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Choosing a levels

Im going to start my a levels next yr and im probably gonna do dt, maths and psychology but I really enjoyed learning chemistry gcse and physics as well. What do you think I should choose?

Reply 1

itsadara

Original post by anonymous7070

Im going to start my a levels next yr and im probably gonna do dt, maths and psychology but I really enjoyed learning chemistry gcse and physics as well. What do you think I should choose?

i mean, you should think about what u wanna do post sixth form, and think about your grades. if you are getting good grades in chemistry and physics, and you enjoy it- then take it. chemistry can get you into a lot of university courses (if that's your next step), and if you have good grades in it, even better. maths is an amazing a-level to take (says someone who's not even taking it lmao) because it can get you into SO many courses- universities love maths, and they're likely to look at your maths and english gcse grades even if you don't take them for a-level. so if you're confident about maths, take it for sure. can i ask what you're thinking of doing when you're older, or like what route you want to take? because for example, i wanna go into neuroscience and psychology/biopsychology, so when applying to sixth forms i decied to take psychology and biology and art- because most of the courses i've looked into at unis require at least two subjects from a list which includes bio and psych (and i just love art and i chose it for gcse so i wanna take it).

it all really depends on which subjects you feel you can perform really well in, and what route you want to go post a-levels. if you're unsure, it's worth taking maths, chemistry, and physics tbf- because they are good a-levels that can get you into a lot of courses, but it all depends on what you feel you'd love to do and what would help you take those further steps. hope that helped : )

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 2

anonymous7070

Hi thank you so much for your reply. I’m not really sure about what I definitely want to do in the future but I do want to do something design related. However, I don’t want to do art for a-levels because I chose it for gcse and I didn’t like the coursework part. Did you have any subjects you didn’t want to give up when you were choosing your a-level options and if you did how did you learn to give it up?

Reply 3

itsadara

Original post by anonymous7070

i think i'm in the same year as you right now- i've already applied and been accepted to sixth forms, so the subjects i wanna do are pretty much locked in. if you want to do something design related, maths and dt are defo good shouts because they'll help you a lot. with that, physics could be a really good addition tbh, judging by the fact that you wanna do something design related, as it could help alot (then again i don't really know much about the design + technology sector, so don't take my full word until you've done some research).

i've had way too many career talks on like every subject that's offered at my school, and lecturers and admissions officers from various universities have come to my school to do talks and stuff, so i would say i'm familiar with what subjects are really good for specific courses, but then again i'm not a university student, and it depends on what universities require or want you to have.

i get the art thing though, that makes sense. the coursework in art can be hell sometimes, and the only thing that got me through it was the fact that i enjoyed art regardless- and i didn't always see it as an assignment- more of something i was working to achieve to be proud of myself. to answer your question tho, when i was deciding my a-levels it was pretty simple for me, because i used my career aspirations as a kind of influence. i knew i wanted to do something psychology/neuroscience related so i did a bunch of research on uni courses, and branches of professions to find something that i would be interested to do. after i did that, it was easier to pick a-levels that worked with what i wanted to do, what i liked, and what would help me get into uni.

if you're worried about what you wanna do after a-levels, or if you're still unsure, research!! look on university websites, look at their undergrad courses, find some that you'd be interested in, read about them, look at careers you might be able to move forward with, look at the required subjects needed to take the course and the required grades, i don't think i would be so sure in what i want to do if i didn't do as much research as i have. it really helps when you look on university websites, because it gives you a much better understanding. i hope that helped, and if you still have any questions feel free to ask <3

Reply 4

anonymous7070

Hi, thank you for replying me with so much information. It’s actually helping a lot. I also want to ask what universities did you look into?

Reply 5

itsadara

Original post by anonymous7070

Hi, thank you for replying me with so much information. It’s actually helping a lot. I also want to ask what universities did you look into?

so i really want to go to kcl to study their course of neuroscience and psychology. i also really want to go to ucl as well to study psychology since their neuroscience course requires chemistry as an a-level and there's no way in hell im doing chem 💀. i've also looked in cambridge and oxford (they dont do any courses i want so im not really interested in them). i live in bristol, and bristol university is really good- i just dont wanna stay here for uni. erm, i also looked into imperial but they don't do the course i wanna do i don't think either. i've looked at birmingham, cardiff, southampton, warwick, and yeah. i'm someone who's really obsessed with the russel group unis so i look into them a lot (you really don't have to though). you could also try looking for apprenticeships maybe if they would work well with what u wanna do in the future, but it's all up to what you want to do : )

if it helps, you could search up "university courses in ______" and insert whatever subject(s) that you wanna carry into the future and a bunch of unis and information about possible courses can come up and you can start reading from there. you might find a university you're really tied to or really like more than the others, and you ca go on their site and read more about the other courses and stuff too. i hope that helped 🫶