Should I take 4 A-levels

Almost wrapping up my mock exams for GCSE so its around that season where we have to start to pick our A-levels, Personally I have absolutely no clue what I'm going to do for work so I want to keep my options as broad as possible. I was thinking of choosing Bio, Chem, Maths and Economics. But I also want to know if taking 4 A-levels is actually possible for people who are not one of the Einstein's in the world. I do decent on tests but that's mainly due to hard work and not talent. Is this combination viable? It ensures that I can go down the finance route with Maths and Econ e.g Accounting, but also keep the door for medicine open as well. Opps?

Original post by Southampton fc

Almost wrapping up my mock exams for GCSE so its around that season where we have to start to pick our A-levels, Personally I have absolutely no clue what I'm going to do for work so I want to keep my options as broad as possible. I was thinking of choosing Bio, Chem, Maths and Economics. But I also want to know if taking 4 A-levels is actually possible for people who are not one of the Einstein's in the world. I do decent on tests but that's mainly due to hard work and not talent. Is this combination viable? It ensures that I can go down the finance route with Maths and Econ e.g Accounting, but also keep the door for medicine open as well. Opps?

Why can't u decide between a route? My school allows us to change our a level options until results day so if ur school allows it too maybe u can do lots of research after gcses to weigh out which u want to do. Medicine is really competitive ofcourse so if you want to do it make sure ur on track.

You can take those 4 alevels go for it if u really cannot decide yet- some unis even reduce offers if u have 4 but u need to check specifically which ones. Everyone is different and no one on student room will know if u can handle the workload of 4 alevels. What r ur mock grades like? Do u enjoy those 4 subjects enough?

Reply 3

granata1975

7

Its a lot of work, i went to a Grammar school which usually had a few go to Oxbridge each year.
Even so, it was rare for someone to do 4.
I would really only recommend it if two of them were Maths and Further maths or any 3 choices combined with a foreign language you were already proficient in due to family circumstances.

Reply 4

PinkMobilePhone

Chat Forum Helper, Life & Style Forum Helper

22

I wouldn't bother. It won't do you any favours taking 4, it'll just be a lot of extra unnecessary work.

Reply 5

sdfj

19

Original post by Southampton fc

Almost wrapping up my mock exams for GCSE so its around that season where we have to start to pick our A-levels, Personally I have absolutely no clue what I'm going to do for work so I want to keep my options as broad as possible. I was thinking of choosing Bio, Chem, Maths and Economics. But I also want to know if taking 4 A-levels is actually possible for people who are not one of the Einstein's in the world. I do decent on tests but that's mainly due to hard work and not talent. Is this combination viable? It ensures that I can go down the finance route with Maths and Econ e.g Accounting, but also keep the door for medicine open as well. Opps?

My personal opinion is that you should start with 4, but then be open and prepared to drop down to 3.

I do 4 A-Levels (Maths and further, economics and chemistry) and it's a fair amount of work. I might need further maths for potential university courses, which is the main reason why I'm taking it.

My main point is that it's not worth taking 4 A-Levels if you're trying to get a competitive edge on other students for when it comes to med school / university applications. However, if you take the fourth subject for the love of learning, or if you're unsure about which subject you'll like the most and you need more time to decide, then go for it! Just be prepared to drop it as work experience, supercurriculars and potentially an EPQ are often more valuable than the extra unrelated A-Level. A-Levels are mostly about hard work and not memory, so if you're alright on that front, four shouldn't be impossible.

Thanks for the tag @Geo Lover 7

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 6

ashvin127

10

Original post by Southampton fc

Almost wrapping up my mock exams for GCSE so its around that season where we have to start to pick our A-levels, Personally I have absolutely no clue what I'm going to do for work so I want to keep my options as broad as possible. I was thinking of choosing Bio, Chem, Maths and Economics. But I also want to know if taking 4 A-levels is actually possible for people who are not one of the Einstein's in the world. I do decent on tests but that's mainly due to hard work and not talent. Is this combination viable? It ensures that I can go down the finance route with Maths and Econ e.g Accounting, but also keep the door for medicine open as well. Opps?

i strongly recommend against doing 4 a levels, if you do 4 then drop one after year 12 because 99% of universities wont even consider your fourth a level grade. AAA > ABBB

Reply 7

Divinebandit

11

Picking four is unwise, it can too much work and lead to a poorer grades than if you sat 3.

For most courses linked to anything finance or economics at most "top" or Russell group unis, typically you only need you to do A Level Maths.

Maths, Chemistry and Biology alone will keep a lot of doors open. If you are still very unsure, I would ask if you can pick 4 and drop one if you aren’t enjoying it or not doing particularly well in it. Because at the end of the day, if you don't enjoy a subject, you'll struggle to revise it which may affect your grade. This may be particularly helpful with a subject like Economics that most people don't study at GCSE and have little experience with it. Hopefully this is helpful.

Reply 8

glorious-waking

9

i would say initially choose four, but then since ur unsure abt what career route to go down, drop the one u like the least at the very beginning/end of yr12 and maybe that'll also show u what subject u would like most in further studies post alevel

Reply 9

Southampton fc

OP

8

Thanks for all your advice guys, I think my school will allow to take 4 then drop 1 if you don't like it so I think I'll do some more research and try to narrow the options down, thanks

Reply 10

Maximum-tragedy

17

Original post by Southampton fc

Thanks for all your advice guys, I think my school will allow to take 4 then drop 1 if you don't like it so I think I'll do some more research and try to narrow the options down, thanks

Yeah that's what I would advise - I'm doing r like right now and it's pretty manageable I'd say but you just need to be open if your struggling with anything and make sure you stay on top of stuff even more than people that only have 3

Reply 11

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

19

Original post by Southampton fc

Almost wrapping up my mock exams for GCSE so its around that season where we have to start to pick our A-levels, Personally I have absolutely no clue what I'm going to do for work so I want to keep my options as broad as possible. I was thinking of choosing Bio, Chem, Maths and Economics. But I also want to know if taking 4 A-levels is actually possible for people who are not one of the Einstein's in the world. I do decent on tests but that's mainly due to hard work and not talent. Is this combination viable? It ensures that I can go down the finance route with Maths and Econ e.g Accounting, but also keep the door for medicine open as well. Opps?