A-Level Options, PPE

I want to take PPE in uni, preferably at Oxford or LSE. I have decided on taking Maths, History,Econ, but for my 4th option I'm conflicted on whether to choose FM or Politics.

Reply 1

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

Does your school make you take a fourth?
Do you have any predicted grades?
Do you have interests in politics generally (im assuming so if you wanna do ppe) or any experience of the subject? If not have you looked through the spec to see if the topics interest you?
What subjects do you enjoy? What are your strengths?

Reply 2

Nish0379

Original post by DerDracologe

1.) No, I just want to keep my doors open, and also ig gain more skills. I'm interested in both, but I don't want to take 5 obv
2.) 8s and 9s, but a 7 in English lit.
3.) Yes, I've been interested in politics for a pretty long time. My school does edexcel, and the components look compelling(though my school opted for the US module, instead of the global one, but I'm not too bothered)
4.) My favourite subjects that I'm doing at GCSE, are Math and History. I've enjoyed those two subjects for as long as I can remember and I'd say that I am pretty competent in them. I'm not rlly into science subjects or English. I do enjoy RS, and also in AL there is more of philosophy and ethics in them, but I'm not going to choose it over the subjects I've already stated.

Reply 3

McGinger

FM would be a good choice, and would keep your options open for any Econ related degree.
3 subjects plus FM is about the only situation where taking 4 subjects works - in most other circumstances, taking 'just another 4th subject' is a bit pointless, as no Uni wants '4 subjects' or is more impressed if you do,

Reply 4

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

Original post by Nish0379

Obviously it’s completely your choice but I wouldn’t suggest doing four unless one is further maths- especially if you’re taking a lot of essay heavy subjects because that will be a massive workload. It’s up to you though but worth considering in your decision, but you could always drop one subject after a few months if you needed to.
Nice predicted grades! If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the issue with English lit? If you’re struggling with essay skills then taking further maths might be better as politics is a very essay heavy subject. That being said, econ and history are too so is it just that you dont enjoy the English lit content as you said you’re not that into it?
If you’re interested in politics then it’s a great option for what you’re interested in! However, if you think there could be a possibility of you changing your mind to pure economics in the future then further maths would be a valuable asset.
The best thing i can advise you to do is to pick the subject you think you’ll enjoy more whilst still considering how they’ll impact your workload. If you’re more into essay based subjects and are set on something essay based at uni then go for politics but if you think you’d struggle with 3 essay subjects on top of maths (which would be a lot) then maybe opt for further maths.
Does that help?

@sdfj I know you dont take politics but you do take some of the subjects mentioned here, do you have any advice? No problem if not though!

Reply 5

McGinger

Original post by DerDracologe

Obviously it’s completely your choice but I wouldn’t suggest doing four unless one is further maths- especially if you’re taking a lot of essay heavy subjects because that will be a massive workload. It’s up to you though but worth considering in your decision, but you could always drop one subject after a few months if you needed to.
Nice predicted grades! If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the issue with English lit? If you’re struggling with essay skills then taking further maths might be better as politics is a very essay heavy subject. That being said, econ and history are too so is it just that you dont enjoy the English lit content as you said you’re not that into it?
If you’re interested in politics then it’s a great option for what you’re interested in! However, if you think there could be a possibility of you changing your mind to pure economics in the future then further maths would be a valuable asset.
The best thing i can advise you to do is to pick the subject you think you’ll enjoy more whilst still considering how they’ll impact your workload. If you’re more into essay based subjects and are set on something essay based at uni then go for politics but if you think you’d struggle with 3 essay subjects on top of maths (which would be a lot) then maybe opt for further maths.
Does that help?
@sdfj I know you dont take politics but you do take some of the subjects mentioned here, do you have any advice? No problem if not though!

See my post above.
And you don't need an A level in Politics to study it at degree level.
The same applies to Law and many other social science and humanities degrees.

Reply 6

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

Original post by McGinger

See my post above.
And you don't need an A level in Politics to study it at degree level.
The same applies to Law and many other social science and humanities degrees.

I agree with you that taking fm as a fourth is the most workable way of doing it however its not going to be the right choice for everyone hence why i suggested that if OP started 4 they could always drop one later on.
Im aware that you dont need politics but choosing a levels isnt always just about what unis require because choosing subjects of interest is also important and it can allow students to find which subjects they enjoy more which informs they degree choices later.
I do agree that fm would be a smart move if OP might be interested in econ degrees and i also agree that doing 4 is unnecessary because unis only look at 3 which is why i did suggest starting 4 and dropping one.
I wanted to give the OP some things to think about so they can make their own decision based on what they think will work for them 🙂

Reply 7

sdfj

Original post by Nish0379

I want to take PPE in uni, preferably at Oxford or LSE. I have decided on taking Maths, History,Econ, but for my 4th option I'm conflicted on whether to choose FM or Politics.

Thanks for the tag @DerDracologe

I think doing politics on top of maths, econ and history is probably unnecessary. You will, however, have to show an interest in politics to study PPE - doing an A-Level in it isn't strictly needed.

FM is a good idea if you're interested in an econ degree at top unis but it is considered a lot of work. Again, it's probably not needed as you're not doing a straight econ degree.

It's probably objectively best to take FM - but don't let this hinder your grades :smile:

Reply 8

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Nish0379

I want to take PPE in uni, preferably at Oxford or LSE. I have decided on taking Maths, History,Econ, but for my 4th option I'm conflicted on whether to choose FM or Politics.

As above, you don't need a 4th subject for admissions purposes and it conveys no benefit.

FM isn't needed or preferred for PPE at Oxford and isn't specifically called out as being preferred at LSE (although note you have the option of doing the same maths options as single honours economists there, and take the same economics options, and single honours economists at LSE will have done FM so could be useful background for that course uniquely).

Realistically outside of changing your mind to pursue a single honours economics course, or switching to want to do maths or CS at degree level, doing FM doesn't add anything specifically. If you know you want to do PPE specifically it's probably not essential. That said you could always ask your teacher if you can start FM and drop it at the end of year 12 (or take the AS only) if you wish.

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