A-Level choices... help!

I am going into year 12 in September and for this specific school, you have to choose your A-Levels a lot earlier than most (sixth form applications opened in late November, closed at the start of January). I was one of those people who liked every subject in school, and whilst this made picking A-Levels easier as I had more choices, it also means I may get complacent with not taking risks. As such, I have chosen these A-Levels: Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Geography.

However, I have been questioning these A-Level choices whilst I still have the time to change them, and am wondering if maybe it's time to drop Geography in favour for something different? I have always loved geography - since year 8 - but as I said earlier, I like all my subjects, and Geography links them all together, which is why I have chosen to keep it. Despite this, further research about university courses has shown me that, for the specific courses I see myself doing, geography is not necessary (think environmental science, biochemistry, biology, etc). This just begs the question of if I need to do geography.

For GCSEs, I did the ebacc (1 MFL, 1 Humanities, 2 free choices) and chose Geography, History and Music. I don't exactly hate this looking back, but I definitely regret not using this time to leave my comfort zone and try something that I may have developed an interest in. So whilst I still have time, I wonder if I should branch out and see if something else could become my new passion? I'm thinking of doing Psychology A-Level, as it is an essay subject similar to Geography and I have had quite an interest in it recently. The only problem with this is that it may be too risky and I should just stick to Geography, as I still enjoy it.

What should I do?

Reply 1

Kingston Eve

Official Rep

Original post

by Sol423

I am going into year 12 in September and for this specific school, you have to choose your A-Levels a lot earlier than most (sixth form applications opened in late November, closed at the start of January). I was one of those people who liked every subject in school, and whilst this made picking A-Levels easier as I had more choices, it also means I may get complacent with not taking risks. As such, I have chosen these A-Levels: Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Geography.
However, I have been questioning these A-Level choices whilst I still have the time to change them, and am wondering if maybe it's time to drop Geography in favour for something different? I have always loved geography - since year 8 - but as I said earlier, I like all my subjects, and Geography links them all together, which is why I have chosen to keep it. Despite this, further research about university courses has shown me that, for the specific courses I see myself doing, geography is not necessary (think environmental science, biochemistry, biology, etc). This just begs the question of if I need to do geography.
For GCSEs, I did the ebacc (1 MFL, 1 Humanities, 2 free choices) and chose Geography, History and Music. I don't exactly hate this looking back, but I definitely regret not using this time to leave my comfort zone and try something that I may have developed an interest in. So whilst I still have time, I wonder if I should branch out and see if something else could become my new passion? I'm thinking of doing Psychology A-Level, as it is an essay subject similar to Geography and I have had quite an interest in it recently. The only problem with this is that it may be too risky and I should just stick to Geography, as I still enjoy it.
What should I do?

Hey @Sol423,

You mentioned you've researched a few university courses you could see yourself studying. As long as your other A-Level subjects (Maths, Chemistry and Biology) meet any necessary subject requirements for those courses, there's no harm in studying Geography as well.

Enjoying a subject is a big factor for most people in whether or not they ultimately achieve a good grade in it - after all, it makes sense that students would spend more time revising subjects they enjoy. Even if Geography isn't strictly necessary for your chosen university courses, achieving a good grade in it would still be beneficial to your overall application.

Of course, the same could be said for other subjects you enjoy. If you're eager to develop a new passion and think you could achieve an equally strong grade in Psychology, it might also be a good choice. The important thing here is to weigh up what subject you think you will enjoy the most and can achieve the highest grade in. 🙂

Hope this helps and best of luck with your A-Levels!
Eve (Kingston Rep).

(edited 9 months ago)