The Student Room Group

A-Level Law or A-Level Psychology

So I'm in Year 11 and one of my GCSE choices was Psychology. I'm gonna be honest. My Psychology used to be good but now it's just bad. I've applied to a college and they're asking me to apply for another A-Level because one of my options can only be taken as a 4th A-Level. After looking at the choices the college offers and doing a little 'process of elimination', it's come down to either Psychology or Law. I dunno what to pick. Keep in mind I don't really have any interest in pursuing these as a career I just wanna use them in general life.
What do you want to do with your a levels?
Have you read through the specs to get an idea of what topics might interest you more?
What are your other subjects?
Have you looked through some past papers to see which subject’s style of questioning better suits your strengths?
How are you finding psychology gcse? You’ve mentioned your grade decreased but is it still a strong subject for you or not?
What other subjects at gcse are you enjoying? What subjects are you predicted high grades in? For psychology a level maths skills, essay skills and some knowledge of science are all important (mostly Biology for science i believe). Law is mostly essay based so you’d likely excel if youre doing well in subjects like history and English.
What are you other planned A level subjects?
Do you have any idea what you might do after Sixth Form - and if Uni, which degree subject?
Original post by DerDracologe
What do you want to do with your a levels?
Have you read through the specs to get an idea of what topics might interest you more?
What are your other subjects?
Have you looked through some past papers to see which subject’s style of questioning better suits your strengths?
How are you finding psychology gcse? You’ve mentioned your grade decreased but is it still a strong subject for you or not?
What other subjects at gcse are you enjoying? What subjects are you predicted high grades in? For psychology a level maths skills, essay skills and some knowledge of science are all important (mostly Biology for science i believe). Law is mostly essay based so you’d likely excel if youre doing well in subjects like history and English.

I'm doing A-Level Math, Physics, Further Maths, DT/Engineering, (as a backup) Computer Science. I have looked at past papers and they both are just essay after essay. I do feel like if I was in the mood my Psychology could be better because the way Psychology is taught in my school is that you get a notebook with questions and you work through them and then you do the next topic. Kinda like of a revision guide and after that it's just flashcards and mindmaps. I've already finished learning everything I need to for the GCSE so for the next 5 months it's just revision and I've already made half of the flashcards that's quite literally just everything. I do enjoy Math and I'm too good at it, I barely do any revision on it and my predicted grades for normal Math is 8 and further math is 6. I'm not really a fan of English Lit and Lang, I find it pretty boring and useless, on my mock exam (Paper 2s) I was 1 mark away from a Grade 4 on Lit and I could've easily gotten it cuz I answered the question incorrectly. For Lang I got a Grade 5 but I also could've gotten higher because I had to sacrifice my Question 4 because I didn't have enough time. I know that both of them don't really suit me but it's quite literally the only options, everything else I'm either bad at it just not interested in.
Original post by McGinger
What are you other planned A level subjects?
Do you have any idea what you might do after Sixth Form - and if Uni, which degree subject?

I'm doing A-Level Math, Physics, Further Maths, DT/Engineering, (as a backup) Computer Science. I'm not really sure what I wanna do after 6th form, I am interested in an Apprenticeship tho.
Original post by Unknown97537
I'm doing A-Level Math, Physics, Further Maths, DT/Engineering, (as a backup) Computer Science. I have looked at past papers and they both are just essay after essay. I do feel like if I was in the mood my Psychology could be better because the way Psychology is taught in my school is that you get a notebook with questions and you work through them and then you do the next topic. Kinda like of a revision guide and after that it's just flashcards and mindmaps. I've already finished learning everything I need to for the GCSE so for the next 5 months it's just revision and I've already made half of the flashcards that's quite literally just everything. I do enjoy Math and I'm too good at it, I barely do any revision on it and my predicted grades for normal Math is 8 and further math is 6. I'm not really a fan of English Lit and Lang, I find it pretty boring and useless, on my mock exam (Paper 2s) I was 1 mark away from a Grade 4 on Lit and I could've easily gotten it cuz I answered the question incorrectly. For Lang I got a Grade 5 but I also could've gotten higher because I had to sacrifice my Question 4 because I didn't have enough time. I know that both of them don't really suit me but it's quite literally the only options, everything else I'm either bad at it just not interested in.

Is that not already 4 subjects?
Getting 4s and 5s in essay subjects isnt the best background to be doing essay based a levels. You seem more driven toward psychology however i dont understand how you can possibly need to pick another subject- you’ve already got 4 subjects and a reserve which is enough so why are your school forcing you to take a 5th?
Apologies if i have misunderstood this but it just doesn’t add up from my view.
Original post by DerDracologe
Is that not already 4 subjects?
Getting 4s and 5s in essay subjects isnt the best background to be doing essay based a levels. You seem more driven toward psychology however i dont understand how you can possibly need to pick another subject- you’ve already got 4 subjects and a reserve which is enough so why are your school forcing you to take a 5th?
Apologies if i have misunderstood this but it just doesn’t add up from my view.

