Which A levels would be best to take?

2

I am unsure what I want to do yet. Which options would be best?
Math
Economics and biology

Or
Math
Economics
Psychology ?

Reply 1

McGinger

20

What do you want to do with these A levels?
Apprenticeship? Or if Uni, do you have any ideas about a Uni subject?

Reply 2

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

20

What degree/career path are you aiming for?
How are you finding Biology at gcse? (Grade, ease to revise, interest/enjoyment)
Have you looked through the topic list for psychology for your exam board on the spec to see if the subject interests you? Can help to look through past papers or watch videos from previous students to get a full idea of the subject.
I take biology a level btw so if you have any questions about that then let me know and ill try my best to answer them 🙂

Reply 3

BCU Student Rep

Official Rep

18

Original post

by CHook123

I am unsure what I want to do yet. Which options would be best?
Math
Economics and biology
Or
Math
Economics
Psychology ?

Hi @CHook123,

These were derived from "A-Level Explorer" on Uni Guide.

With Maths, Economics and Biology, your two best matching degrees include Economics or Business and management Studies. These two matching degrees have the same result when you swap biology for psychology as well.

You can try check this site: https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer - if you want to read further details, or find other close matches.

Hope this helps,
Danish
BCU Student Rep

Reply 4

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

20

Original post

by BCU Student Rep

Hi @CHook123,
These were derived from "A-Level Explorer" on Uni Guide.
With Maths, Economics and Biology, your two best matching degrees include Economics or Business and management Studies. These two matching degrees have the same result when you swap biology for psychology as well.
You can try check this site: https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer - if you want to read further details, or find other close matches.
Hope this helps,
Danish
BCU Student Rep

I personally would not base my a level choices off of that tool

Reply 5

VaBook7

11

Hi, I can't decide on my A-levels either - currently thinking definitely maths and french (native language), but I need to pick two more subjects from geography, economics, further maths and history. I haven't done economics gcse, so will I be at a disadvantage if I pick it? Also I'm looking to do a stats/ finance based degree so what would you recommend? Thank you :smile:

I'm predicted 9 in geography, 9 in maths and 9/8 in history, (also Add Maths at an A)

Reply 6

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

20

Original post

by VaBook7

Hi, I can't decide on my A-levels either - currently thinking definitely maths and french (native language), but I need to pick two more subjects from geography, economics, further maths and history. I haven't done economics gcse, so will I be at a disadvantage if I pick it? Also I'm looking to do a stats/ finance based degree so what would you recommend? Thank you :smile:

I'm predicted 9 in geography, 9 in maths and 9/8 in history, (also Add Maths at an A)

Id recommend doing further maths considering youre wanting to do 4 (even if french is your native language its not like gcse as you have to study a film and a book etc). Double maths, french and any of geography, history or econ would be a good combination.
Of history, geography and econ, which do you think you’d enjoy the most? Pick whichever of them that that is. Make sure you have a full idea of the subject before picking it- topics in history can vary significantly between sixth forms so make sure you know exactly what you’ll be studying!
You would not be at a disadvantage taking econ a level without gcse- very few people do gcse economics.

Reply 7

pagan-scimitar

14

Original post

by VaBook7

Hi, I can't decide on my A-levels either - currently thinking definitely maths and french (native language), but I need to pick two more subjects from geography, economics, further maths and history. I haven't done economics gcse, so will I be at a disadvantage if I pick it? Also I'm looking to do a stats/ finance based degree so what would you recommend? Thank you :smile:

I'm predicted 9 in geography, 9 in maths and 9/8 in history, (also Add Maths at an A)

Hi, I'm y13 and do economics A level but didn't do it at GCSE. I'd say you'll be fine, as everything was taught from scratch and the y12 topics are quite simple. Since you want to do stats I'd definitely recommend further maths, as many top unis will prefer it. Your 4th A level shouldn't matter much, so pick what you will enjoy the most :smile:

Reply 8

VaBook7

11

Thank you, definitely further maths then. Although it differs per course, what is coursework like for history, econ and geography? What are you typically expected to complete? Currently enjoy geography the most, but worried that will involve more physical geography which I'm not really interested in...

Reply 9

347tse

4

Original post

by VaBook7

Thank you, definitely further maths then. Although it differs per course, what is coursework like for history, econ and geography? What are you typically expected to complete? Currently enjoy geography the most, but worried that will involve more physical geography which I'm not really interested in...

Both A level Geography and History have coursework elements (depends on the exam board though)… As long as you stay on top of the work load and don’t let the work get ahead of you its manageable.
For my economics a level there is not any coursework (just 2 exams per year) but I’m not sure if other exam boards do differently.

