Thoughts on A-Level options?

I'm a GCSE student who is somewhat sure on what I'll be taking forward on after GCSEs at sixth form/college, but I wanted to know your thoughts on each of the subjects or how they combine (anything really!). I'll be taking:

- Maths
- Further Maths
Two of : [Biology], [Economics], [Psychology or Sociology]
I'm leaning towards Biology and one more but I wanted to see what everyone thinks about any of these subjects if they take it. I'm interested in going into biological research or just maths-y social stuff (think finance, accounting, economics, PPE?) so let me know your thoughts :smile:

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Reply 1

isaac123444566

Original post

by grah-

I'm a GCSE student who is somewhat sure on what I'll be taking forward on after GCSEs at sixth form/college, but I wanted to know your thoughts on each of the subjects or how they combine (anything really!). I'll be taking:
- Maths
- Further Maths
Two of : [Biology], [Economics], [Psychology or Sociology]
I'm leaning towards Biology and one more but I wanted to see what everyone thinks about any of these subjects if they take it. I'm interested in going into biological research or just maths-y social stuff (think finance, accounting, economics, PPE?) so let me know your thoughts :smile:

)

For economics and PPE an essay based subject would be very useful (economics is definitely stronger than psychology or sociology IMO. I mean for biological research surely you need a science? In which case take biology. If you only need one science for biological research and want to keep other options open surely maths FM econ bio?

Reply 2

grah-

Original post

by isaac123444566

This is honestly the combination in my head right now, the only thing I'm really going back and forth on I guess is Economics and Psych/Socio. I currently do Psychology at GCSE and I love it a lot. I know and have helped a few people who do A level Psych revise... I recognise a lot of the content, and the rest is simply stuff that interests me. So, I'm confused on what to pick because econ makes my profile a lot more varied but I am sure I will enjoy psych, even if maths fm bio psych feels more limiting.

In the grand scheme of uni applications, how much do you think it matters? I know lots of econ or similar uni courses don't require economics..

I'm also considering what is more difficult because I'm aiming for A*/A on them all, and I can't really tell what skills are needed beyond generic stuff. I am currently aiming for 9 in psych, which for aqa is essentially just regurgitating information out, and I also am at a 9 for eng lit + business. I know a fair bit of background on both subjects so from another perspective I just want to take the one I would do the best on.

Reply 3

isaac123444566

Original post

by grah-

This is honestly the combination in my head right now, the only thing I'm really going back and forth on I guess is Economics and Psych/Socio. I currently do Psychology at GCSE and I love it a lot. I know and have helped a few people who do A level Psych revise... I recognise a lot of the content, and the rest is simply stuff that interests me. So, I'm confused on what to pick because econ makes my profile a lot more varied but I am sure I will enjoy psych, even if maths fm bio psych feels more limiting.
In the grand scheme of uni applications, how much do you think it matters? I know lots of econ or similar uni courses don't require economics..
I'm also considering what is more difficult because I'm aiming for A*/A on them all, and I can't really tell what skills are needed beyond generic stuff. I am currently aiming for 9 in psych, which for aqa is essentially just regurgitating information out, and I also am at a 9 for eng lit + business. I know a fair bit of background on both subjects so from another perspective I just want to take the one I would do the best on.

Well for PPE and econ you want an essay-based subject, I can't tell you how much it matters - best thing is to speak to the unis.

Reply 4

LancashireRep4

Official Rep

Original post

by grah-

I'm a GCSE student who is somewhat sure on what I'll be taking forward on after GCSEs at sixth form/college, but I wanted to know your thoughts on each of the subjects or how they combine (anything really!). I'll be taking:
- Maths
- Further Maths
Two of : [Biology], [Economics], [Psychology or Sociology]
I'm leaning towards Biology and one more but I wanted to see what everyone thinks about any of these subjects if they take it. I'm interested in going into biological research or just maths-y social stuff (think finance, accounting, economics, PPE?) so let me know your thoughts :smile:

)

Hi @grah- ,

I'd love to give my thoughts on this! 😊

Choosing the right courses can be a difficult decision, but there are many ways you can decide. Firstly, it depends which course you are interested in. I recommend heading onto a few university sites and looking at the available courses. If you click on the course and explore the page, you should be able to find the requirements, this way you can see if there are certain desired A-level courses.

My next recommendation is researching which courses would be most beneficial for your career path.

Another important step is looking at the assessment type of the courses and the modules within, which fits your desires more? If your school has a careers advisor, it may be worth a visit to get another outside opinion.

I hope this helps, please feel free to ask me any questions,
-Sophia (University of Central Lancashire)

Reply 5

Kingston Jenifer

Official Rep

Original post

by grah-

I'm a GCSE student who is somewhat sure on what I'll be taking forward on after GCSEs at sixth form/college, but I wanted to know your thoughts on each of the subjects or how they combine (anything really!). I'll be taking:
- Maths
- Further Maths
Two of : [Biology], [Economics], [Psychology or Sociology]
I'm leaning towards Biology and one more but I wanted to see what everyone thinks about any of these subjects if they take it. I'm interested in going into biological research or just maths-y social stuff (think finance, accounting, economics, PPE?) so let me know your thoughts :smile:

)

Hi there!

