A-Level choices?

I’m a little confused on how my A-Level choices affect my University choices.

So I picked English Literature, History, Art and Geography (all full 2 year courses).

I originally wanted to do something art related in University but decided to keep my options a little open in case it doesn’t work out (I picked Geography for this even though I’m not passionate about it at all). My main other option is to do either Law or History/English at University.

Now everyone’s telling me that Geography is a bad subject for Law, History and English and that I just ‘ruined my future’. They’re all telling me to switch to Sociology instead since I don’t really like GCSE Geography that much.

I am interested in Sociology as a whole but I really don’t like the topics my sixth form does for it and I get almost always get at least an 8 if not 9 on GCSE Geography mocks even though my enjoyment of it is relatively limited. I’ve always found the content easy to understand and digest.

Is A-Level Geography really that bad for a career in Law?
Is Sociology better?
Is A-Level Geography that much harder than GCSE?

Thanks.

Edit: I DID NOT pick Geography to get into Law/History/English. I picked it because 1) I absolutely detested the AS options my school had (literally just Maths and I struggle with it) and 2) I don’t want to spend a year doing a subject that I know I’ll never use again.

I just wanted to know if picking Geography would lower my chances of studying Law/History/English since everyone around me have been saying that universities would prefer Sociology.

I also don’t hate Geography as a whole. I just didn’t really enjoy the fieldwork (it rained a lot) and some of the resources topic (it was VERY rushed. We did two lessons on it).

I did genuinely like the Urban Development topic and I thought that the topics involving Physical Geography were quite interesting and enjoyable.

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 1

Autumn223

13

For law the most important things to take at A-level probably would be English and History.
As for your third option it shouldn’t matter all that much. For that reason pick something you enjoy, A-levels can be stressful at times, so it is always better to go with what you feel passionately about and enjoy studying rather than forcing you to do something.

At the risk of asking the obvious, but do you have the option of A Level Law?

Reply 3

tiredartist21

OP

8

Original post by PinkMobilePhone

At the risk of asking the obvious, but do you have the option of A Level Law?

Hi. No.

Reply 4

jamsparkle

7

most unis dont have any subject requirements for a law degree (unless you want to combine it with an mfl) people dont know what they're talking about lol

some require an essay subject but you'd have that covered anyway

do you have to do four a levels though? if you dont like geo you'd probs be better off doing something like an epq/core maths (or even nothing lol) then spending time learning stuff about a subject you're not passionate about at all

Reply 5

izzy4509x

13

if your school doesn't make you do 4 a levels don't do 4 a levels, unis don't require it and you'd be much better off getting 3 good grades rather than 4 less good grades! also consider the fact that history and English lit are notoriously content heavy and art takes a lot of time so make sure you're preparing for this if you stick with those, its so important that you like and enjoy your subjects :smile:

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 6

McGinger

18

There are NO subject requirements for Law - they just want 3 high grades.
So choose 3 subjects that you will enjoy studying and where you feel confident of getting those top grades.

For any other subjects at Uni, they will be very clear about any required subjects on each course page - ie. AAB including English etc - and for the other subjects, they really do not care what they are, they just want the grades. Stop guessing about this and stop listening to any 'I've heard' nonsense - if in doubt, phone/email the Unis and ask them.

If you dont enjoy Geog, don't do it.

Don't do 4 full A levels - you are risking all your grades by doing this and no Uni requires or prefers 4 A levels - plan to drop one after AS/1st year if your school is being silly about this.

Reply 7

tiredartist21

OP

8

Original post by jamsparkle

most unis dont have any subject requirements for a law degree (unless you want to combine it with an mfl) people dont know what they're talking about lol

some require an essay subject but you'd have that covered anyway

do you have to do four a levels though? if you dont like geo you'd probs be better off doing something like an epq/core maths (or even nothing lol) then spending time learning stuff about a subject you're not passionate about at all

Hi. I feel like I should have clarified that my school doesn’t make us do 4. They actually recommend 3 plus an additional one year course.

