Liberal arts or history?
Ok, so to give a little context I am in year 12 and am generally a pretty good student, I achieved 8 9s and 2 8s at GCSE and am predicted A*A*A*A at A level. However I am incredibly indecisive about what I want to study - I changed a levels a few times and stupidly dropped english lit even though I really enjoy it. I know I definitely want to do a language at university - possibly Italian from scratch - but am uncertain about what else to study with it as I don't want to do languages alone.
I'm pretty interested in applying to Oxbridge and if I did i would apply for history and modern languages. However, like I said, I'm incredibly indesicive and am interested in a lot of things - I hate the thought of giving up philosophy/theology and would love to study some english lit and arts modules. I've heard about liberal arts which is offered at Durham, and plenty of other universities. What is your opinion of liberal arts? My biggest worry is that it's seen as kind of a 'wishy-washy' degree, not as respected (or employable) as history. Also i have no idea how i would write a personal statement for history at oxbridge but liberal arts elsewhere.
Basically I'm very conflicted, any advice appreciated
I'm pretty interested in applying to Oxbridge and if I did i would apply for history and modern languages. However, like I said, I'm incredibly indesicive and am interested in a lot of things - I hate the thought of giving up philosophy/theology and would love to study some english lit and arts modules. I've heard about liberal arts which is offered at Durham, and plenty of other universities. What is your opinion of liberal arts? My biggest worry is that it's seen as kind of a 'wishy-washy' degree, not as respected (or employable) as history. Also i have no idea how i would write a personal statement for history at oxbridge but liberal arts elsewhere.
Basically I'm very conflicted, any advice appreciated
Go to some Uni Open Days in June and sign up for some of the subject talks. What is History like at degree level, is Liberal Arts what you thought is was, etc. And look at other degrees called Combined Honours, Flexible Honours, American Studies, European Studies, Middle East Studies etc etc - all combine a range of different Humanities and/or Social Sciences in one degree course.
If you're interested in languages, historical subject matter, and philosophical material...perhaps consider a degree in an ancient or modern language
Classics and classical civilisation/studies courses usually involve language study (of Latin and/or Greek) at the core of things, with also options in ancient history, classical archaeology, ancient philosophy, and classical literature. So you get quite a wide range of options with just the one subject (and they can sometimes be offered as a combined honours degree with e.g. modern languages, other ancient languages, or in more specialised joint honours degrees like classical archaeology and ancient history, ancient and modern history etc, classics and divinity/theology/religious studies or Greek and philosophy etc).
Other ancient languages like Sanskrit, ancient Egyptian, Akkadian/Sumerian/Hittite, Biblical Hebrew etc likewise combine language study with a range of other subject areas, so you get a similarly broad exposure (although some areas skew towards some fields more than others...Egyptology and ancient near eastern studies often ends up with a larger share of archaeological options compared to philosophical, while Sanskrit and Hebrew often have more philosophical and/or religious studies/theological material emphasised - although all will have a range of historical and literary options, as well as other areas!).
Modern languages degrees likewise contain a good amount of language study, but that usually only makes up about half of the degree. The other half will focus on "cultural studies" of cultures that speak your target language - this includes historical, geopolitical, and sociological and anthropological approaches, as well as textual approaches of those cultures' literary, philosophical, and historical texts. So you likewise will get the range of areas covered in a modern languages degree
You may find that just doing a languages degree covers all the areas of interest in the end as a result
Classics and classical civilisation/studies courses usually involve language study (of Latin and/or Greek) at the core of things, with also options in ancient history, classical archaeology, ancient philosophy, and classical literature. So you get quite a wide range of options with just the one subject (and they can sometimes be offered as a combined honours degree with e.g. modern languages, other ancient languages, or in more specialised joint honours degrees like classical archaeology and ancient history, ancient and modern history etc, classics and divinity/theology/religious studies or Greek and philosophy etc).
