The Student Room Group

a level options help

I am really struggling with my a level options.
I am consdering Biology, Psychology, Art and English lit but only want to take 3 so opinions from people who have done any of these subjects would be good.
I am unsure of my future plans so want to keep my options open but am consdering law, design or social science based careers.
Any guidance on if these subjects complement each other, their level of difficulty and their enjoyabilty would be really helpful. Thanks :smile:
To do law you would need an essay based subject, ie English Lit would cover you. As a facilitating subject it means if you had a change of mind and wished to do English you still could as it is a higher level entry requirement
For social sciences you don't need psychology (I take it though and it is very interesting so I would sill take it even though it isn't explicitly an entry requirement as some colleges don't offer it)
Biology - very good, keeps options up for sciences esp with psychology as well
ART - I presume an entry requirement for art degrees BUT if you aren't sure I just want to warn and say it is a massive workload, + I feel you'd be safer with three subjects that would keep options open for you. But if you like art by all means take it - I love GCSE!
Hope this helps
thanks for the reply :smile:
I think i will definetely take english as i feel it is most relevant to what i want to do.
yes psychology really interests me so i think i would really enjoy to do it.
and Biology is quite analytical so i feel it would be good.
I think i am reconsidering art as even though i like it and am predicted 8 at GCSE i think the workload may be overwhelming at a level
Hi there,

I currently do Biology, and I would say it is ok. There is a lot of content though, so you need to understand that you will have to revise a lot. I have a lovely Biology teacher though, who makes our lessons really fun. She also gives us key points that you will need to include in an exam question- this is important as the mark scheme is super picky, so you will need to revise key words.

Once you learn about something, e.g. how the heart works, it makes you feel really clever and is satisfying.

Some of my friends do Psychology, and they say it's great. You have to revise, but it is more general in a way.

I hope that helps, and I hope your final decision works out well for you,

Good luck for your GCSE exams also ! :smile:
Original post by Mollllyyyyyy
thanks for the reply :smile:
I think i will definetely take english as i feel it is most relevant to what i want to do.
yes psychology really interests me so i think i would really enjoy to do it.
and Biology is quite analytical so i feel it would be good.
I think i am reconsidering art as even though i like it and am predicted 8 at GCSE i think the workload may be overwhelming at a level


Hey no problem - english lit, biology and psychology sounds like a good mix. I do combined lang/lit, Psychology and Spanish. But all my friends do biology and it looks so interesting I wish I took it!

Guaranteed with A Levels of any kind there is a lot of content to know. For psych, my exam board, which is OCR, has 20 core studies + research methods + three specialised units like mental health, criminology etc. It sounds a lot but is fascinating!

With regards to art, I would suggest seeing how you feel in the next few months. I loved art but yeah couldn't face the workload + couldn't see myself getting higher than a B. If you had to decide against taking it would your sixth form have an art society? It would be great enrichment + no pressure of deadlines it's just exploring your passion + great to discuss on personal statement!

And if your sixth offers an EPQ you could explore your artistic side with that?

Whatever happens the subjects mentioned all seem really cool :smile:
Reply 5
Are they on an AS/A2 setup? Would you feel okay doing all four at AS first year and then dropping one and keeping the other three as full A Levels second year? (or is that the exact kind of thing you're trying to avoid? - if yes then sorry!)
Original post by MKBH
Are they on an AS/A2 setup? Would you feel okay doing all four at AS first year and then dropping one and keeping the other three as full A Levels second year? (or is that the exact kind of thing you're trying to avoid? - if yes then sorry!)

unfortunately my sixth form no longer offers that so they all have to be a2 levels
great idea thanks. i think ym sixth form offers EPQ's so i can always focus that on design. i think i could always continue art as a hobby rather than with stressful deadlines and grades.
Original post by Mollllyyyyyy
I am really struggling with my a level options.
I am consdering Biology, Psychology, Art and English lit but only want to take 3 so opinions from people who have done any of these subjects would be good.
I am unsure of my future plans so want to keep my options open but am consdering law, design or social science based careers.
Any guidance on if these subjects complement each other, their level of difficulty and their enjoyabilty would be really helpful. Thanks :smile:


Are they the 4 you think youd get the biggest enjoyment and highest grades from?

