The Student Room Group

What A-levels should I pick

I’m a year twelve who just started a week ago, and I took maths, biology and physics 7, 8, 8
Im dead set on maths as it is a key a level and I am happy to put in 9-10 hours a week on just maths but along with biology and physics I’m afraid I can’t achieve A-A* grades I want in all three subject, if I dropped biology then I can pick something easier being the ideal option, but if I dropped physics then I would be left with biology which isn’t too useful on its own as I have heard. I was thinking if I was to drop physics or bio I would take either geography, economics or psychology (give other options if you can think of any)
Again, I am willing to put the work in even though I’ve no been much of a mathematician I don’t necessarily hate the subject I like the concepts but it just hasn’t clicked, as for physics I wasn’t expecting to be getting 3 marks off a nine, so I thought it would a viable science and biology I always liked, I also like learning about the behaviour of people but I ideally don’t want to take psychology as I’m not an essay guy and rather do it on the side as a hobby.
Thank you for your answers!
Original post by ultraviolet-hick
I’m a year twelve who just started a week ago, and I took maths, biology and physics 7, 8, 8
Im dead set on maths as it is a key a level and I am happy to put in 9-10 hours a week on just maths but along with biology and physics I’m afraid I can’t achieve A-A* grades I want in all three subject, if I dropped biology then I can pick something easier being the ideal option, but if I dropped physics then I would be left with biology which isn’t too useful on its own as I have heard. I was thinking if I was to drop physics or bio I would take either geography, economics or psychology (give other options if you can think of any)
Again, I am willing to put the work in even though I’ve no been much of a mathematician I don’t necessarily hate the subject I like the concepts but it just hasn’t clicked, as for physics I wasn’t expecting to be getting 3 marks off a nine, so I thought it would a viable science and biology I always liked, I also like learning about the behaviour of people but I ideally don’t want to take psychology as I’m not an essay guy and rather do it on the side as a hobby.
Thank you for your answers!

I also want to mention I want a career based around aeronautics somewhere in the military preferably the RAF or Navy if that’s the case.
Original post by ultraviolet-hick
I’m a year twelve who just started a week ago, and I took maths, biology and physics 7, 8, 8
Im dead set on maths as it is a key a level and I am happy to put in 9-10 hours a week on just maths but along with biology and physics I’m afraid I can’t achieve A-A* grades I want in all three subject, if I dropped biology then I can pick something easier being the ideal option, but if I dropped physics then I would be left with biology which isn’t too useful on its own as I have heard. I was thinking if I was to drop physics or bio I would take either geography, economics or psychology (give other options if you can think of any)
Again, I am willing to put the work in even though I’ve no been much of a mathematician I don’t necessarily hate the subject I like the concepts but it just hasn’t clicked, as for physics I wasn’t expecting to be getting 3 marks off a nine, so I thought it would a viable science and biology I always liked, I also like learning about the behaviour of people but I ideally don’t want to take psychology as I’m not an essay guy and rather do it on the side as a hobby.
Thank you for your answers!

Hi, @ultraviolet-hick

I hope you are well!😊

While I don't have a background in the career you're interested in, and although it sounds amazing, I can't give you much advice on how to get into that field, but I would suggest, for A-level's, to pick the subjects which you find the most interesting because this is what will motivate you to study. In addition, if you know the route into the career you're interested in, I would suggest taking subjects which would give you a good insight/background into the sorts of knowledge that you would need in that career, or the knowledge which would be helpful to know before going to university to study it further.

Could I just ask, I know that you have just started Sixth Form, what makes you think you can't get those grades? Especially with the GCSE's you got, and the hours of study you are interested in putting in?

In relation to your comment on Psychology, I took this at A-level and was under AQA. Psychology is really interesting, and I love to learn and see different behaviours too! But I would say that Psychology has a mix of longer essay based questions, as well as some short answers/medium answers too- that was, with AQA, which I took a few years ago now, so it's always worth checking up to date specifications and exam formats.

