history or geography gcse

i'm really struggling between picking history or geography. i love them both and get good grades in both but i only have 1 space left to fill. i prefer human geography to physical and the gcse is like half and half and then i love learning about the war but i don't know how i would find medicines! i have to decide by the end of today!

Reply 1

Becca216

Think about your skills and what you want to do in the future. History is a lot more essay based and geography involves more shorter answers and a bit of basic maths (mean, median, IQR). I did geography at GCSE and I now do it at a-level so I am probably a bit biased aha, but I loved it and I think it teaches you some great life skills (along side colouring in)

Reply 2

username3944114

I would say history has more utility for further education, but you should try and choose the one which interests you most/will develop the skills needed for your future studies (history teaches you how to write essays and make arguments effectively, geography teaches you some scientific skills plus gives you knowledge of current global developments)

Reply 3

historygeography

Original post by Becca216

thank you so much

Reply 4

University of Portsmouth Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post by historygeography

Hey @historygeography!

I personally did geography GCSE and I enjoyed it, I feel as though there are a lot of processes to remember for example - the water cycle, formation of caves, waterfalls and all sorts of things like that for the physical side.
And then there's also a lot of human - discussing climate change causes, where people settle and things like that.
I found it interesting but there was quite a lot to remember.
As @Becca216 said the questions are more varied with short answers and some long answers at the end of each section of the exam paper.
Another thing i liked about geography was the structure of the exam paper (I did edexcel), it was simple and knowing it helped to prepare you for the style of questions.

History is more essay based with a lot of writing, you also have to remember dates, names and events.
You also need to be able to analyse things well - so if you're good at english you may find history easier than if you struggle with english

I hope this helps!
Eloise - Official Student Rep :smile:

Reply 5

username3477548

personally i did geo, if that's any help

Reply 6

historygeography

Original post by University of Portsmouth Student Rep

thank you so much all of these comments are really helping me :smile:

Reply 7

historygeography

Original post by historygeography

I’ve decided to go with geography guys, thank you so much for all of your comments :smile:

Reply 8

SoppyHarrison

Original post by historygeography

I did both history and geography GCSE. From my experience, Geography is easier to get higher grades as there's less to revise, fewer answer structures to remember and more common sense applied. However, the history content seems a lot more interesting (depending on which topic).

Reply 9

AlexiaValegra

I took history as a GCSE and found it very interesting however very very essay-based, so it depends on if you like essays. History also opens up a lot of career paths such as law etc., which is something to keep in mind. Although, a few of my friends who took geography also found it very hard to get high grades on! If I were you I would look into what the content would be and see what you find more interesting!