I'm not sure what to choose for my A-Level subjects.
Before I begin asking any questions I'll give some background as to why I'm struggling to make a choice.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
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Original post by y_4hya
Before I begin asking any questions I'll give some background as to why I'm struggling to make a choice.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
I do bio chem and Lang., so I can only comment on them for you from my experiences/my opinions
: I'm in yr 12 btw, so I have little knowledge on A2 stuff!bio: Having an interest in it, I would say plays a big part in motivating you, as I would say although it's often seen as the easiest science content wise, I would argue its the hardest in terms of the actual exam, so having that drive for it helps, as the test questions are on a completely different level. However, I would say it's the most interesting and applicable to real life of all the sciences. You said rn you only like monoclonal antibodies and genes, at A-level (AQA at least) there isn't much for monoclonal antibiodies, only a bit about their application in medicine for example... but genetics is like a 1/4 of AS and it's looked more into in A2. You also said about needing chem, I wouldn't say that's strictly true, most of the people in my bio class don't take chem..it's just that chem complements bio, the first topic of AS is chem oriented in terms of biological molecules and their structure, but nothing too difficult, so you don't have to take chem. It's probably perhaps A2 and then degree level, where chem may become more useful in understanding the reactions etc behind stuff.
TL;DR: bio is the easiest science in terms of content but the hardest in terms of the exam, its easier if you have an interest, makes it less stressful. Not much on monoclonal antibodies, lots on genetics tho. Don't need chem to be good at bio, they just work well as a combo
Lang: Is different than GCSE, less creative writing (to my disappointment aha) though you have an opportunity to do creative writing as part of coursework (there are 2 peices of coursework, for AQA at least, they're independent to each other, one's a language study into an area of language that interests you e.g Baby development and lang/effect of autism for example on lang acquisition etc. Lang covers such wide topics, it can be quite interdiscplinary.. We go from learning how kids write and learn to speak lang (Involving case studies and theorists and their theories which you have to be able to refer to in essays), to the evolution of eng. lang. over time, International varities of English e.g American english, etc., a recurring thing, building up from gcse is meanings and representations, so if you did aqa for gcse, that would be paper 2 section A stuff, so how does the text represent the writer, reader etc... what meanings can we infer from it.. You also need to go more in depth with lang analysis and your knowledge of lang techniques e.g instead of saying the writer uses a verb ... you say stuff like the writer uses a modal verb '...' in conjunction with.... this shows the writer...., all about developing your essay writing skills and being able to write coherently and synthesise unique points. Also, in the exams you don't have to answer all the questions, the questions on meanings and representation - based off the 2 random texts, that are linked by theme and usally 100 years apart:
q1) How does the author create meanings and representations in A (30)
q2) How does the author create meanings and representations in b (30)
q3) Compare similarities and differences between the 2 texts (20 marks, I think) - you can use points already used in the other 2 essays beforehand
^^ These are the compulsory question, the other section will have 2 (?) questions of which you only answer one.. if that made no sense have a look at a past paper ahaha
TL;DR: There's not really anything on stories unfortunately, there's a lot more emphasis on random texts, analysing them and making comparisons and evaluating them. As well as the stuff on child language, evolution of english lang, international english, accents + dialects more scientific in a sense... a lot of it is being able to analyse and infer, unlike lit which is heavily rooted in critically evaluating things and looking at overarching themes
About your maths thing, maths is difficult, I've got a friend who's good at maths, but even she finds it difficult, perhaps talk to your teachers about a-level maths or look at transition activities on maths websites to get a feel for what you would be doing
Hope that helps!!!
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by y_4hya
Before I begin asking any questions I'll give some background as to why I'm struggling to make a choice.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
Don’t do maths if your getting anything below a 7…u will struggle a lot. Chemistry at alevel is nothing like GCSEs and if you don’t get 8/9 at GCSEs, I won’t recommend it at all. Bio is ok if u got a 6 above and physics is ok if you got a 7 above.
