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Is 5 too many A-levels?

i have applied to the sixth form at my school and am wondering if i have chosen too many subjects
I am taken 4 a-levels:
psychology
sociology
fine art
philosophy, ethics and eastern thought

and 1 AS-levels:
English literature

i personally think i would be able to cope but everyone has told me i wont be able to. Any advice?

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Reply 1

Grizzelex

You should drop one if you can. But only focus on subjects that are related to your intended career choice.
Should you decide to do them all, believe in yourself, it's not impossible to pass them all. Do single-hand research, study hard and try to master past papers. Good luck.

Reply 2

Grizzelex

P.S; A-levels are really hard, do not play with it.

Reply 3

username2752874

Original post by elliemaybl

Well, you can try. You'll be free to drop them anyway

Reply 4

AzureCeleste

You don't need that many subjects, only do it if you want to do them. Few people take 4 a-levels, even less 5-maybe think about why that is the case?

Reply 5

RhynieChert

I took 5 AS levels in maths further maths chemistry physics and drama and went on to take the first four to full a level, and while I coped fine with the work load I feel taking 5 essay subjects would be a lot more time consuming and you should consider taking just the four. however if you are willing to work hard and expect to do very well then there's nothing to stop you taking all 5 then dropping one if you need to

Reply 6

DrySpoon53

Do you know what you want to do after a levels?

Reply 7

elliemaybl

Original post by DrySpoon53

Do you know what you want to do after a levels?

I would love to do something within the social sciences. I really like the sound of oxford's PPL course or maybe something around theology or anthropology.

Reply 8

elliemaybl

Original post by AzureCeleste

You don't need that many subjects, only do it if you want to do them. Few people take 4 a-levels, even less 5-maybe think about why that is the case?

mainly because i couldn't pick between the subjects at all, i know i'm interested in all of them equally. However i am currently only aiming for a 7 in English whereas the others i am getting 8s and 9s in so if i was to drop any it would be English.

Reply 9

RhynieChert

Original post by elliemaybl

I would love to do something within the social sciences. I really like the sound of oxford's PPL course or maybe something around theology or anthropology.

In this case certainly the a level fine art feels unnecessary, if you enjoy art you can do it for your own pleasure without taking the on the extra work load of an a level, and Oxford usually like to see at least two facilitating subjects taken to full a level, I would recommend taking history for the courses you are interested in.

Reply 10

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper

Original post by Kyber Ninja

Well, you can try. You'll be free to drop them anyway

Yeah, at least theres the option to drop one.
It will be hard, but it is doable if you work very hard. I know someone who did it.

Reply 11

elliemaybl

I am going to answer a question at a time haha

i think i will be alright as many people who know me closely have said i will be able to manage. For the last year or so i have been spending all lunches and breaks revising and am spending an average of 4 hours a night working, so i am used to the intense workload.

I have talked to many current and past A-level students and have gotten a rough feel of the work load.

the main reason i am taking so many is that i am really interested in all of them and could not pick between them.

I would love to do something within the social sciences. I really like the sound of oxford's PPL course or maybe something around theology or anthropology.

Out of all my subjects English is the one i am mostly to drop as i feel its the one i struggle most with.

i am achieving 9s in GCSE fine art at the moment pretty easily and have taken it as a more "relaxing" subject and a break from all the essay writing. Its truly my favorite subject!

Reply 12

elliemaybl

Original post by aesthete1

i am achieving 9s in GCSE fine art at the moment pretty easily and have taken it as a more "relaxing" subject and a break from all the essay writing. Its truly my favorite subject!

I was considering taking History but did not take it for GCSE and i did not really like the eras my school offered for the course, also the teacher scares me a little haha

However outside of school i have done a lot of research into history myself and watch around 4-5 history documentaries a week and read multiple books on the subject.

Reply 13

Fazzy_77

Original post by elliemaybl

Only do the ones that you will need to get into the uni course that you want to do (if you even want to go to uni). I think taking 5 would be very risky.

Reply 14

RhynieChert

Original post by elliemaybl

if you're serious about applying for Oxford you should then consider focusing on taking two facilitating subjects and doing well in them alongside fine art if you want to be a competitive applicant

Reply 15

munchm_

Forget doing 5 - 3 A-levels are too many.

IMO - Drop Sociology and Philosophy. Do Literature into A-level. Do not make yourself suffer with 5 A-levels, there is literally no point to it.

Reply 16

gomgossa

It sounds like you have a lot of confidence and work hard, which is great- keep it up.

However, taking 4 essay subjects along with fine art will really take its toll on you and won't work. I can tell you that fine art won't be relaxing with all the other subjects (not that I take it, but I have heard the workload is very intense). With gcses, you feel like you have security in understanding everything and you might always feel that you want to go above and beyond the workload you've been set. It's not like this at a A Level, and a lot of your time may be spent trying to understand the topics in more depth rather than just on memorisation.

You say that you're working for all this time every night, but there will come a point when it's impossible to do more work than you already are- all your potential free periods will be used up by extra subjects, and yet you will have more of a need for them.

4 is fine considering you seem to work so hard, otherwise I would suggest 3 is ideal.

Reply 17

AzureCeleste

Original post by elliemaybl

You want a social life don't you? Don't take 5 subjects if you're going to spend breaks and lunches revising-not worth it at all, better to focus on getting 3 good grades then 5 mediocre ones.