Other ancient languages like Sanskrit, ancient Egyptian, Akkadian/Sumerian/Hittite, Biblical Hebrew etc likewise combine language study with a range of other subject areas, so you get a similarly broad exposure (although some areas skew towards some fields more than others...Egyptology and ancient near eastern studies often ends up with a larger share of archaeological options compared to philosophical, while Sanskrit and Hebrew often have more philosophical and/or religious studies/theological material emphasised - although all will have a range of historical and literary options, as well as other areas!).
Modern languages degrees likewise contain a good amount of language study, but that usually only makes up about half of the degree. The other half will focus on "cultural studies" of cultures that speak your target language - this includes historical, geopolitical, and sociological and anthropological approaches, as well as textual approaches of those cultures' literary, philosophical, and historical texts. So you likewise will get the range of areas covered in a modern languages degree
You may find that just doing a languages degree covers all the areas of interest in the end as a result
Yep, liberal arts is wishy-washy if you are thinking of applying for an investment bank which I guess you are not. You come across as being quite studious so perhaps a career in academia is your logical next step. In this case, you have to follow your passion since you will excel if you do.
Hello!
I think we're quite similar- I achieved 4A*s at A-level and got into Oxford for English Lit instead of going down the liberal arts route because I didn't want to be seen as spending 3 years and a lot of money on a 'mickey mouse' degree. To cut a very long story short I was absolutely miserable in Oxford so I dropped out and reapplied for liberal arts at Manchester, where I'm starting in September! I'm already so much more excited about the course than I ever was about the english course at oxford, so I think I've finally made a decision that works for me. I've always been a person with really broad interests (my A levels were in politics, english lit, biology and drama) and liberal arts suits me so much better.
This isn't me pushing you into lib arts lol- as others have said, languages degrees often have lots of culture stuff involved depending on the course. If you picked a course with some flexibility, you could potentially do a few credits of beginner's language courses alongside a history degree. You would also be able to do a liberal arts degree with a 'major' in history, and then study languages and the other things you're interested in alongside it. If you're worried about how your degree would look to employers, this is an option, because your major becomes part of the title of your degree (at Manchester at least) so it would be Liberal Arts with History BA rather than Liberal Arts BA.
Personally I'm really not worried at all about how my degree will come across to employers- I want to work in the public policy / non-profit / charity sector, so I can easily describe my degree as a combination of politics, philosophy and data analysis that fosters lots of interdisciplinary skills. Also generally with the humanities employers care a lot more about your final result than what you specifically studied (say you were doing marketing, they don't really distinguish much between a history grad and a philosophy grad because it's a BA either way). This is with the exception of languages making you much more employable!
Last point, sorry for being so rambly! I would really urge you to think really carefully about the reasons you want to apply to Oxbridge before you do it. I felt quite pressured into it because I was so academic everyone thought it was where I would 'obviously' end up, and I don't come from a family / area / school where many people even try so I thought I owed it to everyone. I loved the admissions test and the interviews, I found them really stimulating and interesting, and I met some amazing people while I was there, but at the end of the day I didn't really like the course or the way it was taught. I'd assumed this was something I'd just adjust to, and it was worth not loving it because it was *oxford* but at the end of the day the course is the most important thing. One thing I would just flag up is that the Oxford history course is quite old fashioned (you don't really go past the 1950s as far as I've heard) and the way they teach languages is very languages focused- you study language and literature, rather than looking at the politics or the culture as you might do elsewhere. If this sounds exciting to you, go for it! But learn from my mistakes and don't make yourself miserable just for the sake of writing Oxford on your CV haha!
I really didn't mean for this to be So incredibly long, but let me know if you've got any questions etc- I'm happy to help and wish you all the best <3
I think we're quite similar- I achieved 4A*s at A-level and got into Oxford for English Lit instead of going down the liberal arts route because I didn't want to be seen as spending 3 years and a lot of money on a 'mickey mouse' degree. To cut a very long story short I was absolutely miserable in Oxford so I dropped out and reapplied for liberal arts at Manchester, where I'm starting in September! I'm already so much more excited about the course than I ever was about the english course at oxford, so I think I've finally made a decision that works for me. I've always been a person with really broad interests (my A levels were in politics, english lit, biology and drama) and liberal arts suits me so much better.