Why Art? Unless you are excellent or you think its oing to be part of yur degree, then id drop that as a creative.

It may be acceptable with Biology and Lit, bit Biol Lit and Psych out of your 4 .

Law has no set subjects an you can do any if you get the grades. Some of the elite unis are a bit more choosy.

History imo is the one that teaches you the most skills.
Reply 9
Original post by Mollllyyyyyy
unfortunately my sixth form no longer offers that so they all have to be a2 levels


Ugh that sucks! From what you've said above you seem to be leaning towards English with psychology and biology - is that fair to say? Maybe you could still do art on the side as a hobby or in a club?
If not, some colleges have a window at the start of term where if you don't want to continue a subject you can drop it (my college gives the first 2 weeks of term for people to drop/pick up/replace subjects). Perhaps you could sign up for all 4 and do it long enough to get an idea of if you can manage the workload and then if you change your mind ditch one?
art is probably my favourite but employment wise probably the least likely.
i am equally as good at art as i am witht eh other, my GCSE predicted grades are Art 8 Biology 8 Eng lit 8 and i have never doen psychology so grades wise should be equal
probably yes as i find it to be the most workload. Although i do really enjoy it.
I think my sixth form may offer that os that could be an idea. Thanks
Contrary to prior comments, an essay based subject is not required for Law (anywhere, to my knowledge) although it may be helpful once you start the course. Universities up to and including Oxbridge happily take candidates offering a full set of science subjects (and hence, no essay subjects). The overriding requirement for Law is to have a good academic background. As such, Art/Design courses usually do not, in themselves satisfy admissions tutors.

However generally, most universities are more than happy to consider applications from students with at least 2 traditionally academic A-level courses and potentially one other. It may be less ideal for applying to e.g. Oxbridge/LSE/similar, but most others won't have any preference including most of the other London unis to my knowledge. Additionally Fine Art is sometimes seen as more academic than other design subjects and would probably be the preferably option as such.

It's very common, although not explciitly required, for students going onto art and/or design degrees to have done a Foundation Art Diploma. These often require A-level Art in some capacity (and specifically usually art rather than e.g. textiles, graphic design etc) to apply to successfully, although a suitable portfolio is required no matter what and it may be possible to develop one without taking the subject. If you look in @PQ 's created threads there is a marvelous thread on FAD courses that is far more informative than I could be. This could be a useful reference.

I would thus suggest taking at least two out of biology/english lit/psychology and then either art or the remaining one of the first three while developing your artistic work in your spare time. However if you do seriously want to consider creative arts degrees then it would be advisable to take art. As a general aside, social science courses rarely have any specific prerequisites, excepting Economics which almost always requires Maths. Some Psychology courses indicate a science background can be helpful and two I can think of have indicated some level of preference for students with a science subject (and those two specifically note that they do not consider A-level Psychology to fall within this realm). Finally, if you wanted to consider English Lit or other literary subjects at degree level, the A-level is usually required so this may offer some additional options if you take it.
thanks for the reply. very helpful
Original post by Mollllyyyyyy
I am really struggling with my a level options.
I am consdering Biology, Psychology, Art and English lit but only want to take 3 so opinions from people who have done any of these subjects would be good.
I am unsure of my future plans so want to keep my options open but am consdering law, design or social science based careers.
Any guidance on if these subjects complement each other, their level of difficulty and their enjoyabilty would be really helpful. Thanks :smile:


It depends on what you would like to do, I mean Biology, Psychology and English are the more academic ones however if you want to go into design then do art. Biology is just learning/remembering chunks of information. Psychology is looking at people and there reactions/responses and suggestions. Eng lit is looking at the books and writing essays based off them. Art I can't comment on
Thanks for the reply! i think i need to consider whether i want to do art in the future and choose accordingly

Quick Reply

Latest