What are the best A-Levels for Russel Group Universities?

Criminology is a field of sociology so if youre really interested in criminology sociology might appeal. Topics on crime are also common in a levels like Politics and sometimes Psychology so you could look into those too. I recommend reading through the specs for subjects of interest and watching some YouTube videos on students experiences of the subjects at a level to get an idea of what might suit you 🙂
Btw for degrees like forensic science and biomedical sciences, 2 science a levels can be required and for biomed especially chemistry is often a required subject.
Let me know if you need more help or have any questions 🙂

I've been looking into psychology as it also interests me, as well as sociology, chemistry, and history, yet I'm still unsure about what I would enjoy the most. It's helpful to know that criminology is related to sociology, so I will definitely look into that more. I've still got a few months to decide on the subjects that I am going to take, so I will take the time to look into everything. Thank you for the advice though, this is good to know!

Sounds like a great plan! Let me know if you have any questions or need any advice 🙂 Best of luck with your studies!

Are you aware that 'RG' doesn't mean anything significant - that its just marketing/advertising fluff?

I do understand that the group is self-selected and that some of the universities within the group do not have a particularly wide range of undergraduate degrees available. Yet I also have the understanding that it represents the 24 leading universities in the UK. Whether it is for marketing or not, they have a reputation for research and high academic achievements, which I would hope to achieve myself.
I have only really just started to look into universities, so my knowledge isn't particularly extensive. If there is any important information I should know about the Russell Group Universities, please let me know if possible!

St Andrews, Lancaster, Bath, Leicester, Loughborough etc are not part of RG.
You seem to have a very myopic idea of 'a research University'

I do understand that the group is self-selected and that some of the universities within the group do not have a particularly wide range of undergraduate degrees available. Yet I also have the understanding that it represents the 24 leading universities in the UK. Whether it is for marketing or not, they have a reputation for research and high academic achievements, which I would hope to achieve myself.

I have only really just started to look into universities, so my knowledge isn't particularly extensive. If there is any important information I should know about the Russell Group Universities, please let me know if possible!

Research focused means that they divert millions of pounds of tuition fee payments from teaching across into research. That means that teaching will be less well resourced at many RG universities compared to those with a stronger teaching focus.

I think more RG universities accept non A levels than that. However, I would recommend either history, sociology or psychology as options because it will keep your options more open and be less specific. Criminology is one of the very popular degrees at present and there are a lot of graduates in this field and you may be better qualified for a range of related careers with these A levels.
I also echo that RG are not necessarily the best and as your research continues you will be able to narrow down the place you would like to study

Thank you for explaining this to me, I understand it a lot better now! In the future, would it be better to look into the best universities for the specific degree I might like to take instead of the best rated ones overall?

I would cast your net very wide - book on to a range of open days for the summer (including any large universities near to you - even if you have no intention of going there it's an inexpensive way to get an experience to compare other universities to) and look for somewhere with a course you'd find interesting in a place you thing you can thrive academically and personally

I would cast your net very wide - book on to a range of open days for the summer (including any large universities near to you - even if you have no intention of going there it's an inexpensive way to get an experience to compare other universities to) and look for somewhere with a course you'd find interesting in a place you thing you can thrive academically and personally

I would also think about what it is you like about criminology and look at the modules on offer at different courses. Research what careers people go into after this degree and if these are for you. Rankings are less important as they change frequently and very much depend on the criteria used to decide them

I've looked into the psychology and sociology courses at my college options, and they do somewhat go into criminology topics, so I'm definitely more open to doing one of those as an A-Level instead. It's good to know that rankings are not as important as they are made out to be, so thank you!

Also something like Bath's placement year is very valuable in the job market.

I have looked into universities that do placement years, and I would like to do one. They seem really fun so I would definitely enjoy it!