Original post by Miacoolface2004
Don’t do maths if your getting anything below a 7…u will struggle a lot. Chemistry at alevel is nothing like GCSEs and if you don’t get 8/9 at GCSEs, I won’t recommend it at all. Bio is ok if u got a 6 above and physics is ok if you got a 7 above.
Thing is I don't have any of my actual GCSE results. It would be a lot more easier if I did.
Original post by y_4hya
Before I begin asking any questions I'll give some background as to why I'm struggling to make a choice.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
Hi, I take Bio, Psych, and maths (year 12).
Biology has a lot of genetics in it; and if you want to go into genetics in the future, most universities offer a specialized pathway in a biology course. (I'm very interested in biology hopefully going into Biomedical Science) You don't necessarily need to take chemistry; most of the people in my sixth form doing it just want to go into medicine.
Maths is very hard, I went from being very interested in it to borderline failing (that may be due to lockdown and self-isolating for eight weeks) but most people who take physics take maths.
My advice would be to go into what you are genuinely interested in, so if it's creative writing, maybe English lit, History, and then science.
Original post by y_4hya
And even if I did. I still wouldn't be able to accurately tell because I cheated on some.
If you cheated and not getting 8/9s then the course isn’t for you. GCSE are very easy compared to alevels. Especially chemistry and maths…theyre x100 harder. If your simply not confident at them..like getting5s and 6s then I wouldn’t recommend. That being said nothing is impossible so if you rlly want to try the n I think work hard and have a go. Dont go into alevels thinking about jobs and money…go into it thinking about your interest. If you like writing and memorising then bio is for . If your logical and mathsy..physics for you. I had to same dilemma as you but i chose bio chem maths.
Original post by Miacoolface2004
If you cheated and not getting 8/9s then the course isn’t for you. GCSE are very easy compared to alevels. Especially chemistry and maths…theyre x100 harder. If your simply not confident at them..like getting5s and 6s then I wouldn’t recommend. That being said nothing is impossible so if you rlly want to try the n I think work hard and have a go. Dont go into alevels thinking about jobs and money…go into it thinking about your interest. If you like writing and memorising then bio is for . If your logical and mathsy..physics for you. I had to same dilemma as you but i chose bio chem maths.
That being said an A/A* in chem or maths or physics is like a golden ticket into any job
Original post by y_4hya
Before I begin asking any questions I'll give some background as to why I'm struggling to make a choice.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
I do history, spanish and politics (a bit different I know) but I would definitely recommend that you do english and history, but also doing physics alongside it for a change as I've found the essays in history and politics a bit boring at times because of the lack of variety.
I don't want to sound rude, but I doubt your school will allow you to do maths if your predicted grade is a 5 (most require a 7), so history would be a better option!
I wouldn't recommend doing 4 a levels as I think it's unnecessary work but maybe starting off with 4 will let you make a better decision between history and maths.
Good luck x
Original post by y_4hya
Before I begin asking any questions I'll give some background as to why I'm struggling to make a choice.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
Firstly we have the sciences like Physics. I personally find it interesting even if I don't have the same passion towards it I used to have, but I heard if you want to study it in college, you should do A-Level maths too as it can get very hard.
I also want to do Biology, but the only real subject that interests me are genes and monoclonal antibodies. However I feel as if I wanted to do anything with genes in the future, to be successful at it I would need to know A-Level Chemistry too.
I want to do A-Level photography, though the job prospects this subject offers is very narrow, and I only really think of it as a hobby too.
I also want to become a fiction writer, but I'm not sure which subjects would be the most useful. I think History might help me, as the settings I am writing in are based off, the British Empire and the foundation of the USA. There's also a Russia unit from 1917,-1953 I'm interested in. Though I may not write about it as much.
But the obvious ones, like English Literature. Is one that interests me the most. The units are Crime Writing and Tragedies, both things which I like. I would consider Language but I know very little about it, but from what I can gather it seems more concerned with how the language has formed and changed rather than the interesting stories we read and wrote at GCSE.