I hope this helps! 🙂
Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Best wishes,
Josie
Uni of Kent Student Rep🎓️
Original post by University of Kent
Hi, @ultraviolet-hick
I hope you are well!😊
While I don't have a background in the career you're interested in, and although it sounds amazing, I can't give you much advice on how to get into that field, but I would suggest, for A-level's, to pick the subjects which you find the most interesting because this is what will motivate you to study. In addition, if you know the route into the career you're interested in, I would suggest taking subjects which would give you a good insight/background into the sorts of knowledge that you would need in that career, or the knowledge which would be helpful to know before going to university to study it further.
Could I just ask, I know that you have just started Sixth Form, what makes you think you can't get those grades? Especially with the GCSE's you got, and the hours of study you are interested in putting in?
In relation to your comment on Psychology, I took this at A-level and was under AQA. Psychology is really interesting, and I love to learn and see different behaviours too! But I would say that Psychology has a mix of longer essay based questions, as well as some short answers/medium answers too- that was, with AQA, which I took a few years ago now, so it's always worth checking up to date specifications and exam formats.
I hope this helps! 🙂
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Best wishes,
Josie
Uni of Kent Student Rep🎓️


It’s only mathematics I’m afraid, as I need to put as much hours as possible into maths to compete with others who gots 8s and 9s, as I need maths and physics to have a decent cv to become a pilot, as for the third, I went for biology which I don’t mind but it’s not the easiest to get the highest grade in, as I would like to take another science but I wouldn’t know if it would even help me with my career and should instead take something relatively easier like psychology or geography
Original post by ultraviolet-hick
I’m a year twelve who just started a week ago, and I took maths, biology and physics 7, 8, 8
Im dead set on maths as it is a key a level and I am happy to put in 9-10 hours a week on just maths but along with biology and physics I’m afraid I can’t achieve A-A* grades I want in all three subject, if I dropped biology then I can pick something easier being the ideal option, but if I dropped physics then I would be left with biology which isn’t too useful on its own as I have heard. I was thinking if I was to drop physics or bio I would take either geography, economics or psychology (give other options if you can think of any)
Again, I am willing to put the work in even though I’ve no been much of a mathematician I don’t necessarily hate the subject I like the concepts but it just hasn’t clicked, as for physics I wasn’t expecting to be getting 3 marks off a nine, so I thought it would a viable science and biology I always liked, I also like learning about the behaviour of people but I ideally don’t want to take psychology as I’m not an essay guy and rather do it on the side as a hobby.
Thank you for your answers!

Heyyy
I have also just started year 12 and I would say that for aeronautics you will probably need physics so I would recommend not dropping that.
I take geography and already we have learnt a lot of content and it is probably my most fast paced subject so if you were to switch you would have to do a lot of catch up.
Can I ask why you don't think your current three subjects are the right choice for you?
Reply 5
Original post by ultraviolet-hick
I’m a year twelve who just started a week ago, and I took maths, biology and physics 7, 8, 8
Im dead set on maths as it is a key a level and I am happy to put in 9-10 hours a week on just maths but along with biology and physics I’m afraid I can’t achieve A-A* grades I want in all three subject, if I dropped biology then I can pick something easier being the ideal option, but if I dropped physics then I would be left with biology which isn’t too useful on its own as I have heard. I was thinking if I was to drop physics or bio I would take either geography, economics or psychology (give other options if you can think of any)
Again, I am willing to put the work in even though I’ve no been much of a mathematician I don’t necessarily hate the subject I like the concepts but it just hasn’t clicked, as for physics I wasn’t expecting to be getting 3 marks off a nine, so I thought it would a viable science and biology I always liked, I also like learning about the behaviour of people but I ideally don’t want to take psychology as I’m not an essay guy and rather do it on the side as a hobby.
Thank you for your answers!


Speaking from experience DO NOT pick physics if you do not intend to have a career in that , it is so hard and my teacher said the pass rate is so low , he said you should not pick it just cos u liked it in GCSEs and u liked it as it is a totally diffrent kettle of fish , honestly I can’t stress enough I would change to something you like more!
Reply 6
Original post by ultraviolet-hick
I’m a year twelve who just started a week ago, and I took maths, biology and physics 7, 8, 8
Im dead set on maths as it is a key a level and I am happy to put in 9-10 hours a week on just maths but along with biology and physics I’m afraid I can’t achieve A-A* grades I want in all three subject, if I dropped biology then I can pick something easier being the ideal option, but if I dropped physics then I would be left with biology which isn’t too useful on its own as I have heard. I was thinking if I was to drop physics or bio I would take either geography, economics or psychology (give other options if you can think of any)
Again, I am willing to put the work in even though I’ve no been much of a mathematician I don’t necessarily hate the subject I like the concepts but it just hasn’t clicked, as for physics I wasn’t expecting to be getting 3 marks off a nine, so I thought it would a viable science and biology I always liked, I also like learning about the behaviour of people but I ideally don’t want to take psychology as I’m not an essay guy and rather do it on the side as a hobby.
Thank you for your answers!


To be honest I do educas psychology and it is not really very essay based it’s very interesting tho and I really enjoy the lesson (not the teacher tho😭) the longest question we have is 25 marks wich is just about 2 pages a4 and there’s only one in each of the 3 papers xx
Original post by agent_duck343
Heyyy
I have also just started year 12 and I would say that for aeronautics you will probably need physics so I would recommend not dropping that.
I take geography and already we have learnt a lot of content and it is probably my most fast paced subject so if you were to switch you would have to do a lot of catch up.
Can I ask why you don't think your current three subjects are the right choice for you?
Yeah. I've done 4 lessons of content that can come up in an exam. I've done 0 in my other 2 subjects. That will change tomorrow though as we start Families and Households in Sociology.
Original post by mollx4
Speaking from experience DO NOT pick physics if you do not intend to have a career in that , it is so hard and my teacher said the pass rate is so low , he said you should not pick it just cos u liked it in GCSEs and u liked it as it is a totally diffrent kettle of fish , honestly I can’t stress enough I would change to something you like more!


I like physics and do have a passion for the subject, even if it’s difficult especially for me I really want to look into it as a subject and practice it, because anything engineering or aerospace/aeronautics is heavily physics based, I was just thinking if maths and physics were too much I might drop bio and take something easier.
Original post by ultraviolet-hick
It’s only mathematics I’m afraid, as I need to put as much hours as possible into maths to compete with others who gots 8s and 9s, as I need maths and physics to have a decent cv to become a pilot, as for the third, I went for biology which I don’t mind but it’s not the easiest to get the highest grade in, as I would like to take another science but I wouldn’t know if it would even help me with my career and should instead take something relatively easier like psychology or geography

Hi,
I hope you are well! I'm sorry for the delay in replying!

Thank you for clarifying! With choosing your last subject, I would suggest taking something that you are interested in, like Psychology, but if the exam format isn't for you, and as you said, you would like to keep it as a hobby, then Biology or Geography might be more the subjects for you if you are interested in them. The reason I say to study a subject that you enjoy is because it will make revision a lot less of a chore!🤭

I would suggest looking at the content, specifications, exam paper formats, past papers, and mark schemes for each of the subjects you are looking to take alongside Maths and Physics, as this will give you a good idea of what will be expected of you during the exams, and you might find that a certain exam format wasn't as bad as you thought, or you might find more interest in one than another.

You could also get in touch with your careers advisor at school if you have one, or with teachers, as I found this really helpful when choosing my A-levels, and might be helpful for you as you are looking to go into a certain career which a careers advisor might be able to help/ guide you with🙂

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!😊

Best wishes,
Josie
Uni of Kent Student Rep🎓️
(edited 2 months ago)
Original post by agent_duck343
Heyyy
I have also just started year 12 and I would say that for aeronautics you will probably need physics so I would recommend not dropping that.
I take geography and already we have learnt a lot of content and it is probably my most fast paced subject so if you were to switch you would have to do a lot of catch up.
Can I ask why you don't think your current three subjects are the right choice for you?


It’s just that I feel with the weight of physics and maths I can’t achieve as high of a grade as I want in bio, I’m putting in the hours but I have no idea of knowing wether it will work or not, so if I end up sticking with bio and doing horribly I would regret it

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