Are media studies, history & criminology a level worth taking?

At the moment I’ve picked psychology, history and dance. I’m still unsure on my subject choices as I’ve not started year 12 yet but will be starting soon. I’m really not sure on history (AQA) because of the workload and content. I really enjoy it but my sixth form is doing english revolution and the making of a superpower USA and i’m not sure if i’m interested in those topics, so if anyone’s done these topics let me know how you found it! I got a 7 (1 mark off of an 8) in my history GCSE.

I used to watch true crime cases on youtube often and really enjoyed them, i’ve always been interested and intrigued by true crime but what is criminology like at A level? My sixth form offers a level 3 diploma in crim (WJEC) so if anyone has any advice and if you recommend taking criminology please let me know, is it worth taking?
I also feel like I prefer having coursework as well as exams since it takes the weight off of exam season and I feel that I generally perform better in coursework compared to exams.

As for media, it seems really interesting but i haven’t done a whole lot of research on it. If anyone is doing/has done media on here would you recommend it and what was it like? I think my exam board is OCR (if that helps at all), is it an a level worth taking? Do unis still regard it as a good a level? because I’ve heard it’s more of a ‘soft’ a level.

After A levels my plans are to go to dance college, which is why I automatically wanted to pick it as one of my a level subjects. However, i’ve looked into the entry requirements for dance colleges and you don’t need dance A level specifically (most people go to dance college after year 11). The entry requirements are either just GCSEs or UCAS points depending on the course, and I’ve already been dancing outside of school for years (I did take dance at GCSE too), so I have thorough experience in dance. Therefore, I think dance isn’t necessary since I will continue to dance outside of school and it’s not required at A level. Most dance colleges require auditions to gain a place, which is why i think you don’t necessarily need an a level qualification in dance.

I may decide that I want to go to uni instead, that’s why I took a levels instead of going straight to dance college, so I want to have as many options for possible degrees (that aren’t dance or performing arts related) as I can that I may pursue in the future, which is another reason why I feel like I should drop dance, but please do tell me if you think otherwise.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 1

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Original post by aaliyahmoyes23

At the moment I’ve picked psychology, history and dance. I’m still unsure on my subject choices as I’ve not started year 12 yet but will be starting soon. I’m really not sure on history (AQA) because of the workload and content. I really enjoy it but my sixth form is doing english revolution and the making of a superpower USA and i’m not sure if i’m interested in those topics, so if anyone’s done these topics let me know how you found it! I got a 7 (1 mark off of an 8) in my history GCSE.
I used to watch true crime cases on youtube often and really enjoyed them, i’ve always been interested and intrigued by true crime but what is criminology like at A level? My sixth form offers a level 3 diploma in crim (WJEC) so if anyone has any advice and if you recommend taking criminology please let me know, is it worth taking?
I also feel like I prefer having coursework as well as exams since it takes the weight off of exam season and I feel that I generally perform better in coursework compared to exams.
As for media, it seems really interesting but i haven’t done a whole lot of research on it. If anyone is doing/has done media on here would you recommend it and what was it like? I think my exam board is OCR (if that helps at all), is it an a level worth taking? Do unis still regard it as a good a level? because I’ve heard it’s more of a ‘soft’ a level.
After A levels my plans are to go to dance college, which is why I automatically wanted to pick it as one of my a level subjects. However, i’ve looked into the entry requirements for dance colleges and you don’t need dance A level specifically (most people go to dance college after year 11). The entry requirements are either just GCSEs or UCAS points depending on the course, and I’ve already been dancing outside of school for years (I did take dance at GCSE too), so I have thorough experience in dance. Therefore, I think dance isn’t necessary since I will continue to dance outside of school and it’s not required at A level.
I may decide that I want to go to uni instead, that’s why I took a levels instead of going straight to dance college, so I want to have as many options for possible degrees (that aren’t dance or performing arts related) as I can that I may pursue in the future, which is another reason why I feel like I should drop dance, but please do tell me if you think otherwise.

If you like true crime, then criminology is not for you. Criminology is just a bunch of stuff thrown together to answer one simple question : "why do people commit crime?" and then most of the syllabus at A level or undergraduate level (and sometimes even postgraduate) is essentially making up excuses and categories for criminal behaviour. Most people who enjoy true crime are basically interested in serial killers and the detectives / psychologists who catch them. Unfortunately, a lot of the what makes this kind of thing so attractive in media has been discredited in practice and also academically. Pretty much everything you see on programmes like Criminal Minds, all this criminal profiling, is no longer used as it basically doesn't work. So all that kind of stuff and criminal typologies isn't really valuable study any more.