A level options NEED HELP

Abc

(edited 4 years ago)

Hi mate, i was in a similar position as yourself when i was thinking what A levels to do. I had no idea what career or a levels to take. I suggest deciding what career path you want to take and gaining work experience before committing to a levels.

Reply 2

absolutelysprout

it seems like you like essay writing, so you may wish to go with another essay subject or you could go with something completely different to balance the workload; essays can get a bit monotonous.
english lit's a lot of work and you need to be doing a lot of reading so it requires a fair bit of dedication. don't pick it if you're not gonna put the effort in as you'll regret it :redface:

perhaps what you get on gcse results day will help you make a decision- you may want to play by your strengths.

Reply 3

eternal123

Hello, I currently do history, English literature and psychology. I cannot really comment on the other combinations but I really do believe these three go together really well. However, there is a lot of writing involved in English literature and it is a lot different to GCSE. I have heard that sociology is meant to be quite easy according to a friend who also did it at GCSE. No matter what you decide to choose most colleges/schools will allow you to change subjects within a couple of weeks as long as you catch up with all of the work. Good luck with collecting your results!

Reply 4

usayed1

Original post by sbjddbdj

Thank you, I’ve only got just less than two months until I start doing the actual a level courses so I do not think I would be able to decide on what career path I am interested in. Do u think the subjects psychology history and law would allow me to keep my options open and do u think I would be able to do a levels as I think that my gcse grades would be just about a pass but not incredibly high. (Maybe I’m underestimating myself but idk)

I sat history, sociology and RE as A-levels. I did have many options open such as accountancy, law, social sciences, IT related degrees and many apprenticeships. It depends what you’re good at or enjoy. You never know you might surprise yourself in a good way in terms of the grades you receive this summer. It may be wise to see what degrees at university or what apprenticeships are available that will take the A-levels you wish to do. I’m sure you’ll have done really well in your GCSE’s come August!

Reply 5

usayed1

History is quite an intense subject. If you have a genuine interest in the subject and like learning about different eras of time then I suggest taking history as an a-level. Law and psychology are good options. You will have many opportunities open regardless what subject you take for A-levels. If you like IT then I do recommend sitting this subject over law, but that is my personal preference.

Reply 6

eternal123

It is a jump in English literature but with practice it becomes a lot easier. It is hard for everyone at first trust me. Literally every single person in my class got Ds and Cs in their first English literature exams for A level despite all of us getting between 7-9 at GCSE. Now at the end of year everyone has improved so much. If you work hard and listen to teachers feedback it becomes a lot easier to improve.

Both of the subjects seem really interesting, I didn’t know they did A level law, I’m sure it would look really good if you apply for uni. Have you looked at what you would learn for law A level?

History is a lot of content but if you enjoy history as a subject it is a lot easier. People do find it hard but I don’t think that it was that big of a jump for GCSE. Honestly, I do think it’s just a lot more content and detail to learn but it is do able if you keep on top of it. Also the questions are more broad and you have to think of the paragraphs yourself but it becomes much easier as you go along. Do you know which topics they would cover? I looked at different schools and based my choice of sixth form partially on the history topics that I thought would interest me the most.

Also a side note for history there is coursework. Which is around 20% I think so that would help if you aren’t as confident with exams. Its also the same with English actually, there also 20% coursework to boost your grade.

Reply 7

eternal123

I know a couple people in my class that got 5s in history and seem to be getting quite good grades now. I think that anything is possible if you work your hardest and ask your teachers for help if you get stuck or need advice.

I can’t tell you enough to pick subjects that you enjoy. I know several people who hate their subject choices and so they put less work into them.

Reply 8

eternal123

Maybe ask more questions about the topics you would learn from the school.

I do Germany and Italy. I never thought I would enjoy Italy as much as Germany (as I did Germany for GCSE as well) but now that I’ve finished all of Italy’s content I am getting better grades in that. It can sort of surprise you whether you like a subject or not.

I do psychology and didn’t at GCSE, I don’t particularly like it as the exam is different to my others in the way you have to write the answers but it has turned out to be my best grade out of the three continuously.

Maybe have a look on YouTube about a level history that’s what I did before starting it. Just remember that everyone will have different opinions and to take their opinions not too heavily as it is very individual.

Good luck, I hope that you do well!

Reply 9

eternal123

My grades for English and history were the highest out of all of my GCSEs so I picked them. Maybe weigh up your results, how much you like the subject, the teachers and the topics when you make your final a level choices.

I knew that my GCSE teacher for history would be one of my A level teachers and I really liked their classes so I partially picked it for that as well. There is a lot of factors which can effect your decision. Just remember that you can always change them the first few weeks anyway in a lot of sixth forms