Also, if you’re considering Further Maths, be aware that depending on what uni you apply to and what course, it might not count as a ‘4th A level’ so basically you wouldn’t have the option to drop a subject (unless you switch to single maths)… If you will definitely stick with 4 then further maths is a good option because its not an entirely different subject.

I do economics and personally love it but others hate it… I would definitely pick up an essay subject though (geography, history or economics) because its sometimes a condition for many unis.

Hope this makes sense and helps.

Reply 10

HarsimranSadhra

7

Original post

by CHook123

I am unsure what I want to do yet. Which options would be best?
Math
Economics and biology
Or
Math
Economics
Psychology ?

Hi, personally I take Alevel psychology and economics and I think they integrate effectively as they both require the skill of behavioural analysis. It does depend on what you would like to do for university, but I found that these two subjects are quite different from one another but still integrate together.

Reply 11

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

19

Original post

by CHook123

I am unsure what I want to do yet. Which options would be best?
Math
Economics and biology
Or
Math
Economics
Psychology ?

What are you planning on doing after your A-levels?

Reply 12

Geo Lover 7

Chat Forum Helper, Study Forum Helper

18

Original post

by VaBook7

Thank you, definitely further maths then. Although it differs per course, what is coursework like for history, econ and geography? What are you typically expected to complete? Currently enjoy geography the most, but worried that will involve more physical geography which I'm not really interested in...

For AQA Geography A-Level. The course is split into 40% Physical Geography, 40% Human Geography and 20% NEA (An independent fieldwork investigation on anything in the Geography specification.)

Reply 13

akashDTV

10

Original post

by CHook123

I am unsure what I want to do yet. Which options would be best?
Math
Economics and biology
Or
Math
Economics
Psychology ?

probably biology instead of psychology but it depends what you wanna do. You could also start off doing all 4 and see which one you like better and drop the other (or just keep both if you want).

Reply 14

Peach_rose34

10

Original post

by VaBook7

Thank you, definitely further maths then. Although it differs per course, what is coursework like for history, econ and geography? What are you typically expected to complete? Currently enjoy geography the most, but worried that will involve more physical geography which I'm not really interested in...

history coursework is a 3000-4000 word essay on something , that by the time you’ve researched it for months, you get very fed up of
Its similar to an epq essay except there’s no presentation and less of the rubbish report where you have to detail the entire process .
So It’s a difficult subject even without the coursework but it’s definitely interesting if you like history. As someone doing 4 a levels, the coursework burnt me out very quickly. If you’re doing 4 I’d recommend doing a subject with no coursework element like econ(which is also a much easier subject than history, but still difficult enough to be incredibly interesting).
I can’t comment on geography but if that’s what you like I’d choose geography or econ as a 4th. Econ has elements of development and human geography type stuff but of course less than the actual geography a level. My favourite part of econ is the human geography type stuff as the a level is quite abstract at times.

I do maths, fm, econ and history so I can say with confidence that I don’t recommend doing 4 a levels without genuine interest in the subjects. If you’re doing 4, make sure you like the content, and definitely do further maths because then you’ll have at least one easy a level(normal maths becomes trivial)

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 15

Geo Lover 7

Chat Forum Helper, Study Forum Helper

18

Original post

by Peach_rose34

history coursework is a 3000-4000 word essay on something , that by the time you’ve researched it for months, you get very fed up of
Its similar to an epq essay except there’s no presentation and less of the rubbish report where you have to detail the entire process .
So It’s a difficult subject even without the coursework but it’s definitely interesting if you like history. As someone doing 4 a levels, the coursework burnt me out very quickly. If you’re doing 4 I’d recommend doing a subject with no coursework element like econ(which is also a much easier subject than history, but still difficult enough to be incredibly interesting).
I can’t comment on geography but if that’s what you like I’d choose geography or econ as a 4th. Econ has elements of development and human geography type stuff but of course less than the actual geography a level. My favourite part of econ is the human geography type stuff as the a level is quite abstract at times.
I do maths, fm, econ and history so I can say with confidence that I don’t recommend doing 4 a levels without genuine interest in the subjects. If you’re doing 4, make sure you like the content, and definitely do further maths because then you’ll have at least one easy a level(normal maths becomes trivial)

We have an independent fieldwork investigation in Geography. I think it's 4,000 words-5,000 words.

Reply 16

Bluesushi11

3

Original post

by CHook123

I am unsure what I want to do yet. Which options would be best?
Math
Economics and biology
Or
Math
Economics
Psychology ?

Hi, I'm in year 13 doing both biology and psychology. For me, psychology is much easier to get a better grade in, there's a lot of content and essay writing but it's not necessarily hard. Biology is very content heavy and pretty hard but if you're not an essay writer then this is probably a better subject to take. I take a level maths as well and some of the maths in biology (e.g. logs) are pretty easy for me since I know how to do them. Good luck!

Which A levels would be best to take?

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