A-level choices

I am going into year 12 this year and am still not sure on my alevel options. I have chosen maths, physics, chem and german. I know I definitely want to do maths and chem but I am not sure about physics and german. I also am considered bio and FM

I chose physics because I really like maths and physics was one of my favourite subjects to revise throughout GCSEs. I also did very well in my physics mock. However, I was never that interested during my physics lessons or in the work or homework and I know physics alevel is very difficult so this may be an issue.

I chose German because it was one of my best subjects at GCSE, I was getting 9s from the start with no revision ( I am not German or fluent I just like languages ), so I feel I wouldnt have to put in that much work. I also really enjoy the subject and like the idea of coming out of the A-level close to fluent. I also like humanities so learning about German history, culture and literature interests me, and it will be something different to my other subjects. However, I know I want to study something STEM related at uni and German doesnt align with that. I also dont know what I want to study so maybe doing FM or bio would be better in opening up my options.

Reply 1

University of Bath

Official Rep

Hello @Fiana2727 ,

Congratulations on getting your place at sixth form and working so hard for your GCSEs - it sounds like you did pretty well!

I would say its about balancing...

What A-Levels you might need for any uni courses/subjects you want to apply for

What subjects you enjoy - you are much more likely to be motivated and thus do well if you enjoy the subject.

What kinds of careers do you think you would like to pursue?

What type of course might you want to do? If you are pretty sure you want to go raw STEM, then it might be beneficial to do more science-maths/FM based subjects but if you wanted to do something STEM-related or mathematical but not purely STEM (such as psychology or economics) then having German will show you up as a well-rounded student who can both write/debate/argue well and be proficient in maths.

I did psychology and personally really enjoyed doing my French A-Level as it gave me a different set of skills from my sciences.

Perhaps talk to your parents and your personal tutor/careers advisor at school and see what they think. At the end of the day its about putting yourself first and choosing A-Levels which will put you in a good place for what you want to do. But remember that A-levels are not always the be-all-and-end-all. Whilst for some degrees you do need specific A-Levels (that's why its important to look into some courses you might like and check their requirements), unis take into account much more than just your A-Levels or subjects when looking at your application.

I hope that helps, best of luck whatever you decide for yourself :smile:

Holly
University of Bath

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 2

overt-ingredient

Original post by Fiana2727

I am going into year 12 this year and am still not sure on my alevel options. I have chosen maths, physics, chem and german. I know I definitely want to do maths and chem but I am not sure about physics and german. I also am considered bio and FM
I chose physics because I really like maths and physics was one of my favourite subjects to revise throughout GCSEs. I also did very well in my physics mock. However, I was never that interested during my physics lessons or in the work or homework and I know physics alevel is very difficult so this may be an issue.
I chose German because it was one of my best subjects at GCSE, I was getting 9s from the start with no revision ( I am not German or fluent I just like languages ), so I feel I wouldnt have to put in that much work. I also really enjoy the subject and like the idea of coming out of the A-level close to fluent. I also like humanities so learning about German history, culture and literature interests me, and it will be something different to my other subjects. However, I know I want to study something STEM related at uni and German doesnt align with that. I also dont know what I want to study so maybe doing FM or bio would be better in opening up my options.

Doctor/Nurse= must do chemistry/biology with MATHS, non negotiable.
Anything that is in a science field, including = maths, physics, chem, comp sci, bio
Art = graphic design, computer sci,
Architecture = same for art + maths
Criminal law (Horrible, don't even bother pursuing it, market's too saturated, but if you really want to, then do law, health and social, maybe biology/chem if you're going into the morturary)
Teacher (Wanna be abused by kids and do unpaid work for hours? go ahead, health and social + whichever subject you're going to specialise in)

IT = Maths, Physics, IT MMMMAAAYYYBBEEE art
Chemist, same as doctor tbh, obviously chemistry

ALSO PLEASE DO LIKE A GOOD LOAD OF EXTRA CURRICULAR STUFF, AND ONLY CHOOSE PSYCHOLOGY IF YOU'RE READY FOR A 10 YEAR BATTLE TO ACHIEVE A DECENT SALARY!!!