So I have a degree in Medical Biology, in order to cover yourself for any biological or biomedical (life sciences) degrees then I’d suggest taking biology. Maths counts as a science A level and most unis require 2 science a levels at least!

You do not necessarily need your A-Levels, may I ask why you want to take 4?

Kind regards, Jenifer (Kingston rep)

Reply 6

grah-

Original post

by Kingston Jenifer

Hi there!
So I have a degree in Medical Biology, in order to cover yourself for any biological or biomedical (life sciences) degrees then I’d suggest taking biology. Maths counts as a science A level and most unis require 2 science a levels at least!
You do not necessarily need your A-Levels, may I ask why you want to take 4?
Kind regards, Jenifer (Kingston rep)

Hiya, thanks for the reply :smile:

I am fairly sure on picking Biology as I did hear of Maths counting as a science for some unis.

The reason why I'm going for 4 A Levels is because I'm not 100% on Biology yet, and I am interested on the mathsy social side of things such as economics and finance. Because of that, I've found lots of places to like further maths since the top unis do want that. At the college I'm planning on going to, further maths must be a 4th subject rather than one of your main 3.

I hope that made sense, let me know on your thoughts when you can :]

(Also if you picked Chemistry, how is it? I'm intrigued by all the critical opinions from other students...)

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Reply 7

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by grah-

)

If you're considering a bioscience degree, you probably should strongly consider chemistry. It will add a lot of options, and chemistry underpins basically all modern molecular biology and biochemistry which is pretty fundamental to most other areas of bisocience (genetics, physiology, developmental biology, etc).

Reply 8

Kingston Jenifer

Official Rep

Original post

by grah-

Hiya, thanks for the reply :smile:

I am fairly sure on picking Biology as I did hear of Maths counting as a science for some unis.
The reason why I'm going for 4 A Levels is because I'm not 100% on Biology yet, and I am interested on the mathsy social side of things such as economics and finance. Because of that, I've found lots of places to like further maths since the top unis do want that. At the college I'm planning on going to, further maths must be a 4th subject rather than one of your main 3.
I hope that made sense, let me know on your thoughts when you can :]
(Also if you picked Chemistry, how is it? I'm intrigued by all the critical opinions from other students...)
Enjoy the rest of your day!

Good morning,

That makes sense! I think you are making a very informed decision here and covering all your bases, which is lovely.

I found A-Level chemistry challenging as my teachers were not the best, and I learned more through revision than I did during teaching. The maths side wasn’t my strong point as was problem solving, so I made sure I nailed theory. I found mind maps useful with organic chemistry and when I did my A-Levels (2018-2020) there wasn’t any organic chemistry mind maps on the internet that showed the correct conversions, now there is loads! They are key to understanding the organic chemistry part of the course.

I’d also say that university taught me more chemistry in a more digestible way than my A-Levels ever did. I was a straight A student on the chemistry module as opposed to D/C in my chemistry A-Level.

If you are wondering, an A-Level in chemistry will compliment your (potential) life sciences degree and not doing it will certainly NOT put you at any disadvantage. I have a friend who still graduated with a first class in medical biology, and she did maths, biology and physics!

Hope this helps, and good luck with your career! Let me know if you have any more questions.

Kind regards, Jenifer (Kingston rep)

Reply 9

User130129

Original post

by grah-

I'm a GCSE student who is somewhat sure on what I'll be taking forward on after GCSEs at sixth form/college, but I wanted to know your thoughts on each of the subjects or how they combine (anything really!). I'll be taking:
- Maths
- Further Maths
Two of : [Biology], [Economics], [Psychology or Sociology]
I'm leaning towards Biology and one more but I wanted to see what everyone thinks about any of these subjects if they take it. I'm interested in going into biological research or just maths-y social stuff (think finance, accounting, economics, PPE?) so let me know your thoughts :smile:

)

Honestly since you enjoy psychology you should deffo pick it. I done it at a levels and it’s so so so interesting, and it combines a lot of science knowledge with it as well that will be useful. And then maybe maths and bio? Or economics if you’re going for the more mathsy social side since economics kinda combines maths with it too. I say pick your choices wisely because a levels are very different to gcses like I was getting straight As and A*s in sciences for gcses then at a levels I was struggling to even touch a C😂 I feel like the struggles associated with bio is not worth it unless you wanna do something related to bio such as medicine/ dentistry. Also the mark scheme for bio is very picky so even if u said something that’s right u will not get the marks for it and I think that’s the difficult thing about it. And the amount of application and maths questions too. The content is fine but the exams are hard so have a think about it