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A level help! History, economics or both?

I’m in year 11 and soon we have to choose our a levels. I want to study geography at university, specialising in human geography, so I’ll definitely do geography a level. I also want to do Spanish because I really love it, it will be an advantage when I’m older if I want to work abroad to speak another language, and also my mum is fluent in it so we speak it a lot at home.

However, I’m not sure whether to do history a level, economics a level or both. At first I thought I wanted to do economics because it’s closely related to human geography, but it would be a new subject at a level and I’m not sure if I’ll be good at it, especially the maths in it, whereas I know I’ll be good at history - in our end of year exams I got a 9 in history and only a 7 in maths. But because I find them both really interesting I’m also considering doing them both, and taking four a levels.

I know this will be a lot of work though, especially as I want to do an EPQ, but I’m finding it really difficult to decide between the two. My mum and some of my teachers think I’ll be able to handle four though. People who did four, what was it like? Did you regret doing it? Should I do four, or should I decide between history and economics? If so, what should I pick?

Sorry for the long explanation and thanks so much for any advice.

Reply 1

twentystraveller

If you have the chance to drop a subject in second year from 4 to 3, this would be a safe thing to drop back on, like a net you know you have just in case. I suggest you research throughly both subjects, find someone who’s doing the subjects to talk to about your thoughts and concerns, and even a teacher there or at your school? It’s a crucial time to make sure you choose the correct subjects that are best for you and that you’ll love studying! Look into it, choose carefully, and you’ll excel!

Reply 2

Sinnoh

4 distinct separate A-levels is an unnecessary workload.
I think by the sounds of it, you'd enjoy history more, but that's for you to decide.
In your position I would go for history, geography and spanish and maybe with an EPQ.
A caveat though - some universities may not accept an A-level in a language you're fluent in already.

Reply 3

noel323

I used to study four a levels, but I dropped further maths a month ago (after considering it during summer). I now do History, Economics and Maths.
I didn't study geography at gcse so I'm not sure how relevant A level Economics could be, but for me, GCSE level maths is sufficient for A level Economics. I think the format or structure of data based questions in Economics could also be similar to questions based off Geography case studies, but correct me if I'm wrong.
In terms of workload, I think the coursework would be the highlight- if you have to complete your geography A level coursework with History, they are going to take up quite a lot of time, in addition to uni applications/personal statement workload during summer and start of year 13. I think it is good to start off with four a levels, but it also depends when your school decides to do the epq (year 12 or 13).

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 4

Nihilisticb*tch

Economics will probably be more relevant but I don't think it really matters that much you should just do what you enjoy. I wouldn't recommend doing 4 A levels unless if you physically can't decide.

Reply 5

Crab and Shell

I do History, Economics, Math and the EPQ. The Economics A level only has GCSE level maths in it so I would not be concerned about that at all. I personally am finding Economics harder because of the not-very-straight-forward style of exam questions which require you to connect many concepts in a few mark question. I would therefore recommend History which is relevant to human Geography, however coursework can be tricky so that's something to consider.

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