The Student Room Group

S6 subject choice help

Hi. I'm in S5 and currently choosing my subjects for S6. I'm predicted straight A's in my five Highers, and I would like to study English and History at university. To be perfectly honest, I've not found Higher to be very challenging, so I'm up for a higher-than-normal workload.

I'm struggling to decide between some subjects as I really like them all. I would really like to take all of the following subjects, but there's obviously too many of them:

Advanced Higher English.
Advanced Higher History.
Advanced Higher Business Management.
Higher Geography.
Higher Philosophy.
Higher Media.

Advanced Higher English and History are obviously non-negotiables.

I'm really leabing towards Advanced Higher Business Management as it's one of my favourite subjects, it could be useful as I'm considering a career in publishing, and I'm quite interested in business/economic history.

Higher Philosophy has essay writing skills that would be useful (although 4/5 of my Highers this year are essay-based subjects). The University of Strathclyde lists it as a preferred subject and I think I would really enjoy it.

Higher Geography is probably the least relevant, however I've always really enjoyed it, and so would love to take it to Higher. The University of Strathclyde also lists Geography as a preferred subject.

Higher Media is again listed as a preferred subject by the University of Strathclyde. In English this year we've been studying a film for our critical essay text, and it's made me realise that the film techniques are really interesting and there's so much more to a film than dialogue. I've been loving it so thought Higher Media might be my thing.

So, if anyone can give me any insight on these subjects at Higher/Advanced Higher, and advice on which I should not take, I'd really appreciate it.

I've been told by my school that I need to narrow it down to 4 subjects (2 Advanced Highers + 2 Highers or 3 Advanced Highers + 1 Higher).

Thank you. 😊
Original post
by jasmineva3128
Hi. I'm in S5 and currently choosing my subjects for S6. I'm predicted straight A's in my five Highers, and I would like to study English and History at university. To be perfectly honest, I've not found Higher to be very challenging, so I'm up for a higher-than-normal workload.
I'm struggling to decide between some subjects as I really like them all. I would really like to take all of the following subjects, but there's obviously too many of them:
Advanced Higher English.
Advanced Higher History.
Advanced Higher Business Management.
Higher Geography.
Higher Philosophy.
Higher Media.
Advanced Higher English and History are obviously non-negotiables.
I'm really leabing towards Advanced Higher Business Management as it's one of my favourite subjects, it could be useful as I'm considering a career in publishing, and I'm quite interested in business/economic history.
Higher Philosophy has essay writing skills that would be useful (although 4/5 of my Highers this year are essay-based subjects). The University of Strathclyde lists it as a preferred subject and I think I would really enjoy it.
Higher Geography is probably the least relevant, however I've always really enjoyed it, and so would love to take it to Higher. The University of Strathclyde also lists Geography as a preferred subject.
Higher Media is again listed as a preferred subject by the University of Strathclyde. In English this year we've been studying a film for our critical essay text, and it's made me realise that the film techniques are really interesting and there's so much more to a film than dialogue. I've been loving it so thought Higher Media might be my thing.
So, if anyone can give me any insight on these subjects at Higher/Advanced Higher, and advice on which I should not take, I'd really appreciate it.
I've been told by my school that I need to narrow it down to 4 subjects (2 Advanced Highers + 2 Highers or 3 Advanced Highers + 1 Higher).
Thank you. 😊

Hey! (:

fab to hear your highers are going well, best of luck with your prelims as im sure they are kinda starting to come around now 😊

Havent done any of the same subjects lol, but had a few of my friends in school who done adv english + history and they really enjoyed it (: - also knew some people who done philosophy, but we had this as an online option as didnt have a teacher for it, so the people i knew who did take it ended up not really enjoying it the most, thats just their experience though! - i would just take whichever sounds the most interesting to you, if your meeting any required subjects for unis then your all good on that front😊

id done highers ; chem, maths, bio, english and modern studies in s5 and then in my s6 crashed higher physics & psychology and then picked up higher art (took the n5 during covid) + did adv higher chemistry, really enjoyed having a mix and getting to experience some other subjects i was interested in before i specialised more for uni!

on the sqa website, there is also a section in each course with the course content included, definitly worth having a look over this and with any of the option type of things asking your teachers what your school would be covering (: - might help to make the decision easier!

hope this helps!

Emily
Year 3,Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep

Reply 2

Original post
by jasmineva3128
Hi. I'm in S5 and currently choosing my subjects for S6. I'm predicted straight A's in my five Highers, and I would like to study English and History at university. To be perfectly honest, I've not found Higher to be very challenging, so I'm up for a higher-than-normal workload.
I'm struggling to decide between some subjects as I really like them all. I would really like to take all of the following subjects, but there's obviously too many of them:
Advanced Higher English.
Advanced Higher History.
Advanced Higher Business Management.
Higher Geography.
Higher Philosophy.
Higher Media.
Advanced Higher English and History are obviously non-negotiables.
I'm really leabing towards Advanced Higher Business Management as it's one of my favourite subjects, it could be useful as I'm considering a career in publishing, and I'm quite interested in business/economic history.
Higher Philosophy has essay writing skills that would be useful (although 4/5 of my Highers this year are essay-based subjects). The University of Strathclyde lists it as a preferred subject and I think I would really enjoy it.
Higher Geography is probably the least relevant, however I've always really enjoyed it, and so would love to take it to Higher. The University of Strathclyde also lists Geography as a preferred subject.
Higher Media is again listed as a preferred subject by the University of Strathclyde. In English this year we've been studying a film for our critical essay text, and it's made me realise that the film techniques are really interesting and there's so much more to a film than dialogue. I've been loving it so thought Higher Media might be my thing.
So, if anyone can give me any insight on these subjects at Higher/Advanced Higher, and advice on which I should not take, I'd really appreciate it.
I've been told by my school that I need to narrow it down to 4 subjects (2 Advanced Highers + 2 Highers or 3 Advanced Highers + 1 Higher).
Thank you. 😊

