires subjects like maths and biology which i want to do regardless. however if i do these subjects at a level ill probably get a tutor so i think that if i put the right effort in ill be able to come out with the grades i want.

choosing alevels

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you