I'm thinking of doing Literature, Physics and Maths. But I'm not sure if I should replace Maths with History. Maths is not something that I hate or love, I found it pretty meh, I'm not very good at it, though not terrible either as my predicted grade is a 5 in higher. I have looked into the A-Level course and it seemed slightly more interesting then what we have learnt in GCSE. I could add history as a 4th A-Level, but I'm worried about the amount of stress it would add.
So which A-Levels should I choose? It sounds a bit odd asking random strangers this but I know you guys are the ones who are sitting them or have sit these exams. I only have 3 days left to decide.
What might you want to study at University?
You could try some combinations in this to see where they might lead: https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer
You reaaly need a grade 7 in Maths to take A level ... don't do 4 A levels.
Wouldn't advise taking maths unless your grades pick up - grade prospects with a 6/B equivalent or below aren't great at all, (iirc few get to actually taking the final exams, might have changed with the shift to linear) a lot of 6th forms will want a 7 or above. Not saying it can't be done, but you'd need a fair amount of untapped potential, and you don't seem very excited about the subject.
(edited 2 years ago)
T
The main issue is the other time wasting units. While I find things like homeostasis mildly interesting. It's nowhere near enough for A-Levels
Original post by hill.lily
Hi, I take Bio, Psych, and maths (year 12).
Biology has a lot of genetics in it; and if you want to go into genetics in the future, most universities offer a specialized pathway in a biology course. (I'm very interested in biology hopefully going into Biomedical Science) You don't necessarily need to take chemistry; most of the people in my sixth form doing it just want to go into medicine.
Maths is very hard, I went from being very interested in it to borderline failing (that may be due to lockdown and self-isolating for eight weeks) but most people who take physics take maths.
My advice would be to go into what you are genuinely interested in, so if it's creative writing, maybe English lit, History, and then science.
Biology has a lot of genetics in it; and if you want to go into genetics in the future, most universities offer a specialized pathway in a biology course. (I'm very interested in biology hopefully going into Biomedical Science) You don't necessarily need to take chemistry; most of the people in my sixth form doing it just want to go into medicine.
Maths is very hard, I went from being very interested in it to borderline failing (that may be due to lockdown and self-isolating for eight weeks) but most people who take physics take maths.
My advice would be to go into what you are genuinely interested in, so if it's creative writing, maybe English lit, History, and then science.
The main issue is the other time wasting units. While I find things like homeostasis mildly interesting. It's nowhere near enough for A-Levels
Original post by y_4hya
T
The main issue is the other time wasting units. While I find things like homeostasis mildly interesting. It's nowhere near enough for A-Levels
The main issue is the other time wasting units. While I find things like homeostasis mildly interesting. It's nowhere near enough for A-Levels
What units do you think are time wasting? I found A-level a lot more interesting than gcse.
Original post by Hellllpppp
What units do you think are time wasting? I found A-level a lot more interesting than gcse.
Ecology mainly, When I say time-wasting I don't mean completely. Just in a manner where the time spent is less than the knowledge learnt for me.
Original post by y_4hya
Ecology mainly, When I say time-wasting I don't mean completely. Just in a manner where the time spent is less than the knowledge learnt for me.
