OPINIONS ON SOCIOLOGY A-Level

Hi everyone

I will be choosing my A-levels next month and am considering taking Sociology.

Can any current/ex Sociology A-level students please tell me about/ what you think about Sociology A level? Pros and cons, difficulty level etc, do you enjoy it etc.

Oh and if you have also taken psychology as well as sociology please share your thoughts with me! I'm considering Psychology too... its just that it can only be one of those subjects since I don't have enough options to pick both.

Thank you

I took sociology and psychology last year and achieved A* and A respectively. I would say sociology is v interesting, it's a good choice if you like writing and class discussions. In the grand scheme of things, its a relatively 'easy' A-Level, but I do think getting the right depth of analysis in essays and remembering the TON of researchers can be challenging.

Psychology is incredibly interesting - it has the holds the same issue of there being a lot of research to remember, but in my opinion, you go in-depth more into specific studies in psych, which can make it easier in the long term. There is a bit of maths in the spec and a lot of research methods. You still have to learn research methods in sociology, but from the exam board I did (AQA for both), there was more content of that nature in psychology.

Similarly, both my specification contained optional topics which your teachers choose for you. I got lucky with one's I was interested in, but it may be worthwhile asking each teacher which options (if your exam board has them) you would be studying, and if they're of interest to you.

On the whole, sociology leans more towards humanities, essay-based, and is purely a social science, whereas psychology is more of a typical science which also happens to contain humanities features, such as essay-writing.

Hope this helps! I really enjoyed taking both, so I'm sure you'll have a blast regardless. Feel free to ask me any other questions you may have

Hey, I am a current year 13 student studying A-Level Sociology and I would 100% recommend taking it. I think it would be my favorite subject out of the 4 I do. Personally I find it quite easy and it helps you develop good skills like analysis and essay writing that will be useful for Uni. It is also very enjoyable, relevant to everyday life and works well with my other A Levels. I can’t think of any cons really. I hope this helps.

Neither subject generally features very often in university entry requirements so the decision to take either should be taken on interest and insight into what they involve.

Both are a lot of work and may push you out of the running for university subjects that do have specific subjects in their entry criteria so just be aware. Out of the two, psychology is more likely to feature in required subject lists. My general view is that people keep their options open the widest with an essay subject, a science and something else that reflects their interest. Psychology and sociology on their own may meet these requirements but they generally don’t together. They get in each other’s way.

I’m not here to say that they’re Micky mouse subjects. They’re not. Psychology is actually a tougher subject than a lot of the people doing it are really equipped to tackle. They both feature a fair bit of statistics and you actually need a good grasp of GCSE maths to be able to do it. People who have this often say you don’t but they don’t realise what it’s like for the people who haven’t got strong maths skills. There’s a lot of content in each and they do require good essay skills.

They’re also new subjects and you can’t rely on your prior knowledge or understanding as a framework on which to hang your new learning. This can be distracting. However, you can equally spin all of these as positives.

It’s just good to go into these subjects with eyes wide open.

Omg I was wondering if I should do sociology but I think I’m gonna do psychology instead but idk which one is harder

Haha we're in the same boat. Take a look at some of these comments! They're really helpful

In my experience doing sociology, although the content itself was easy to understand and some of it even being common sense, what makes it slightly difficult is that there is a hell of a lot to remember such as theories, case studies etc. So if you have a good memory, then sociology should be easy for you. Also, if you like writing long essays and reading, then it should again be good for you.

I think you should do it, especially along other subjects such as History, Politics etc

I loved it. i was interested in at least 90% of the course (which is a LOT for me lol). i never found the content particularly challenging, but the amount of content/structuring answers was the hardest part. definitely worth doing imo!

Psychology and sociology on their own may meet these requirements but they generally don’t together. They get in each other’s way.

Utter rubbish. They are two solid essay based subjects that compliment each other - and will lead to a hundred different degree courses and careers. They are not an excluded combination for any degree course.