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 3

McGinger

For most STEM degrees, Unis only specify two essential A level subjects and for the 3rd all they want is the grade. So - it makes sense to pick a subject you will enjoy studying because that makes it most likely that you will get a good grade.

Check the 'entry requirements' on some Unis websites to see what A level subjects they want for the degree subjects that interest you :
Subject areas | Undergraduate study | Loughborough University (lboro.ac.uk)
Subject Areas | Undergraduate | Newcastle University (ncl.ac.uk)
Browse by subject - Study - Cardiff University
Etc, etc.

Reply 4

normaw

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by overt-ingredient

There are a lot of inaccuracies in the above.

"Doctor/Nurse= must do chemistry/biology with MATHS, non negotiable" - most med schools require bio and chem with any other A level. Some nursing courses don't require specific A levels, and if they do specify it is usually just one science A level.

"Architecture = same for art + maths" - the majority of architecture courses don't have specific subject requirements and even art isn't mandatory.

Note to anyone reading this - check the entry requirements on the course pages of uni websites. :smile:

Reply 5

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

Original post by Fiana2727

I am going into year 12 this year and am still not sure on my alevel options. I have chosen maths, physics, chem and german. I know I definitely want to do maths and chem but I am not sure about physics and german. I also am considered bio and FM
I chose physics because I really like maths and physics was one of my favourite subjects to revise throughout GCSEs. I also did very well in my physics mock. However, I was never that interested during my physics lessons or in the work or homework and I know physics alevel is very difficult so this may be an issue.
I chose German because it was one of my best subjects at GCSE, I was getting 9s from the start with no revision ( I am not German or fluent I just like languages ), so I feel I wouldnt have to put in that much work. I also really enjoy the subject and like the idea of coming out of the A-level close to fluent. I also like humanities so learning about German history, culture and literature interests me, and it will be something different to my other subjects. However, I know I want to study something STEM related at uni and German doesnt align with that. I also dont know what I want to study so maybe doing FM or bio would be better in opening up my options.

With a levels, the best advice is to choose subjects which interest you because if you dont do that it will make your life a lot harder with studying and also what options you can pursue in the future.
From what you’ve said it sounds as though German a level would be a great fit for you because you are good at it, you’ve enjoyed it at gcse and the a level content fits with your interests in expanding your knowledge of literature and culture.
In the future you want to go into STEM, do you have any ideas about what in STEM specifically?
As above most unis ask for two subjects so Maths and Chemistry are a great choice for a lot of STEM degrees. However, a lot of unis specify one or two subjects which an applicant must have like for zoology biology is often specified and for engineering you’ll usually need physics. So it’s worth considering what fields might interest you.
I recommend looking through some degree subject guides on the uniguide and having a look at the entry requirements for some degrees if the subject interests you (don’t trust the entry requirements in the subject guides because theyre often wrong, checking actual uni requirements is far more reliable). If you already have any specific ideas I would be happy to give recommendations based on this.
With physics you’ve mentioned that you found it easy and somewhat interesting but not entirely. This is important to think about as if you’re not that interested then that will make it harder to study. How did you find Biology? From you’re decision to take Maths Ill assume you are relatively confident in your ability in that, do you enjoy maths?
You also need to consider whether you want to take 4 subjects or 3- although I am aware that some schools force students to take 4 or won’t allow 4 unless the fourth is further maths. If you take 3 subjects then you might have say 15 hours of homework and revision outside of lessons per week, but you could have around 5-10 hours of free study periods, so outside of school you’ll have only 5-10 hours of work. If you take 4 you’ll have a pretty much full timetable and perhaps 20 hours of work to do, all of which has to be done outside of school.
Another thing you could do is start with 4 (if you’re school allows this) and then drop one after a few weeks once you’ve decided which subject you wouldn’t like to continue.
Hope this helps and happy to try to answer any more questions if you have them or clarify anything I’ve said. Have a great day :smile: