Is taking four a levels an extreme amount of work compared to three?
Despite the advice of my school, I really want to take four subjects at a level: English Literature, Politics, Drama and History. Will this be a significantly difficult workload for me?
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You'll be making things a lot more difficult for yourself when they don't have to be. Are you sure you want to do 4? There's not really any advantage.
it's a 33% increase compared to doing 3 A-levels, which people already find taxing.
Personally the only time I think it's ok to do 4 A-levels is if they include maths and further maths - it's less work than doing four completely distinct subjects, as you would be doing. If you apply to university, you will be given offers requiring only 3 subjects.
Personally I think you'd regret it, plus you'd have fewer free periods at school to do work in.
Personally the only time I think it's ok to do 4 A-levels is if they include maths and further maths - it's less work than doing four completely distinct subjects, as you would be doing. If you apply to university, you will be given offers requiring only 3 subjects.
Personally I think you'd regret it, plus you'd have fewer free periods at school to do work in.
Original post by elliejeffery
Despite the advice of my school, I really want to take four subjects at a level: English Literature, Politics, Drama and History. Will this be a significantly difficult workload for me?
I would have to say yes. The only justifiable situation someone would take 4 A-levels is 2 subjects with Maths and Further Maths, but as someone who takes that combination, I'm struggling as it is. Especially as English Lit and History are infamous for being very heavy subjects content-wise, and both have quite a steep learning curve in terms of exam technique. It won't give you an advantage when it comes to applying to uni as well. If your school still offers AS exams you could take 4 AS levels and then drop one going into A2 which could be a viable option, but most schools now do the linear A-levels. So, essentially, I'd personally advise against it, but if you are really convinced you want all 4 then you can always just drop one whenever you decide its too much, though of course it would lose you some time. You've also got to consider your school is unlikely to let you take 4 if you don't have really high GCSE grades. Best of luck!
Original post by Sinnoh
If you apply to university, you will be given offers requiring only 3 subjects.
That's not always true, I'm currently holding a 4 subject offer from a university for 2019 entry, as are several others I'm aware of.
4 subjects is not always a waste, it will heavily strengthen your application if you're applying to somewhere like oxbridge (where the vast majority of successful candidates have at least four A levels). Definitely consider it if you're applying somewhere very competitive, otherwise it probably is a waste.
(edited 4 years ago)
I only did 3 A Levels, with two of them being considered as 'soft' subjects by most people; and I still found the amount of work I had a lot and struggled a lot most of the time. I would say stick with 3 A Levels because doing an extra A Level could end up bringing down your grades overall.
Original post by MagnumKoishi
That's not always true, I'm currently holding a 4 subject offer from a university for 2019 entry, as are several others I'm aware of.
4 subjects is not always a waste, it will vastly strengthen your application if you're applying to somewhere like oxbridge (where the vast majority of successful candidates have at least four A levels). Definitely consider it if you're applying somewhere very competitive, otherwise it probably is a waste.
4 subjects is not always a waste, it will vastly strengthen your application if you're applying to somewhere like oxbridge (where the vast majority of successful candidates have at least four A levels). Definitely consider it if you're applying somewhere very competitive, otherwise it probably is a waste.
just saying it is completely untrue that for Oxbridge the majority of successful candidates have 4 a levels, the standard offer is for three and for almost all subjects three is the norm and the advice from admissions tutors is to concentrate on getting exceptional grades in 3 rather than spreading yourself over 4.
the ONLY exceptions are physical natural sciences and chemical engineering at Cambridge where the majority of successful candidates do have 4 (maths fm physics and chemistry) but even then it isn't a requirement
for you I would say that unless you are very very academic this is an unreasonable amount of work to be doing, drama A level requires an intense time commitment even if you are very able and both English and history also require a lot of hard work to do well in
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by aesthete1
just saying it is completely untrue that for Oxbridge the majority of successful candidates have 4 a levels, the standard offer is for three and four almost all subjects three is the norm and the advice from admissions tutors is to concentrate on getting exceptional grades in 3 rather than spreading yourself over 4.
the ONLY exceptions are physical natural sciences and chemical engineering at Cambridge where the majority of successful candidates do have 4 (maths fm physics and chemistry) but even then it isn't a requirement
the ONLY exceptions are physical natural sciences and chemical engineering at Cambridge where the majority of successful candidates do have 4 (maths fm physics and chemistry) but even then it isn't a requirement
Ah, that explains my experience. I'm phys natsci, as are the majority of the people I'm referring to. Perhaps it is different for other subjects; my sample is pretty poor.
