Geography or psychology a level

So I have currently selected to study Maths, biology and geography at A level but I am thinking of switching geography for psychology. I did geography at GCSE and predicted an 8 and really enjoy it but feel I’d also enjoy psychology. At a taster lesson I hated the psychology lesson but we didn’t do much and feel I’d enjoy it more when I get more in to depth in a topic. I currently have no career or degree ideas so wonder if somebody help me decide which is more beneficial or just better to do.

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Abcd12345678999

I currently have no career or degree ideas
Not exactly a good start

help me decide which is more beneficial or just better to do.
I hate these questions, because it's so superficial and you don't even say what you mean by "beneficial" or "better". In what context? Easier? More academic? More degree options? What?

I can give you an idea of what studying both subjects is like:
Geography involves essay writing, but it also involves quite a bit of field work. So for me, it's a good excuse to go out on breaks. It also has a good balance between the science (physical) and the arts (human). The thing you need to bear in mind is that if you are terrible at writing essays, you are not likely to come out on top.
Psychology on the other hand involves looking at individual psychological research study i.e. there isn't that much on discussing the psychological theory as opposed to more discussion on the research methods and design. It will give you a taste of what the degree in the subject would be like i.e. very academic. You will have the chance to do your own psychological experiment, It also complements biology very well.

If you are not sure about the above, I recommend looking at the textbooks for both subjects and read through a few chapters to see what they are like. If you get a chance to speak to the teachers teaching the subjects at A Level, so much the better.

In terms of degree options, you don't really get that much advantage of doing psychology over geography. Most psychology degrees generally don't require specific subjects, and those that do either ask for biology or psychology. Since you already have biology in the bag, you're fine.
Doing geography would allow you to go into geography degrees that has physical geography components (Human geography degrees tend to ask for A Levels in any subjects). With the maths as a combination, you should be able to study earth sciences and geology (not too sure about geophysics though, but it's possible).

Reply 2

Abcd12345678999

Original post by MindMax2000

I currently have no career or degree ideas
Not exactly a good start
help me decide which is more beneficial or just better to do.
I hate these questions, because it's so superficial and you don't even say what you mean by "beneficial" or "better". In what context? Easier? More academic? More degree options? What?
I can give you an idea of what studying both subjects is like:
Geography involves essay writing, but it also involves quite a bit of field work. So for me, it's a good excuse to go out on breaks. It also has a good balance between the science (physical) and the arts (human). The thing you need to bear in mind is that if you are terrible at writing essays, you are not likely to come out on top.
Psychology on the other hand involves looking at individual psychological research study i.e. there isn't that much on discussing the psychological theory as opposed to more discussion on the research methods and design. It will give you a taste of what the degree in the subject would be like i.e. very academic. You will have the chance to do your own psychological experiment, It also complements biology very well.
If you are not sure about the above, I recommend looking at the textbooks for both subjects and read through a few chapters to see what they are like. If you get a chance to speak to the teachers teaching the subjects at A Level, so much the better.
In terms of degree options, you don't really get that much advantage of doing psychology over geography. Most psychology degrees generally don't require specific subjects, and those that do either ask for biology or psychology. Since you already have biology in the bag, you're fine.
Doing geography would allow you to go into geography degrees that has physical geography components (Human geography degrees tend to ask for A Levels in any subjects). With the maths as a combination, you should be able to study earth sciences and geology (not too sure about geophysics though, but it's possible).

When I say beneficial I mean which do universities prefer and see as a good A level to have. Also which will give me more opportunities in the future

Reply 3

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Abcd12345678999

When I say beneficial I mean which do universities prefer and see as a good A level to have. Also which will give me more opportunities in the future

When I say beneficial I mean which do universities prefer and see as a good A level to have
Most universities accept both for most of their courses, so this is mostly a redundant point.

Having said that, geography might be considered more "academic" and more "difficult" than psychology, so geography maybe respected more on some level. However, it's really not going to make much of a difference i.e. it's never a situation where you are neck to neck against other applicants where the competition is so intense that the university will reject you solely because you picked psychology over geography.
If it's going to be for a really competitive course, they will likely require you to do entrance exams or tests along with lengthier and more intensive interviews. The fact that you picked one subject over the other isn't going to mean much if you are that sort of calibre of a candidate.

Also which will give me more opportunities in the future
And this is one of the things I meant by superficial, and what I get really annoyed about. It's again vague. Do you mean employment opportunities (if you are buying into the fact that degrees will guarantee you a job, good luck with that) or do you mean the scope of different degrees that you can later study?
If you mean the former, then it's a redundant question. Your degrees and A Levels don't guarantee you any particular job. You don't get hired because of your qualifications; you get hired for your skills, experience, fit in the team, personality, etc. You can have a PhD and they still won't let you in the door.
If you mean the latter, then I would say geography. However, if you are not interested in geology, earth sciences, geography, etc. then it makes no sense to pick it. It's like me recommending maths, but if you hate maths, don't want to do a quantitative degree, or go into any job involving maths, it makes no sense to do it at all.

I would just pick the subject that you enjoy studying more. Outside of the STEM subjects, I don't it would matter that much.

Reply 4

Lily__S

Original post by Abcd12345678999

I do maths, biology and geography! I do know many people that take psychology, and it sounds like a lot more effort and memorisation for not much reward. Geography also tends to open so many more pathways in terms of uni courses, and is generally more respected than psychology. I will be honest, I do find geography to be my hardest A-level, but it's honestly really fun to learn about, especially with the field trips and independent coursework. Grade boundaries are also pretty low 😉