Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

3 or 4 A levels?? Taking two languages??

Next year, I will be going into year 11 and so I have started to think about what I would like to do after school and which A levels I should take. First of all I would love to know how much time is spent outside of college on each subject per week. Is it really 4 hours?? Would I have to study for 16 hours per week outside of classes if I took 4 A levels?
At the moment, I am choosing between French, Maths, Spanish and English Literature but could potentially take them all. If anyone has studied these subjects I would also be interested in your experiences - especially whether it's wise to take two languages. My only issue is I feel that Maths would be a bit pointless as I'm not taking any science and Further Maths may be needed to get on a Maths degree.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Reply 1

alleycat393

Original post by Examstresser1234

Maths is generally a good one to have as it opens some doors even if you don't end up doing maths or science later. There's nothing wrong with two languages though maybe not with English lit as well. I'd choose another arts subject instead just to break it up. But yes doing 4 A levels will require time and dedication so make sure you're ready for it and need it as if you don't your performance in the other subjects may suffer.

Reply 2

Abby3112

I highly recommend maths as it is very versatile subject. Several people at my school took multiple languages and all of them dropped down to one language by the end of the year so honestly I wouldn't recommend it.

I come from a very demanding school where we easily had 3 hours of homework per night - so I would say at least 5 hours per week will be essential for you to do well in your studies ☺️

No matter what you pick, if you don't like the course within the first week, drop it! (I'm speaking from personal experience - I sat through a year and a half of physics when I hated it at the first lesson)

Reply 3

illmatics

I did 4 subjects levels in my AS year and must admit I sort of regret doing it. On top of the fact that I had an extremely time-consuming part-time job (not because of the hours I worked, but because I had to travel ages to get to it), I often found myself with little free time during the week. That being said, it could be down to the fact that I can be a slow worker and can get easily distracted because I know other people who did 4 subjects, as well as more extra-curricular activities than me, and seemed to handle it a lot easier than me haha. What I would suggest is, if you are really unsure, do all 4 then drop one at the end of September or October if you feel like it's getting a bit too much (or even halfway through the year when you get a taste of what it's like handling all 4 during exams with mocks).

I didn't do any languages at A-level but I would say avoid doing two unless you are going to apply for a degree in a language. I'm currently doing English Literature and would 100% recommend it if you enjoyed the GCSE. Taking Maths definitely wouldn't be pointless and would actually be good at keeping some of your doors open for university courses and if you're planning on doing a language and english lit., the numeracy involved in the subject would probably be a nice break from the constant essay-writing in other classes.

Reply 4

TheDoctorWho

Take three. I should STRESS this.
A-Levels (unless pursuing a science-related degree) are generally no longer relevant once you're at university. They're not discussed unless someone has studied a similiar subject as someone else or attended the same Sixth Form and grades are never talked about. Gaining entry into university is the most important motivation during this period of your life, it's the reason you're studying at Sixth Form. Universities only require good grades in 3 subjects for entry and anyone advising you to take a fourth is only decreasing your chances of gaining entry into university.

Short-term studying four subjects is great for bragging and seeming intelligent, long-term, they're incredibly stressful because you won't be able to focus on your other subjects as much, a weak grade in any subject (even if your have four) is not as great as three strong grades alone on your application. I would advise you to study Maths, a language and English Literature. Maths is a strong field and unless you've got an A-Level in subject you generally won't be able to continue onto degree level without a Foundation course. Any language is seen as a strong course because they're part of STEM. There are better humanities such as Philosophy or History, but generally speaking, English Lit is also a strong humanities subject.

Whilst the top-universities are incredibly competitive (Oxbridge), every other university will look at (3 strong A-Levels and strong AS-Level) candidates much more favourable than (4 A-Levels) unless their performance is consistent across every qualification. However, it is a lot harder to gain high grades in four subjects overall than it is 3.

Good luck!

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

There's really no need to take 4 subjects, unless you intend to drop one at the end of year 12, or if one is Further Maths and you plan to apply to physical science courses or similar.

French, Spanish, and English Literature is a fairly consistent set of subjects which is good prepartion for any number of language or literary courses. Many students take two languages at university if they do intend to continue to study languages, so having experience of juggling multiple languages in this sense is helpful. Additionally literary studies in the target language are fairly common at higher levels in those languages, so English lit is applicable.

Maths on it's own is essentially only useful if you apply to Economics (or some related courses such as some Finance or Accounting courses). You could apply to some Maths and Computer Science courses with just Maths, but you would have a much weaker background without Further Maths (and/or Physics, usually). You wouldn't have any science subjects to apply to typical science courses - although some less typical ones such as Human Sciences (at e.g. Oxford) may consider candidates without sciences, and usually view Maths as very useful. I mean, it's not bad but, since you have indicated an interest in taking multiple languages and literature subjects, then I don't see why you should move away from your interests and strengths to take a token STEM subject. It may be somewhat useful, albeit more abstractly, if you are considering pursuing Linguistics though.

Reply 6

eggyeol

Hi!

I'm currently studying both French and Spanish at A-level (just finished AS) and I'd really recommend it. At first I was hesitant as my French was no where near as good as my Spanish so I was worried that I'd find it too difficult and would have to swap, but honestly it's amazing how much your language skills develop after one year and right now I'd say I'm equally as good at both of them :smile:

I honestly think doing two languages makes things a lot easier. If you're with the same exam board, the topics are practically the same but in a different language (of course). For example, in both French and Spanish I cover the topic of the changing family structure so I can easily make a point in one language and then just transfer it over to the other. Plus, I've found that doing both has really helped me get my head around grammar more quickly as it can be quite similar sometimes in both languages. It's also nice that just reading magazines or watching TV shows counts as revision :tongue:

Reply 7

username3165128

At the moment I am thinking of doing a languages degree and although I am interested in English and I do a lot of reading, the exam style and the way the subject is taught doesn't seem to suit me. Therefore I think I will take three: French, Spanish and Maths. Does this seem like a good combination or will I always be limimted to a languages degree incase I change my mind?