Help choosing A-Levels
I really need help deciding my A-Levels. My A-Levels I've currently registered for are: Physics, Economics, Maths and Further Maths. Except I have always enjoyed Biology, for as long as I can remember.
My parents really want me to do Further Maths and it seems interesting to me as well- I enjoy Maths, am taking GCSE FM and am quite good at Maths. Completely ignoring the future, my ideal choices are: Physics, Economics, Biology and Maths, but I know I can't do that. The only two lines available in Biology are medicine (don't want to) and becoming some sort of professor/researcher (seems interesting, but I cannot spend 15-20 years doing a doctorate and post-doc) so I'm kinda stuck- I know I'd enjoy doing A-level Biology but essentially it would be useless.
I enjoy all those subjects, but every time I try to get into a Physics-related project all I can think of is how much I like Biology and that I should be taking it. Plus, dropping FM means that I'd shut myself off from Computer Science sides, as there are quite a fair few Computer Science courses that ask for FM, but the A-Level Computer Science isn't necessary.
What do I do??? Sorry about the long post.
My parents really want me to do Further Maths and it seems interesting to me as well- I enjoy Maths, am taking GCSE FM and am quite good at Maths. Completely ignoring the future, my ideal choices are: Physics, Economics, Biology and Maths, but I know I can't do that. The only two lines available in Biology are medicine (don't want to) and becoming some sort of professor/researcher (seems interesting, but I cannot spend 15-20 years doing a doctorate and post-doc) so I'm kinda stuck- I know I'd enjoy doing A-level Biology but essentially it would be useless.
I enjoy all those subjects, but every time I try to get into a Physics-related project all I can think of is how much I like Biology and that I should be taking it. Plus, dropping FM means that I'd shut myself off from Computer Science sides, as there are quite a fair few Computer Science courses that ask for FM, but the A-Level Computer Science isn't necessary.
What do I do??? Sorry about the long post.
Original post by i-g
I really need help deciding my A-Levels. My A-Levels I've currently registered for are: Physics, Economics, Maths and Further Maths. Except I have always enjoyed Biology, for as long as I can remember.
My parents really want me to do Further Maths and it seems interesting to me as well- I enjoy Maths, am taking GCSE FM and am quite good at Maths. Completely ignoring the future, my ideal choices are: Physics, Economics, Biology and Maths, but I know I can't do that. The only two lines available in Biology are medicine (don't want to) and becoming some sort of professor/researcher (seems interesting, but I cannot spend 15-20 years doing a doctorate and post-doc) so I'm kinda stuck- I know I'd enjoy doing A-level Biology but essentially it would be useless.
I enjoy all those subjects, but every time I try to get into a Physics-related project all I can think of is how much I like Biology and that I should be taking it. Plus, dropping FM means that I'd shut myself off from Computer Science sides, as there are quite a fair few Computer Science courses that ask for FM, but the A-Level Computer Science isn't necessary.
What do I do??? Sorry about the long post.
My parents really want me to do Further Maths and it seems interesting to me as well- I enjoy Maths, am taking GCSE FM and am quite good at Maths. Completely ignoring the future, my ideal choices are: Physics, Economics, Biology and Maths, but I know I can't do that. The only two lines available in Biology are medicine (don't want to) and becoming some sort of professor/researcher (seems interesting, but I cannot spend 15-20 years doing a doctorate and post-doc) so I'm kinda stuck- I know I'd enjoy doing A-level Biology but essentially it would be useless.
I enjoy all those subjects, but every time I try to get into a Physics-related project all I can think of is how much I like Biology and that I should be taking it. Plus, dropping FM means that I'd shut myself off from Computer Science sides, as there are quite a fair few Computer Science courses that ask for FM, but the A-Level Computer Science isn't necessary.
What do I do??? Sorry about the long post.
Pick the subject you want to study, not what your parents want you to do. It sounds like you would prefer to do biology, you dont want to study a subject for two years that you are not fully happy with its miserable. Taking four A levels is ALOT of work, a lot more than you are probably expecting, (my sixthform didn't allow anyone to do more than three A levels) due to the unhealthy amount of workload.They said in previous years people would normally just drop one of their subjects which is just wasted time. Do not worry about picking subjects at the minute, you still have plenty of time. Ideally you should be thinking about what you want to do at uni, as this may be impacted by your choice in subjects.
