A-Level Choices for Oxford Law/PPE

OP

Original post by Origami Bullets

That combination of subjects is absolutely fine.

Maths is advisable for PPE because of the maths element within economics - Oxford itself says that many successful applicants have at least AS maths.

The English lit and history will develop your essay writing skills - useful for the politics, philosophy and law.

For the sake of sanity - are you good at all four of those subjects, and are you interested in all four subjects? I appreciate you probably haven't studied economics yet. Grades are the most important thing in your application, and it's counterproductive to take a subject because you think a uni will like it (even though they don't require it) and then getting a crap grade because you hated studying it.

Thanks for your advice and about the sanity: I hate Maths! I've hated it since Year 9 but I'm currently I'm pulling an A hopefully getting an A* and its the exact same with English Lit, however I'm willing to put up with two years of doing a subject that I may hate, but that I'm good at, in order to get into a good Uni!

Reply 3

Original post by aidenj

Hey,
I'm currently in year 11 and I am thinking about the best A-Levels to take. I'm currently an A/A* student and I'm thinking about, Uni wise, about either going into Law or PPE depending on how I feel in Year 12/13, currently I am down with my school's sixth form to do:
English Lit
History
Economics
Maths
But I was wondering if this is diverse enough in order to get into a good Uni (I'm thinking of going for Oxford).
Any advice will be great.
Thanks!!

Yes, those sound like excellent choices for either subjects (as long as you are good at all of them). Presumably you can change your choices after getting your GCSE results, if relevant.

Reply 4

Original post by aidenj

Thanks for your advice and about the sanity: I hate Maths! I've hated it since Year 9 but I'm currently I'm pulling an A hopefully getting an A* and its the exact same with English Lit, however I'm willing to put up with two years of doing a subject that I may hate, but that I'm good at, in order to get into a good Uni!

Maths is indeed very useful for PPE, and often desirable for Law, but not totally necessary, so don't feel compelled to do it (especially to A2) if you really hate it. English Lit is also useful, as a solid essay-based facilitating subject, but since you have History and Economics you could consider substituting it for e.g. RE, a language, a science, Sociology, Psychology, something else (in rough order of desirability).

Reply 5

OP

Original post by sweeneyrod

Maths is indeed very useful for PPE, and often desirable for Law, but not totally necessary, so don't feel compelled to do it (especially to A2) if you really hate it. English Lit is also useful, as a solid essay-based facilitating subject, but since you have History and Economics you could consider substituting it for e.g. RE, a language, a science, Sociology, Psychology, something else (in rough order of desirability).

Hi, I was originally going to do Politics and Government instead of English Lit but I changed it once I read English Lit looked better on UCAS forms, but would taking either a science (It would probably be Chemistry or Biology), sociology(which I'm getting A*'s in at GCSE) or Politics look better if I was wanting to make a strong application for Law or PPE?

Reply 6

Original post by aidenj

Hi, I was originally going to do Politics and Government instead of English Lit but I changed it once I read English Lit looked better on UCAS forms, but would taking either a science (It would probably be Chemistry or Biology), sociology(which I'm getting A*'s in at GCSE) or Politics look better if I was wanting to make a strong application for Law or PPE?

I'm not an expert in applications for any subject other than Computer Science, but I think English Lit might be looked on slightly better than a science or Politics, which would be a bit better than Sociology. English Lit is a relevant facilitating subject; sciences are facilitating but not directly relevant to the subject (although for law some universities might view that as a positive); Politics is relevant, but not classed as facilitating (although it is IMO one of the most well-regarded non-facilitating subjects); and Sociology is relevant, but often viewed as a soft subject. Chemistry and Biology are certainly the sciences I would recommend: Physics is hard if you don't like Maths. Chemistry is generally regarded as the harder one.

However, it would be much better to get an A* or A in one of those subjects than an A or B in English Lit. So it depends how much you prefer the sciences or Politics to English Lit, which only you can decide. I'd be inclined to swap to Politics, but I'm not the one who has to choose!

Reply 7

Origami Bullets

19

Original post by aidenj

Thanks for your advice and about the sanity: I hate Maths! I've hated it since Year 9 but I'm currently I'm pulling an A hopefully getting an A* and its the exact same with English Lit, however I'm willing to put up with two years of doing a subject that I may hate, but that I'm good at, in order to get into a good Uni!

If you don't like maths, don't do it at A Level. All that will happen is that
a) you'll dislike it, so you'll be less motivated to do the work, so you'll do less well
b) you'll find that the work gets far harder when you go from GCSE to A Level. As an example, I thought I enjoyed GCSE physics and got an A in it. I did AS, discovered I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as I thought I did, and scraped a C, making myself miserable in the process.
c) your lower grade in maths will damage your application
d) if you do a degree subject where maths is an entry requirement, then it's going to require you to use maths during your degree. Economics, for instance, is very, very maths-based, and it's not a good idea to study economics (or PPE) if you don't like maths.

If I were you, I'd consider doing a politics and philosophy degree or a law degree, or perhaps even a politics, philosophy and law degree (offered by KCL and a couple of others) - or something else if you change your mind during your A Levels!

