A level and degree advice

7

Hi all,
This is my first time ever posting on the student room, so apologies if this is in the wrong place, but I would really appreciate some of your advice.
I have had a lot of time to think about A-level options and have subsequently got more and more confused. I had always planned to do a degree in science (preferably natural sciences) but with all this time I have really been thinking about the possibility of doing archaeology- especially the archaeology degree at Cambridge. I feel like I'd enjoy this degree and think a career in archaeology would suit me.
At the moment my A-level choices are: Chemistry, Maths, Physics and History, though I've been thinking about dropping physics and maybe replacing it with religion and philosophy.
I want to keep my options open, so if I decide to take science I can still do a degree in it. But I also want to take subjects that would give me the best chance to get into competitive archaeology courses, such as Cambridge, if that's what I decide to do.
If you guys have any advice about what A-levels to take, or even if I should opt for a degree in science or archaeology that would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much!

Reply 1

LuigiMario

19

Having only watched Time-Team on a minor channel, many of the team were scientific. I like international archeology, but here in Italy, it’s not done with the Time-Team fervour. Quite a bit slower! I did a scientific UNESCO mission to Machu Picchu in Peru (for science/geology/radar) and was very impressed by the recovery of the Inca citadel from forest, just decades earlier.

Chem, maths, physics & history - hard , great stem choices.
As Cambridge does seem to like 4As, choosing a sensible 4 subjects that you can perform well is probably the key. It’s not wrong to drop a hard one, if it’ll help overall. Read forensically their subject websites and practise the previous TSA (Oxford I know) or whatever extra exams you might need.

Reply 2

SusannaW

14

I believe a degree in natural sciences would make you much more employable than a degree in archeology, STEM subjects tend to be much more respected.

However, if you believe you’d happier doing archeology you should go for it. My advice would be to research both natural science degrees and archeology degrees at several universities (not just Cambridge, it’s very competitive and you need a back up plan) and then decide on what’s for you. Look at the course content, contact time, how you’d be examined etc. I made a spreadsheet when looking at universities which I found helpful. :smile:

Reply 3

15holmes.j

OP

7

Original post

by SusannaW

I believe a degree in natural sciences would make you much more employable than a degree in archeology, STEM subjects tend to be much more respected.

However, if you believe you’d happier doing archeology you should go for it. My advice would be to research both natural science degrees and archeology degrees at several universities (not just Cambridge, it’s very competitive and you need a back up plan) and then decide on what’s for you. Look at the course content, contact time, how you’d be examined etc. I made a spreadsheet when looking at universities which I found helpful. :smile:

Thanks so much, that's really helpful :smile:

Reply 4

palaeolivic

15

hi I study archaeology and I am about to begin my masters. I would say if you want to do archaeology - a levels don’t matter, I study with people who have completely different a-levels to me. Your current a-levels choices would be highly welcome to an archaeology degree and would also keep yourself open if in a few months you change your mind.

(Also, even if you dk end up doing another subject UG. You can always apply for a MPhil at Cambridge or elsewhere for an archaeology masters, if you still wanted to study archaeology).

Reply 5

Sandtrooper

21

Original post

by 15holmes.j

Hi all,
This is my first time ever posting on the student room, so apologies if this is in the wrong place, but I would really appreciate some of your advice.
I have had a lot of time to think about A-level options and have subsequently got more and more confused. I had always planned to do a degree in science (preferably natural sciences) but with all this time I have really been thinking about the possibility of doing archaeology- especially the archaeology degree at Cambridge. I feel like I'd enjoy this degree and think a career in archaeology would suit me.
At the moment my A-level choices are: Chemistry, Maths, Physics and History, though I've been thinking about dropping physics and maybe replacing it with religion and philosophy.
I want to keep my options open, so if I decide to take science I can still do a degree in it. But I also want to take subjects that would give me the best chance to get into competitive archaeology courses, such as Cambridge, if that's what I decide to do.
If you guys have any advice about what A-levels to take, or even if I should opt for a degree in science or archaeology that would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much!

So, I did Egyptology at Liverpool and am going to Cambridge for postgrad. It's not quite archaeology but people came from very different backgrounds. Two of my friends had no science background and ended up doing Evolutionary Anthropology (which is quite a sciencey archaeological course). You could apply for the BA at Cambridge, but maybe the BSc elsewhere?

You will arguably be more employable with a degree in natural sciences over archaeology, but there are still tonnes of jobs out there which you could do with either degree. It's just that in their respective fields, it'd be easier to get a natural sciences job than an archaeology one (which are usually lower paid, too). But if you are passionate, that's the main thing.

A level and degree advice

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Articles for you

How The Student Room is moderated