If you decide a few weeks in that you dislike the subjects you have picked you should be able to change subjects fairly easily as long as there is space and your teachers are happy with that, so its not a life or death scenario. Good luck
(edited 1 year ago)
Honestly, I really think you should pick what you enjoy, I know you have most likely heard from so many people but it is the truth. What is it that you want to do for your career? From what you have told me, definitely do a level maths and further maths so you have options for computer science (I'm currently doing maths in yr 13 and I will warn you it is difficult but if you enjoy it and keep working at it you will be fine) and physics I know from what other have told me, will be necessary for a career in computer science. However I don't see how doing economics will benefit you? I'm not sure if you enjoy that subject but if you want to do something with computer science I don't think you need to do economics (double check with that one tho). Also biology is not limited in pathways at all, it is a natural science so it is very well respected from universities, especially if you do two natural sciences (maths included) you pretty much have the power to pick any degree at uni. And if you're not completely sure that you want to do computer science, that's okay, because my career choices changes like 20 times in yr 12 and maybe you might decide to do something with biology as your career because you enjoy it so much, there is so much you can do with biology. Overall I'd say definitely pick biology, maths and further maths because you enjoy thoe subjects and they still give you masses amounts of opportunities for your career. When it comes to physics and economics it's up to you what you want to do, but one other bit of advice I'd give you is that do you really need to pick 4 a level? I know that some sixth forms require that you can only take further maths if you do 3 a levels (which has to be maths as well) but tbh it's not really worth you time doing 4 a levels if you can avoid it. Firstly, it is extremely time consuming and you will stuggle to keep up with 4 subjects at a level, and universities couldn't care less if you have 4 a levels or 3. You must also remember that it is about the grades you get to go to uni not the amount of a levels you do, it is better to get 3 As instead of 4Cs and Bs, for example. Not saying those are bad grades at all, but if you are doing a course like computer science... it is highly competitive and unis will want to see higher grades as they have certain grade requirements that you have to meet.
Not sure if I have helped, I actually think I made this a lot more complicated than it needs to be but I just wanted to make sure you knew as much as possible to help you make your decision. Good luck!!
Not sure if I have helped, I actually think I made this a lot more complicated than it needs to be but I just wanted to make sure you knew as much as possible to help you make your decision. Good luck!!
Original post by i-g
I really need help deciding my A-Levels. My A-Levels I've currently registered for are: Physics, Economics, Maths and Further Maths. Except I have always enjoyed Biology, for as long as I can remember.
My parents really want me to do Further Maths and it seems interesting to me as well- I enjoy Maths, am taking GCSE FM and am quite good at Maths. Completely ignoring the future, my ideal choices are: Physics, Economics, Biology and Maths, but I know I can't do that. The only two lines available in Biology are medicine (don't want to) and becoming some sort of professor/researcher (seems interesting, but I cannot spend 15-20 years doing a doctorate and post-doc) so I'm kinda stuck- I know I'd enjoy doing A-level Biology but essentially it would be useless.
I enjoy all those subjects, but every time I try to get into a Physics-related project all I can think of is how much I like Biology and that I should be taking it. Plus, dropping FM means that I'd shut myself off from Computer Science sides, as there are quite a fair few Computer Science courses that ask for FM, but the A-Level Computer Science isn't necessary.
What do I do??? Sorry about the long post.
My parents really want me to do Further Maths and it seems interesting to me as well- I enjoy Maths, am taking GCSE FM and am quite good at Maths. Completely ignoring the future, my ideal choices are: Physics, Economics, Biology and Maths, but I know I can't do that. The only two lines available in Biology are medicine (don't want to) and becoming some sort of professor/researcher (seems interesting, but I cannot spend 15-20 years doing a doctorate and post-doc) so I'm kinda stuck- I know I'd enjoy doing A-level Biology but essentially it would be useless.
I enjoy all those subjects, but every time I try to get into a Physics-related project all I can think of is how much I like Biology and that I should be taking it. Plus, dropping FM means that I'd shut myself off from Computer Science sides, as there are quite a fair few Computer Science courses that ask for FM, but the A-Level Computer Science isn't necessary.
What do I do??? Sorry about the long post.
