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Want to drop an a level (4 to 3)

Hi,
I have just started year 12 and I am 2 weeks into my courses, I have chosen History, Politics, Economics and Psychology.
I did psychology, history and business at gcse for my options. In history I got a low 7.
I want to drop a subject but am trying to decide between history or economics. As I enjoy history but not the exams so much and my confidence has been knocked a bit since gcse. (I haven't done any a level tests yet so i don't actually know how I will do on them). And I didn't do economics at gcse and I am really struggling to get my head around the content. I dread economics lessons and when I come out I feel like I don't know anything and it is quite disheartening. I have SO much pre-reading for history and politics that i feel like my time would be better spent if I could drop econ. But a lot of people are telling me to keep going at least until half term. I just don't know how much longer I can do 4 for.
Can someone give me some advice please?

For reference: I am wanting to do law at uni. :smile:

Reply 1

Original post
by lily4015
Hi,
I have just started year 12 and I am 2 weeks into my courses, I have chosen History, Politics, Economics and Psychology.
I did psychology, history and business at gcse for my options. In history I got a low 7.
I want to drop a subject but am trying to decide between history or economics. As I enjoy history but not the exams so much and my confidence has been knocked a bit since gcse. (I haven't done any a level tests yet so i don't actually know how I will do on them). And I didn't do economics at gcse and I am really struggling to get my head around the content. I dread economics lessons and when I come out I feel like I don't know anything and it is quite disheartening. I have SO much pre-reading for history and politics that i feel like my time would be better spent if I could drop econ. But a lot of people are telling me to keep going at least until half term. I just don't know how much longer I can do 4 for.
Can someone give me some advice please?
This is difficult and I’d say although you feel overwhelmed don’t instantly drop a subject maybe give it a few weeks and you can see. It really depends on what you want to do for higher education and if these have specific subject requirements. Personally, I would drop econ as it will probably only get harder whereas history is content and key skills that you are already aware of. A 7 is still a good grade and I hope you get your confidence back soon but please don’t make any rash decisions.

Reply 2

Original post
by lily4015
Hi,
I have just started year 12 and I am 2 weeks into my courses, I have chosen History, Politics, Economics and Psychology.
I did psychology, history and business at gcse for my options. In history I got a low 7.
I want to drop a subject but am trying to decide between history or economics. As I enjoy history but not the exams so much and my confidence has been knocked a bit since gcse. (I haven't done any a level tests yet so i don't actually know how I will do on them). And I didn't do economics at gcse and I am really struggling to get my head around the content. I dread economics lessons and when I come out I feel like I don't know anything and it is quite disheartening. I have SO much pre-reading for history and politics that i feel like my time would be better spent if I could drop econ. But a lot of people are telling me to keep going at least until half term. I just don't know how much longer I can do 4 for.
Can someone give me some advice please?
For reference: I am wanting to do law at uni. :smile:


I’d drop econ :smile: it’d probably be less useful for uni applications, and keeping up 4 ‘essay’ based subjects will be a lot of work and probably not necessary!

Reply 3

Hi there,

I can't personally speak for law as Bath do not offer it, however if you want to do law then there are many other unis you'd be able to get into with any A-Level subject combo and so Hist, Politics and Psych (if you wanted to drop Econ) would be absolutely fine. Perhaps have a think about which unis do a law course you might want to apply for and have a look at their entry requirements.

For example: Durham, Bristol and Glasgow are all high-performing unis for law which do not list specific subjects requirements at GCSE or A-Level, you'd just need to do the LNAT. There will be dozens of other unis so be sure to have a look into the different options out there and which will suit you best.

Unis generally will only ever ask for 3 A-Level subjects and so if you wanted to drop one then this would be okay as it would give you the chance to focus more finely on your other three. Plus, if you do not enjoy a subject then I would not recommend carrying on with it for 2 years. This is however completely your call and depends on what you think would put you in the best position for year 13 exams.

I hope this helps a bit, best of luck! 🙂
(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 4

Original post
by University of Bath
Hi there,
I can't personally speak for law as Bath do not offer it, however if you want to do law then there are many other unis you'd be able to get into with any A-Level subject combo and so Hist, Politics and Psych (if you wanted to drop Econ) would be absolutely fine. Perhaps have a think about which unis do a law course you might want to apply for and have a look at their entry requirements.
For example: Durham, Bristol and Glasgow are all high-performing unis for law which do not list specific subjects requirements at GCSE or A-Level, you'd just need to do the LNAT. There will be dozens of other unis so be sure to have a look into the different options out there and which will suit you best.
Unis generally will only ever ask for 3 A-Level subjects and so if you wanted to drop one then this would be okay as it would give you the chance to focus more finely on your other three. Plus, if you do not enjoy a subject then I would not recommend carrying on with it for 2 years. This is however completely your call and depends on what you think would put you in the best position for year 13 exams.
I hope this helps a bit, best of luck! 🙂
Thank you!

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