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Are my subjects too ‘soft’ are therefore looked down by universities

English Literature
Law
Sociology

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Original post by Littlegeekgirl_
English Literature
Law
Sociology

Depends. What are you applying for?
Reply 2
Original post by Littlegeekgirl_
English Literature
Law
Sociology

Honestly depends what course and range of unis you're applying to. Top top unis may find it an issue as they're competitive and the rest will be ok.
what job do you want to do in the future? and tbh the only one I find unappealing is English Literature
Original post by 1st superstar
what job do you want to do in the future? and tbh the only one I find unappealing is English Literature

English Literature is a facilitating subject so don’t listen to this person. Law is probably the weakest of the three.
and just do the subjects you enjoy doing
what r u gonna apply for
Original post by AD490995
Depends. What are you applying for?


Hopefully criminology and social policy at Birmingham (Russell Group)
Original post by Switch01
what r u gonna apply for


If I’m luck HSPS at Cambridge (my predicted grades make this possible) or criminology and social policy at Birmingham
Those are perfectly fine for what you are applying for. Cambridge in particular is usually relatively unfussy about what subjects you take when applying for the social sciences (within reason, coughgeneralstudiescough).
Reply 10
Original post by stillcrying
English Literature is a facilitating subject so don’t listen to this person. Law is probably the weakest of the three.

No such thing anymore

OP: some places have preferred subjects for certain degree courses, otherwise it's no issue
The Russell Group have ditched the whole idea of 'facilitating subjects' - please read, and pass on this info to your teachers : https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/may/23/russell-group-scraps-preferred-a-levels-list-after-arts-subjects-hit
Original post by IpsaLoquitur
Those are perfectly fine for what you are applying for. Cambridge in particular is usually relatively unfussy about what subjects you take when applying for the social sciences (within reason, coughgeneralstudiescough).


Thank you, this makes me feel a lot better. It’s just because I keep on reading articles saying law is a ‘pointless’ subject looked down on by universities and I felt as though my intelligence and GCSE grades were too high to be doing a ‘pointless subject’ and I was upset for a good month about not picking politics instead because I know I would’ve loved that course
Original post by Littlegeekgirl_
I keep on reading articles saying law is a ‘pointless’ subject looked down on by universities


Yet another school-leaver myth.
Law is a solid essay based subject and not 'looked down on' at all.

Read this article from one of the exam boards - even Cambridge doesn't have a problem with it- https://media2.aqa.org.uk/content/news/2014-04-15/AQA-W-A-LEVEL-LAW-SUPPORT.PDF
(edited 4 years ago)
Ah yes, that perception is based on information almost a decade old. When I applied (2010), law was a very maligned subject because it was new and generally horribly structured and taught. It was true at that point that top universities told you not to take it at open days. However, that is no longer the perception at all as the problems were fixed somewhere along the line. Unfortunately the rumour mill has not caught up.
Original post by IpsaLoquitur
Ah yes, that perception is based on information almost a decade old. When I applied (2010), law was a very maligned subject because it was new and generally horribly structured and taught. It was true at that point that top universities told you not to take it at open days. However, that is no longer the perception at all as the problems were fixed somewhere along the line. Unfortunately the rumour mill has not caught up.


Did you go to a Russell group university, Did you study law and what were your 2 other Alevels?
Original post by Littlegeekgirl_
Did you go to a Russell group university, Did you study law and what were your 2 other Alevels?

I went to Cambridge and did the law BA there. My A-levels were English Language, Maths, Chemistry and History. I didn't know anyone who did the law A-level at the time, because as I say it was maligned when it first came out. That said, I knew lots of people who did sociology and English lit.
PS. You need 5 UCAS choices - Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, Loughborough, Nottingham etc also offer Social Policy and Criminology.
Original post by returnmigrant
PS. You need 5 UCAS choices - Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, Loughborough, Nottingham etc also offer Social Policy and Criminology.


Yes I know, Birmingham is just my favourite
Original post by IpsaLoquitur
I went to Cambridge and did the law BA there. My A-levels were English Language, Maths, Chemistry and History. I didn't know anyone who did the law A-level at the time, because as I say it was maligned when it first came out. That said, I knew lots of people who did sociology and English lit.


Ohh okay

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