A level options

Hey yall so im in year 11 about to do my GCSE's and we have to start picking our A-level subjects and here is what i want to do

Biology
Chemsitry or pyschology
English literature
Geography

I really love geography and eng lit so i will defo be doing them, i do like biology and find it interesting but my grade is a 5 rn and i need to get it up to a 6 si yea i need to work on that and i have heard it is very content heavy so yea. Im really stuck between chemistry and pyschology. I think i like the idea of pyschology better as it seems quite interesting and i think i could do good in it but im not sure if it matches my other subject's and i do want to do medicine so thats where the chemsitry takes in. I do like chemsitry im not that very strong in the quantitative part but im good on paper 2 so yea. In my last set of mocks i got a 4 so just passed and i need a 7 to do it for A-level apperanlty but i have been doing loads of revision so hopefully i can bring it up

Reply 1

AhsokaTano-

Usually, for bio, it's only ever done with chem for university. on it's own is pretty useless (even for psychology university).

for chem, it is a lot. i dropped chem a level bc i didn't like how maths-intensive it is (tho i do maths a level) and how fast-paced it is. people have been complaining about it, too.

also depends on what u wanna do at uni/in life

i like geography, and is good for those who like essays

Reply 2

brndngrn

Original post by Liamgriff18

Hey yall so im in year 11 about to do my GCSE's and we have to start picking our A-level subjects and here is what i want to do
Biology
Chemsitry or pyschology
English literature
Geography
I really love geography and eng lit so i will defo be doing them, i do like biology and find it interesting but my grade is a 5 rn and i need to get it up to a 6 si yea i need to work on that and i have heard it is very content heavy so yea. Im really stuck between chemistry and pyschology. I think i like the idea of pyschology better as it seems quite interesting and i think i could do good in it but im not sure if it matches my other subject's and i do want to do medicine so thats where the chemsitry takes in. I do like chemsitry im not that very strong in the quantitative part but im good on paper 2 so yea. In my last set of mocks i got a 4 so just passed and i need a 7 to do it for A-level apperanlty but i have been doing loads of revision so hopefully i can bring it up

It's great that you are finding certain subjects interesting but A-Levels is a massive step up from GCSE's. On average, people who achieve a 7 in GCSE attain a C in A-Levels for that subject. Of course you can do a lot better than that but keep that in mind.

I would recommend doing Psychology in your case. Chemistry is known as one of the most if not the most difficult A-Level so unless you are very confident and have a deep desire to pursue it, I would avoid it. Psychology is signifcantly 'easier' in my opinion so you can ensure a high grade in the subject.

Also, what do you want to do for university. Many courses have specific A-Level subject requirments so make sure you pick the right ones for what you want to do in the future.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 3

MillieeM2

You should do what you enjoy and what you find interesting

Reply 4

smellybeli

Original post by Liamgriff18

Hey yall so im in year 11 about to do my GCSE's and we have to start picking our A-level subjects and here is what i want to do
Biology
Chemsitry or pyschology
English literature
Geography
I really love geography and eng lit so i will defo be doing them, i do like biology and find it interesting but my grade is a 5 rn and i need to get it up to a 6 si yea i need to work on that and i have heard it is very content heavy so yea. Im really stuck between chemistry and pyschology. I think i like the idea of pyschology better as it seems quite interesting and i think i could do good in it but im not sure if it matches my other subject's and i do want to do medicine so thats where the chemsitry takes in. I do like chemsitry im not that very strong in the quantitative part but im good on paper 2 so yea. In my last set of mocks i got a 4 so just passed and i need a 7 to do it for A-level apperanlty but i have been doing loads of revision so hopefully i can bring it up

I would really have a good think about doing 4 A-levels. There is a significant step up between Yr-11 and Yr-12, and especially if you do content heavy subjects, you must be able to keep up. I'm just advising you to be vunerable with yourself, will you be able to handle doing 4 A-levels? I understand completely that it may open up the pool for different careers you could possibly get into, but don’t take on more than three if the extra A-level will impinge on how well you can perform. Ultimately, your grades are far more important than taking more A-levels than is necessary.

If you are dead certain you want to do medicine, you must commit to it. By that, I mean it is a highly competitive course to get onto and you will have to put the work in. Check the requirements for the unis you are considering. At a minimum, an AAA is required in usually 2 subjects from: Chemistry, Biology, Maths, Physics, and an additional subject. Some unis may specify Biology, Chemistry. For medicine, majority of unis require you to sit the UCAT test. If you want to do medicine at uni and want to do 4 A-levels, you would have to do Bio and Chem (and Eng. lit., Geo).

However, i would highly advise you to pick subjects which you are strongest at, or you find the most interesting. I do A-level Chem and Bio. One thing i would advise is that you should not take chemistry if you are not actually interested in it/ just doing it for the sake of it, as it is quite maths-intensive. A-level Bio is quite similar to GCSE Bio, in the sense that, the mark scheme is very specific, however, if you learn the patterns within the mark scheme (i.e. what phrases/words that guarantee marks), its actually pretty enjoyable and interesting, but there are complex concepts that i found hard to wrap my head around.

At the end of the day, only you can decide what A-levels you pick, but pick subjects you are relatively strong in and enjoy!