Unsure on uni courses

5

Hi, the a levels I’ve chosen are bio, chem, English lit and pyscology. I have the inetiok of dropping pyscology I think I just wanted to be sure about not taking it and my sixth form have allowed me. However, I’m very unsure about a uni course that would be good for me. English lit has always been my favourite and strongest subject and I would say I’m very strong in humanities in general, but I don’t really have a passion for any other humanity subject except English lit, although I’m strong at them, which is why I’ve only took one humanity subject. I’m also strong at STEM and bio and chem have always been my favourite sciences and I know they are great to take together. For uni courses I’ve been thinking about maybe English but I’m not sure if the career prospects (things like journalism etc et) intruige me, as I feel as though it differs from what I enjoy learning about in the subject. I also like the idea of biochemistry or biomedical sciences but I know for many of these courses, especially at top unis like Oxbridge which I’d love to aim for, may require maths or a 3rd stem a level. Same goes with doing English at uni, as I think a more competitive applicant would have more humanities subjects.
I suppose my a levels are still competitive I’m just very stuck on courses, could anyone maybe recommend courses I could look into or give advice on how to decide?

Reply 1

YSJ_Alex

Official Rep

12

Original post

by Emilia Brown

Hi, the a levels I’ve chosen are bio, chem, English lit and pyscology. I have the inetiok of dropping pyscology I think I just wanted to be sure about not taking it and my sixth form have allowed me. However, I’m very unsure about a uni course that would be good for me. English lit has always been my favourite and strongest subject and I would say I’m very strong in humanities in general, but I don’t really have a passion for any other humanity subject except English lit, although I’m strong at them, which is why I’ve only took one humanity subject. I’m also strong at STEM and bio and chem have always been my favourite sciences and I know they are great to take together. For uni courses I’ve been thinking about maybe English but I’m not sure if the career prospects (things like journalism etc et) intruige me, as I feel as though it differs from what I enjoy learning about in the subject. I also like the idea of biochemistry or biomedical sciences but I know for many of these courses, especially at top unis like Oxbridge which I’d love to aim for, may require maths or a 3rd stem a level. Same goes with doing English at uni, as I think a more competitive applicant would have more humanities subjects.
I suppose my a levels are still competitive I’m just very stuck on courses, could anyone maybe recommend courses I could look into or give advice on how to decide?

Hello!

It can be frustrating trying to find a course - I swapped between doing a creative subject, a humanities subject and a science subject right up until the last second! Like you mentioned some universities might be picky about what A-Level subjects they want for different courses.

It might be worth writing down some courses you'd be happy to do regardless of entry requirements - your enjoyment in the subject is so important to achieving good grades, as if you are even mildly bored or frustrated with your subject it can severely impact your motivation. These don't have to be specifically based on your A-Levels as some unis might be more flexible than you think - for example, some Russel group unis don't even require you to take Law A-Level for their law degree!

Then it might be worth writing down what you want out of a university - do you want to go to a huge university or a small one (like us!)? Do you want a campus university (where all the buildings are in one location) or a city university (where they're spread out and integrated through the city)? Do you want to move far from home? Do you want to live in a big city or more in the countryside? These contextual factors are also super important - at the end of the day, you'll be living there for at least 3 years! Visiting these unis is also super important as the feel in real life can be completely different to what you see online, and this helped me rule out some universities almost straight away.

Once you've shortlisted some courses and universities, you could cross-reference to see which of your favourite courses at your favourite universities you qualify for. For example, you could qualify for Biomed at university A but not university B, whereas at university B you might be a stellar candidate for English Lit. Maybe university C's English Lit content is the complete opposite of what you're interested in, whereas university D has everything about English Lit that you love. I know it sounds quite complicated but it definitely helped me to put it into lists!

It's also worth considering whether you can work well under pressure at these different subjects - I realised that I don't respond well to demands or time pressures with my art, so I ruled out creative subjects and looked solely at academic ones.

At the end of the day, I wouldn't worry so much about career prospects. Controversial opinion, I know! But I went into Psychology BSc thinking my only options would be being a Counsellor, Clinical Psychologist or a teacher, but now I'm here there's so many possibilities I don't know what to choose! If you really want to know what you can do, it might be worth looking online a bit about what people have done with their degrees - I found TikTok to be a useful resource here as you can find some "day in the life" videos of people's jobs after graduation.

Good luck with everything

Reply 2

McGinger

20

If you are only just starting Year 12, you have lots of time before you need to start thinking about degree choices and careers. A level combinations of Bio, Chem, Eng or Bio, Chem, Psych would leave thousands of courses and eventual jobs open to you.

Good careers website with 100s of different career/job profiles - Job profiles | Prospects.ac.uk
NHS roles - Explore roles | Health Careers

Reply 3

Kingston Jenifer

Official Rep

11

Original post

by Emilia Brown

Hi, the a levels I’ve chosen are bio, chem, English lit and pyscology. I have the inetiok of dropping pyscology I think I just wanted to be sure about not taking it and my sixth form have allowed me. However, I’m very unsure about a uni course that would be good for me. English lit has always been my favourite and strongest subject and I would say I’m very strong in humanities in general, but I don’t really have a passion for any other humanity subject except English lit, although I’m strong at them, which is why I’ve only took one humanity subject. I’m also strong at STEM and bio and chem have always been my favourite sciences and I know they are great to take together. For uni courses I’ve been thinking about maybe English but I’m not sure if the career prospects (things like journalism etc et) intruige me, as I feel as though it differs from what I enjoy learning about in the subject. I also like the idea of biochemistry or biomedical sciences but I know for many of these courses, especially at top unis like Oxbridge which I’d love to aim for, may require maths or a 3rd stem a level. Same goes with doing English at uni, as I think a more competitive applicant would have more humanities subjects.
I suppose my a levels are still competitive I’m just very stuck on courses, could anyone maybe recommend courses I could look into or give advice on how to decide?

Hi there,

So my A-Levels were English lit, Biology and Chemistry. I picked English lit over Maths because I disliked Maths.

Regarding career prospects, what sticks out to me is you enjoy essay writing, and also have a strong inclination to STEM subjects. I recommend you look into careers because one path that combines these is medical writing. You also seem to have a passion for English lit, but are worried about the career prospects post-graduation. Have you considered doing a STEM degree and perhaps joining an English Lit society at uni, or reading literature while you do your STEM degree?

Kind regards, Jenifer (Kingston rep)

Reply 4

YourLocalNerd

8

Hi! I'm in a similar position, trying to narrow down my options for university courses. In my opinion, your enjoyment of the course is the most important thing. If the only thing that is making you second guess English Lit is the jobs, then I would say do a bit of research but don't overthink it. You probably won't join the full-time work force until after you graduate (so you have a lot of time to figure out what you want or what areas you like), and English provides a lot of transferable skills, meaning that you won't be tied into a specific career. Some people will disagree with me (and you might as well), but that's how I like to see it. There is point in wasting three/four years and thousands of pounds for a degree you only sort of want.

I would also say, it is sort of obvious and unhelpful, but do some wider research into unis. Some won't require maths if you want to do BioChem, and most English courses won't have subject requirements (other than potentially English, which clearly isn't an issue lol). If you do really want to do BioChem at a uni that requires maths, you could always talk to your college/sixth form about staying on a year to do it, or potentially taking a foundation course to make up. There will be a way for you to do whichever course you want to. You also have a lot of time to make up your mind, and you could always apply to two unis for English and three for BioChem, for example. Hope you find something that you love!

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