Hiya! As everyone else has said, definitely pick the subjects you enjoy. You'll be studying those subjects for two years so it would help if you liked them! As for the Computer Science side of things, I'm a final year CS student and there are plenty of students on my course that didn't even do A Level Maths. I feel like usually, universities put A Level Maths as a required subject and encourage Further Maths. So I wouldn't say not taking FM would completely shut you off of CS courses. There are a lot of universities that don't require Maths and even more that don't ask for FM. Have you had a look at the universities you think you'd like to apply to and their entry requirements for Computer Science?
Hope that helps!
- Sophia (Student Ambassador)
Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. To answer this one here- pretty much everyone in our school takes 4 A-Levels for year 12 (might be going crazy but I think it's mandatory?) and then pretty much everyone drops one of them going into year 13- it's what our school recommends we do.
So the idea of Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology struck me as interesting, but is it true that taking Biology without Chemistry is useless?
So the idea of Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology struck me as interesting, but is it true that taking Biology without Chemistry is useless?
Original post by izz.810
Honestly, I really think you should pick what you enjoy, I know you have most likely heard from so many people but it is the truth. What is it that you want to do for your career? From what you have told me, definitely do a level maths and further maths so you have options for computer science (I'm currently doing maths in yr 13 and I will warn you it is difficult but if you enjoy it and keep working at it you will be fine) and physics I know from what other have told me, will be necessary for a career in computer science. However I don't see how doing economics will benefit you? I'm not sure if you enjoy that subject but if you want to do something with computer science I don't think you need to do economics (double check with that one tho). Also biology is not limited in pathways at all, it is a natural science so it is very well respected from universities, especially if you do two natural sciences (maths included) you pretty much have the power to pick any degree at uni. And if you're not completely sure that you want to do computer science, that's okay, because my career choices changes like 20 times in yr 12 and maybe you might decide to do something with biology as your career because you enjoy it so much, there is so much you can do with biology. Overall I'd say definitely pick biology, maths and further maths because you enjoy thoe subjects and they still give you masses amounts of opportunities for your career. When it comes to physics and economics it's up to you what you want to do, but one other bit of advice I'd give you is that do you really need to pick 4 a level? I know that some sixth forms require that you can only take further maths if you do 3 a levels (which has to be maths as well) but tbh it's not really worth you time doing 4 a levels if you can avoid it. Firstly, it is extremely time consuming and you will stuggle to keep up with 4 subjects at a level, and universities couldn't care less if you have 4 a levels or 3. You must also remember that it is about the grades you get to go to uni not the amount of a levels you do, it is better to get 3 As instead of 4Cs and Bs, for example. Not saying those are bad grades at all, but if you are doing a course like computer science... it is highly competitive and unis will want to see higher grades as they have certain grade requirements that you have to meet.
Not sure if I have helped, I actually think I made this a lot more complicated than it needs to be but I just wanted to make sure you knew as much as possible to help you make your decision. Good luck!!
Not sure if I have helped, I actually think I made this a lot more complicated than it needs to be but I just wanted to make sure you knew as much as possible to help you make your decision. Good luck!!
Original post by i-g
I really need help deciding my A-Levels. My A-Levels I've currently registered for are: Physics, Economics, Maths and Further Maths. Except I have always enjoyed Biology, for as long as I can remember.
My parents really want me to do Further Maths and it seems interesting to me as well- I enjoy Maths, am taking GCSE FM and am quite good at Maths. Completely ignoring the future, my ideal choices are: Physics, Economics, Biology and Maths, but I know I can't do that. The only two lines available in Biology are medicine (don't want to) and becoming some sort of professor/researcher (seems interesting, but I cannot spend 15-20 years doing a doctorate and post-doc) so I'm kinda stuck- I know I'd enjoy doing A-level Biology but essentially it would be useless.
I enjoy all those subjects, but every time I try to get into a Physics-related project all I can think of is how much I like Biology and that I should be taking it. Plus, dropping FM means that I'd shut myself off from Computer Science sides, as there are quite a fair few Computer Science courses that ask for FM, but the A-Level Computer Science isn't necessary.
What do I do??? Sorry about the long post.
My parents really want me to do Further Maths and it seems interesting to me as well- I enjoy Maths, am taking GCSE FM and am quite good at Maths. Completely ignoring the future, my ideal choices are: Physics, Economics, Biology and Maths, but I know I can't do that. The only two lines available in Biology are medicine (don't want to) and becoming some sort of professor/researcher (seems interesting, but I cannot spend 15-20 years doing a doctorate and post-doc) so I'm kinda stuck- I know I'd enjoy doing A-level Biology but essentially it would be useless.
