a-level options advice!!

4

Hi, i'm 16 and almost half way through year 11. ive started thinking about a-level options, but I still don't really have any idea of what I want to do as a carer. I was thinking to take history (predicted a 9 for gcse), rpe (predicted a 9) and im not sure for my third option but I was thinking politics looks interesting. im aware that all these subjects are heavily essay based and somewhat similar so keeps my options quite narrow, but they really interest me. If I was to do a stem subject I would choose chemistry (predicted a 8), but im doing foundation maths so I worry that I may struggle with the maths content for a level chemistry. any advice would be much appreciated!!

Reply 1

DerDracologe

Study Forum Helper

20

@Trickia @cal.08 @Daisy._.7777 @flowersinmyhair

Reply 2

chillin'

11

What sort of career do u want, a tough question to answer especially in year 11!

Reply 3

flowersinmyhair

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

20

Original post

by sunburn786

Hi, i'm 16 and almost half way through year 11. ive started thinking about a-level options, but I still don't really have any idea of what I want to do as a carer. I was thinking to take history (predicted a 9 for gcse), rpe (predicted a 9) and im not sure for my third option but I was thinking politics looks interesting. im aware that all these subjects are heavily essay based and somewhat similar so keeps my options quite narrow, but they really interest me. If I was to do a stem subject I would choose chemistry (predicted a 8), but im doing foundation maths so I worry that I may struggle with the maths content for a level chemistry. any advice would be much appreciated!!

Hi there, it is normal to not know what you want to do in the future. By the sounds of it you like more essay based and humanities subjects, and there are plenty of options of what you can do with them. You have more options than you think you do. I did A-level RS and I really enjoyed it, although I have gone down a more STEM route (applying for paramedic science on a gap year, studied biology for a year at uni last year). Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 4

cal.08

12

Original post

by sunburn786

Hi, i'm 16 and almost half way through year 11. ive started thinking about a-level options, but I still don't really have any idea of what I want to do as a carer. I was thinking to take history (predicted a 9 for gcse), rpe (predicted a 9) and im not sure for my third option but I was thinking politics looks interesting. im aware that all these subjects are heavily essay based and somewhat similar so keeps my options quite narrow, but they really interest me. If I was to do a stem subject I would choose chemistry (predicted a 8), but im doing foundation maths so I worry that I may struggle with the maths content for a level chemistry. any advice would be much appreciated!!

Hello! I’m currently in Y13, doing RS/RPE (OCR), History (AQA) and Politics (Edexcel) (and AQA German but that’s not relevant here). I’ll give summaries of what I like and dislike about them-though as you rightly say, they’re all essay based, but if you’re good with timing that’ll be useful (if not, there’s two years to perfect the timing), and essays are quite different (but manageable) to GCSE evaluation. The essay skills (especially writing quickly but properly) are also transferable across all three subjects, and structure is generally the same :biggrin:

You also get a limited choice of which questions to answer in each of these exams :smile:

History:
It’s well, great to learn - I study the American Dream (1945-1980) and Tudor England (1485-1603), though I prefer the America course.
What I don’t like is the coursework - it’s worth 20% of the grade as well. There’s lots of time to prepare and perfect your coursework though - I just don’t like it because it’s independent work that you have to research. But it is good practice for university!

Politics:
I find it better than history, as it’s modern history and very very applicable - it’s a good way to formulate your views too. I study UK Government & Politics, US Government (and a bit on US Politics), and ideologies - which we haven’t reached yet. My favourite’s the US topics so far.
The main issue with it for me is that some of it can be boring (eg learning about the civil service), though there’s not that much I disliked. Having contemporary examples throughout essays is hard to master too, but there’ll be plenty time to perfect it.

Religious Studies:
Depending on the content, it’s either my least or most favourite A-Level - most of the Y12 content is great, but some of Y13 gets a bit slow. As a whole though, it’s very interesting, even the slow bits of Y13.
The worst bit has to be the timing in the exams - it’s 40 minutes per question, and you have to do three (out of a choice of four).

For all of them, there’s a lot of content to revise - but that’s the same with most A Levels. Though for RS, I highly recommend https://alevelphilosophyandreligion.com and for history and politics, I highly commend Alan History Nerd - YouTube

I’m afraid I don’t have any advice for STEM subjects - they’re not my cup of tea at all.

Good luck with your GCSEs and choosing your A-Levels :biggrin:

Reply 5

chillin'

11

Oops my bad, u said u have no idea what u wanna do in the future yet completely understandable at ur age. Yh it seems u favour humanities over STEM. U might consider doing 4 a levels maybe three humanities and 1 STEM one, like chem, most sixth forms let u drop a subject early in yr12. That way just in case u get interested in a particular field like medicine or something u can pursue and drop accordingly. Or even do all 4 if u are able to

Reply 6

Trickia

Study Forum Helper

21

Original post

by sunburn786

Hi, i'm 16 and almost half way through year 11. ive started thinking about a-level options, but I still don't really have any idea of what I want to do as a carer. I was thinking to take history (predicted a 9 for gcse), rpe (predicted a 9) and im not sure for my third option but I was thinking politics looks interesting. im aware that all these subjects are heavily essay based and somewhat similar so keeps my options quite narrow, but they really interest me. If I was to do a stem subject I would choose chemistry (predicted a 8), but im doing foundation maths so I worry that I may struggle with the maths content for a level chemistry. any advice would be much appreciated!!

Everyone has given great advice! What I would add if it isn't mentioned already is to apply for 4 subjects as you may change your mind from now till then. But you are giving yourself an option to drop/change a subject later if you find it isn't for you! Also check to see your schools policy for changing a levels as each places differs xx

Reply 7

sunburn786

OP

4

thanks so much guys!!

(edited 3 weeks ago)

a-level options advice!!

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