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A level options

Hi
My school has set a deadline for submitting a level options for the 1st of jan

but i lowk have no clue what to take 💔

i want to pursue medicine or neuroscience and im predicted all 9s so i want to do 4 but idk which 4 😭

i love bio and chem so im certain on those, psych seems super interesting so i want to do that too, but im also considering socio and maths as a fourth

PROS AND CONS OF EACH

socio:
pros:
- im already working at a 9
- one of my strongest subjects
- could be good for personal statement?
- great teacher
- interesting
- love it so much
- my teacher said my work is already at a level standard and said it would be 'a breeze for me'
cons:
- other teachers in my school say its not a serious a level and that i shouldnt do it
- might be confusing to do both that and psych
- might be too much content if i do that and psych

maths
pros:
- i enjoy it
- im getting sm better now!
- my teacher said they have 'full belief id get an A* if i continue how i am rn'
cons:
- might be difficult idk
- id like to have an easier subject as a break from the really stem related subjects of bio and chem, but maths feels more like skills application than a content heavy subject idk

im so undecided for my fourth

Reply 1

As a year 13, I would never recommend doing more than what I do (3 A-levels and an EPQ) unless it is essential. As a Sociology student myself, I doubt it is essential for you to complete it as a 4th A-level. I would recommend Maths especially as I think it would be more beneficial for your future plans. Again, I would research the uni courses you would wish to pursue as I would assume that you still only need 3 A-levels. Until you start A-levels, you don’t know the actual pressure that doing the minimal 3 A-levels is. The only people I know of who have picked 4 A-levels do Further Maths as their 4th but I think that is the only exception to this

Reply 2

You don't need 4 A levels for Medicine. It does not give you any advantage as Unis will just ignore the 4th subject. The extra time/stress involved will impact your other subjects. Pick three and go for top grades - AAA will always look better than ABBB.

You enjoy Sociology. Its a useful subject for 'understanding people' and general knowledge about how/why society works the way it does. Sound like a very sensible choice to me.
Original post
by unlitredecitrons
Hi
My school has set a deadline for submitting a level options for the 1st of jan

but i lowk have no clue what to take 💔

i want to pursue medicine or neuroscience and im predicted all 9s so i want to do 4 but idk which 4 😭

i love bio and chem so im certain on those, psych seems super interesting so i want to do that too, but im also considering socio and maths as a fourth

PROS AND CONS OF EACH

socio:
pros:
- im already working at a 9
- one of my strongest subjects
- could be good for personal statement?
- great teacher
- interesting
- love it so much
- my teacher said my work is already at a level standard and said it would be 'a breeze for me'
cons:
- other teachers in my school say its not a serious a level and that i shouldnt do it
- might be confusing to do both that and psych
- might be too much content if i do that and psych

maths
pros:
- i enjoy it
- im getting sm better now!
- my teacher said they have 'full belief id get an A* if i continue how i am rn'
cons:
- might be difficult idk
- id like to have an easier subject as a break from the really stem related subjects of bio and chem, but maths feels more like skills application than a content heavy subject idk

im so undecided for my fourth

As above, don't take four. Doing bio and chem will open up the most options for medicine and your third can be in any subject. So pick the one that you will enjoy the most and will therefore be more likely to get the highest grade.

Reply 4

Literally no reason to do 4 a levels for med/neuroscience 3 is hard enough. Unless you start with 4 cause you’re indecisive then drop one. Honestly pick whatever you like uni only care for bio chem, the 3rd literally does not matter. And doing good at gcse doesn’t mean you will do good at alevel so don’t pick based off how good you are (especially you’re working at all 9s). I say don’t fall into the bio chem maths cult, cause so many people who hated maths picked it and are flopping when they could’ve done a subject they actually enjoyed instead, you don’t need maths but if you like it pick it. Don’t do 4.
Original post
by unlitredecitrons
Hi
My school has set a deadline for submitting a level options for the 1st of jan
but i lowk have no clue what to take 💔
i want to pursue medicine or neuroscience and im predicted all 9s so i want to do 4 but idk which 4 😭
i love bio and chem so im certain on those, psych seems super interesting so i want to do that too, but im also considering socio and maths as a fourth
PROS AND CONS OF EACH
socio:
pros:
- im already working at a 9
- one of my strongest subjects
- could be good for personal statement?
- great teacher
- interesting
- love it so much
- my teacher said my work is already at a level standard and said it would be 'a breeze for me'
cons:
- other teachers in my school say its not a serious a level and that i shouldnt do it
- might be confusing to do both that and psych
- might be too much content if i do that and psych
maths
pros:
- i enjoy it
- im getting sm better now!
- my teacher said they have 'full belief id get an A* if i continue how i am rn'
cons:
- might be difficult idk
- id like to have an easier subject as a break from the really stem related subjects of bio and chem, but maths feels more like skills application than a content heavy subject idk
im so undecided for my fourth

Between maths and sociology, maths will probably be more beneficial for anything related to medicine or neuroscience.

