english lit or chemistry for a level

i don’t know what to pick for my fourth a level at all. for context, my other a levels are maths, bio and further maths - i want to do something stem related at uni, and ive been looking at the cambridge natural sciences course and that looks rly interesting to me, but also i think i would also rly enjoy just doing maths at uni so.

with english, i think it would be a nice break from all the other stem subjects and i really enjoy it at gcse anyway. i think it seems better at a level given you get to be more critical and i think coursework sounds really interesting. however it has no relevance to anything i plan to do after a levels currently so i don’t know if it would benefit me in any way after sixth form.

with chemistry however, it would be a really good facilitating subject for things i want to do after a levels and is obviously quite a popular combination given my other a level choices. i like chemistry, and haven’t really found it challenging at gcse but its not something im like desperate to do for a level given im already doing 3 stem subjects. but ive found that for cambridge’s biological natural sciences you need 2 sciences, and i think chemistry seems a lot more appealing to me (despite how much people complain about it).

so should i stick with what i think i will enjoy most, in english lit, or just go with chemistry in order to give myself more freedom in terms of uni and career choices. (like if i suddenly really like the look of medicine or something yk)

i’ve changed my mind so many times and with year 12 approaching, i don’t want to pick the wrong subjects. i have really always enjoyed essay based subjects, but obviously i don’t want to take one just for the sake of it.

so if anyone has any input on what is the best option pls lmk!!!

Reply 1

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

Original post by lc_007

i don’t know what to pick for my fourth a level at all. for context, my other a levels are maths, bio and further maths - i want to do something stem related at uni, and ive been looking at the cambridge natural sciences course and that looks rly interesting to me, but also i think i would also rly enjoy just doing maths at uni so.
with english, i think it would be a nice break from all the other stem subjects and i really enjoy it at gcse anyway. i think it seems better at a level given you get to be more critical and i think coursework sounds really interesting. however it has no relevance to anything i plan to do after a levels currently so i don’t know if it would benefit me in any way after sixth form.
with chemistry however, it would be a really good facilitating subject for things i want to do after a levels and is obviously quite a popular combination given my other a level choices. i like chemistry, and haven’t really found it challenging at gcse but its not something im like desperate to do for a level given im already doing 3 stem subjects. but ive found that for cambridge’s biological natural sciences you need 2 sciences, and i think chemistry seems a lot more appealing to me (despite how much people complain about it).
so should i stick with what i think i will enjoy most, in english lit, or just go with chemistry in order to give myself more freedom in terms of uni and career choices. (like if i suddenly really like the look of medicine or something yk)
i’ve changed my mind so many times and with year 12 approaching, i don’t want to pick the wrong subjects. i have really always enjoyed essay based subjects, but obviously i don’t want to take one just for the sake of it.
so if anyone has any input on what is the best option pls lmk!!!

With regards the cambridge nat sci entry requirements you need maths and two other science/maths subjects, both fm and bio are included in this so double maths and bio will satisfy the entry requirements for the course.
Have a look at the first and second year modules for the Cambridge nat sci to see whether you would qualify for the options you'd be interested in. Also have a think about other degrees you'd be interested in to see if they would require chemistry.
By best advice would be to take a subjectt with you think you'll enjoy and that you're confident you'll do well with. If you're more interested in english then take that because if you're more enthusiastic you'll do better.
Happy to try to answer any more questions if you have them. Have great day and good luck with exam results!