They don't have Computer Science, Engineering or DT. I was going to just accept my other choices that they had but they emailed me being all "Further Maths is a 4th subject so pick another A-Level"
Original post by Unknown97537
They don't have Computer Science, Engineering or DT. I was going to just accept my other choices that they had but they emailed me being all "Further Maths is a 4th subject so pick another A-Level"

Oh ok, are there are no other sixth forms you could apply to?
@always-anxious @annabel whittle any advice on if psychology is a good option here? I have very little knowledge of psych or law a level and would value your input as psych a level students 🙂
Original post by Unknown97537
So I'm in Year 11 and one of my GCSE choices was Psychology. I'm gonna be honest. My Psychology used to be good but now it's just bad. I've applied to a college and they're asking me to apply for another A-Level because one of my options can only be taken as a 4th A-Level. After looking at the choices the college offers and doing a little 'process of elimination', it's come down to either Psychology or Law. I dunno what to pick. Keep in mind I don't really have any interest in pursuing these as a career I just wanna use them in general life.

Hello,
I did Psychology at A Level and Law at University, so I can say both these subjects are valuable in general because they are both present in our everyday lives. The first and most important bit of advice I would give you is to pick something you enjoy. This is because A Levels are hard and you will be spending a significant amount of time studying these subjects. Therefore, if you do not enjoy them it will make it much more difficult to find the motivation to study for them, thus potentially leading to results which you may not have wanted.

Each syllabus for A-Levels can also vary slightly for each exam board so I would advise you to look at the specifications. Are the topics of interest to you? Are these topics which would interest you? As you are currently doing Psychology, it may also be useful to check the entry criteria for the A Level as some sixth forms and colleges set a certain grade for students who have done GCSE Psychology. To my knowledge, at A Level you study much of what was studied at GCSE but in much more detail.

I hope this helps. If you have any further questions at all please do let me know.

Charlie
Law LLB Student
Original post by Unknown97537
I'm doing A-Level Math, Physics, Further Maths, DT/Engineering, (as a backup) Computer Science. I'm not really sure what I wanna do after 6th form, I am interested in an Apprenticeship tho.

You only need 3 A level subjects. The only exception to this is where you are taking Maths and FM, and aiming for a STEM or Economics degree at a competitive University. In all other situations taking 4 subjects it is a total waste of time and taking 5 would be even more silly. Remember - AAA will always look better than ABBB, and no Apprenticeship will require any more than 3 A levels.

If you start with Maths, Physics, Further Maths, and possibly EITHER DT/Engineering or CS, you can then drop at least one main subject at the end of Year 12, and potentially two subjects. And btw, Law is not a required subject for any degree or apprenticeship, nor is Psychology.
Original post by Unknown97537
So I'm in Year 11 and one of my GCSE choices was Psychology. I'm gonna be honest. My Psychology used to be good but now it's just bad. I've applied to a college and they're asking me to apply for another A-Level because one of my options can only be taken as a 4th A-Level. After looking at the choices the college offers and doing a little 'process of elimination', it's come down to either Psychology or Law. I dunno what to pick. Keep in mind I don't really have any interest in pursuing these as a career I just wanna use them in general life.

Hello,

My name is Alex and I'm a second year Psychology student at YSJ. I took A-Level Psychology (specifically AQA) and if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to answer!

Firstly, GCSE Psychology is different to A-Level Psychology. GCSE is very structured and minimal, and you learn very basic (and sometimes boring) research, that's not too relevant to day-to-day life. A-Level takes a bigger focus across a range of psychology subjects, like research, social psychology, relationships, mental health, biopsychology etc., but this can depend on the college and exam board, so I would look closer into what this specific course has and whether its something you would be interested in.

Interest sometimes can be the difference between remembering or not remembering content. I had a huge interest in Psychology to the point I continued to do it at degree level. I would not have gotten an A* if I was any less interested in the subject, because this interest fuelled my motivation to study every day. Maybe you could find some example content/homework from the different subjects and give them a go at home to see which one you prefer.

Think about how you prefer to be examined. Are you a confident essay writer or do you prefer short answers and memorisation? Do you prefer exams or coursework? Maybe compare how the two subjects are assessed. I know you mentioned English isn't your favourite - in my experience, Psychology does have a couple of analysis questions where you might be expected to draw on English skills, whereas the math content is more along the lines of graphs and charts, with some equations (mostly in the research module).

