The Student Room Group

I want to go to a Russell Group uni, but have I chosen the right subjects?

The A levels that I have chosen for sixth form college are:

Government and Politics
History
Economics

The Informed choices guide from the Russell Group suggests that students should take 2 facilitating subjects in order to enter a Russell Group university. However, I have chosen only one, which is History. Do you think that I should change anything in this list? (Eg. Economics to Maths)
That's as an advice for if you don't know what you want to do, as you pointed out History is a facilitating subject and with that you can do a History degree, a Politics degree, an International Relations degree, etc. Same with Maths, you can do Economics degree, Maths degree, PPE degree and so on. Whereas Politics is only going to be useful for a Politics/IR degree.

With that said, I'm doing History, Politics and Sociology and I'm looking to do an International Relations & History degree so therefore my A-Levels are fine.
Original post by jazir.01
The A levels that I have chosen for sixth form college are:

Government and Politics
History
Economics

The Informed choices guide from the Russell Group suggests that students should take 2 facilitating subjects in order to enter a Russell Group university. However, I have chosen only one, which is History. Do you think that I should change anything in this list? (Eg. Economics to Maths)


Depends, are you certain you know what do? I would always replace economics with maths if one is good at maths and enjoys it, since Maths is required for any economics course, but economics isn't
Reply 3
Original post by Kyber Ninja
Depends, are you certain you know what do? I would always replace economics with maths if one is good at maths and enjoys it, since Maths is required for any economics course, but economics isn't


Maths is usually only required for 'pure' economic courses. Some Russell Group uni's don't require it in order to study economics there. I have an offer to Glasgow Uni to study Econ and Geography, without a maths a-level.

You are right in that most universities will require a maths a level in order to study economics, but if you have good Maths GCSE grades or an a-level in a science or social science, they don't mind.

Social Science=Geog, Politics, Psychology+ Economics.

Kyber Ninja, (that is an amazing name), is right though, it really all depends on what you want to do at uni. If the subjects you're currently taking match up with the ones they say on the prospectus then you should be fine, with a good personal statement and AS results.

On a uni prospectus, e.g Glasgow, next to the degree subject is a list of the A-levels they will accept. As long as you meet that requirement, you ought to have a good chance!

Good luck!
(edited 5 years ago)
Reply 4
Original post by jazir.01
The A levels that I have chosen for sixth form college are:

Government and Politics
History
Economics

The Informed choices guide from the Russell Group suggests that students should take 2 facilitating subjects in order to enter a Russell Group university. However, I have chosen only one, which is History. Do you think that I should change anything in this list? (Eg. Economics to Maths)

An a level in maths would open a lot of doors. If I were you I would switch it for either economics or gov and politics, it doesn't reall you matter which one.
Reply 5
Thank you so much for all of your responses. I wish to do a Politics, International Relations or any other social science degree in the future. I know that most universities require Maths A-level to study economics, and that's why I had originally chosen Maths until I changed it to Economics. The reason why was because I got only a 4 (C) in Maths for my GCSE mocks and the new Maths Edexcel GCSE papers are damn tough! I couldn't imagine what Maths A level would be like since the GCSE is already hard. Although I might enjoy learning economics at A level, I decided that I would sacrifice learning this subject at Uni.

Do you think taking Economics A level at college is worth it if I'm not doing economics at university?
(edited 5 years ago)
Reply 6
Original post by jazir.01
Thank you so much for all of your responses. I wish to do a Politics, International Relations or any other social science degree in the future. I know that most universities require Maths A-level to study economics, and that's why I had originally chosen Maths until I changed it to Economics. The reason why was because I got only a 4 (C) in Maths for my GCSE mocks and the new Maths Edexcel GCSE papers are damn tough! I couldn't imagine what Maths A level would be like since the GCSE is already hard. Although I might enjoy learning economics at A level, I decided that I would sacrifice learning this subject at Uni.

Do you think taking Economics A level at college is worth it if I'm not doing economics at university?



I would think so, as you want to do politics or international relations, both are subjects with qualitative data analysis, so studying economics, a subject with quantitative analysis might give you an edge over other students applying for social science degrees.

Having a history of studying a subject with some number based analysis might be an advantage when applying for your degree, but its better to do subjects you're truly interested in and therefore will be more motivated to study for than subjects you're only doing in order to apply for a degree at uni.
Take mathematics. You DO NOT need Economics A level.
Reply 8
Original post by jazir.01
The reason why was because I got only a 4 (C) in Maths for my GCSE mocks and the new Maths Edexcel GCSE papers are damn tough! I couldn't imagine what Maths A level would be like since the GCSE is already hard.
Do you think taking Economics A level at college is worth it if I'm not doing economics at university?


If you cant improve your grade don't do A level maths - even if you have the talent you will be starting at too low a level. Try to resit maths during your A levels (if you only take 3) and get up to a 7 or above as numeracy is a valuable skill in life.

Your A level choices look fine. Clearly you are excluding numerate disciplines, but if you don't have the level of maths they are a no go anyway. Why not look at some A level economics exam papers and sample answers to see if its something that interests you and suits your skills? It would be a great fit with your other subjects and good knowledge base for university and future careers.
Reply 9
They look like good A-Levels to me; the Russell Group unis value subjects like Economics too and the only reason it's not facilitating is because it's not a required A-Level for many degree courses. If you really want another facilitating subject, English Literature would go quite nicely with your other subjects if you don't fancy A-Level Maths.

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