What options are best for a career in Law?

Hello all,
I'd like some suggestions on choices for my A-Levels as I plan to pursue a career in Law at uni and beyond. While I have a reasonably good idea, I want to know what you guys think.

I was thinking of taking Maths, a Science, Law and something undecided.
I would also like to keep options open too, as I am interested in both english and science based, just in case.
All input appreciated

Thanks

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

TimmyR

Maths and a science sounds good. There's 2 so far.
Why aren't you taking English? English lit?
Take facilitating subjects and get high grades I'd imagine. If you do some research you'd find there's no specific A levels required for law but you should take A levels which are well respected. History and English are very essay based I believe so taking them would lead into the right direction for Law. Do not take Law A level I keep hearing it's disliked by universities.

Maths
A science
English Lit
History

or Politics or something idk

Reply 2

Oli T-H

Maths and the sciences are only very loosely related to Law, as they're quite formulaic. Law is too, to an extent, but draws heavily on well constructed arguments and coherency- skills which won't be learned properly with those options. Law as an A' Level itself also doesn't give you much of an advantage- in some cases it actually worsens your chances, or so I've heard. I didn't take it myself, but from what I've been told, very little of what you learn at A' Level is transferred to your undergraduate course.

Personally, I chose English Literature and History- these are staples, in my opinion. Both help you develop your argument building and get you used to reading a lot around a particular subject (more so with History). They're favourites to Law admission staff exactly for those reasons. Your third choice is less important, so you can pick what you like, but I'd recommend something which has a good bit of reading involved as well. I chose Geography- but that's far from the only option. You could do Law- as long as you do well in History and English, there's no reason why not to- the main cautions I've heard were against putting all your eggs in one subject (people doing unrelated subjects and Law, then wondering why they weren't made an offer). You could pick something more relaxing like Business, or something like Philosophy or Government and Politics, if those grab your interest.

Honestly, I'd strongly advise against pursuing maths-heavy subjects if you already feel like Law is the path for you. The subjects won't really help you in the long run, and might actually do you harm, as you'll have to acquire afforementioned skills both later, and at a faster rate, than most of your peers. If you're really drawn to sciences (as I was when I was picking my A' Levels), I suggest picking your favourite branch and sitting an AS in it. I did Physics- although I found the lack of a maths class alongside it to be more challenging than I'd expected. English and History alone will greatly improve your chances and relevant skillset.