Restarting year 12 with different subjects

Hi
I am currently a 1st year student at a sixth form in UK doing three A levels in maths, business and accounting. However, I know that this subject combination is narrow. Im considering to restart year 12 at another sixth form and change those courses to maths, further maths, business and accounting.
Will this put me at a disadvantage when applying to top unis such as oxbridge, lse, ucl etc?
I am taking three years after my school to complete A levels but technically I will be doing them(different subjects) at another sixth form in two years time only

Any response/advice is highly appreciated

Hi
I am currently a 1st year student at a sixth form in UK doing three A levels in maths, business and accounting. However, I know that this subject combination is narrow. Im considering to restart year 12 at another sixth form and change those courses to maths, further maths, business and accounting.
Will this put me at a disadvantage when applying to top unis such as oxbridge, lse, ucl etc?
I am taking three years after my school to complete A levels but technically I will be doing them(different subjects) at another sixth form in two years time only

Any response/advice is highly appreciated

I’m not sure what course you intend on doing, but I do believe further maths is very beneficial. However, i’m also not sure if it’s worth retaking the whole year just to add further maths (unless it’s for a different reason aswell such as grades?). Could you possibly take up further maths next year and just complete an AS instead? Or you could even see if you are able to do the full a level in one year, in which case you could learn AS content over summer.

If you are genuinely thinking of retaking the year, It may be worth swapping out business/accounting as they are both quite narrow subjects. Consider swapping for other relevant subjects which also show a range of skills eg econ, history, geo, or even english. Those may be considered stronger as they are generally ‘academic’ subjects, whereas both business and accounting are not normally considered so.

As for Uni, the biggest issue you will face is with LSE I believe. LSE has strong emphasis on subjects, and business and accounting fall into their list of ‘non preferred subjects’ (unless you are doing an accounting related degree, in which accounting would be considered). Another issue is with some courses maths and further maths are not treated as separate subjects, and if you took them both, normally you would have to have an essay subject (business and accounting would not be counted) but this depends on the course. This might not be an issue if you have 4 a levels, but regardless I do think your chances at LSE would be slim (not impossible!), unless you opted for a different set of subjects. Obviously this is just one uni though, and you have tons of choices.
As for Oxbridge, you will likely be competing with applicants which have stronger combinations as well.

Of course, other elements of your application, such as you PS, grades, and reference are important as well, so don’t overly stress about your subjects.

Overall, as for retaking, I would strongly suggest thinking about your subject choices and whether it would be better to swap them in the new year. If you intend on continuing with your current subjects, but just want to add further maths, I would say see if there’s a way to stay at your current school and take up further, either AS or full a level. Ultimately, do what would be best for you. You will still likely be able to get into good unis with your current subjects. Good luck!!

Hi
I think I might take maths, further maths, physics and economics as this will demonstrate a strong breadth of study. Since, I will do 1 more year to do these subjects at another sixth form, will it put me at a disadvantage for top unis compared to other applicants?

Thank you so much for your previous reply

Those subjects would be much stronger!! They would also open up a lot more options, as you could pursue econ/business/finance degrees, as well as STEM degrees like computer science/engineering etc. So if you did pick that combo you'd be in a very good position. But, make sure you are able to do well in them as they are all very hard, and if you are not able to meet the grade requirements (for predicted) then you will likely not even be considered- despite having the right combo. I’m not 100% sure how Unis view people who resit year 12. I think they may look down more on people who actually retake the year 13 exams, not those who resit the first year. The worst case scenario would be that they wonder why it took you three years to get your A levels instead of 2, but really I don’t think you’re at that much of a disadvantage. Especially because the reason for you restarting is due to a change in subjects (not because you failed or something). What you could do is contact the Unis of interest, and actually ask how they consider cases such as yours. That would be a much more reliable method, and you would know for sure.

This is quite a big decision though. If your subjects are fine for the course you want to do, and you know you will do well in them, then you could just stick. But in the long term, if you think retaking would be more beneficial, then it may be the better option. Really think about if you will be able to successfully do those new subjects though!!!