Reply 8

OP

Original post by sweeneyrod

I'm not an expert in applications for any subject other than Computer Science, but I think English Lit might be looked on slightly better than a science or Politics, which would be a bit better than Sociology. English Lit is a relevant facilitating subject; sciences are facilitating but not directly relevant to the subject (although for law some universities might view that as a positive); Politics is relevant, but not classed as facilitating (although it is IMO one of the most well-regarded non-facilitating subjects); and Sociology is relevant, but often viewed as a soft subject. Chemistry and Biology are certainly the sciences I would recommend: Physics is hard if you don't like Maths. Chemistry is generally regarded as the harder one.

However, it would be much better to get an A* or A in one of those subjects than an A or B in English Lit. So it depends how much you prefer the sciences or Politics to English Lit, which only you can decide. I'd be inclined to swap to Politics, but I'm not the one who has to choose!

Thanks a lot for your advice, I might wait until results day and see the grade I get in GCSE English Lit to see whether or not I should do it at A-Level. And on a side note, would you suggest taking a science (instead of Economics or English Lit) so I could open my options to computer science course because I do it at GCSE and its my favorite subject which I'm getting an A* in, but I'm not currently considering taking it at A-Level. Would it be worth loosing English Lit for a science and would it leave me with a strong application for either a Law/PPE course or a Computer Science course( if I suddenly change my mind in Yr 12/13)

Reply 9

Original post by aidenj

Thanks a lot for your advice, I might wait until results day and see the grade I get in GCSE English Lit to see whether or not I should do it at A-Level. And on a side note, would you suggest taking a science (instead of Economics or English Lit) so I could open my options to computer science course because I do it at GCSE and its my favorite subject which I'm getting an A* in, but I'm not currently considering taking it at A-Level. Would it be worth loosing English Lit for a science and would it leave me with a strong application for either a Law/PPE course or a Computer Science course( if I suddenly change my mind in Yr 12/13)

I think waiting till results day is a very good idea.

Maths is necessary for Computer Science, and most applicants will also have Physics or Further Maths as well (or both). Biology or Chemistry might give you a slightly higher chance, but not much (and with only Maths you would have very little chance at top unis). I would therefore probably not recommend swapping English lit for a science to broaden your options. I'd also suggest that if you don't enjoy Maths, you probably wouldn't enjoy Computer Science at university (although if you're interested in the Philosophy part of PPE you might be interested in the various Computer Science and Philosophy degrees on offer).

Reply 10

Origami Bullets

19

Original post by aidenj

Hi, I was originally going to do Politics and Government instead of English Lit but I changed it once I read English Lit looked better on UCAS forms, but would taking either a science (It would probably be Chemistry or Biology), sociology(which I'm getting A*'s in at GCSE) or Politics look better if I was wanting to make a strong application for Law or PPE?

If you had completely free rein, and didn't care at all about what universities thought of any given subjects, which four would you choose? Serious question - I'm interested to know.

Ultimately, the advice that I will always give to you and any other applicant is pick subjects you enjoy for the reasons stated above. Stop worrying about which subjects universities 'prefer' to see. If they do not state that they prefer a particular subject on their website, then stop worrying about it.

English literature vs G&P for a law / PPE degree? Doesn't matter, though G&P is a more relevant subject, particularly for the latter.

English lit vs a science? English lit is more relevant and it will develop the essay writing skills that are needed, and there's no need to show a knowledge or aptitude for science for a law / PPE degree.

Reply 11

OP

Original post by Origami Bullets

If you had completely free rein, and didn't care at all about what universities thought of any given subjects, which four would you choose? Serious question - I'm interested to know.

Ultimately, the advice that I will always give to you and any other applicant is pick subjects you enjoy for the reasons stated above. Stop worrying about which subjects universities 'prefer' to see. If they do not state that they prefer a particular subject on their website, then stop worrying about it.

English literature vs G&P for a law / PPE degree? Doesn't matter, though G&P is a more relevant subject, particularly for the latter.

English lit vs a science? English lit is more relevant and it will develop the essay writing skills that are needed, and there's no need to show a knowledge or aptitude for science for a law / PPE degree.

Personally, if I had free rein , I would choose Politics, Sociology, Economics, and Computing but then I'm not really sure what good Uni courses these subject choices would get me onto.
And I don't think I'll now be taking a science for A-Level, but when it comes to Politics, I think in the break between June( when my exams end) and August, I may have a look at some revision guides for both English Lit and Politics to see which one I find best and then take that into account on results day.

Reply 12

mishieru07

12

Original post by sweeneyrod

Maths is indeed very useful for PPE, and often desirable for Law, but not totally necessary, so don't feel compelled to do it (especially to A2) if you really hate it.

Just to clarify, Maths is indeed very useful for PPE, but it is NOT any more desirable for Law vis a vis another subject like Economics or Geography. Law simply doesn't care for Maths one way or another. The only requirement is that you must have at least a C at GCSE Maths. I actually asked my tutors why at interviews, and according to them, it's to ensure that students understand the difference between $100,000 and $1,000,000.

Reply 13

Doones

21

Original post by mishieru07

... it's to ensure that students understand the difference between $100,000 and $1,000,000.

When discussing fees :wink:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 14

iheartdjokovic

18

Original post by aidenj

Hi, I was originally going to do Politics and Government instead of English Lit but I changed it once I read English Lit looked better on UCAS forms, but would taking either a science (It would probably be Chemistry or Biology), sociology(which I'm getting A*'s in at GCSE) or Politics look better if I was wanting to make a strong application for Law or PPE?

I did Government and Politics (often considered a bit of a "doss"), History and German for A level and am in my second year of Law at Oxford, if that helps! :smile:

Reply 15

colourtheory