Ecology doesn’t play that big a part in A-level biology
The topics I studied in year 1 were…
1 Biological molecules
•
This overlaps with GCSE food prep and nutrition so if you’re doing it you’ll have a bit of a head start
•
Lots of people find this topic tedious but I found that it was the easiest topic to pick up marks in exams
•
My favourite parts of this topic was DNA replication but I also enjoyed learning more about the different types of molecules found in the food we eat
2 Cells
•
You look at the structure of cells in more detail than gcse and you will learn about some more organelles and look at ones you’ve learnt about before (like the mitochondria) in more detail
•
You’ll learn about mitosis and get to do a practical where you look at cells undergoing mitosis
•
One of the interesting but difficult bits in this topic is learning about immunity
3 Organisms exchange substances with their environment
•
Basically digestion, gas exchange and transport in plants
•
You get to learn about 4 different gas exchange systems and might get to carry out some dissections to look at them (not a required practical like the mitosis one)
•
You get to do a heart dissection which was by far the best year 1 practicals
•
I never liked learning about the plant stuff at GCSE so to be honest when transport in plants came up in this topic i was dreading it but it was alright and after learning more about transpiration and translocation I actually now find them really interesting
4 Genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms
•
I loved learning about transcription and translation which my teacher covered early in the year when we did DNA replication in the first topic
•
I didn’t like the bit about classification of species as much but you also learn about testing for relatedness which I found really interesting
•
I found learning about biodiversity interesting but I get that that’s not everyone’s thing
•
My teacher covered the genetic diversity, classification and biodiversity stuff in max 3 weeks so definitely don’t let it put you off the course
Then in year 2 I did…
5 Energy transfers in and between organisms
•
I loved learning about photosynthesis and respiration but there is a lot of detail
•
There’s a short bit on the end of this topic about energy in ecosystems but it’s mainly just the processes of photosynthesis and respiration
6 Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments
•
This includes homeostasis and nerves
•
The nervous system topic is really interesting and you also get to learn a lot about how muscles work
•
I know homeostasis isn’t your favourite but at A-level the homeostasis topic is less focused on hormones like it is at GCSE and more focused on physiology like the structure of kidneys
7 Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems
•
This topic isn’t great or interesting, I took me a second to remember what it was about and it was one of the last topics I covered
•
It’s basically a lot of processes to memorise like speciation and an equation used to work out population size which seems to come up constantly
8 The control of gene expression
•
I’ve been doing this topic at home as I wasn’t covered due to COVID and it’s really interesting (but I’m not sure I have the best grasp on what it’s really about)
•
Basically you look at DNA in a lot more detail and learn about what can cause cancer/ what affects DNA replication
•
The DNA technologies are interesting you learn about techniques used to replicate DNA in vivo and in vitro (basically in cells and out of cells)
Original post by Hellllpppp
Ecology doesn’t play that big a part in A-level biology
The topics I studied in year 1 were…
1 Biological molecules
2 Cells
3 Organisms exchange substances with their environment
4 Genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms
Then in year 2 I did…
5 Energy transfers in and between organisms
6 Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments
7 Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems
8 The control of gene expression
The topics I studied in year 1 were…
1 Biological molecules
•
This overlaps with GCSE food prep and nutrition so if you’re doing it you’ll have a bit of a head start
•
Lots of people find this topic tedious but I found that it was the easiest topic to pick up marks in exams
•
My favourite parts of this topic was DNA replication but I also enjoyed learning more about the different types of molecules found in the food we eat
2 Cells
•
You look at the structure of cells in more detail than gcse and you will learn about some more organelles and look at ones you’ve learnt about before (like the mitochondria) in more detail
•
You’ll learn about mitosis and get to do a practical where you look at cells undergoing mitosis
•
One of the interesting but difficult bits in this topic is learning about immunity
3 Organisms exchange substances with their environment
•
Basically digestion, gas exchange and transport in plants
•
You get to learn about 4 different gas exchange systems and might get to carry out some dissections to look at them (not a required practical like the mitosis one)
•
You get to do a heart dissection which was by far the best year 1 practicals
•
I never liked learning about the plant stuff at GCSE so to be honest when transport in plants came up in this topic i was dreading it but it was alright and after learning more about transpiration and translocation I actually now find them really interesting
