The Student Room Group

Should I do Chemistry instead of English Lit?

Hi,

I'm about to start Year 12, and my current A Level choices are Maths, History, Music and English Lit. I'm thinking of doing a History related degree.
I'm having a bit of a problem. I did really well in my Chemistry GCSE, I got A* and full marks in one of the papers, and I like Chemistry. I'm thinking of swapping English Lit for Chemistry. However, the teachers are not as good as the English teachers.
As much as I like Eng Lit and I'm good at it (I got an A* in Eng Lang and an A in Eng Lit) the thought of doing double lessons of English sounds horrible and I think I will find it really boring.

So I'd like it know:

Which out of Eng Lit and Chemistry is hardest
Will it be hard to get all the work done for Chemistry with my other subjects
Any advice/thoughts on what I should do

Thanks!

- My school does OCR Salters
(edited 9 years ago)
I did both at A-level.
Because eng lit and chemistry are such different subjects, which is hardest very much depends on your own individual preferences and abilities; they're both equally hard, just in different ways. Chem will use up time learning concepts and practicing questions, while eng lit will use up your time reading and writing essays. If you really hate eng lit you may struggle to do well at it; I loved it at A-level and so it felt like I had to hardly put in any effort to get an A, although it probably took up some time.

btw OCR Salters is a horrific chem syllabus
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by theresheglows
Because eng lit and chemistry are such different subjects, which is hardest very much depends on your own individual preferences and abilities; they're both equally hard, just in different ways. Chem will use up time learning concepts and practicing questions, while eng lit will use up your time reading and writing essays.

btw OCR Salters is a horrific chem syllabus


Thanks for your reply! What's so horrific about OCR Salters?
If you prefer chemistry as a subject then definitely go for it because you will be more interested and even though it can be difficult it won't be as bad as if u do the subject u don't like as much

Also you're more likely to do better in the subject u enjoy more
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by CuriousIncident
Thanks for your reply! What's so horrific about OCR Salters?


Of course not, why would you replace English? Cambridge say 'It may be useful to have a second essay-based subject alongside History.', so there you go. Music isn't really an 'essay based' subject, and anywhere you apply to is going to think it very strange you haven't taken another one alongside history.

The admissions tutors want to see that you're good at writing and analysing; they don't want to see you spreading yourself too thin with subjects you don't need, replacing subjects which will actually help you. You have maths and you don't need another science subject, because honestly they're not going to care if you're good at another science; they want to see you've made sensible choices to prepare yourself for their degrees.

http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/history/
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by CuriousIncident
Thanks for your reply! What's so horrific about OCR Salters?


The syllabus is set out in a way that makes it hard to learn the chemistry and hard to answer the questions. It is context-based rather than concept-based, so instead of learning the facts you need to know and then how they are applied you learn how chemistry is used in industry/the environment and then the chemistry behind it. It also makes the exams rather less than straight-forward. Personally I found this a backwards and confusing way of doing it, it made me feel like I just couldn't understand chemistry, and I was getting Cs in mocks at school. Then I switched to AQA Chemistry A at a local college and got an A* because it was laid out in a way that was so much easier to understand and I regained my confidence.
Original post by Pectorac
Of course not, why would you replace English? Cambridge say 'It may be useful to have a second essay-based subject alongside History.', so there you go. Music isn't really an 'essay based' subject, and anywhere you apply to is going to think it very strange you haven't taken another one alongside history.

The admissions tutors want to see that you're good at writing and analysing; they don't want to see you spreading yourself too thin with subjects you don't need, replacing subjects which will actually help you. You have maths and you don't need another science subject, because honestly they're not going to care if you're good at another science; they want to see you've made sensible choices to prepare yourself for their degrees.

http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/history/



Eng lit is a favourite of history applicants as it complements history well and helps with essay writing/analysing skills. However not having it will not disadvantage the OP substantially if it is replaced by another facilitating subject. Better to get AAA in history, maths and chem than AAB in history, maths and eng lit if you hate eng lit so much that you won't do so well in it.

Quick Reply

Latest