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I seriously need help! CHEMISTRY or GEOGRAPHY A-level PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!

So im about to enter a levels however im stuck between the choice of chemistry and geography for many reasons.

So i absolutely loved GCSE geography and loved learning it hence why i want to pick it at a level.I also did ok in it as well so i thought i would have a better chance of getting a decent grade at a level comapred to chemistry.For chemistry i didnt really mind it at GCSE and i thought picknig it would be a good idea however im not so good a practicals, the reason why im really worried for the practical coursework exam in a level chemistry. Also chemistry is really hard meaning the could be a possibility of not doing so well in it compared to geography.

Obviously i need to pick the subject which is relevant to my career choice however will geography or chemistry keep my options will open in the future? And i don't know what will benefit me more and which is better to universities and job interviewers.

The only career that i might want to peruse is electrical engineering but other than that i don't know which a level will keep my career options more open.

I would extremely appreciate any replies because i really need help!

All comments appreciated :smile:

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Reply 1
Original post by Priyanboss517
So im about to enter a levels however im stuck between the choice of chemistry and geography for many reasons.

So i absolutely loved GCSE geography and loved learning it hence why i want to pick it at a level.I also did ok in it as well so i thought i would have a better chance of getting a decent grade at a level comapred to chemistry.For chemistry i didnt really mind it at GCSE and i thought picknig it would be a good idea however im not so good a practicals, the reason why im really worried for the practical coursework exam in a level chemistry. Also chemistry is really hard meaning the could be a possibility of not doing so well in it compared to geography.

Obviously i need to pick the subject which is relevant to my career choice however will geography or chemistry keep my options will open in the future? And i don't know what will benefit me more and which is better to universities and job interviewers.

The only career that i might want to peruse is electrical engineering but other than that i don't know which a level will keep my career options more open.

I would extremely appreciate any replies because i really need help!

All comments appreciated :smile:


For electrical engineering, chemistry might be a tad more relevant. But, you'll need good practical skills (maybe in a different context) to be an engineer.

I haven't done a-level geography but from talking to others, chemistry might be a bigger leap from GCSE

But, don't worry if your skills aren't up to scratch for Chemistry, you will have much more time to practice these skills at a-level.

I'd personally recommend Chemistry! But it's up to you, both are good. Both keep choices open, Chemistry might be a tad better. Depends what other subjects you're wanting to do? both are tough, but Chemistry is seen as slightly tougher, traditionally. Best bet is to get advice from someone who did both.

Good luck!
Reply 2
Original post by Jitesh
For electrical engineering, chemistry might be a tad more relevant. But, you'll need good practical skills (maybe in a different context) to be an engineer.

I haven't done a-level geography but from talking to others, chemistry might be a bigger leap from GCSE

But, don't worry if your skills aren't up to scratch for Chemistry, you will have much more time to practice these skills at a-level.

I'd personally recommend Chemistry! But it's up to you, both are good. Both keep choices open, Chemistry might be a tad better. Depends what other subjects you're wanting to do? both are tough, but Chemistry is seen as slightly tougher, traditionally. Best bet is to get advice from someone who did both.

Good luck!


Thanks for the advice! I just thought chemistry would be more regarded than geography because of the difficulty.
Reply 3
Original post by Priyanboss517
Thanks for the advice! I just thought chemistry would be more regarded than geography because of the difficulty.


Not really, both are facilitating subjects. I would say people tend to agree chemistry is harder, but it's hard to say that as a definitive fact. Some people may find Chemistry easier than Geography, as it requires a greater level of understanding - most people should be able to understand Geography

All IMO though
Original post by Priyanboss517
So im about to enter a levels however im stuck between the choice of chemistry and geography for many reasons.

So i absolutely loved GCSE geography and loved learning it hence why i want to pick it at a level.I also did ok in it as well so i thought i would have a better chance of getting a decent grade at a level comapred to chemistry.For chemistry i didnt really mind it at GCSE and i thought picknig it would be a good idea however im not so good a practicals, the reason why im really worried for the practical coursework exam in a level chemistry. Also chemistry is really hard meaning the could be a possibility of not doing so well in it compared to geography.

Obviously i need to pick the subject which is relevant to my career choice however will geography or chemistry keep my options will open in the future? And i don't know what will benefit me more and which is better to universities and job interviewers.

The only career that i might want to peruse is electrical engineering but other than that i don't know which a level will keep my career options more open.

I would extremely appreciate any replies because i really need help!

All comments appreciated :smile:


What other subjects have you chosen so far?
Reply 5
Original post by Jitesh
Not really, both are facilitating subjects. I would say people tend to agree chemistry is harder, but it's hard to say that as a definitive fact. Some people may find Chemistry easier than Geography, as it requires a greater level of understanding - most people should be able to understand Geography

All IMO though


Yeah that's true, i just don't know if chemistry will keep my future options open compared to geography.
The practical assessment doesn't actually make a difference to your grade in chem and you can just repeat practicals at the end of year 13 to make sure you get practical endorsement. If you liked remembering case studies for geography then do geography.
Reply 7
Original post by black1blade
The practical assessment doesn't actually make a difference to your grade in chem and you can just repeat practicals at the end of year 13 to make sure you get practical endorsement. If you liked remembering case studies for geography then do geography.


Oh really! So you can repeat the practical to get a higher grade? Because i thought the exam boards set specific dates for which you will do the practical on.
Original post by Priyanboss517
Oh really! So you can repeat the practical to get a higher grade? Because i thought the exam boards set specific dates for which you will do the practical on.


