A level subjects

Hi!
I'm a former year 11 student waiting for my GCSE results on August 20th. And I'm kind of struggling with confirming my A-level subject picks.

I originally picked Biology, Chemistry and Psychology, and was set on becoming a Clinical Psychologist. But over quarantine, I've developed this strong love for physics and I don't seem to be interested in Biology any more, even though I used to get 8/9s in it at school, along with Chemistry. Physics used to be my weakness, where I usually achieved 6s or 7s. But tbh I didn't study it at all. I wasn't excellent in maths either, I hated it because of my teacher and I usually got 4/5/6s. I can't imagine myself taking A-level maths. It might kill me hahaha.

I suddenly really want to become an astronomer/cosmologist. It was my dream job as a little kid and its kinda resurfaced. I love the content and spend hours binging Youtube videos explaining varieties of theoretical concepts lol. I don't know what to do with myself. Would Chemistry, Physics and Psychology be a bad combo if I want to keep my options open? Or would I have to take maths? Should I just stick to Biology instead?

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 1

XKangaotiCX

Original post by Yellow_clouds

Hi!
I'm a former year 11 student waiting for my GCSE results on August 20th. And I'm kind of struggling with confirming my A-level subject picks.

I originally picked Biology, Chemistry and Psychology, and was set on becoming a Clinical Psychologist. But over quarantine, I've developed this strong love for physics and I don't seem to be interested in Biology any more, even though I used to get 8/9s in it at school, along with Chemistry. Physics used to be my weakness, where I usually achieved 6s or 7s. But tbh I didn't study it at all. I wasn't excellent in maths either, I hated it because of my teacher and I usually got 4/5/6s. I can't imagine myself taking A-level maths. It might kill me hahaha.

I suddenly really want to become an astronomer/cosmologist. I love the content and spend hours binging Youtube videos explaining varieties of theoretical concepts lol. I don't know what to do with myself. Would Chemistry, Physics and Psychology be a bad combo if I want to keep my options open? Or would I have to take maths? Should I just stick to Biology instead?

Wow, this is super similar to something I went through. The thing is, as tantalising as astronomy and cosmology may seem, you can't hide from the fact maths is essential for it. You'll be doing a lot of data analysis and you'll inevitably have mathematics modules as a part of your course if you were to do it at uni. From the sounds of it, saying you're not a fan of maths would be an understatement so I'd question whether you should go down that path. Having said that, it's not all maths, and trust me when I say, I completely get the appeal for it. Space is bloody amazing. BUT physics is a futile subject to do without maths if that's what you want to go into.

My advice would be to check out some astrophysics university courses, see if you can imagine yourself studying and how much you enjoy it - compare that with the psychology degrees.. and really look at all the modules you'd be studying each year. Hope this helps :biggrin: