what a levels do i pick

1

can anyone advise what i should take? i currently am interested going into most likely law but i’m also considering going into finance or economics. Generally i’m lucky as i am good at a range of subjects; essay subjects as well as maths and biology so I am thinking of taking maths economics history and psychology. I’m stuck on whether i actually want to take psychology as i heard it is boring and not valuable so should i swap it for politics or biology?
However i don’t know whether politics is worth taking as i am doing history as well so should i instead do biology or would it be useless for me as i know if i wanted to pursue a science career later a biology a level wouldn’t get me far without chemistry plus i heard biology is very hard to achieve well in and i don’t want it to distract from my other A levels. Can someone advise because i don’t want to make my a levels to hard for me as i do need to get A* AA for my university i want so i don’t really want to do unecessary hard subjects.

Reply 1

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

20

Do you have to take 4?
Doing 4 subjects (especially with some of your suggestions being quite time consuming subjects generally) is not necessary as unis only look at 3 grades so you’ll want to put as much effort into those 3 subjects.
I think maths, econ and history sounds like a great option and will give you a broad variety of paths in the fields you’ve mentioned. If you’re thinking of heading towards econ or finance as a degree then is further maths an option? You would have to be getting at least an 8 on gcse maths and enjoy the subject but if both of those are applicable to you then it could be a good idea to increase your options with competitive unis and its the most manageable way to take 4 subjects (unless you find maths challenging or hate it!).
If you’re unsure about psychology then i would suggest reading through the spec to see if the topics interest you- if you dont already know then ask your sixth form which topics they do as it varies. Watch some videos on YouTube giving the experiences of students who’ve taken the subject to get an idea of what it’s like. Also look through some past papers or revision resources (like summary videos on YouTube) to see if the content appeals to your interests and the question styles to your strengths 🙂
Do the above research for any subject you’re considering to see if it’s a good fit for you!
Biology is not ‘useless’ without chemistry. You would be taking 2 core sciences (the other being maths) so that would allow you onto a variety of science courses. I personally do maths and biology for a level and am aiming toward ecology/zoology/animal behaviour at university. If you have any questions about biology and/or maths feel free to ask me them!

Reply 2

RFX

10

If you are aiming for a top uni, and are still undecided between law and econ/finance, the best combo of you was to do 3 would be like math,fm and an essay based subject (econ could work). Math and fm is quite essential for econ at very top unis (but its requirement are decently different from finance degrees however you can still go into finance with an econ degree probably) and law requires extraction and processing of data from text extracts (something you would most commonly see in English Lit but can also be from econ) . If you really want to/ your cohort typically does 4, again math,fm and then 2 of either econ,eng lit, history or politics would most likely cover the bases for econ/law. Again you should do research specifically on the unis your interested in. Go onto their course pages and look at things like requirements or typical applicant subjects etc

Reply 3

Daisy._.7777

16

Original post

by username7377312

can anyone advise what i should take? i currently am interested going into most likely law but i’m also considering going into finance or economics. Generally i’m lucky as i am good at a range of subjects; essay subjects as well as maths and biology so I am thinking of taking maths economics history and psychology. I’m stuck on whether i actually want to take psychology as i heard it is boring and not valuable so should i swap it for politics or biology?
However i don’t know whether politics is worth taking as i am doing history as well so should i instead do biology or would it be useless for me as i know if i wanted to pursue a science career later a biology a level wouldn’t get me far without chemistry plus i heard biology is very hard to achieve well in and i don’t want it to distract from my other A levels. Can someone advise because i don’t want to make my a levels to hard for me as i do need to get A* AA for my university i want so i don’t really want to do unecessary hard subjects.

I agree with everyone else.

It’s probably better if you take 3 A-levels, and considering your goals, History, Maths and Economics seems like the best combination. If you need to/would like to try doing 4, your best option is further maths as your 4th. Taking FM would be more manageable than taking bio or psych since it has a lot of overlap with maths. It would also open up your options in economics/finance degrees, as schools like LSE and Oxbridge usually expect FM, so it will make your application more competitive.

In summary, your best options are:
History, Economics and Maths if you don’t want to do FM
Or
History, Economics, Maths, FM

If you are genuinely interested in psychology or biology, then take it as your fourth instead. You can always drop it at the start of year 12 if you don’t end up liking it! I currently take History, English Lit and Biology and though its content heavy, I really like the subject as it’s a break from my essay subjects. But, I still think the above options are the best.

what a levels do i pick

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