My teachers for physics and chemistry really don't seem to care too much. At the end of the day it's just a teacher ticking boxes on a spread sheet and you don't get a grade just pass or fail (and you basically need a pass for it to be accepted by a lot unis but as I said you can just redo the practicals). Due to the fact practicals don't count toward grade now, they've added in a lot more practical questions into the exams which are annoying but much better than being graded on a boring af lab report. Almost didn't get A* in gcse chem because the controlled assessment I did in year 10 (had my c3 remarked and it went up 2 marks so got my A*).
Reply 9
Original post by OrangeSaber
What other subjects have you chosen so far?


Maths and electronics
Original post by Priyanboss517
So im about to enter a levels however im stuck between the choice of chemistry and geography for many reasons.

So i absolutely loved GCSE geography and loved learning it hence why i want to pick it at a level.I also did ok in it as well so i thought i would have a better chance of getting a decent grade at a level comapred to chemistry.For chemistry i didnt really mind it at GCSE and i thought picknig it would be a good idea however im not so good a practicals, the reason why im really worried for the practical coursework exam in a level chemistry. Also chemistry is really hard meaning the could be a possibility of not doing so well in it compared to geography.

Obviously i need to pick the subject which is relevant to my career choice however will geography or chemistry keep my options will open in the future? And i don't know what will benefit me more and which is better to universities and job interviewers.

The only career that i might want to peruse is electrical engineering but other than that i don't know which a level will keep my career options more open.

I would extremely appreciate any replies because i really need help!

All comments appreciated :smile:




Chemistry and Physics are the hardest a-levels. The only way you can get a good grade in chemistry is if you revise it everyday and I'm not even joking when i say that (I'm telling you from experience). Ask anyone that does chemistry and they will say the same. Geography is a lotttt easier and you will still have time for somewhat of a social life but just double check the entry requirements committing to a subject
Reply 11
Original post by black1blade
My teachers for physics and chemistry really don't seem to care too much. At the end of the day it's just a teacher ticking boxes on a spread sheet and you don't get a grade just pass or fail (and you basically need a pass for it to be accepted by a lot unis but as I said you can just redo the practicals). Due to the fact practicals don't count toward grade now, they've added in a lot more practical questions into the exams which are annoying but much better than being graded on a boring af lab report. Almost didn't get A* in gcse chem because the controlled assessment I did in year 10 (had my c3 remarked and it went up 2 marks so got my A*).


Aha, that's awesome, but surely the practical does contribute to the overall grade at the end? Maybe a little bit? What do you need to get to pass?
Reply 12
Original post by chemistry002
Chemistry and Physics are the hardest a-levels. The only way you can get a good grade in chemistry is if you revise it everyday and I'm not even joking when i say that (I'm telling you from experience). Ask anyone that does chemistry and they will say the same. Geography is a lotttt easier and you will still have time for somewhat of a social life but just double check the entry requirements committing to a subject


Wow. The fact that its so time consuming just makes me wounder how i can handle my other two a levels :/ Thanks for the advice though!
Original post by Priyanboss517
Aha, that's awesome, but surely the practical does contribute to the overall grade at the end? Maybe a little bit? What do you need to get to pass?


It's not graded at all it's just pass or fail if you've done all the practicals and displayed all the skills. The grade is 100% from exam. At least that's the case for ocr, might not be the same for other exam boards but it seems to be across the boards because my edexcel physics has the same practical endorsement thing. Not taking chemistry because you are scarred of practicals is quite frankly ridiculous.
I mean I don't revise chemistry everyday but I do chemistry work most days of the week. Chemistry is easier to understand as you go but physics you need to do practice doing problems later in the course when you've covered a lot of things.
Reply 15
Original post by black1blade
It's not graded at all it's just pass or fail if you've done all the practicals and displayed all the skills. The grade is 100% from exam. At least that's the case for ocr, might not be the same for other exam boards but it seems to be across the boards because my edexcel physics has the same practical endorsement thing. Not taking chemistry because you are scarred of practicals is quite frankly ridiculous.


Yeah, that's the only reason why i was holding back at chemistry because of the practicals because im not so good at it.So the practical is not graded at all? Just pass or fail? My exam board is WJEC.
I have done both A levels. you should not worry about the practicals they are really really easy.But i would say do chemistry as it is alot more relevant to electronic engineering especially when you will learn about electrode potential and gibbs free energy. dont let these people put you off, chemistry isnt that bad
Reply 17
I've just finished chemistry a level and I absolutely loved it. I didn't take geography but I have loads of friends who did and really regretted, geography was the most taken as level in our sixth form but then around half of them dropped in second year because they found it very boring and basically all they were doing was memorising loads and loads of facts for the exams. IMO chemistry would be more useful in life as it helps you develop your analytical skills and general scientific knowledge, although i'm sure geography is also a very useful subject to take. You will be studying whichever subject you choose for two years so the main thing is make sure you can picture yourself still doing it and enjoying it in two years time.
Reply 18
Original post by black1blade
I mean I don't revise chemistry everyday but I do chemistry work most days of the week. Chemistry is easier to understand as you go but physics you need to do practice doing problems later in the course when you've covered a lot of things.



I mean, it must be hard to balance the workloads and revision for 3 a levels surely? I thought there would be no time for a social life aha.
Original post by Priyanboss517
Yeah, that's the only reason why i was holding back at chemistry because of the practicals because im not so good at it.So the practical is not graded at all? Just pass or fail? My exam board is WJEC.


Ah okay bad luck for wjec you have a practical worth 10% of the marks in year 13.

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