Help me with my A-Level choices?

Hi!

I’ve always been a creative student (Maths, Physics and Chemistry have never been my strong point) more than a ‘logical’ one. My current GCSE’s are:

• English Literature (Final Grade: 7 which is a VERY long story 😭)
• English Language (Mocks: 8)
• Mathematics (Mocks: 5)
• Biology (Mocks: 8)
• Physics (Mocks: 6)
• Chemistry (Mocks: 5)
• Geography (Mocks: A)
• History (Mocks: B one mark off an A 😭)
• Drama (Mocks: A*)
• Music (Final Grade: A*)
• Sociology (Mocks: A)
• Geography (Mocks: A)
• Finance: (Final Grade: A*)

I’m obviously hoping to improve these grades by January!!

The A-Levels that I would like to take are:

• Psychology
• Biology
• History
• Sociology
• Geography
• English Literature

Evidently, I can’t do all of these so I’ll have to narrow it down to 3-4 A-Levels. If I could get any help with this I’d really appreciate it as I’m planning to attend a College open day next week :s

Thank you!! <3

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 1

baeornot

thanks for the help guys really appreciate it lmao

Reply 2

M4cc4n4

Original post by baeornot

thanks for the help guys really appreciate it lmao

You are totally welcome anytime

Reply 3

Queenie123

Original post by baeornot

I do Psychology :smile:

Although, I am only in my first year, AMA x

Reply 4

baeornot

Original post by Queenie123

I do Psychology :smile:

Although, I am only in my first year, AMA x

Thank you! I’ve heard it is a lot more challenging than expected, is that true?

Reply 5

baeornot

Original post by M4cc4n4

You are totally welcome anytime

thanks

Reply 6

teenstressaddict

Seen a lot of these around and I always have the same advice - do what you enjoy! It's the only way to get through two really tough years.
Out of your list, I only actually take History and English Lit (I'm in my second year), but I can tell you a bit about them at A Level..

English Lit is nothing like GCSE. I came into A Level English Lit slightly cocky, with 100% UMS across all my English GCSE papers and suffice to say I was fairly shocked...I found the content to be on another level, and the content and workload is massive. Personally, I do enjoy it but it's the only A Level that I genuinely saw the big 'jump' from GCSE to A Level that everyone talks about. Very dependent on which books you study and your teachers, but as long as you're willing to put in the effort, it's a good A Level to have under your belt, and loved by pretty much all unis.

History is by a mile my favourite A Level. And this is what I mean about enjoying the subject- I enjoy it and so I do far better and am willing to put in the extra work to get the best grades I can. I don't see that much of a difference personally between GCSE and A Level for History, except that the content is triple as much and there are harder concepts to tackle...it's not so much 'telling a story' like it was at GCSE, it's more about the analysis and the links and the evaluation which personally suited me a lot better than GCSE.

Anyway, hope that helped a lot, but genuinely just go with the ones you love the most :smile:

The most depressed people at A Level and the ones who end up having to retake are the ones who took what they thought unis would want to see or would look good...

Reply 7

Queenie123

Original post by baeornot

Thank you! I’ve heard it is a lot more challenging than expected, is that true?

it does have quite a large statistical and scientific element, which I think throws people a little. However, if you don't slack off and pay attention and study from the very beginning, you can keep on top of work :smile:

Reply 8

baeornot

Original post by teenstressaddict

The most depressed people at A Level and the ones who end up having to retake are the ones who took what they thought unis would want to see or would look good...

