A level subjects for a bachelor in psychology yes or no?

Hello,
I asked my uni if the subjects that I chose for my A-level exam matter since I am going to study psychology and they said no.
So I took the advice from someone in my previous post and I think I found the perfect subjects. What do you guys think, are the subjects hard or okay?
So I chose English language (English is not my first language but my English level is good I am between B2 and C1), Sociology(someone recommended it in my previous post and I looked at the past paper and they didn't seem really hard) and finally classical studies ( I didn't choose history because I don't want to have too much info in my head and I saw that it's in the list of the most difficult A level subjects. Classical studies are perfect because I've always loved history and ancient Greece and Rome and I have a lot of knowledge on this subject)
I think I am going to find a tutor since I'm not from the UK and I don't know how this A-level exam works :/

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Nabiaa

Hello,
I asked my uni if the subjects that I chose for my A-level exam matter since I am going to study psychology and they said no.
So I took the advice from someone in my previous post and I think I found the perfect subjects. What do you guys think, are the subjects hard or okay?
So I chose English language (English is not my first language but my English level is good I am between B2 and C1), Sociology(someone recommended it in my previous post and I looked at the past paper and they didn't seem really hard) and finally classical studies ( I didn't choose history because I don't want to have too much info in my head and I saw that it's in the list of the most difficult A level subjects. Classical studies are perfect because I've always loved history and ancient Greece and Rome and I have a lot of knowledge on this subject)
I think I am going to find a tutor since I'm not from the UK and I don't know how this A-level exam works :/

English language (English is not my first language but my English level is good I am between B2 and C1)
Generally, C1 is the equivalent of GCSE English Language, so it might feel like a bit of a jump. Having said that, I didn't do it for A Level.

Sociology(someone recommended it in my previous post and I looked at the past paper and they didn't seem really hard)
Sociology is generally considered a softer subject by universities, so it's probably a good idea to check the entry requirements of the psychology degrees that you want to do and see if it's an accepted subject.

classical studies ( I didn't choose history because I don't want to have too much info in my head and I saw that it's in the list of the most difficult A level subjects. Classical studies are perfect because I've always loved history and ancient Greece and Rome and I have a lot of knowledge on this subject)
Classics is a good subject, although I thought it wasn't one of the easier subjects for A Level. Having said that, if you love the history of Greece and Rome, then you should do this subject irrespective

I think I am going to find a tutor since I'm not from the UK and I don't know how this A-level exam works

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A Levels generally are 2 year courses (unless you do an accelerated course in 1 year or you do them online/privately). You don't take the official exams until May/June of your second year, and these generally determine your results.

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Should you decide (with a lengthy discussion with your teacher) that you don't/shouldn't proceed with the subject, you can either drop out or finish as an AS at the end of your first year (requires sitting an exam). An AS would count as roughly half of an A Level, so the grades/points you accumulate would be accordingly counted as such.

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For some courses/subjects, you would be required to produce coursework/assignments that would count towards the final grade. I would suspect all 3 of the subjects you picked will involve some sort of assignement (I haven't checked).

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Whilst there are no rules saying you can't resit your A Levels, it's generally "frowned upon" if you continually resit the same exams. However, you can only generally resit an exam once a year, and after your first sitting you would have to fund the exams yourself as well as doing them privately (as a private candidate).

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If you do study at a 6th form college, then you woud likely be offered mock exams throughout your studies to assess your progress as well as giving an indication of whether you should proceed with the course. These mock exams are not official and are only for the college that you attend at.

I would agree that it's a good idea ot have a tutor if you're not used to the British education system; it takes a while to get used to. Also the study and exam strategies that work abroad might very well not work for the UK subjects i.e. there's a strong chance that they would assess you on different criteria to what you're used to.
If you want to research more on what strategies would be effective for your specific subjects, then I recommend you search on google and YouTube for such strategies and pay more attention to the sources where the author/vlogger has achieved the same results you want themselves. I typically use terms like "how to get A* in A Level" folowed by the subject. Some of the advice from these authors/vloggers might be very different to those that your college or tutor prescribes, but what's more important is what would work for you the most and what would get you the grades that you're looking for.

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Nabiaa

Hello,
I asked my uni if the subjects that I chose for my A-level exam matter since I am going to study psychology and they said no.
So I took the advice from someone in my previous post and I think I found the perfect subjects. What do you guys think, are the subjects hard or okay?
So I chose English language (English is not my first language but my English level is good I am between B2 and C1), Sociology(someone recommended it in my previous post and I looked at the past paper and they didn't seem really hard) and finally classical studies ( I didn't choose history because I don't want to have too much info in my head and I saw that it's in the list of the most difficult A level subjects. Classical studies are perfect because I've always loved history and ancient Greece and Rome and I have a lot of knowledge on this subject)
I think I am going to find a tutor since I'm not from the UK and I don't know how this A-level exam works :/

To answer the central question, it can matter for some universities what subjects you study at A-level in order to meet the requirements for their psychology degree, but not all. A number require or prefer one or two science subjects (usually preferring at least one from "core" sciences i.e. maths/physics/chemistry/biology, the second can often be more widely chosen from those but also including other scientific subjects like psychology, geology, sometimes geography etc).

So it will ultimately depend on the unis you end up applying to. Note that they will state clearly on their website what their entry criteria are and what if any subjects are needed.