a level choices

my school requires me to submit my a level choices by march 24th. i am wanting to pursue either history or classics at oxbridge, and will definitely be choosing history and latin.

my only question is should i choose italian? and study outside of school? it's my mother tongue so i am wondering if it might weaken my application, but i think that history + modern lang. + ancient lang. would be suitable for an hml course, and i haven't entirely dismissed that option.

alternatively, i think my teacher would be willing to teach me ancient greek. i am predicted good results in the gcse, but it would be a huge step up, as so far i've relied mostly on memorisation of vocab.

could anyone currently doing these a levels, or looking to apply for these courses, help me out? 😭 as it stands, i either do history, latin, italian; history, latin, ancient greek; or go crazy and do history, latin, ancient greek, and italian.

i would also be doing epq 😞

Reply 1

Stiffy Byng

Don't do four A levels.

Nobody would mind if a native English speaker studied English, so take Italian if you wish. Ancient Greek would be an ambitious choice, but would qualify you for the traditional version of Literae Humaniores at Oxford.

Good luck!

Reply 2

DBagg07

Original post by oatmealworm

my school requires me to submit my a level choices by march 24th. i am wanting to pursue either history or classics at oxbridge, and will definitely be choosing history and latin.
my only question is should i choose italian? and study outside of school? it's my mother tongue so i am wondering if it might weaken my application, but i think that history + modern lang. + ancient lang. would be suitable for an hml course, and i haven't entirely dismissed that option.
alternatively, i think my teacher would be willing to teach me ancient greek. i am predicted good results in the gcse, but it would be a huge step up, as so far i've relied mostly on memorisation of vocab.
could anyone currently doing these a levels, or looking to apply for these courses, help me out? 😭 as it stands, i either do history, latin, italian; history, latin, ancient greek; or go crazy and do history, latin, ancient greek, and italian.
i would also be doing epq 😞

From knowing people who did an EPQ alongside 4 subjects, they really struggled to fit it in (and most were forced to drop out), so if you want to do EPQ I would say stick to three subjects. I looked into doing Classics at Uni, and don't think that two Ancient Languages would be needed, so just Latin would probably be fine

Reply 3

jasmineva3128

Original post by oatmealworm

my school requires me to submit my a level choices by march 24th. i am wanting to pursue either history or classics at oxbridge, and will definitely be choosing history and latin.
my only question is should i choose italian? and study outside of school? it's my mother tongue so i am wondering if it might weaken my application, but i think that history + modern lang. + ancient lang. would be suitable for an hml course, and i haven't entirely dismissed that option.
alternatively, i think my teacher would be willing to teach me ancient greek. i am predicted good results in the gcse, but it would be a huge step up, as so far i've relied mostly on memorisation of vocab.
could anyone currently doing these a levels, or looking to apply for these courses, help me out? 😭 as it stands, i either do history, latin, italian; history, latin, ancient greek; or go crazy and do history, latin, ancient greek, and italian.
i would also be doing epq 😞

I think doing history, latin, and ancient greek would be best if you want to do an epq as it's more relevant.

However, if you also want to take italian (which might be a good idea since it's your first language and therefore you'll manage to achieve a good grade, which you'll need for oxbridge) then I'd skip the epq.

Honestly, I think the 4 a-levels without the epq is the best choice, and you can always drop a subject if you're struggling with the work load.

Hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to ask me! 😊

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 4

Mu-tron

Original post by oatmealworm

my school requires me to submit my a level choices by march 24th. i am wanting to pursue either history or classics at oxbridge, and will definitely be choosing history and latin.
my only question is should i choose italian? and study outside of school? it's my mother tongue so i am wondering if it might weaken my application, but i think that history + modern lang. + ancient lang. would be suitable for an hml course, and i haven't entirely dismissed that option.
alternatively, i think my teacher would be willing to teach me ancient greek. i am predicted good results in the gcse, but it would be a huge step up, as so far i've relied mostly on memorisation of vocab.
could anyone currently doing these a levels, or looking to apply for these courses, help me out? 😭 as it stands, i either do history, latin, italian; history, latin, ancient greek; or go crazy and do history, latin, ancient greek, and italian.
i would also be doing epq 😞

I don't think anyone should tell you exactly what to do; I think it's best if you come to a decision that you think feels right. I would say that you shouldn't make your life harder than it needs to be to reach your goal. You don't need four A Levels for Oxbridge. Nor do you need Greek as well as Latin.

From what you say, it sounds like your ancient Greek isn't very strong. You say you rely on memorising vocabulary, so I guess your grasp of grammar isn't excellent. That sounds like Greek A Level would be a very big challenge. Not something that would make your life easier. In which case another option is probably best. You can always learn Greek when you get into Oxbridge.

Reply 5

oatmealworm

Original post by Mu-tron

I don't think anyone should tell you exactly what to do; I think it's best if you come to a decision that you think feels right. I would say that you shouldn't make your life harder than it needs to be to reach your goal. You don't need four A Levels for Oxbridge. Nor do you need Greek as well as Latin.
From what you say, it sounds like your ancient Greek isn't very strong. You say you rely on memorising vocabulary, so I guess your grasp of grammar isn't excellent. That sounds like Greek A Level would be a very big challenge. Not something that would make your life easier. In which case another option is probably best. You can always learn Greek when you get into Oxbridge.

thank you for responding! i do have a harder time learning greek grammar than vocab, so i will definitely keep that in mind.

Reply 6

oatmealworm

Original post by jasmineva3128

I think doing history, latin, and ancient greek would be best if you want to do an epq as it's more relevant.
However, if you also want to take italian (which might be a good idea since it's your first language and therefore you'll manage to achieve a good grade, which you'll need for oxbridge) then I'd skip the epq.
Honestly, I think the 4 a-levels without the epq is the best choice, and you can always drop a subject if you're struggling with the work load.
Hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to ask me! 😊

thank you so much, this has rlly helped me! could i ask why you think 4 a-levels and no epq is the best choice? i've heard a lot of ppl go on and on about how useful the epq is for the interview, although sometimes they don't ask about it at all, going off the students in the yr above me.

Reply 7

oatmealworm

Original post by DBagg07

yess, the workload does sound rlly tough!! this is very helpful, thank you :smile:

Reply 8

jasmineva3128

Original post by oatmealworm

I think to do 4 a-levels and an epq would be a lot of work. It would effectively be five a-levels, when taking 4 is already more than you need.

I think all four of those a-level subjects would be amazing for what you want to study, even Italian as a modern-day link to the Roman Empire and Latin (plus, you'd also get a good grade in it).

Whereas if you take three a-levels and an epq, as you said they may not even ask about the epq at all.

I think it's better to take four useful and relevant a-levels (that will also help you with getting a job in the future) than just three a-levels with an epq that unis may not even care about. Unis will typically care more about four subjects (all relevant to your prefered degree) than three and an epq.

I also think that an epq is very writing based and time consuming, and you already have history that will be like that and so will show that you have these skills.