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Rate my Alevels (help)

Maths
Politics
Geography
Psychology (or economics)

How are these choices and would you take psychology or economics? Want to go to a top uni.

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Original post by Jake2109
Maths
Politics
Geography
Psychology (or economics)

How are these choices and would you take psychology or economics? Want to go to a top uni.


Economics is the more respected subject and fits better with your other choices. What do you want to study at university?
Reply 2
Original post by Glassapple
Economics is the more respected subject and fits better with your other choices. What do you want to study at university?


I'm not sure, choosing my a levels took a lot of time and I'm still not sure on them at all, so choosing a degree is going to be even harder. The answer is I have no idea.
Original post by Jake2109
I'm not sure, choosing my a levels took a lot of time and I'm still not sure on them at all, so choosing a degree is going to be even harder. The answer is I have no idea.


Then you should take economics, it links well with your other subjects and gives you more future options than psychology would.
Reply 4
Original post by Glassapple
Then you should take economics, it links well with your other subjects and gives you more future options than psychology would.


Thanks, just annoying because I did 4 hours psychology project today before I realised that I don't think I will enjoy it. I'm not even sure if I should pick maths, thought my GCSE results would help me decide but they didn't at all ....
Original post by Jake2109
Thanks, just annoying because I did 4 hours psychology project today before I realised that I don't think I will enjoy it. I'm not even sure if I should pick maths, thought my GCSE results would help me decide but they didn't at all ....


What did you get at GCSE? If you did economics with your other choices, you'd be able to get into a really wide range of degrees.
Reply 6
Original post by Glassapple
What did you get at GCSE? If you did economics with your other choices, you'd be able to get into a really wide range of degrees.


Maths - 8
E lit - 9
E lan - 9
Geog - A*
Science - A* and A
RS - A*
French - B
PE - A
Original post by Jake2109
Maths - 8
E lit - 9
E lan - 9
Geog - A*
Science - A* and A
RS - A*
French - B
PE - A


You did really well, an 8 is a high A so you'd probably cope with A-level maths if you worked hard. Loads of degrees will be open to you with your choices, such as geography, economics, politics, law, international relations, archaeology and many more.
Reply 8
Original post by Glassapple
You did really well, an 8 is a high A so you'd probably cope with A-level maths if you worked hard. Loads of degrees will be open to you with your choices, such as geography, economics, politics, law, international relations, archaeology and many more.


Thanks, and yeah the only thing I was thinking was whether or not not taking physics would restrict me? But hopefully maths sort of makes up for that. I just don't know if I'd be able to get top results at A level maths, especially with only an 8 at GCSE :/
Original post by Jake2109
Maths
Politics
Geography
Psychology (or economics)

How are these choices and would you take psychology or economics? Want to go to a top uni.


I take Maths A level and took Government and Politics AS, and thoroughly enjoyed both, maybe even politics a little more despite wanting to do a mathematics degree and having a real passion for that subject. Definitely take economics over psychology.

Your choices are fairly good, with the diversity being your advantage as you take mathematics which gives you the problem solving side, as well as the politics and economics giving you the essay side. However, if you are remotely interested in going into a mathematics degree i would recommend taking further maths. It is not a requirement but will help quite considerably. Geography if you enjoy it a lot would be a good subject to take, but the only issue is the fact it does not help too much getting onto degree courses (except geography course, obviously) plus does not take you into many careers. A better option may be Biology or Chemistry if you enjoy those subjects as they will help you get onto a wider range of uni courses, but the compromise is they are amongst the most difficult a levels.

My personal recommendation, first and foremost is take A levels in subjects you are passionate about, but seeing as you want to go to a top uni I assume you are ambitious and would also like a good job. Therefore it would only be sensible to balance your choices between the ones you are passionate about and the ones which will bring you the best prospects. Hope this helps!
Original post by Jake2109
Thanks, and yeah the only thing I was thinking was whether or not not taking physics would restrict me? But hopefully maths sort of makes up for that. I just don't know if I'd be able to get top results at A level maths, especially with only an 8 at GCSE :/


An 8 is a great basis to do A-level maths with, as long you out the work in you really don't need a 9 to do it. Loads of people are doing it with 8s because that's equivalent to a high A.

If you were going to do physics then I'd suggest to do it place of politics, as you'd still have 2 easy subjects in economics and geography and then you'd be able to get into degrees like physics, engineering and geology. The very top universities will want further maths for a physics or engineering degree, but other Russell Group universities like Bath and Exeter don't require it at all. Nowhere requires further maths for geology and universities like Imperial have geography as a preferred subject for geology degrees.
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 11
Original post by MoistMandem
I take Maths A level and took Government and Politics AS, and thoroughly enjoyed both, maybe even politics a little more despite wanting to do a mathematics degree and having a real passion for that subject. Definitely take economics over psychology.