4 Genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms
•
I loved learning about transcription and translation which my teacher covered early in the year when we did DNA replication in the first topic
•
I didn’t like the bit about classification of species as much but you also learn about testing for relatedness which I found really interesting
•
I found learning about biodiversity interesting but I get that that’s not everyone’s thing
•
My teacher covered the genetic diversity, classification and biodiversity stuff in max 3 weeks so definitely don’t let it put you off the course
Then in year 2 I did…
5 Energy transfers in and between organisms
•
I loved learning about photosynthesis and respiration but there is a lot of detail
•
There’s a short bit on the end of this topic about energy in ecosystems but it’s mainly just the processes of photosynthesis and respiration
6 Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments
•
This includes homeostasis and nerves
•
The nervous system topic is really interesting and you also get to learn a lot about how muscles work
•
I know homeostasis isn’t your favourite but at A-level the homeostasis topic is less focused on hormones like it is at GCSE and more focused on physiology like the structure of kidneys
7 Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems
•
This topic isn’t great or interesting, I took me a second to remember what it was about and it was one of the last topics I covered
•
It’s basically a lot of processes to memorise like speciation and an equation used to work out population size which seems to come up constantly
8 The control of gene expression
•
I’ve been doing this topic at home as I wasn’t covered due to COVID and it’s really interesting (but I’m not sure I have the best grasp on what it’s really about)
•
Basically you look at DNA in a lot more detail and learn about what can cause cancer/ what affects DNA replication
•
The DNA technologies are interesting you learn about techniques used to replicate DNA in vivo and in vitro (basically in cells and out of cells)
At this point I've practically come to the conclusion that I'm either going to do History, Literature or Maths. Physics is the one I'm definitely doing. I know you wrote a lot about Biology. But I already have a textbook for it at home thanks to an older relative. Anything I'm interested in I can cover on my own considering I only really like 3 or 4 subjects in that list.
Maths I find meh, both in interest and my ability in it. Though the A-Level content list looks more interesting.
History will be hard even if I know I'll find the subject interesting. I fail to answer questions in my exams due to tight timing.
English Lit will be something I will most likely find interesting. I didn't do brilliant in my exams for it because of the lockdown but I think I could do well in my A-Levels.
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by y_4hya
At this point I've practically come to the conclusion that I'm either going to do History, Literature or Maths. Physics is the one I'm definitely doing. I know you wrote a lot about Biology. But I already have a textbook for it at home thanks to an older relative. Anything I'm interested in I can cover on my own considering I only really like 3 or 4 subjects in that list.
Maths I find meh, both in interest and my ability in it. Though the A-Level content list looks more interesting.
History will be hard even if I know I'll find the subject interesting. I fail to answer questions in my exams due to tight timing.
English Lit will be something I will most likely find interesting. I didn't do brilliant in my exams for it because of the lockdown but I think I could do well in my A-Levels.
Maths I find meh, both in interest and my ability in it. Though the A-Level content list looks more interesting.
History will be hard even if I know I'll find the subject interesting. I fail to answer questions in my exams due to tight timing.
English Lit will be something I will most likely find interesting. I didn't do brilliant in my exams for it because of the lockdown but I think I could do well in my A-Levels.
Don’t do maths if your ability is meh. I got a 9 and really struggled in year 2 and as others have said you need to be a grade 7 or maybe a high grade 6 with a real interest. It sounds like English Lit, history and physics is your best option. Definitely do 3 instead of 4, an extra A-level is an extra 9 hours commitment a week.
Original post by Hellllpppp
Don’t do maths if your ability is meh. I got a 9 and really struggled in year 2 and as others have said you need to be a grade 7 or maybe a high grade 6 with a real interest. It sounds like English Lit, history and physics is your best option. Definitely do 3 instead of 4, an extra A-level is an extra 9 hours commitment a week.
The thing is. I need Maths if I want to study Physics at university. And I really want to do Physics at university. I probably have got a 6. Since my mock grade was a 5.
Original post by y_4hya
The thing is. I need Maths if I want to study Physics at university. And I really want to do Physics at university. I probably have got a 6. Since my mock grade was a 5.
What bit of gcse maths did you struggle with?
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