The Student Room Group

Stuck - Politics or Economics A level??

I dont know whether to do politics or economics at a level. I've got 3 of my a levels sorted, music, psychology and biology, and then Im deciding between these. I think the main thing I want to do when I'm older is music, so apart from music it doesn't really matter what I'm going to take on top of it, but I'd like a nice spread. I was pretty set on politics for a while, but as the A2 course we take is only about American politics I know I'd probably drop it after AS, so I'm not sure whether I shold take it at all. However, I'd find the AS course really interesting as its about UK politics, and everyone I know loves it. I'd only recently heard about Economics and it seems really interesting though, although I don't know much about it and if its a good subject to take. It doesn't seem particularly popular either, but surely really relevant particularly nowerdays with the financial crisis and things? please help me out. thanks.

Reply 1

I do both subjects. Economics is a highly regarded a-level as it's quite difficult. Some people find it boring it depends on what type of person you are. Politics is good for essay skills cos the exams are essay based (like 2 8-mark questions and 2 22-mark questions). Personally I found politics more boring than economics but it depends on your personality and who teaches it.

Reply 2

If you like Geography, you'll probably like Economics. Likewise, if you don't like Geography, you'll probably won't like Economics.

Reply 3

I take Politics and I really like it. It's very interesting especially if you're interested in current affairs. Most people seem to prefer American politics to British so maybe you wouldn't neccessarily drop it after AS. I don't take Economics so can't really say anything about it.

Reply 4

Economics is a much more respected A level than politics, and I really enjoyed studying it - it's not mathsy or anything, and I found it quite easy (I did OCR). I've actually found what I learned in A level economics to be very useful background info for my politics degree.

Reply 5

I did Economics AS (Edexcel) and it wasn't hard. I'd choose Economics as it is more respected.

Reply 6

if you uare interested in economics then do it, no real maths involved and AS isnt hard

Reply 7

I do both. I prefer Politics but I do enjoy both of them. Economics is much harder - it's much easier to get an A in Politics. However Economics is probably more respected.

At the end of the day, though, they're both good A-levels to do. If you can't stand doing essays, stay away from Politics. If you like them, definitely do it. I'd suggest Politics, personally.

Reply 8

I do both politics and economics, it is true that economics is the more highly regarded of the two but i would say that politics is more interesting. If you are interested in politics in general and are prepared to a lot of work then i would choose politics, however, Economics, especially at AS level is the easier of the two.

If you are likely to drop politics after AS then it is probably better to choose economics as it does not really get any more difficult at A2 and would probably be easier to manage on top of your other subjects.

of course, the best option would be to discount both subjects and take up history!

Reply 9

I take both Economics and Geography as my school doesn't offer Politics.

For me, it all depends on your teacher. If you have a good teacher or a teacher who you like, you will do well and enjoy the subject.
Economics is a really interesting subject if you're at all interested in current affairs or world events - my board (OCR) has barely been about core mathematics or even actual money at AS.
I'd recommend Economics if you're willing to keep track of the news, learn a lot of definitions which are easy marks when it comes to exam time and draw countless graphs.

Good luck with your decision! <3 <3