The Student Room Group

A-Levels

Is 4 A-Levels too much for someone who’s currently foing 10 GCSEs and predicted all As and A*s? I’ll definitely do Maths and Physics but for option 3 I’d do business or French then for 4 I’d do RE or Sociology. If I was picking three I’d do maths and physics then one of the listed 4. All under ccea I think? Anyways thoughts?
Original post
by student9301
Is 4 A-Levels too much for someone who’s currently foing 10 GCSEs and predicted all As and A*s? I’ll definitely do Maths and Physics but for option 3 I’d do business or French then for 4 I’d do RE or Sociology. If I was picking three I’d do maths and physics then one of the listed 4. All under ccea I think? Anyways thoughts?

4 A-Levels confers you no advantage for uni applications, other than risk bringing your grades down. You sound like a very capable person, but A-Levels are harder than GCSEs and so it's a bit of a gamble with your grades. Unless you want to take four because you love all four and you really really really want to learn about those subjects, then I wouldn't do it.

I took 4 A-Levels back in my day. It was a bit of a cheat, because one of them was my mother tongue, but even then, that meant 4 hours less a week to do work at school, plus an extra subject's homework and study (I still had to work for the language and commit to memory a fair bit about literature and cinema!), and while that translated in a not too shabby set of A-Levels, honestly, it has done absolutely nothing for me in my life post sixth-form, and I could have just saved myself a tiny bit of troubles and stress in sixth form.

Reply 2

Original post
by Scotland Yard
4 A-Levels confers you no advantage for uni applications, other than risk bringing your grades down. You sound like a very capable person, but A-Levels are harder than GCSEs and so it's a bit of a gamble with your grades. Unless you want to take four because you love all four and you really really really want to learn about those subjects, then I wouldn't do it.
I took 4 A-Levels back in my day. It was a bit of a cheat, because one of them was my mother tongue, but even then, that meant 4 hours less a week to do work at school, plus an extra subject's homework and study (I still had to work for the language and commit to memory a fair bit about literature and cinema!), and while that translated in a not too shabby set of A-Levels, honestly, it has done absolutely nothing for me in my life post sixth-form, and I could have just saved myself a tiny bit of troubles and stress in sixth form.


That’s very interesting, thanks x

Reply 3

As above, no Uni requires, or prefers, more than 3 A levels - and so the extra time, energy and stress of taking a 4th subject for no advantage does not actually make any sense. Remember, AAA will always look better than ABBB - and that could cost you a Uni place.

Quick Reply

How The Student Room is moderated

To keep The Student Room safe for everyone, we moderate posts that are added to the site.