Reply 6

Original post
by Emma:-)
Between maths and sociology, maths will probably be more beneficial for anything related to medicine or neuroscience.


Thank you!

Reply 7

Original post
by unlitredecitrons
Hi
My school has set a deadline for submitting a level options for the 1st of jan
but i lowk have no clue what to take 💔
i want to pursue medicine or neuroscience and im predicted all 9s so i want to do 4 but idk which 4 😭
i love bio and chem so im certain on those, psych seems super interesting so i want to do that too, but im also considering socio and maths as a fourth
PROS AND CONS OF EACH
socio:
pros:
- im already working at a 9
- one of my strongest subjects
- could be good for personal statement?
- great teacher
- interesting
- love it so much
- my teacher said my work is already at a level standard and said it would be 'a breeze for me'
cons:
- other teachers in my school say its not a serious a level and that i shouldnt do it
- might be confusing to do both that and psych
- might be too much content if i do that and psych
maths
pros:
- i enjoy it
- im getting sm better now!
- my teacher said they have 'full belief id get an A* if i continue how i am rn'
cons:
- might be difficult idk
- id like to have an easier subject as a break from the really stem related subjects of bio and chem, but maths feels more like skills application than a content heavy subject idk
im so undecided for my fourth
there is no reason to do four unless it’s further maths and epq or core maths
i do psychology and would say it’s quite straightforward, there isn’t much difficult content but there is loads of it!!!
if you are insistent on doing four soc and psych are completely different a levels and subjects there’s no way you could confuse the content
if you are worried about too much content by doing sociology then why do you want to do four in the first place?
overall i would say just do the three
also a levels are going to be a massive jump from gcse there’s no guarantee you will get an a* even if you preformed well in gcse
gcses are so so much easier :smile:
good luck w your future!!!

Reply 8

Original post
by Izabellaf
there is no reason to do four unless it’s further maths and epq or core maths
i do psychology and would say it’s quite straightforward, there isn’t much difficult content but there is loads of it!!!
if you are insistent on doing four soc and psych are completely different a levels and subjects there’s no way you could confuse the content
if you are worried about too much content by doing sociology then why do you want to do four in the first place?
overall i would say just do the three
also a levels are going to be a massive jump from gcse there’s no guarantee you will get an a* even if you preformed well in gcse
gcses are so so much easier :smile:
good luck w your future!!!


my head of year told me to take 4 and drop one if it gets too much

Reply 9

Original post
by unlitredecitrons
my head of year told me to take 4 and drop one if it gets too much

You dont need to do 4 unless you are struggling to choose 3 from 4 options which isnt the case for you

Reply 10

Original post
by DerDracologe
You dont need to do 4 unless you are struggling to choose 3 from 4 options which isnt the case for you


my teachers are telling us to do 4 and drop 1 just incase, also my school's psych department is really unstable and underfunded (like its taught by an english teacher who apparently just reads off of the slides) so i want to do 4 just incase psych is too bad

Reply 11

Original post
by unlitredecitrons
my teachers are telling us to do 4 and drop 1 just incase, also my school's psych department is really unstable and underfunded (like its taught by an english teacher who apparently just reads off of the slides) so i want to do 4 just incase psych is too bad

This is additional information which justifies your concern, thank you for providing it. Choose the subject you think you will enjoy more and dont worry too much about psychology being similar to sociology because as you said you will drop one and the cross over is helpful. I do both bio and maths so happy to answer questions on those if helpful 🙂 I can also tag someone who does psych or sociology if needed!

Reply 12

Original post
by unlitredecitrons
my teachers are telling us to do 4 and drop 1 just incase, also my school's psych department is really unstable and underfunded (like its taught by an english teacher who apparently just reads off of the slides) so i want to do 4 just incase psych is too bad


I agree with this, take 4 and drop 1. If you’re aiming for Oxbridge I’d say take maths as a 4th, otherwise it really doesn’t matter so just pick whichever you enjoy more (have a look at a past paper for both!)
one of my friends is doing bio chem music maths and she’s finding it alright :smile:

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