Your choices are fairly good, with the diversity being your advantage as you take mathematics which gives you the problem solving side, as well as the politics and economics giving you the essay side. However, if you are remotely interested in going into a mathematics degree i would recommend taking further maths. It is not a requirement but will help quite considerably. Geography if you enjoy it a lot would be a good subject to take, but the only issue is the fact it does not help too much getting onto degree courses (except geography course, obviously) plus does not take you into many careers. A better option may be Biology or Chemistry if you enjoy those subjects as they will help you get onto a wider range of uni courses, but the compromise is they are amongst the most difficult a levels.

My personal recommendation, first and foremost is take A levels in subjects you are passionate about, but seeing as you want to go to a top uni I assume you are ambitious and would also like a good job. Therefore it would only be sensible to balance your choices between the ones you are passionate about and the ones which will bring you the best prospects. Hope this helps!


Thanks, that is really helpful. Doing a levels maths was a tricky choice for me because I don't naturally EXCEL at maths, so further maths is out of the question to be honest. I wouldn't consider taking a degree in maths just because I think I do better in other areas. I do enjoy geography and it is a facilitating subject, and I definitely think I would do better in it than I would in biology (I won't take chemistry and I decided I would take maths or physics - not both to keep my options broad) so I think I will stick with that. Politics seems solid, and I think I will change my option of psychology to economics. I think I could do well in these subjects, and I feel that 2 facilitating subjects is enough to keep my options open. What do you think?
Reply 12
Original post by Glassapple
An 8 is a great basis to do A-level maths with, as long you out the work in you really don't need a 9 to do it. Loads of people are doing with 8s because that's equivalent to a high A.

If you were going to do physics then I'd suggest to do it place of politics, as you'd still have 2 easy subjects in economics and geography and then you'd be able to get into degrees like physics, engineering and geology. The very top universities will want further maths for a physics or engineering degree, but other Russell Group universities like Bath and Exeter don't require it at all. Nowhere requires further maths for geology and universities like Imperial have geography as a preferred subject for geology degrees.


I'm quite sure I won't go into a degree like physics or computer science, but I just don't want to cut my options off by not taking it. If it only isolates a few specific areas then that is fine.
Original post by Jake2109
I'm quite sure I won't go into a degree like physics or computer science, but I just don't want to cut my options off by not taking it. If it only isolates a few specific areas then that is fine.


It's not going to cut anything off by not taking it, if you don't want to do something that isn't related to it.
Original post by Jake2109
Thanks, that is really helpful. Doing a levels maths was a tricky choice for me because I don't naturally EXCEL at maths, so further maths is out of the question to be honest. I wouldn't consider taking a degree in maths just because I think I do better in other areas. I do enjoy geography and it is a facilitating subject, and I definitely think I would do better in it than I would in biology (I won't take chemistry and I decided I would take maths or physics - not both to keep my options broad) so I think I will stick with that. Politics seems solid, and I think I will change my option of psychology to economics. I think I could do well in these subjects, and I feel that 2 facilitating subjects is enough to keep my options open. What do you think?


The options of Maths, Politics, Geography and Economics are very promising indeed. You could argue all of your subjects are facilitating to some extent, depending on which course you want to do at Uni of course.

Although I dampened the prospects of geography in my previous reply, on further thought it can be very useful when coupled with economics so if you enjoy both those subjects enough i would recommend that as a degree. I understand that you are not clear on what degree course you wish to uptake? As long as you know you will not go into something that requires specific subjects, such as medicine, mathematics or law, your options seem perfect for you. All the best for the future!
Reply 15
Original post by Glassapple
It's not going to cut anything off by not taking it, if you don't want to do something that isn't related to it.


Thanks for your help
Reply 16
Original post by MoistMandem
The options of Maths, Politics, Geography and Economics are very promising indeed. You could argue all of your subjects are facilitating to some extent, depending on which course you want to do at Uni of course.

Although I dampened the prospects of geography in my previous reply, on further thought it can be very useful when coupled with economics so if you enjoy both those subjects enough i would recommend that as a degree. I understand that you are not clear on what degree course you wish to uptake? As long as you know you will not go into something that requires specific subjects, such as medicine, mathematics or law, your options seem perfect for you. All the best for the future!


Just to pick up on what you said in your last reply, what specific subjects do you think law as a degree would require? I have considered law as an option for uni. Thanks
Original post by Glassapple
You did really well, an 8 is a high A so you'd probably cope with A-level maths if you worked hard. Loads of degrees will be open to you with your choices, such as geography, economics, politics, law, international relations, archaeology and many more.


Swear an 8 is an A* at GCSE, the 9 is the new grade like A*s were in a level a while back.
Reply 18
Original post by Attempt2
Swear an 8 is an A* at GCSE, the 9 is the new grade like A*s were in a level a while back.


Yeah I think an 8 is a (low?) A*, and a 9 is top 3% of the country.
Original post by Jake2109
Yeah I think an 8 is a (low?) A*, and a 9 is top 3% of the country.


8 is top 90-96.7%, 9 is top 96.8 & above

this is your score compared to everyone else in the country, not the raw score you got :biggrin:

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