Is it worth doing 4 a levels or epq?

I'm about to go into year 12 and i wasn't sure if it would be worth taking 4 a levels (maths, fm, economics, politics) or if i should take an epq instead of one of the a levels (or maybe even with the 4 a levels which might not be very smart). I want to study economics at uni and find all of the subjects quite interesting but i know its discouraged. The school I'm going to encourages doing the epq but i don't really want to give up a subject. That said though, i obviously dont know how heavy the workload will be. Any advice?

Reply 1

ajj2000

20

For economics at top universities further maths is valuable.

Reply 2

zainab.sambo

3

Just finished year 13 and i and your exact thoughts at the start of year 12. I ended up doing Maths, Geography, DT, Physics and EPQ. I dropped geography in year 13 so I got an AS in it. Now I know I defo wouldn’t have been able to do a fourth subject as the workload is a LOT. (However it may be doable if it’s further maths). I ended up getting a B in EPQ which felt like a waste of time. So unless you think you can get an A in EPQ which could lower a uni offer, or your unis of choice like EPQ’s, I’d say don’t take it.

Reply 3

TypicalNerd

18

Original post by LK11_

I'm about to go into year 12 and i wasn't sure if it would be worth taking 4 a levels (maths, fm, economics, politics) or if i should take an epq instead of one of the a levels (or maybe even with the 4 a levels which might not be very smart). I want to study economics at uni and find all of the subjects quite interesting but i know its discouraged. The school I'm going to encourages doing the epq but i don't really want to give up a subject. That said though, i obviously dont know how heavy the workload will be. Any advice?

The EPQ isn’t worth the bother imo.

I’d say you probably should start off by taking the four A levels since you are interested in all of them and if the workload becomes unmanageable later down the line, drop the one that is your least favourite or worst subject.

One thing that is worth noting is that although all uni offers you’ll see on university websites show three A levels, if you do get an offer and happen to take 4 A levels, your offer may be conditional on all 4 A levels rather than just 3.

Reply 4

Bacon_blade

2

With 4 you can always drop your least favourite giving you some flexibility

Reply 5

Sullystudent

8

Take 4 A-Levels and don't take the EPQ. You could drop your 4th after AS, if needs be, but the EPQ just seems like unnecessary added stress. The workload would be suffocating, imo.

Reply 6

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

At Lancaster University, the entry requirements for the Economics course are AAB, including a B in Mathematics. This means that there is no advantage to an application to the course from having 4 a levels, or an EPQ. However taking 4 a levels means you can get a low grade on any of the non-maths subjects and still meet the university's entry requirements.

-Kao (Lancaster Maths & Stats Student Ambassador)

Reply 7

brooke.h._

2

Original post by LK11_

I'm about to go into year 12 and i wasn't sure if it would be worth taking 4 a levels (maths, fm, economics, politics) or if i should take an epq instead of one of the a levels (or maybe even with the 4 a levels which might not be very smart). I want to study economics at uni and find all of the subjects quite interesting but i know its discouraged. The school I'm going to encourages doing the epq but i don't really want to give up a subject. That said though, i obviously dont know how heavy the workload will be. Any advice?

in my school you have to take 4 and most people are advised to drop one after the half term so im going to take 4 then if i end up getting told i should drop one because it is too hard i will do the epq, im very mixed feelings now as alot of people have told me they are worth it and helped them, but then a few people saying they are a waste of time and not worth the hassle.

Reply 8

LoverOfBooks

9

I would say that do the four if you think you can handle the workload, for example some of my friends who did 4 A Levels only ended up with about 2 free periods a week, compared to my 6, but it really depends on you.
I did an EPQ, and am now doing a history degree, and I found that it helped more than anything else with knowing how to write uni style essays and how to reference. I don't know how much essay writing is involved in an economics degree, but it might be something worth thinking about?

Reply 9

Feeb_05

13

An EPQ will prepare you better for university as it is styled on the work you will do at that level, it is up to you however as many others have said not to bother. I found my EPQ useful as it has lowered my grade requirements for uni (but you have to achieve an A/A* to be able to have this benefit). The EPQ also allowed me to explore something I was interested in and I linked it to what I applied to at uni which let me discuss it in my personal statement and my interviews.
I know people that did 4 a levels and didn’t really find any benefit to it as most unis just discount the fourth.

Is it worth doing 4 a levels or epq?

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