I want to do Maw - is Psych A level better/ more respected than Business A level?

Hello,

I’m in year 11 and I need to choose my a level options. I want to study law at Cambridge and have decided that I want to do Eng Lit, History and an EPQ. However, I can’t decide between business a level or psychology a level.

Any advice would be great!

You will need a minimum of A*AA to have a realistic chance of studying at Cambridge (and many applicants have higher than this). The important thing when choosing between these subjects is that you chose one that you believe you will do best in. If you think you will do equally well in either subject then chose the one you will enjoy more. What are your other A levels?

I do business and a friend does psychology. I feel once you're in college there's no one that really cares about the esteem of a subject at all and for Law it isn't that necessary. Business can be good for I guess context around how businesses run if that's something you would like to look at further. Psychology is a more popular subject but genuinely it probably won't matter other than what you enjoy. maybe sociology if that's something you're into as that can give cultural knowledge.

You will need a minimum of A*AA to have a realistic chance of studying at Cambridge (and many applicants have higher than this). The important thing when choosing between these subjects is that you chose one that you believe you will do best in. If you think you will do equally well in either subject then chose the one you will enjoy more. What are your other A levels?

Hey! Thank you for your reply.

For context, I just finished my GCSEs and we were allowed to know our marks and I’m confident to say that I’ll be able to obtain eight grade 8s and one grade 7. Regarding my A Levels, I hope to take History, English Lit, an EPQ and either psych or business At A Level. I’m very confident at English and History and I’ve already started doing research for my EPQ and created a plan. Psychology is a new subject which I haven’t touched upon before, but I reckon I’ll be fine with the amount of content. As for Business, I did it at GCSE and it was very easy, with little to no work needed to be done outside of school. The concern I have with business is that it will be classified as a softer subject :/

Also, is doing an EPQ better than taking 4 A-Levels? I heard that Churchill college is the trickiest to get into, but a college like trinity do not value GCSEs as much?

thanks!

Cambridge do not accept EPQ as part of the offer so the main value it would have to any application is if it were relevant to the subject being applied for.

A 4th A level can cut both ways. It is not uncommon for some colleges to make an offer that included all 4 A levels eg A*AAA when candidates are taking 4 A levels. However you may also get a typical A*AA offer and with 4 A levels you get an extra chance to get the A*.

An absolute truth for Cambridge is that 3 A levels at A*AA or better is always better than 4 at AAAA.

Not sure where you are getting the info on Churchill from but it is far from the most competitive college for Law. Have a play with the graph generator on the Cambridge University Admissions pages here
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics

Thank you so much!

For my EPQ, I wanted my title to be based around something like ‘although the definitive collapse of the Roman Empire was inevitable with factors such as lack of political order and strength, the chief aspect of the collapse was religion’ purely on the basis that I’m confident in getting an A* in this since I’ve already read three books during this holiday and created a plan. Not only that, but I’m also VERY interested in Ancient Rome. However, would it be best to base my EPQ around something Law centric?

Do what you love. Can I ask why you are leaning towards studying law rather than say History or Classics? There is always the option to take Law Conversion after other undergraduate degrees.

Maw?