Overall I would recommend talking to the careers counsellor at your school. A-Levels are crucial if you want to go to university, so the subjects you choose now might limit the subjects you can go on to study. Once you have an idea of what you want to do next, it might make the decision clearer.

Hope this helped :smile:
-Alex, Student Ambassador
Original post by DerDracologe
Oh ok, are there are no other sixth forms you could apply to?
@always-anxious @annabel whittle any advice on if psychology is a good option here? I have very little knowledge of psych or law a level and would value your input as psych a level students 🙂

Well Psychology has a lot of key Concepts but once you remember all of them then you should be good to go. So it's just Flashcards and Past Papers. But I've seen A-Level past papers and it's just Essay after Essay. In GCSE you only get 2. There's also a lot of theories and studies you need to remember but there's only like 20, in A-Level there's so many that it gets to the point of just why.
Original post by UoL Students
Hello,
I did Psychology at A Level and Law at University, so I can say both these subjects are valuable in general because they are both present in our everyday lives. The first and most important bit of advice I would give you is to pick something you enjoy. This is because A Levels are hard and you will be spending a significant amount of time studying these subjects. Therefore, if you do not enjoy them it will make it much more difficult to find the motivation to study for them, thus potentially leading to results which you may not have wanted.
Each syllabus for A-Levels can also vary slightly for each exam board so I would advise you to look at the specifications. Are the topics of interest to you? Are these topics which would interest you? As you are currently doing Psychology, it may also be useful to check the entry criteria for the A Level as some sixth forms and colleges set a certain grade for students who have done GCSE Psychology. To my knowledge, at A Level you study much of what was studied at GCSE but in much more detail.
I hope this helps. If you have any further questions at all please do let me know.
Charlie
Law LLB Student

Cheers for letting me know
Original post by McGinger
You only need 3 A level subjects. The only exception to this is where you are taking Maths and FM, and aiming for a STEM or Economics degree at a competitive University. In all other situations taking 4 subjects it is a total waste of time and taking 5 would be even more silly. Remember - AAA will always look better than ABBB, and no Apprenticeship will require any more than 3 A levels.
If you start with Maths, Physics, Further Maths, and possibly EITHER DT/Engineering or CS, you can then drop at least one main subject at the end of Year 12, and potentially two subjects. And btw, Law is not a required subject for any degree or apprenticeship, nor is Psychology.

Yeah. I was going to just leave it as Math, Physics and Further Maths since the college I'm applying to doesn't have DT Engineering nor CS. But then they emailed me being all "FM is a 4th A-Level so pick another." And I do want to take it as well cuz I'm quite literally just cracked at Maths, I barely revise it at all and my predicted grades are 8 in normal Math and 6 in Further Maths. After looking at all the other A-Levels they offered I did a little process of elimination and it came down to either Psychology or Law and I can't pick which one to choose cuz everyone has mixed opinions on which one you should choose and I chose GCSE Psychology and my grades used to be good but now it's just straight up terrible. For Law it does look more appealing but I feel like I'd be at a disadvantage since I'm not a fan of English and stuff. So yeah I'm kinda stuck
Original post by YSJstudents
Hello,
My name is Alex and I'm a second year Psychology student at YSJ. I took A-Level Psychology (specifically AQA) and if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to answer!
Firstly, GCSE Psychology is different to A-Level Psychology. GCSE is very structured and minimal, and you learn very basic (and sometimes boring) research, that's not too relevant to day-to-day life. A-Level takes a bigger focus across a range of psychology subjects, like research, social psychology, relationships, mental health, biopsychology etc., but this can depend on the college and exam board, so I would look closer into what this specific course has and whether its something you would be interested in.
Interest sometimes can be the difference between remembering or not remembering content. I had a huge interest in Psychology to the point I continued to do it at degree level. I would not have gotten an A* if I was any less interested in the subject, because this interest fuelled my motivation to study every day. Maybe you could find some example content/homework from the different subjects and give them a go at home to see which one you prefer.
Think about how you prefer to be examined. Are you a confident essay writer or do you prefer short answers and memorisation? Do you prefer exams or coursework? Maybe compare how the two subjects are assessed. I know you mentioned English isn't your favourite - in my experience, Psychology does have a couple of analysis questions where you might be expected to draw on English skills, whereas the math content is more along the lines of graphs and charts, with some equations (mostly in the research module).
Overall I would recommend talking to the careers counsellor at your school. A-Levels are crucial if you want to go to university, so the subjects you choose now might limit the subjects you can go on to study. Once you have an idea of what you want to do next, it might make the decision clearer.
Hope this helped :smile:
-Alex, Student Ambassador

Thank you for this

Quick Reply