This is of great help, thank you! Is there a lot more date learning in A Level History than GCSE? That’s one thing I really struggle with😭

Reply 9

teenstressaddict

Original post by baeornot

This is of great help, thank you! Is there a lot more date learning in A Level History than GCSE? That’s one thing I really struggle with😭

Ngl, in total I did learn about 300+ dates in total for the AS. I always tell everyone for A Level dates are absolutely crucial - they give you a complete chronology and structure for the course. What I would say though is that it's manageable to learn them....idk if this will help, but for me, I created complete timelines of every single date that I needed, so had about 150 for each of the things we studied, and then covered up one side, writing out the dates on a whiteboard as I went. Took hours and hours but did the trick. Killed me that I only ended up using about 3 or 4 of those dates in the actual AS though. So yes, it's incredibly incredibly date-y, but put in the work and you'll manage :smile:

Reply 10

Muttley79

Original post by baeornot

...
Evidently, I can’t do all of these so I’ll have to narrow it down to 3-4 A-Levels. If I could get any help with this I’d really appreciate it as I’m planning to attend a College open day next week :s

Thank you!! <3

What do you think you might want to study at uni?

Reply 11

baeornot

Original post by Muttley79

What do you think you might want to study at uni?

Law and English Literature Degree... However as I come from quite a rough area in the UK, the Law A-Level isn’t available as it wasn’t taken by <10 each year which wasn’t paying for the price of the course 😭

Reply 12

Muttley79

Original post by baeornot

Unis don't want Law A level anyway so that is fine.

Take English and then more or less what you like :smile:

Maybe check a few unis for preferred A levels but do take subjects you enjoy. Check the specifications are topics you like - History can vary quite a bit.

Reply 13

baeornot

Original post by Muttley79

Unis don't want Law A level anyway so that is fine.

Take English and then more or less what you like :smile:

Maybe check a few unis for preferred A levels but do take subjects you enjoy. Check the specifications are topics you like - History can vary quite a bit.

Thank you so much!

Reply 14

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

For Law, realistically any combination of three of the A-levels you indicated would be suitable.

History is often seen as very useful preparation for Law at university - it won't help you get in, but once you do start the course the nature and style of assessment in A-level History will be more similar to that of a Law degree and this will help you settle into the course. English Literature is similar in this regard, although to a very slightly lesser extent. History and English Literature are also both required normally to continue to study that subject at university.

If you're considering Psychology, Anthropology/Human Sciences, or Geography/Earth Sciences at degree level, then Geography, Biology, and Psychology may be a suitable combination (for more artsy or less selective Earth Sciences courses, and in general for the others). I only mention this because you made a note of all of these as options, and so it may be something of interest. Be aware though, there will be some element of maths in these courses (statistics for all, and usually statistics and possibly some maths broadly at the level of A-level Maths for Earth Sciences or Human Sciences). If you're wholly committed to Law as a course of study then it's irrelevant, but if you're unsure you may want to look into those subjects (and related subjects) if that is something you enjoy currently.

In general the best advice would be to take those subjects you're most interested in and most enjoy. This will ensure you get the best grades, which is the main thing universities will look at for applicants to non-STEM courses, as normally there are no (or very few) specific subject requirements they want to assess your background in.

Reply 15

xoxofearlessgirl

If you want to do English lit and law at uni, I recommend English lit, psychology and history a levels. My friend does English is Lang/lit and psychology and loves them as they are a good variety but obviously English lit is different but generally English is a good one to have. I do history and love it and that is a good one for law as law isn't favoured by top unis I believe (don't quote me on that) but you said you can't do that anyway. I would consider government and politics if that's an option for you. History has a lot of content but so far I'm loving it (I've just started) and as long as you keep on top of the work then you're fine. I'm currently doing Henry VII and there's a lot of information and facts to remember but it's enjoyable so I find it easier than I thought.
Good luck with whatever you decide! You have plenty of time don't stress or worry. Look around the colleges nearby and get a good feel for all of the subjects you're considering. I didn't know until results what I wanted to do and spoke to several teachers about it. I recommend you research into what unis you like the look of and see what the requirements are to help figure out what you would need for the courses you're interested in. Having A*s in all the subjects you might do for a level isn't a requirement so don't choose a subject because you were good at it at gcse as it can be completely different and there's no point taking a subject you don't enjoy. I'm so thankful that I chose to not take maths because I would've hated it. All my family told me to do it but I chose what I wanted and that is the best advise I can give. Do what will make YOU happy. Keep your options open but don't panic as you have almost a year to figure it out!

Good luck!