Hey :smile:
Last year I did AH history and English (got A’s) and enjoyed them so so so much especially the history diss. HOWEVER be aware the content for history is intense and nothing like higher (atleast for me) and it's alot harder to cram because the questions don't stay exactly the same unlike higher. Same could be said for English but it's a lot more demand on your skill rather then memorization so they actually pair quite nicely. My English teachers were horrendous and didn't teach so I can't really speak much about the course because I basically winged it.
I also crashed higher geo and it was amazing. If you are good at memorizing this is the subject for you- I just memorized the sqa marking scheme and got 96% in the exam.
I also crashes higher RMPS in s6 but never studies philosophy but it seems notoriously hard from what I've heard.
Im currently studying law at Strathclyde and also did random higher like pe and maths so don't worry about sticking exactly to their recommended list, instead pick what you enjoy and are good at.
Good luck!!

Reply 3

Original post
by jasmineva3128
Hi. I'm in S5 and currently choosing my subjects for S6. I'm predicted straight A's in my five Highers, and I would like to study English and History at university. To be perfectly honest, I've not found Higher to be very challenging, so I'm up for a higher-than-normal workload.
I'm struggling to decide between some subjects as I really like them all. I would really like to take all of the following subjects, but there's obviously too many of them:
Advanced Higher English.
Advanced Higher History.
Advanced Higher Business Management.
Higher Geography.
Higher Philosophy.
Higher Media.
Advanced Higher English and History are obviously non-negotiables.
I'm really leabing towards Advanced Higher Business Management as it's one of my favourite subjects, it could be useful as I'm considering a career in publishing, and I'm quite interested in business/economic history.
Higher Philosophy has essay writing skills that would be useful (although 4/5 of my Highers this year are essay-based subjects). The University of Strathclyde lists it as a preferred subject and I think I would really enjoy it.
Higher Geography is probably the least relevant, however I've always really enjoyed it, and so would love to take it to Higher. The University of Strathclyde also lists Geography as a preferred subject.
Higher Media is again listed as a preferred subject by the University of Strathclyde. In English this year we've been studying a film for our critical essay text, and it's made me realise that the film techniques are really interesting and there's so much more to a film than dialogue. I've been loving it so thought Higher Media might be my thing.
So, if anyone can give me any insight on these subjects at Higher/Advanced Higher, and advice on which I should not take, I'd really appreciate it.
I've been told by my school that I need to narrow it down to 4 subjects (2 Advanced Highers + 2 Highers or 3 Advanced Highers + 1 Higher).
Thank you. 😊

Heyyyyy, I'm in sixth year I got As in all my highers which were maths, english, french, politics, and history; and I'm off to do politics at uni.

I am currently doing AH English, French, and Mods and I'm predicted all As. The most important thing I would say is to always do at least one subject you really enjoy it makes all the difference like seriously it's so important. So if you feel business management is a course you'll like - go for it.

More specifically to the subjects you mentioned, I would definitely recommend higher philosophy. Although I'm not currently taking it I was supposed to (timetable change ruined my dreams) and it is a really interesting course from what I know, I have a lot of friends who took it last year, or this year and all agree that the content is by far some of the most engaging. It is a ton of essays but nothing crazy and I'm sure as someone who breezed through higher, nothing you can't cope with.
Another subject which I would mention but didn't take is AH History. Every single person in that class says the workload is immense, if you want an intense subject, go for AH history. The content sounds cool, if you're into history but yeah fair warning.
I am currently doing AH English which is probably the subject with the least exam content, if you're someone who thrives on assignment work I'd recommend this because the actual exam paper is pretty chill. I am really enjoying the dissertation and folio aspects of the course because I really like independent work and you get a lot of freedom.

Finally, I know people say this all the time but the jump to AH is pretty challenging. If you take some heavier subjects (I'm thinking AH History specifically) they probably won't be difficult for you but the sheer volume of content and work can be a lot so I would bear that in mind

I hope your highers continue to go well, good luck in your final exams! xx

Reply 4

Original post
by University of Strathclyde Student Ambassador
Hey! (:
fab to hear your highers are going well, best of luck with your prelims as im sure they are kinda starting to come around now 😊
Havent done any of the same subjects lol, but had a few of my friends in school who done adv english + history and they really enjoyed it (: - also knew some people who done philosophy, but we had this as an online option as didnt have a teacher for it, so the people i knew who did take it ended up not really enjoying it the most, thats just their experience though! - i would just take whichever sounds the most interesting to you, if your meeting any required subjects for unis then your all good on that front😊
id done highers ; chem, maths, bio, english and modern studies in s5 and then in my s6 crashed higher physics & psychology and then picked up higher art (took the n5 during covid) + did adv higher chemistry, really enjoyed having a mix and getting to experience some other subjects i was interested in before i specialised more for uni!
on the sqa website, there is also a section in each course with the course content included, definitly worth having a look over this and with any of the option type of things asking your teachers what your school would be covering (: - might help to make the decision easier!
hope this helps!
Emily
Year 3,Chemistry
Official University Of Strathclyde Rep
Hey i do all 3 sqa higher sciences (chemistry, human biology, physic) and math, computing. i am really looking for 4 study buddies at each subject. Please can anyone help me and reach out to me. I need 4 study buddy for each subject and my plan is to use group learning strategy on google classroom. My plan is we can use this strategy to improve learning. I am begging for someone to reach me out. This apply to all my subject. A person that does some of the same subject i do can also be my group study buddy for multiple subject.

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