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Is english language a good A level option?

I am doing Economics and Maths at a level but I don't know what to pick for my last option. I am good at English language with an 8 in year 10 summer mocks and a 9 in the recent autumn mocks, however I dont particularly like it and i find it pretty boring. The main reason im considering it is because im fairly confident i can do well and get a good grade, However, i dont know if it will be as easy in a level as in gcses. Please let me know if the a level is as easy as i think and if it is respected/ overall worth doing despite my dislike for it.
Reply 1
Original post by salami.
I am doing Economics and Maths at a level but I don't know what to pick for my last option. I am good at English language with an 8 in year 10 summer mocks and a 9 in the recent autumn mocks, however I dont particularly like it and i find it pretty boring. The main reason im considering it is because im fairly confident i can do well and get a good grade, However, i dont know if it will be as easy in a level as in gcses. Please let me know if the a level is as easy as i think and if it is respected/ overall worth doing despite my dislike for it.

I don't know about English lang specifically but everyone I have ever had advice from about a-levels has said don't take a subject you don't like. At a-level you have to do much more independent work which will be difficult unless you enjoy it, unlike a GCSE where you can kind of wing it.
Original post by salami.
I am doing Economics and Maths at a level but I don't know what to pick for my last option. I am good at English language with an 8 in year 10 summer mocks and a 9 in the recent autumn mocks, however I dont particularly like it and i find it pretty boring. The main reason im considering it is because im fairly confident i can do well and get a good grade, However, i dont know if it will be as easy in a level as in gcses. Please let me know if the a level is as easy as i think and if it is respected/ overall worth doing despite my dislike for it.

It depends on what you want to study. My suggestion is to consider what you want to do as a degree then pick subjects accordingly.

If you are unsure, i would suggest History as it is probably a good connecting subject.
Reply 3
Original post by Wired_1800
It depends on what you want to study. My suggestion is to consider what you want to do as a degree then pick subjects accordingly.

If you are unsure, i would suggest History as it is probably a good connecting subject.

Well i want to do economics, and i know you need maths, and having an essay subject is good aswell. However, i want to go to a top uni to have a chance at an investment banking internship, so i will need the grades. And as far as i have been told, english lang is easy so it will make grades more likely to fit the entry requirements.
Original post by salami.
I am doing Economics and Maths at a level but I don't know what to pick for my last option. I am good at English language with an 8 in year 10 summer mocks and a 9 in the recent autumn mocks, however I dont particularly like it and i find it pretty boring. The main reason im considering it is because im fairly confident i can do well and get a good grade, However, i dont know if it will be as easy in a level as in gcses. Please let me know if the a level is as easy as i think and if it is respected/ overall worth doing despite my dislike for it.

It's a good A-level option but not if you don't like it...
Reply 5
Original post by artful_lounger
It's a good A-level option but not if you don't like it...

But if its easy cant i do it just for free good grade, or is it hard, or do you need to be interested in it to do good, i dont know thats why im asking.
Original post by salami.
But if its easy cant i do it just for free good grade, or is it hard, or do you need to be interested in it to do good, i dont know thats why im asking.


The thing is that at A-level you will quickly find something that is "easy" to you now but of no interest will become a lot harder for you specifically if you don't have any interest and have to spend a lot more time studying the subject. A lot of people seem to carry on with English lit for this reason as well but then realise that they actually have no interest in literary criticism and find it quite hard going because it's very boring to them.

Obviously for those who actually enjoy those subjects, they are probably not overly difficult while also being enjoyable.
Reply 7
Original post by artful_lounger
The thing is that at A-level you will quickly find something that is "easy" to you now but of no interest will become a lot harder for you specifically if you don't have any interest and have to spend a lot more time studying the subject. A lot of people seem to carry on with English lit for this reason as well but then realise that they actually have no interest in literary criticism and find it quite hard going because it's very boring to them.

Obviously for those who actually enjoy those subjects, they are probably not overly difficult while also being enjoyable.

what would you recommend for someone in my position? I was also thinking business studies but i have seen people really dump on it saying unis don't like it and i can see where they are coming from. I was also thinking to pick law but my sister says it will be no use to me and its a lot of remembering so i dont know what to do. Overall im more attracted to the analytical sciency type subjects like maths, physics and cs, but they seem too hard and i dont need them to do econ so i dont see the point of taking the risk.
Original post by salami.
what would you recommend for someone in my position? I was also thinking business studies but i have seen people really dump on it saying unis don't like it and i can see where they are coming from. I was also thinking to pick law but my sister says it will be no use to me and its a lot of remembering so i dont know what to do. Overall im more attracted to the analytical sciency type subjects like maths, physics and cs, but they seem too hard and i dont need them to do econ so i dont see the point of taking the risk.

Business studies is fine in of itself but universities may have issues with the combination of it and economics so would not recommend taking that.

If you're aiming for economics at a "top" uni (e.g. LSE, Cambridge, UCL, Warwick) you should realistically be aiming to take A-level Further Maths. Outside of those it's not essential for admissions (technically not essential for Warwick although I think the majority will be taking it), but is still very useful for the course as you'll be using a lot of those topics in the degree itself.

Otherwise just take something (other than business studies if you're doing economics already) that you have an interest in personally and do well in. If you like and do well in sciences, do a science subject!
Original post by salami.
Well i want to do economics, and i know you need maths, and having an essay subject is good aswell. However, i want to go to a top uni to have a chance at an investment banking internship, so i will need the grades. And as far as i have been told, english lang is easy so it will make grades more likely to fit the entry requirements.

If you dont like it, don't do it. You clearly have two strong subjects in Maths and Econ. If you are looking for an ‘easy’-ish subject, maybe consider Business Studies.

I would still suggest History as it could help you more.

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