This isn't me pushing you into lib arts lol- as others have said, languages degrees often have lots of culture stuff involved depending on the course. If you picked a course with some flexibility, you could potentially do a few credits of beginner's language courses alongside a history degree. You would also be able to do a liberal arts degree with a 'major' in history, and then study languages and the other things you're interested in alongside it. If you're worried about how your degree would look to employers, this is an option, because your major becomes part of the title of your degree (at Manchester at least) so it would be Liberal Arts with History BA rather than Liberal Arts BA.
Personally I'm really not worried at all about how my degree will come across to employers- I want to work in the public policy / non-profit / charity sector, so I can easily describe my degree as a combination of politics, philosophy and data analysis that fosters lots of interdisciplinary skills. Also generally with the humanities employers care a lot more about your final result than what you specifically studied (say you were doing marketing, they don't really distinguish much between a history grad and a philosophy grad because it's a BA either way). This is with the exception of languages making you much more employable!
Last point, sorry for being so rambly! I would really urge you to think really carefully about the reasons you want to apply to Oxbridge before you do it. I felt quite pressured into it because I was so academic everyone thought it was where I would 'obviously' end up, and I don't come from a family / area / school where many people even try so I thought I owed it to everyone. I loved the admissions test and the interviews, I found them really stimulating and interesting, and I met some amazing people while I was there, but at the end of the day I didn't really like the course or the way it was taught. I'd assumed this was something I'd just adjust to, and it was worth not loving it because it was *oxford* but at the end of the day the course is the most important thing. One thing I would just flag up is that the Oxford history course is quite old fashioned (you don't really go past the 1950s as far as I've heard) and the way they teach languages is very languages focused- you study language and literature, rather than looking at the politics or the culture as you might do elsewhere. If this sounds exciting to you, go for it! But learn from my mistakes and don't make yourself miserable just for the sake of writing Oxford on your CV haha!
I really didn't mean for this to be So incredibly long, but let me know if you've got any questions etc- I'm happy to help and wish you all the best <3
Original post by amybower
Hello!
I think we're quite similar- I achieved 4A*s at A-level and got into Oxford for English Lit instead of going down the liberal arts route because I didn't want to be seen as spending 3 years and a lot of money on a 'mickey mouse' degree. To cut a very long story short I was absolutely miserable in Oxford so I dropped out and reapplied for liberal arts at Manchester, where I'm starting in September! I'm already so much more excited about the course than I ever was about the english course at oxford, so I think I've finally made a decision that works for me. I've always been a person with really broad interests (my A levels were in politics, english lit, biology and drama) and liberal arts suits me so much better.
This isn't me pushing you into lib arts lol- as others have said, languages degrees often have lots of culture stuff involved depending on the course. If you picked a course with some flexibility, you could potentially do a few credits of beginner's language courses alongside a history degree. You would also be able to do a liberal arts degree with a 'major' in history, and then study languages and the other things you're interested in alongside it. If you're worried about how your degree would look to employers, this is an option, because your major becomes part of the title of your degree (at Manchester at least) so it would be Liberal Arts with History BA rather than Liberal Arts BA.
Personally I'm really not worried at all about how my degree will come across to employers- I want to work in the public policy / non-profit / charity sector, so I can easily describe my degree as a combination of politics, philosophy and data analysis that fosters lots of interdisciplinary skills. Also generally with the humanities employers care a lot more about your final result than what you specifically studied (say you were doing marketing, they don't really distinguish much between a history grad and a philosophy grad because it's a BA either way). This is with the exception of languages making you much more employable!
