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Would it be wise to do 5 A Levels?

peterdxherty

Do people ever do 5 A Levels?

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 1

smartass789

Coincidentally, I have a friend who did the EXACT same A Levels as you and got into Oxford. They did 5 A Levels and they admitted that you do have to spend a lot of time but it's really not that difficult.

Reply 2

Zach3

Firstly, universities aren't allowed to discriminate based on how many A levels you offer, as some students are restricted by their college, so this would be more for yourself than your university application.

I'm also looking to study PPE (applying for 2018 entry) and took English Literature, History, Maths and Economics (all Edexcel) at AS, so I have experience taking similar subjects to you. Note that A level History is very different to GCSE - some people really struggle with it, it's far from a walk in the park. History and Politics aren't really necessary together, nor is Economics and Maths, though I'd take Economics over Politics as it's more respected. I enjoyed Economics at AS, but of course that will depend on you.

If you really want to do 5, go ahead, but know what you're getting into. Also, Maths, F. Maths and Politics are all being reformed this year, so that's something to take into account (you'd be the first year group doing them).

Reply 3

black1blade

The act of doing more a-levels doesn't make you more likely to get a place, just that smarter people would be able to handle more subjects.

Reply 4

GreasleyBear

Original post by theeetimdoherty

Hi. First of all, don't just dismiss this by saying "you don't need to do more than 3 A Levels" because statistics show that more high-grade A Levels increase your chances of acceptance at Oxbridge (where I wish to study PPE). I know that 5 A Levels is a lot of work however if you consider that I'm already gonna be doing Further Maths then surely I won't need to work for Standard Maths since if I can do higher level I should be able to do standard level. I'm hoping that this is true so that I can get another A Level in as right now I've chosen Maths, Further Maths, History, Economics but I just find politics so fascinating and the course looks really interesting that I want to do it as well, however removing any of the previously mentioned A Levels would disadvantage me at getting into Oxford PPE. I know that 5 A Levels would require at least 5 hours of work per day from the beginning but I do believe that my interest in politics, and the unproven fact that Further Maths removes the need to revise for normal Maths, will make it manageable. Thanks

Would you be sitting Maths at the end of year 12 and then Further Maths at the end of year 13 or both sets of exams at the end of year 13??

Reply 5

username2926188

Legit Just adding unnecessary stress into your life

Reply 6

flabi

"statistics show that more high-grade A Levels increase your chances of acceptance at Oxbridge"

Correlation is not causation... The sort of people to do more A levels are the sort of people who will get into Oxbridge, but that doesn't mean that you have an advantage by having more A levels.

Also, I do maths and further maths A level, and it would be so lovely if I didn't have to revise for maths. But I do. There is different content in the two A levels; further maths doesn't just take maths and make it more difficult. There are different topics and you need to revise for each one separately.

I wouldn't advise anyone to do four A levels, let alone 5, and everyone I know who started off year 12 with 4 A levels regretted it and dropped a subject after AS (some even dropped a subject before getting an AS).

Oxbridge (as well as every other university) prefer 3 A*s over 5 A's, so focus on the quality of your grades rather than the quantity.

However, if you are well and truly set on doing 5 A levels, then I wish you the best of luck and hope that you get to where you want to go.

Reply 7

RogerOxon

Original post by theeetimdoherty

You seem pretty sure of the answer, so I'm not sure if you really want other opinions.

Do at most four, including Maths + FM. Do not do five. You have an admissions test to prepare for too.

Reply 8

RogerOxon

Original post by theeetimdoherty

First of all, don't just dismiss this by saying "you don't need to do more than 3 A Levels" because statistics show that more high-grade A Levels increase your chances of acceptance at Oxbridge (where I wish to study PPE).