However I really struggle and hate all the sciences and maths. I’m currently getting 5s and 6s in those subjects and I need at least a 7 for the AS courses my school offers.

I initially put AS maths as my option until I did my FSMQ mock and realised that I really couldn’t get higher than a C at best.

For EPQ I did consider it but my sixth form has a history of bad EPQ results and lots of the teachers aren’t experienced.

I know that if I take those two I’d hate myself forever and it’ll be a difficult year full of tears.

My career advisor also told me that some more prestigious universities don’t accept A-Level Art as a ‘proper’ subject for History/English degrees so that helped me pick Geography.

Also I don’t dislike Geography at all. I’m just not the type of person to be excited for a Geography lesson. I enjoyed the topics in GCSE that come back in A-Level but I didn’t like the fieldwork as much (it was very rainy).

Edit: To confirm I DID NOT pick Geography to get into Law. I’m just concerned that it may not be suitable for a career in law.

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 8

tiredartist21

OP

8

Original post by izzy4509x

if your school doesn't make you do 4 a levels don't do 4 a levels, unis don't require it and you'd be much better off getting 3 good grades rather than 4 less good grades! also consider the fact that history and English lit are notoriously content heavy and art takes a lot of time so make sure you're preparing for this if you stick with those, its so important that you like and enjoy your subjects :smile:

Thanks for the reply! My sixth form head was actually a little anxious about me taking four (most people took three) but my teachers all approved of it since I have a good work ethic and I’ve never missed any deadlines. I did Art in GCSE and it really helped me map out how long I should spend doing it. I’ve also read and am familiar with the content we study for English Lit and History so I’m not too concerned with that.

Reply 9

tiredartist21

OP

8

Original post by McGinger

There are NO subject requirements for Law - they just want 3 high grades.
So choose 3 subjects that you will enjoy studying and where you feel confident of getting those top grades.

For any other subjects at Uni, they will be very clear about any required subjects on each course page - ie. AAB including English etc - and for the other subjects, they really do not care what they are, they just want the grades. Stop guessing about this and stop listening to any 'I've heard' nonsense - if in doubt, phone/email the Unis and ask them.

If you dont enjoy Geog, don't do it.

Don't do 4 full A levels - you are risking all your grades by doing this and no Uni requires or prefers 4 A levels - plan to drop one after AS/1st year if your school is being silly about this.

Thanks for the advice. My career advisor told me that Art wasn’t taken seriously by universities and that I wouldn’t get into Law/History/English with it.

Is that really the case?

Edit: To confirm I didn’t pick Geography because it may get me into Law. I picked it since I absolutely hated and struggle intensely with the AS options.

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 10

McGinger

18

Original post by tiredartist21

My career advisor told me that Art wasn’t taken seriously by universities and that I wouldn’t get into Law/History/English with it. Is that really the case?

No - its total nonsense.

If you look at the LLB Law course pages on top Uni sites, you wont see any mention of any subjects they 'don't like'.
And if you email them they will tell you exactly the same thing.

Reply 11

tiredartist21

OP

8

Original post by McGinger

No - its total nonsense.

If you look at the LLB Law course pages on top Uni sites, you wont see any mention of any subjects they 'don't like'.
And if you email them they will tell you exactly the same thing.

Ah. Thank you for clarifying.

Reply 12

NGWNE

2

Original post by tiredartist21

Thanks for the advice. My career advisor told me that Art wasn’t taken seriously by universities and that I wouldn’t get into Law/History/English with it.

Is that really the case?

Edit: To confirm I didn’t pick Geography because it may get me into Law. I picked it since I absolutely hated and struggle intensely with the AS options.

Hello,

I was just reading this post and noticed that I had a similar difficulty in deciding what might be perceived as 'serious' A-Level's when choosing my subjects. I am currently studying History at a Russell Group University and interviewed at Oxford last year, so trust me choosing a course like Art or Music, in my case, really will not affect your application too much. The main priorities are that you have at least one relevant subject, are academically consistent and actually care about your future degree. Pick what you enjoy studying and what you have been successful so far at GCSE in.

A-Level choices?

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