A level History or Psychology

I have chosen the a levels english lit and biology and need to pick my 3rd. I am pretty sure I would like to go into Law, however neuroscience is another career path that interests me.

I get 9s in history and it is my best subject as a passion of mine, and I've never took psych at a level.

which do you think is better for uni?

Reply 1

Wired_1800

Original post by skz123

I have chosen the a levels english lit and biology and need to pick my 3rd. I am pretty sure I would like to go into Law, however neuroscience is another career path that interests me.
I get 9s in history and it is my best subject as a passion of mine, and I've never took psych at a level.
which do you think is better for uni?

If you can do four then select all 4. If not, i’d suggest History, Psychology and Biology

Reply 2

Ani_21

Hi there, I am currently doing History as an A Level and the reason why I took it was purely out of passion and because I was good at it and I can say I still enjoy it. I would recommend looking at some undergraduate courses in either Law or Neuroscience and see what subjects the Universities want, I'd say look at the courses at Oxbridge, etc, and look for their requirements as well because some Universities want specific subjects or it looks better to have a certain subject. For example, to study Computer Science at Oxford, they recommend having further maths; if you don't, you are at a slight disadvantage, when it comes to applications. In general, 96% of applicants got into the course due to having FM. I think for Law though as long as you have an essay-based subject you should be good (I might be wrong). Neuroscience might have particular requirements. So even if you don't have History, you could still go onto Law, due to English Lit and even Psychology. However, I think if you know you want to do Law, stick with History. I wouldn't recommend doing 4 A Level Subjects, especially with this combo. It's better to stick with three. Sorry for the long answer, hope this helps :smile:

Reply 3

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

Original post by skz123

Well for law, both subjects are fine. For neuroscience, id double check the course on unis websites to see if there are any specific subjects they want. That may help you decide.
If you are very good at history, and you really enjoy it, then id seriously consider doing that.

Reply 4

SharlLeglerg16

Hi,
I'm year 13 and study history, psychology and English Lit, and have applied to study history at uni. I guess it depends what you're looking for, personally I find psychology easier in the content that history, and I can speak for the majority of my class whom find biopsychology the hardest unit. As a biologist though, if you can crack that, you'll be on track for a great grade!
I'd say check what you study in the history syllabus at your college and decide if those areas will interest you. A note on coursework- English Lit and history both have coursework, i'm not sure if this is something you like or something you wish you could avoid.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions

Reply 5

bibachu

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by skz123

I have chosen the a levels english lit and biology and need to pick my 3rd. I am pretty sure I would like to go into Law, however neuroscience is another career path that interests me.
I get 9s in history and it is my best subject as a passion of mine, and I've never took psych at a level.
which do you think is better for uni?

I'm currently in Year 12 studying psychology, philosophy and politics. Before I got my results, I also was interested in studying neuroscience or psychology at university, so I can tell you that you'll need one science and a science related subject to study it at most universities. This can either be biology or chemistry and then usually one from psychology, biology, chemistry, geography etc. There are no requirements for law but a lot of people tend to take history, English or politics. After starting my A levels, I too realised I wanted to go into a career in law and switched from English Language and literature to politics, as I wasn't enjoying the course and didn't feel like it was a useful subject. I'd think twice before picking English. I think your safest option here would be to take history, psychology and biology. I actually have a friend who takes these exact subjects and she really loves and enjoys all of them (except for the psych workload)! She also wants to study law, so I would really recommend taking these three and getting rid of English lit, unless you have a passion for it. This is so that in the event you change your mind about law and switch to neuroscience, you still get to study subjects that will meet the requirements for neuroscience. I originally wanted to switch to biology, but there were unfortunately no spaces left to transfer in my school, so I settled for politics, which is the subject I perform best in. If you're getting 9s in history now, you probably won't struggle and as others have said, taking all 4 of these subjects is probably not a smart choice as the workload for all of them is quite intense. As well as this, you have to really consider what subject you'll perform best in. English lit is notorious for having high grade boundaries and you may struggle to get good grades needed to study law or neuroscience. As a psych student, I can say that it is probably my easiest subject to get an A/A* in, as it's one of the most popular subjects in the country, meaning there are lots of resources out there to help you get a good grade. It's also a nice change from doing straight essays, as the longest question you'll get per topic is 16 marks and the answering format is quite straightforward. My friend who does history, psych and bio gets A*s in history and she also got a 9 at GCSE. It is her favourite subject and I have been on a few trips with our school history department, so I can safely say you'll enjoy it. If I had taken history at GCSE I would have 100% studied it for A level. Taking a new subject at A level is not as bad as you may think. Prior to this, my only knowledge on philosophy and politics was through RS (which I didn't do at GCSE) and citizenship. I would highly recommend taking a brand new subject, as you won't come into it with any preconceptions in the same way that you will with subjects you do at GCSE, so psych is a good option. Please reconsider English lit, as I don't think this is the wisest choice, even if you want to study law. Good luck in your decision - I'm happy to answer any questions you may have regarding your options!

Reply 6

RevisionisKey1

Original post by skz123

I have chosen the a levels english lit and biology and need to pick my 3rd. I am pretty sure I would like to go into Law, however neuroscience is another career path that interests me.
I get 9s in history and it is my best subject as a passion of mine, and I've never took psych at a level.
which do you think is better for uni?

So I’m currently studying both History and Psychology and I think you should take History. It’s more easy, better understanding of the subject because you like it and easy marks. But if you want a challenge totally consider psychology or BOTH! But I would say stick to history.

Psychology is interesting and I like it but when it comes to exams, it’s difficult like biology. Since you’re already completing a challenging exam like biology I suggest taking history. All the best!

Reply 7

Autumn223

Original post by skz123

I have chosen the a levels english lit and biology and need to pick my 3rd. I am pretty sure I would like to go into Law, however neuroscience is another career path that interests me.
I get 9s in history and it is my best subject as a passion of mine, and I've never took psych at a level.
which do you think is better for uni?

Im a psychology student at Uni, if you are certain on english literature and don’t want to change that then I’d advise picking History. I don’t know of any university psychology courses that ask for psychology at A-levels (there may be but not to my knowledge). History is often viewed as a more ‘hardcore’ subject at A-levels, and if you do go into psychology they will recap everything taught at A-level in more detail anyway.
I took History at A-levels and absolutely loved it, ended up being my best grade too much to my surprise!

If you are willing to exchange english literature for psychology I personally would because it will make the first year of University easier if you do go the psychology route. 😊 Hope this helps! Best of luck with your exams!