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Should I do History or Sociology for A-level?

I'm really conflicted over my third A-level choice - I know that I want to do Politics and Psychology, but I can't choose between Sociology and History. I got an A in my History mocks and am fairly certain that I can get an A* at GCSE, and I'd say I'm pretty interested in the modules that they're doing for History at the sixth form I'm going to.

However, I want to go to uni and study occupational therapy. All the unis I've checked don't care about what A-levels you choose, but my ideal one needs BBB. I think that sociology may be more relevant to the job I want to do, and it looks to be pretty interesting. However, History is a very solid and respected subject so I don't know which one to pick? Sorry for blabbering, and thanks for any help :smile:
Reply 1
Sociology all the way! I did it for A Level and loved every moment of it! It goes really well with Psychology (another one of my subjects) and I'm imagining that it would fit really well with Politics because of the social theory aspects etc. I'm biased I know, but it was one of my favourite subjects :wink:

In terms of OT - I do think that sociology would have more links, but the links to OT will depend on the areas that your school/college chooses to study - for example, I did family, education, beliefs and crime and none of this have massive links, but I know people who have done health etc as part of the course which obviosuly links a lot more :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by 08graya
Sociology all the way! I did it for A Level and loved every moment of it! It goes really well with Psychology (another one of my subjects) and I'm imagining that it would fit really well with Politics because of the social theory aspects etc. I'm biased I know, but it was one of my favourite subjects :wink:

In terms of OT - I do think that sociology would have more links, but the links to OT will depend on the areas that your school/college chooses to study - for example, I did family, education, beliefs and crime and none of this have massive links, but I know people who have done health etc as part of the course which obviosuly links a lot more :smile:


I've been edging more towards Sociology and I think there's a lot more transferable skills and content with my other two subjects than with History. I think that's what I'm going to choose, thanks :smile:
Reply 3
Original post by rebd0mine
I'm really conflicted over my third A-level choice - I know that I want to do Politics and Psychology, but I can't choose between Sociology and History. I got an A in my History mocks and am fairly certain that I can get an A* at GCSE, and I'd say I'm pretty interested in the modules that they're doing for History at the sixth form I'm going to.

However, I want to go to uni and study occupational therapy. All the unis I've checked don't care about what A-levels you choose, but my ideal one needs BBB. I think that sociology may be more relevant to the job I want to do, and it looks to be pretty interesting. However, History is a very solid and respected subject so I don't know which one to pick? Sorry for blabbering, and thanks for any help :smile:


I would recommend doing History over Sociology by far because History is very broad of a subject compared to Sociology and is well regarded by employers and universities. Psychology is also a good choice if you're interested and if you're stuck for a third then you could do either Politics/Sociology which are similar - this is dependent on the course you want to do.
Reply 4
I do sociology for A level and I really enjoy it, I think you should go with it because it's really fascinating and will as you said be more relevant to your future job choice. Honestly it opens your eyes up about a lot in society too, really interesting stuff x
I think you should probably do history. It's a much more respected a level and has many transferable skills you will need for university (reading texts critically, writing essays, doing research). Everyone I know who does sociology hates it because it's not what they were expecting it to be. Your a levels won't really be able to give you a headstart on your degree, especially with what you want to do.
My opinion will probably be biased because I do a history degree but I would seriously recommend doing history at A-Level. History is a very broad subject and it is more easier to get a high grade in history because there is a clear format to write an essay. If you want to do occupational therapy then it is better to take psychology or biology than sociology.
I do both History and Sociology at A Level and both have their merits. History works brilliantly with politics and sociology works brilliantly with psychology; I personally prefer History but Sociology has been really interesting in terms of research and applications to modern day, particularly with the different perspectives put forward. It's up to you.

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