A-Level Choices - Business/Economics and more

Hi! I’m looking at picking my alevels soon but can’t decide! I’ve chosen one course already but now can’t work out whether to do:

Economics + Physics
OR
Business + Maths

Sadly due on timetabling I can’t do Economics + Maths 😢. I think my interests for uni (if I decide to go) would be business/economics related or social sciences, but I’m not sure.

Thanks

Have you checked the entry requirements for the specific degrees that ou are interested in doing?

To go into economics, you only need A Level Maths. Some of the top end universities might ask for Further Maths as well. Economics A Level is not needed at all.

To get onto a business course, you generally just need 3 A Levels in any subjects. The only possible exception is in finance, financial engineering, or actuarial science where you would need A Level Maths.

Personal bias: you don't need a business degree to get into a job in business, so I would avoid it where possible. You can do professional qualifications to give you the same credibility as a degree, except for going into academic research in business.

If for any random reason you want to do a business degree irrespective, you can always do a master's in business with an undergrad in any subject. If you want something in finance, you would either need a quantiative undergrad or something related to economics and finance. If you want a postgrad in economics, you would need an undergrad in economics (or at least a joint degree in the subject).

Economics as an A Level is very theoretical and you would be referring to a lot of models. However, you will struggle to find any maths beyond KS2 in the A Level (as far as I know).
Business is a bit more practical (and it's a good basis for foundational business knwoledge if you want to start your own business), but still the concepts can be a bit academic. There is next to no maths involved (accounting and accounting ratios require knowledge of arithmetic). Having said that, it's not stictly speaking considered as an academic subject, but it's definitely more academic than say Art, Textiles, Home Economics.

Some universities consider business and economics to be rather similar, and hence interchangable. If they are looking for a well rounded candidate, this might work against you.

Personally, I would pick Maths and Physics, because you can go into maths, physics, engineering (except for bioengineering and chemical engineering for obvious reasons), computer science, finance, data science, actuarial science, economics, and anything from the business school with these subjects. Maths is one of the most requested A Levels out there, and if you're going to do something remotely quantiative, you would be expected to have it in your choices.

Thanks for your reply. I have looked at some uni courses and their requirements, but most of the ones I’m interested in don’t have any required subjects. I have thought about maths And physics together, but as I’m not really looking for a career in most of the fields that would then be open to me (eg computer science and engineering), I think I’d rather mix it up a bit with a humanity or social science choice as well (eg business or economics).

Hi! I’m looking at picking my alevels soon but can’t decide! I’ve chosen one course already but now can’t work out whether to do:

Economics + Physics
OR
Business + Maths

Sadly due to timetabling I can’t do Economics + Maths 😢. I think my interests for uni (if I decide to go) would be business/economics related or social sciences, but I’m not sure.

Thanks

Heya!
I would recommend checking entry requirements for some courses in unis Economics degrees tend to usually want just maths alvl, so it would be good for you to have maths! Look at entry requirements and note down what they all want and pick from there. If it helps, you can also use uniguide explorer to see what you can do with your alvl selection.
If there are no specific entry requirements then pick the ones you would enjoy! Did you enjoy maths or physics more during GCSEs? Economics and business are pretty similar. You could look at the content of each subject and pick from there!

I hope this helps!
Milena
UCL PFE
Study Mind

Thanks for your reply. I’ve checked the entry requirements for some courses, a couple say maths but most don’t have any! I think I probably prefer physics a little more than maths, and maybe economics looks a bit more interesting than business, but I dont have a strong preference for either, and as a couple of the courses i might be interested in ask for maths, I don’t know whether to do the maths + business to cover more bases or do the economics + physics if perhaps I would prefer those subjects.

Heya!
You can always pick one selection and switch them early on if you don't like them Picking maths might give you more opportunities to apply to more courses so do consider that as well!

Good luck!
Milena
UCL PFE
Study Mind

is it generally not a good idea to pick Business and Economics? That would make life easier than having to choose an unrelated subject.

YEs, it’s advised not to pick both business And economics as apparently there is lots of shared content and some unis won’t count the pair as separate alevels. That’s why I’m looking to combine one or other with physics or maths to cover different subject types.

Surely timetabling should not be an issue when it comes to choosing A levels? That seems incredibly unfair.

I would suggest to take Maths and Economics (Maths is a must imo)

Thanks for your thoughts. Sadly, I can’t take Maths and economics together with my other choice as the classes would clash. If I do maths, i wouldnt be able to take economics, and would be taking business with it.

How do you know your timetable for next year?

Also, there is no way that a college/school would not allow for anyone to take both Maths and Economics

The alevel courses are split into 3 sections at my 6th form, and you have to choose one subject from each section as the classes in each section run at the same time. I have picked one subject for definite already, and this means that taking maths And economics with that first choice isn’t possible. If my first choice wasn’t set, I’d be able to do maths And economics. IMO the sections aren’t very well organised, and I’d like to be able to take other subjects which I can’t because of them, but it’s the way my 6th form have organised it 🤷

Can you move elsewhere? I've not heard of this

Which is the A level you are fixed on? Which courses re you considering at university? As noted previously it seems unusual that a school cant offer Economics and Maths as a combination.