HELP! Should I choose A Level subjects based on my GCSE grade?
Hey 
As I received my GCSE results today, I got 8 A*s and 1 A, which was in English Language (didn't take Lit) and I have chosen to study English Lit A Level as one of my options. I have been having second thoughts about Lit throughout the entire summer break, considering changing it to Economics for which I have received subject awards and got close to full marks on pretty much every class test. However, I barely scrapped the A* in my Economics GCSE, being only 1 mark over the A* grade boundary which surprised me and made me lose faith in my ability to perform as well as I thought in the subject at A Level.
Do you think I should take Economics or stick with English Lit? My other subjects are Maths Biology and Physics!
As I received my GCSE results today, I got 8 A*s and 1 A, which was in English Language (didn't take Lit) and I have chosen to study English Lit A Level as one of my options. I have been having second thoughts about Lit throughout the entire summer break, considering changing it to Economics for which I have received subject awards and got close to full marks on pretty much every class test. However, I barely scrapped the A* in my Economics GCSE, being only 1 mark over the A* grade boundary which surprised me and made me lose faith in my ability to perform as well as I thought in the subject at A Level.
Do you think I should take Economics or stick with English Lit?
My other subjects are Maths Biology and Physics!
Maths Biology and Physics are 3 very demanding subjects so the question isn't what should I take? It's what will you enjoy taking?
Also an A* is an A* no matter if it's low or full marks. Just because you didn't get 100% UMS - your university isn't going to look at that, only the grade. And you did amazing. So don't panic about that, that doesn't mean much.
Also an A* is an A* no matter if it's low or full marks. Just because you didn't get 100% UMS - your university isn't going to look at that, only the grade. And you did amazing. So don't panic about that, that doesn't mean much.
Original post by solark
Hey
As I received my GCSE results today, I got 8 A*s and 1 A, which was in English Language (didn't take Lit) and I have chosen to study English Lit A Level as one of my options. I have been having second thoughts about Lit throughout the entire summer break, considering changing it to Economics for which I have received subject awards and got close to full marks on pretty much every class test. However, I barely scrapped the A* in my Economics GCSE, being only 1 mark over the A* grade boundary which surprised me and made me lose faith in my ability to perform as well as I thought in the subject at A Level.
Do you think I should take Economics or stick with English Lit? My other subjects are Maths Biology and Physics!
As I received my GCSE results today, I got 8 A*s and 1 A, which was in English Language (didn't take Lit) and I have chosen to study English Lit A Level as one of my options. I have been having second thoughts about Lit throughout the entire summer break, considering changing it to Economics for which I have received subject awards and got close to full marks on pretty much every class test. However, I barely scrapped the A* in my Economics GCSE, being only 1 mark over the A* grade boundary which surprised me and made me lose faith in my ability to perform as well as I thought in the subject at A Level.
Do you think I should take Economics or stick with English Lit?
My other subjects are Maths Biology and Physics!I usually object to soynding cheesy but your obviously smart just pick the one you enjoy more. At alevel its not so much the raw difficulty that troubles people but the effort of revising material you feel as if is not relevent to you. So genuinely just pick not the one you are better at but the one you find more interesting since with enjoyment and hard work a student with 8a* at gcse can turn any alevel they like to a A/A* too
This is kind of an absurd question - provided you actually work to the same level as you have been as a baseline, and then rise to the level necessary for continuing through 6th form, there's no reason any subject would be an issue. Take the one you are actually interested in, and if applicable, that you may want to study at university.
I'd suggest taking Chemistry, in all honesty, as it opens far more options within the biosciences together with Biology, and is more useful background for going into the physical sciences. For other subjects that don't require any specific A-level background (or only require Maths, for example) such as Law or Economics, Chemistry is perfectly acceptable as well.
I'd suggest taking Chemistry, in all honesty, as it opens far more options within the biosciences together with Biology, and is more useful background for going into the physical sciences. For other subjects that don't require any specific A-level background (or only require Maths, for example) such as Law or Economics, Chemistry is perfectly acceptable as well.
It depends what career think you might want to go in to:
If you think you might want to do a life science subject at uni (e.g Medicine, Biology, Pharmacy) then I'd recommend doing chemistry as your options will be limited without it - I'd imagine Maths, Bio, Chem and Phys is the perfect combination for these subjects.
If you think you may want to do maths, physics, engineering at university then I'd strongly recommend taking further maths if your school offers it. At very top unis it's often a requirement, otherwise it's very useful for these subjects anyway.
If you may want to do an economics degree, having one of further maths or economics will put you in a strong position. I do both fm and econ and can confirm that economics is an easier option that fm, though I got similar GCSEs to you and achieved an A in my AS/mock exam for both fm and Econ - so both are manageable.
If you're more interested in a social sciences/humanities degree (that isn't economics) then Econ is a good option though English Lit (although it is seen as more demanding) would be seen as a better choice due to an even greater extent of writing and the fact that it's a facilitating subject.
If you think you might want to do a life science subject at uni (e.g Medicine, Biology, Pharmacy) then I'd recommend doing chemistry as your options will be limited without it - I'd imagine Maths, Bio, Chem and Phys is the perfect combination for these subjects.
If you think you may want to do maths, physics, engineering at university then I'd strongly recommend taking further maths if your school offers it. At very top unis it's often a requirement, otherwise it's very useful for these subjects anyway.
If you may want to do an economics degree, having one of further maths or economics will put you in a strong position. I do both fm and econ and can confirm that economics is an easier option that fm, though I got similar GCSEs to you and achieved an A in my AS/mock exam for both fm and Econ - so both are manageable.
If you're more interested in a social sciences/humanities degree (that isn't economics) then Econ is a good option though English Lit (although it is seen as more demanding) would be seen as a better choice due to an even greater extent of writing and the fact that it's a facilitating subject.
If you want to take English Lit, honestly take it!! Believe it or not I know lots and lots of people whose only A was English language who went on to do brilliantly in English Lit A Level and go to the top universities, some even to DO English. That's close friends and family.. So if you want it, don't let that A hold you back! Xx
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