What would be a better A level combination?

Sampada Gurung

8

Ignore this

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

Paddy2005

8

Original post by Sampada Gurung

I'm in year 11 at the moment and the deadline to apply for A-Levels is coming up very soon. Previously, I was stuck on whether I wanted to go into healthcare or into business which is why I wanted to take Biology, Psychology, Economics and core maths for A-levels. However now I am pretty much dead set into going into business/economics so I was wondering whether I should stick with those subjects or take Politics in place of biology instead (Politics, Psychology, Economics and Core maths)

As someone who is taking both Biology and Politics for A-Level (and really should be revising for mocks and not on here - but we'll ignore that) I have to say that both subjects are really great. What I would ask though, is whether you done both of them at a GCSE level. My school doesn't offer politics GCSE, so I know of many people who went into it and were disappointed that it didn't meet with their expectations - its not just arguing with each other and winging an exam at the end, a lot of time has to be spent preparing essays and finding examples that are up to date. Biology on the other hand is very similar to the GCSE subject, although there is a bit of other sciences thrown in - so if you struggle with chemistry a few units might be a bit more challenging for you (but not unmanageable). Fundamentally both are well respected subjects and unless they're specified for a university course, then the admissions officer will only care that you have a good grade in whatever you choose.

My advice would be to play to your strengths - if you feel you could get a better grade in one as opposed to the other, then you should choose it, as at the end of the day the grade is what matters most.

Reply 2

Sampada Gurung

OP

8

Original post by Paddy2005

As someone who is taking both Biology and Politics for A-Level (and really should be revising for mocks and not on here - but we'll ignore that) I have to say that both subjects are really great. What I would ask though, is whether you done both of them at a GCSE level. My school doesn't offer politics GCSE, so I know of many people who went into it and were disappointed that it didn't meet with their expectations - its not just arguing with each other and winging an exam at the end, a lot of time has to be spent preparing essays and finding examples that are up to date. Biology on the other hand is very similar to the GCSE subject, although there is a bit of other sciences thrown in - so if you struggle with chemistry a few units might be a bit more challenging for you (but not unmanageable). Fundamentally both are well respected subjects and unless they're specified for a university course, then the admissions officer will only care that you have a good grade in whatever you choose.

My advice would be to play to your strengths - if you feel you could get a better grade in one as opposed to the other, then you should choose it, as at the end of the day the grade is what matters most.

Thanks for your reply to my post! I definitely enjoy biology in lessons however I absolutely hate the mark schemes and I know at A-level the mark scheme is pretty horrible as well. That being said however, I think sticking with Biology is the best choice for me in the end

Original post by Sampada Gurung

I'm in year 11 at the moment and the deadline to apply for A-Levels is coming up very soon. Previously, I was stuck on whether I wanted to go into healthcare or into business which is why I wanted to take Biology, Psychology, Economics and core maths for A-levels. However now I am pretty much dead set into going into business/economics so I was wondering whether I should stick with those subjects or take Politics in place of biology instead (Politics, Psychology, Economics and Core maths)

i would probably take maths (full a-level) but @mnot

Reply 4

skylark2

18

If you think you might want to study economics beyond A level, you will need A level maths if you want to go to a selective university.

Reply 5

Sampada Gurung

OP

8

Original post by skylark2

If you think you might want to study economics beyond A level, you will need A level maths if you want to go to a selective university.

I'm not really interested in economics at degree level (even though I'm enjoying it currently at GCSE). I'm more interested in doing business which is different. However if I wanted to go into finance, accounting, etc you can still get in to a lot of universities without Maths A-level (just not the top ones)

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 6

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

20

Original post by Talkative Toad

i would probably take maths (full a-level) but @mnot

Yea if you want to study economics at university I think full A-level maths is the way to go, I think some courses particularly dual-honours ones don’t require it, but to really grasp economics my impression is you need to be solid with calculus & statistics (and people who work at like the Bank of England in economics modelling in professional capacity often came from STEM degree backgrounds).

for the business course route I think A-level maths is less relevant, they tend to be less hard analytically, just depends what the OP wants to steer towards econ or business.

What would be a better A level combination?

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