The Student Room Group

A level courses for Y12

Yesterday I got my gcse results back and I dont know how to feel about them

English language - 5
English literature - 4
Geography - 6
Italian - 9
Maths F - 4 (few marks away from a 5)
Combined science H - 6-5
Engineering - M2 (6-7)
Religious studies - 7
Business studies - 4

I really want to do stem based courses like biology and economics but I think that my level in maths is not good enough. Also looking at the entry requirements for stem based universities courses I see that a levels maths is quite essential what should I do?
I agree that I think you might struggle with more mathematical courses and probably should focus on things you do better in. You seemed to do really extremely well in your language, and pretty well in some of your other essay based subjects, so perhaps lean into the language direction?

Note that if your rationale for wanting to pursue a STEM course or economics is due to perceiving they are "better" for career purposes, the reality is that they aren't - research has found in the UK STEM and non-STEM graduates have equivalent career outcomes within 10 years of graduating: https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/report/The_employment_trajectories_of_Science_Technology_Engineering_and_Mathematics_graduates/10234421

So I'd focus on picking A-levels that correlate to things you are good at and follow on with a degree programme in the same vein :smile:

Note though that many universities require a 5 or above in GCSE Maths for all courses, so you probably will also need to plan to resit that at some point in 6th form.
(edited 2 months ago)
Original post by ThePon
Yesterday I got my gcse results back and I dont know how to feel about them
English language - 5
English literature - 4
Geography - 6
Italian - 9
Maths F - 4 (few marks away from a 5)
Combined science H - 6-5
Engineering - M2 (6-7)
Religious studies - 7
Business studies - 4
I really want to do stem based courses like biology and economics but I think that my level in maths is not good enough. Also looking at the entry requirements for stem based universities courses I see that a levels maths is quite essential what should I do?

It is true that most uni courses require maths to a level 5 at least, or most commonly a level 6 for stem courses. And as for A Level maths, it depends which course you want to do- some don’t specify a requirement for it.

You said you’re a few marks away from a 5, so I would speak to your teachers and maybe ask for your scripts back so you can read through the paper before deciding whether it’s worth a remark.
Reply 3
Original post by ThePon
Yesterday I got my gcse results back and I dont know how to feel about them
English language - 5
English literature - 4
Geography - 6
Italian - 9
Maths F - 4 (few marks away from a 5)
Combined science H - 6-5
Engineering - M2 (6-7)
Religious studies - 7
Business studies - 4
I really want to do stem based courses like biology and economics but I think that my level in maths is not good enough. Also looking at the entry requirements for stem based universities courses I see that a levels maths is quite essential what should I do?

i say your science isnt strong coming from a student who does STEM a levels i would suggest you do humanities instead
psychology, politics, italian or geography would be a really good combo as it can be used for so many unis and also you can take applied science as an additional 4th btec it will really make your a levels strong and help with psych
politics is an amazing a level to do
Reply 4
Original post by artful_lounger
I agree that I think you might struggle with more mathematical courses and probably should focus on things you do better in. You seemed to do really extremely well in your language, and pretty well in some of your other essay based subjects, so perhaps lean into the language direction?
Note that if your rationale for wanting to pursue a STEM course or economics is due to perceiving they are "better" for career purposes, the reality is that they aren't - research has found in the UK STEM and non-STEM graduates have equivalent career outcomes within 10 years of graduating: https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/report/The_employment_trajectories_of_Science_Technology_Engineering_and_Mathematics_graduates/10234421
So I'd focus on picking A-levels that correlate to things you are good at and follow on with a degree programme in the same vein :smile:
Note though that many universities require a 5 or above in GCSE Maths for all courses, so you probably will also need to plan to resit that at some point in 6th form.


Hey I did lots of research in the past days and I found that Manchester university has a course accounting and finance which doesnt require a level maths (BAEcon accounting and finance)im looking to do a level economics accounting and geography or Italian however they also require a 6 in gcse maths i tried to contact them if they accept resists but they still dont answer me back
:frown:
Reply 5
Original post by artful_lounger
I agree that I think you might struggle with more mathematical courses and probably should focus on things you do better in. You seemed to do really extremely well in your language, and pretty well in some of your other essay based subjects, so perhaps lean into the language direction?
Note that if your rationale for wanting to pursue a STEM course or economics is due to perceiving they are "better" for career purposes, the reality is that they aren't - research has found in the UK STEM and non-STEM graduates have equivalent career outcomes within 10 years of graduating: https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/report/The_employment_trajectories_of_Science_Technology_Engineering_and_Mathematics_graduates/10234421
So I'd focus on picking A-levels that correlate to things you are good at and follow on with a degree programme in the same vein :smile:
Note though that many universities require a 5 or above in GCSE Maths for all courses, so you probably will also need to plan to resit that at some point in 6th form.


(The last message got reviewed)
I did some research and I found a degree at Manchester university which rn im interested in (BEAcon accounting and finance) found out that i dont need a level maths however they want a 6 in gcse maths i tried to contact them because i dont know if the accept maths resists but i still got no answer from them also im thinking to choose accounting economics and geography or Italian for a levels
Original post by ThePon
(The last message got reviewed)
I did some research and I found a degree at Manchester university which rn im interested in (BEAcon accounting and finance) found out that i dont need a level maths however they want a 6 in gcse maths i tried to contact them because i dont know if the accept maths resists but i still got no answer from them also im thinking to choose accounting economics and geography or Italian for a levels

Usually universities are fine with GCSE resits, bear in mind right now is a very busy time for unis so you might not get a response for a couple weeks.

It's still worth bearing in mind that if you struggle with mathematical elements it's probably not sensible to pursue a mathematical course. That said the maths in accounting is generally a lot more basic (around GCSE level, just frequent!) so may be a better fit. "Finance" can vary hugely between some kind of stochastic processes to just basic excel spreadsheet maths so it's hard to gauge that half of the course although I suspect it would skew to the latter if they don't require A-level Maths.

However as noted do consider if you actually want to be doing maths every day (or most days) of your degree, regardless of the level of difficulty.
Reply 7
Original post by artful_lounger
Usually universities are fine with GCSE resits, bear in mind right now is a very busy time for unis so you might not get a response for a couple weeks.
It's still worth bearing in mind that if you struggle with mathematical elements it's probably not sensible to pursue a mathematical course. That said the maths in accounting is generally a lot more basic (around GCSE level, just frequent!) so may be a better fit. "Finance" can vary hugely between some kind of stochastic processes to just basic excel spreadsheet maths so it's hard to gauge that half of the course although I suspect it would skew to the latter if they don't require A-level Maths.
However as noted do consider if you actually want to be doing maths every day (or most days) of your degree, regardless of the level of difficulty.


I got to the college today and I ended up with business studies geography Italian and core maths im just waiting for the uni to respond :smile:
Original post by ThePon
I got to the college today and I ended up with business studies geography Italian and core maths im just waiting for the uni to respond :smile:


Well done and hope you enjoy your studies :biggrin:
Reply 9
Original post by artful_lounger
Well done and hope you enjoy your studies :biggrin:


Is italian a level part of the modern languages that they accept?
Original post by ThePon
Is italian a level part of the modern languages that they accept?


Why wouldn't it be? It's a modern language A-level, it's widely accepted.

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