And yes ALL the standard offers are for 3 subjects, but merely having the right predicted grades means nothing. Having 4 is definitely a great advantage as it shows you can deal with the workload
Original post by MagnumKoishi
That's not always true, I'm currently holding a 4 subject offer from a university for 2019 entry, as are several others I'm aware of.
4 subjects is not always a waste, it will heavily strengthen your application if you're applying to somewhere like oxbridge (where the vast majority of successful candidates have at least four A levels). Definitely consider it if you're applying somewhere very competitive, otherwise it probably is a waste.
4 subjects is not always a waste, it will heavily strengthen your application if you're applying to somewhere like oxbridge (where the vast majority of successful candidates have at least four A levels). Definitely consider it if you're applying somewhere very competitive, otherwise it probably is a waste.
Just checked some stats. Average number of A-levels offered for law at Oxford in 2017 was 3.24.
Given the subjects chosen by the OP, it is unlikely that they will be applying for a course that could possibly require 4.
lol I'm only taking 4 because the sixth form requires us to to take 4 then drop one depending on your year 12 mock results(if you want)
Original post by MagnumKoishi
Ah, that explains my experience. I'm phys natsci, as are the majority of the people I'm referring to. Perhaps it is different for other subjects; my sample is pretty poor.
And yes ALL the standard offers are for 3 subjects, but merely having the right predicted grades means nothing. Having 4 is definitely a great advantage as it shows you can deal with the workload
And yes ALL the standard offers are for 3 subjects, but merely having the right predicted grades means nothing. Having 4 is definitely a great advantage as it shows you can deal with the workload
having talked with admissions tutors at Cambridge they maintain that 4 does not significantly advantage you. like you say they definitely expect grades above the entrance requirements but not additional A levels, they'd much rather you get 3A* than A*A*AA for example
the fact that many successful candidates do have 4 is correlation rather than causation, many bright candidates happen to be doing 4 but that doesn't advantage you over those doing 3 significantly in the selection process
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by aesthete1
having talked with admissions tutors at Cambridge they maintain that 4 does not significantly advantage you. like you say they definitely expect grades above the entrance requirements but not additional A levels, they'd much rather you get 3A* than A*A*AA for example
Yes of course, that boils down to one A* being better than two A's, which makes sense.
However, A*A*A*A* is certainly better than A*A*A* and must put you at an advantage
Original post by MagnumKoishi
Yes of course, that boils down to one A* being better than two A's, which makes sense.
However, A*A*A*A* is certainly better than A*A*A* and must put you at an advantage
However, A*A*A*A* is certainly better than A*A*A* and must put you at an advantage
that's true but the thing is that a candidate applying with either of those grades would be strong anyway, and grades aren't the only important factor so the interview and admissions assessment would be important at that point. I don't disagree with you here at all I just think that people overstate the importance of doing 4 and the official admissions advice is that three is fine and more than sufficient to do well in three
Original post by aesthete1
that's true but the thing is that a candidate applying with either of those grades would be strong anyway, and grades aren't the only important factor so the interview and admissions assessment would be important at that point. I don't disagree with you here at all I just think that people overstate the importance of doing 4 and the official admissions advice is that three is fine and more than sufficient to do well in three
Perhaps so. I'm probably just under a different illusion due to doing phys natsci, which requires a broad scientific and mathematical background so the more subjects the better
Original post by MagnumKoishi
Perhaps so. I'm probably just under a different illusion due to doing phys natsci, which requires a broad scientific and mathematical background so the more subjects the better
oh it definitely does, I'm also a phys natsci and that definitely is different, I did the standard 4 and it does make a difference for admissions there
Original post by aesthete1
oh it definitely does, I'm also a phys natsci and that definitely is different, I did the standard 4 and it does make a difference for admissions there
Oh that explains. I thought it was odd that you stated 3 out of my 4 subjects in your reply. I'm doing the same except computer science instead of chemistry
I think you make some very good points. The main one for OP being that yes, they could take 4 A levels if they happen to love four subjects and are 100% sure that doing 4 won't impact on their end results. But if this isn't the case or they start to find that they are struggling with the workload in any way, it is much better to get the highest grades possible in 3 subjects than get slightly worse grades in 4 subjects.
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