Last point, sorry for being so rambly! I would really urge you to think really carefully about the reasons you want to apply to Oxbridge before you do it. I felt quite pressured into it because I was so academic everyone thought it was where I would 'obviously' end up, and I don't come from a family / area / school where many people even try so I thought I owed it to everyone. I loved the admissions test and the interviews, I found them really stimulating and interesting, and I met some amazing people while I was there, but at the end of the day I didn't really like the course or the way it was taught. I'd assumed this was something I'd just adjust to, and it was worth not loving it because it was *oxford* but at the end of the day the course is the most important thing. One thing I would just flag up is that the Oxford history course is quite old fashioned (you don't really go past the 1950s as far as I've heard) and the way they teach languages is very languages focused- you study language and literature, rather than looking at the politics or the culture as you might do elsewhere. If this sounds exciting to you, go for it! But learn from my mistakes and don't make yourself miserable just for the sake of writing Oxford on your CV haha!
I really didn't mean for this to be So incredibly long, but let me know if you've got any questions etc- I'm happy to help and wish you all the best <3
I think we're quite similar- I achieved 4A*s at A-level and got into Oxford for English Lit instead of going down the liberal arts route because I didn't want to be seen as spending 3 years and a lot of money on a 'mickey mouse' degree. To cut a very long story short I was absolutely miserable in Oxford so I dropped out and reapplied for liberal arts at Manchester, where I'm starting in September! I'm already so much more excited about the course than I ever was about the english course at oxford, so I think I've finally made a decision that works for me. I've always been a person with really broad interests (my A levels were in politics, english lit, biology and drama) and liberal arts suits me so much better.
This isn't me pushing you into lib arts lol- as others have said, languages degrees often have lots of culture stuff involved depending on the course. If you picked a course with some flexibility, you could potentially do a few credits of beginner's language courses alongside a history degree. You would also be able to do a liberal arts degree with a 'major' in history, and then study languages and the other things you're interested in alongside it. If you're worried about how your degree would look to employers, this is an option, because your major becomes part of the title of your degree (at Manchester at least) so it would be Liberal Arts with History BA rather than Liberal Arts BA.
Personally I'm really not worried at all about how my degree will come across to employers- I want to work in the public policy / non-profit / charity sector, so I can easily describe my degree as a combination of politics, philosophy and data analysis that fosters lots of interdisciplinary skills. Also generally with the humanities employers care a lot more about your final result than what you specifically studied (say you were doing marketing, they don't really distinguish much between a history grad and a philosophy grad because it's a BA either way). This is with the exception of languages making you much more employable!
Last point, sorry for being so rambly! I would really urge you to think really carefully about the reasons you want to apply to Oxbridge before you do it. I felt quite pressured into it because I was so academic everyone thought it was where I would 'obviously' end up, and I don't come from a family / area / school where many people even try so I thought I owed it to everyone. I loved the admissions test and the interviews, I found them really stimulating and interesting, and I met some amazing people while I was there, but at the end of the day I didn't really like the course or the way it was taught. I'd assumed this was something I'd just adjust to, and it was worth not loving it because it was *oxford* but at the end of the day the course is the most important thing. One thing I would just flag up is that the Oxford history course is quite old fashioned (you don't really go past the 1950s as far as I've heard) and the way they teach languages is very languages focused- you study language and literature, rather than looking at the politics or the culture as you might do elsewhere. If this sounds exciting to you, go for it! But learn from my mistakes and don't make yourself miserable just for the sake of writing Oxford on your CV haha!
I really didn't mean for this to be So incredibly long, but let me know if you've got any questions etc- I'm happy to help and wish you all the best <3
Wow, thank you so much, not rambly at all, that was genuinely one of the most helpful things I've read in a long time. I definitely understand where you're coming from with the whole 'oxford for the sake of oxford' thing, and despite knowing that on an intelligent level I can't help but worry about Oxbridge FOMO. You've definitely given me a lot to think about, but I think the key is going to be, like you say, to focus on the actual course content - hopefully open days/webinars will give me some indication of what courses are like... either way thanks so much again!
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