I enjoy all those subjects, but every time I try to get into a Physics-related project all I can think of is how much I like Biology and that I should be taking it. Plus, dropping FM means that I'd shut myself off from Computer Science sides, as there are quite a fair few Computer Science courses that ask for FM, but the A-Level Computer Science isn't necessary.
What do I do??? Sorry about the long post.
Heya!
There are so many courses outside of medicine you can do with bio. Use uniguide alvl explorer (linked) to see what you can do with your options! Have you thought about doing biology instead of physics - CS courses only need maths
I would also recommend double-checking biology courses entry requirements if you want to keep that option open.I hope this helps!
Milena
UCL PFE
Study Mind
Original post by i-g
Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. To answer this one here- pretty much everyone in our school takes 4 A-Levels for year 12 (might be going crazy but I think it's mandatory?) and then pretty much everyone drops one of them going into year 13- it's what our school recommends we do.
So the idea of Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology struck me as interesting, but is it true that taking Biology without Chemistry is useless?
So the idea of Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Biology struck me as interesting, but is it true that taking Biology without Chemistry is useless?
Hi!
I have just graduated from Lancaster University with a Natural Sciences BSc so thought I could give my experience with the degree. Natural Sciences degrees tend to vary by university, so it's definitely worth having a look around to see what course is right for you. At Lancaster, the degree is very flexible, you can choose 3 pathways out of a possible 21. The subjects range from physics, biology, maths, computer science, engineering, earth sciences, and more, so there are many different possible combinations! The complete list of different pathways is in the brochure which can be found here - https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/natural-sciences/ . You can also study a subject outside of the sciences as one of your pathways, so could continue with economics if that was something that you were passionate about.
Taking biology without Chemistry certainly isn't useless. However, for the Biology pathway on this particular degree, you do not have to have studied Biology A level, but Chemistry is a requirement for the Chemistry pathways - so it is worth checking the requirements for the courses that you are interested in. It's worth thinking about what you will enjoy most at A level as this tends to lead you to studying something that you enjoy at university.
Also, I haven't personally studied Biology however I have friends who have and there are many career paths out there, not just medicine or academia. There are pharmaceutical, environmental, and many more types of company that would value Biology.
I hope this helps and good luck with your decision! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask
-Bethan (Lancaster University Natural Sciences Ambassador)
Original post by i-g
I really need help deciding my A-Levels. My A-Levels I've currently registered for are: Physics, Economics, Maths and Further Maths. Except I have always enjoyed Biology, for as long as I can remember.
My parents really want me to do Further Maths and it seems interesting to me as well- I enjoy Maths, am taking GCSE FM and am quite good at Maths. Completely ignoring the future, my ideal choices are: Physics, Economics, Biology and Maths, but I know I can't do that. The only two lines available in Biology are medicine (don't want to) and becoming some sort of professor/researcher (seems interesting, but I cannot spend 15-20 years doing a doctorate and post-doc) so I'm kinda stuck- I know I'd enjoy doing A-level Biology but essentially it would be useless.
I enjoy all those subjects, but every time I try to get into a Physics-related project all I can think of is how much I like Biology and that I should be taking it. Plus, dropping FM means that I'd shut myself off from Computer Science sides, as there are quite a fair few Computer Science courses that ask for FM, but the A-Level Computer Science isn't necessary.
What do I do??? Sorry about the long post.
My parents really want me to do Further Maths and it seems interesting to me as well- I enjoy Maths, am taking GCSE FM and am quite good at Maths. Completely ignoring the future, my ideal choices are: Physics, Economics, Biology and Maths, but I know I can't do that. The only two lines available in Biology are medicine (don't want to) and becoming some sort of professor/researcher (seems interesting, but I cannot spend 15-20 years doing a doctorate and post-doc) so I'm kinda stuck- I know I'd enjoy doing A-level Biology but essentially it would be useless.
I enjoy all those subjects, but every time I try to get into a Physics-related project all I can think of is how much I like Biology and that I should be taking it. Plus, dropping FM means that I'd shut myself off from Computer Science sides, as there are quite a fair few Computer Science courses that ask for FM, but the A-Level Computer Science isn't necessary.
What do I do??? Sorry about the long post.
Do the A levels you enjoy. You can still do CS at uni without FMaths - you'd need a uni with a year in industry really.
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