EPQ on top of 4 A-levels

Hello! I’m starting Alevels next September (Socio,Geo,English Lit and Drama) and as you can see they’re mainly essay based. I’m wondering if EPQ would be too much on top of that, any advice? I’m not planning on dropping any subjects. Thanks

Reply 1

cyberhex

11

Through a funky situation I ended up taking 4 a-levels (started out with 3 lol) and my EPQ in year 12 and it's definitely doable! My subjects were Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science and Geography so mostly not essay-based but based on the workload in y12, the only major thing will be you'll almost certainly have fewer free period classes to fit in everything else. You'll have fewer EPQ lessons than your other classes (we had 1 a week compared to around 4 for my other subjects), I don't remember the hour requirements but it's not too much, especially if you're more experienced in essay subjects! Most of the time was research and filling in the production log. As long as you manage your time effectively, it should be fine! :smile:

I'm not here to dissuade you, but just to also point out that you don't have to take an EPQ especially on top of 4 subjects since many unis don't consider it - but some do, sometimes even for grade reductions! It's also a good thing to stick in your personal statement to prove your interest in your subject, and if you pick a good topic, it's kind of fun! (as someone who planned to specialise in neuroscience, I got to do it on the effectiveness of lobotomies, which was wild)

edit: also to say, in most cases you finish your EPQ by the end of y12, which frees up time for your other subjects in y13 when things are getting more serious, so you don't have to worry about it while getting ready for your exams :smile:

(edited 11 months ago)

It may be possible but it really depends on what else you do outside of school and how well you think you will cope with the workload of your four A-levels. Is there any particular reason as to why you want to do four A-levels?

Reply 3

EddieHawlsters

OP

5

Original post by cyberhex

Through a funky situation I ended up taking 4 a-levels (started out with 3 lol) and my EPQ in year 12 and it's definitely doable! My subjects were Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science and Geography so mostly not essay-based but based on the workload in y12, the only major thing will be you'll almost certainly have fewer free period classes to fit in everything else. You'll have fewer EPQ lessons than your other classes (we had 1 a week compared to around 4 for my other subjects), I don't remember the hour requirements but it's not too much, especially if you're more experienced in essay subjects! Most of the time was research and filling in the production log. As long as you manage your time effectively, it should be fine! :smile:

I'm not here to dissuade you, but just to also point out that you don't have to take an EPQ especially on top of 4 subjects since many unis don't consider it - but some do, sometimes even for grade reductions! It's also a good thing to stick in your personal statement to prove your interest in your subject, and if you pick a good topic, it's kind of fun! (as someone who planned to specialise in neuroscience, I got to do it on the effectiveness of lobotomies, which was wild)
edit: also to say, in most cases you finish your EPQ by the end of y12, which frees up time for your other subjects in y13 when things are getting more serious, so you don't have to worry about it while getting ready for your exams :smile:

Thank you for the help! I really hope it works out, I am usually good at deadlines but wanted to make sure

Reply 4

EddieHawlsters

OP

5

Original post by flowersinmyhair

It may be possible but it really depends on what else you do outside of school and how well you think you will cope with the workload of your four A-levels. Is there any particular reason as to why you want to do four A-levels?

I have scholarships for all three except Geography and I am currently jumping all over the place about what I want to study in the future (creative writing, linguistics, civil engineering, political science, lots of options) and I know Geo will be useful (especially the human side of things) when mixed with Socio and Lit 😄

Reply 5

EddieHawlsters

OP

5

Original post by flowersinmyhair

It may be possible but it really depends on what else you do outside of school and how well you think you will cope with the workload of your four A-levels. Is there any particular reason as to why you want to do four A-levels?

My activities outside aren’t too straining too, I play a guitar in a band, have rowing and junior debating so I (hopefully) have time?

Reply 6

manimousse

1

Original post by EddieHawlsters

My activities outside aren’t too straining too, I play a guitar in a band, have rowing and junior debating so I (hopefully) have time?

Hi, did you go ahead with the 4 a-levels and the EPQ, and if so, how did you find the workload?

Reply 7

Peach_rose34

10

Original post by EddieHawlsters

Hello! I’m starting Alevels next September (Socio,Geo,English Lit and Drama) and as you can see they’re mainly essay based. I’m wondering if EPQ would be too much on top of that, any advice? I’m not planning on dropping any subjects. Thanks

You’re on tsr, so there’s definitely going to be people on this website who did fine with a very high sixth form workload.

But my experience as a y13 at a pretty good state school makes me fairly confident in not recommending 4 a levels or an epq for most people, and certainly not both.

Firstly , with essay subjects like English literature you’ll do coursework that teaches you how to write long essays anyway.
But more importantly, 4 a levels(not including further maths) is already so much work. I do 4 including fm which is considered manageable or even easy by a lot of people on here. It’s not, and I did well in gcses without much revision so I’m the type of person it should be manageable for.
An epq on top of 4 essay subjects is painful and completely unnecessary. I’d go as far as recommending that you drop a subject. The only good reason to take 4 a levels is if you’re doing further maths and want to do stem subjects at top unis, or if you have very broad interests and perhaps want to keep options open. I still think doing 3+ epq is better than doing 4, because the epq lets you explore a particular area of interest in depth . But in most cases I think people should take 3 a levels.

On that basis I think 4+ epq is insane(and not fun, trust me y12 is hard but y13 is even worse).

Reply 8

Peach_rose34

10

At my school of c.2500 about 50-80 people take 4 a levels, and in my year I know everyone doing 4 is really struggling. My further maths class has had massive grade drops in the recent mocks because of the workload . A levels aren’t something you can just coast through, though I suppose sociology isn’t comparable to history in its difficulty.

Drama and English lit do have heavy coursework components so an epq on top of that will not be fun.

EPQ on top of 4 A-levels

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