HSPS Cambridge
What A Levels did people take who now study HSPS at Cambridge? I'm stuck between Politics and English (to go alongside Philosophy and Drama).
Reply 1
Reply 2
What A Levels did people take who now study HSPS at Cambridge? I'm stuck between Politics and English (to go alongside Philosophy and Drama).
if you’re set on hsps then maybe don’t do drama, it’s not as academic as the other subjects
Reply 3
What A Levels did people take who now study HSPS at Cambridge? I'm stuck between Politics and English (to go alongside Philosophy and Drama).
english rs and german - got an interview, waiting for results rn
Reply 4
What A Levels did people take who now study HSPS at Cambridge? I'm stuck between Politics and English (to go alongside Philosophy and Drama).
i had an interview last week, and i would highly suggest dropping the drama and doing english, philosophy, and politics
Reply 5
Reply 6
1.
Yes, but 4 Alevels is alot of work
2.
It creeps up on you and many people (incl myself) can struggle
3.
Be ready to commit a MINIMUM of 20 hrs a week (~5 per subject) for your 4 subjects to really ensure top grades, trust me, this is a game changer makes it way more doable
4.
Do NOT let the EPQ be a last minute affair as you WILL struggle
5.
If it comes down to it, drop to 3 and keep the EPQ, you could even do an AS Qualification in one of the subjects you "dropped" so you still have something to show for your work
6.
I would only really recommend 4 (as someone who does do 4, not for these reasons) if you wish to apply to other countries ie US and you want a competitive application or you do further maths (which I personally dont really count s "fourth")
7.
Yes, 4 subjects is fun and rewarding BUT i would HIGHLY recommend having at least 2 subjects with "manageable" lower grade boundaries and the other 2 can be higher. Some subjects appear "easy" but the grade boundaries are so incredibly high that the degree of work you have to put in greatly increases comparatively. This still applies EVEN if u are good at the subject.
8.
Economics is a good subject for that "manageable" aspect, if you are good at essays it should be relatively ok, although some of the course is difficult and complex, you do not need to score 99% for an A*
9.
Coursework can make or break you, keep this in mind, find out how much support you get for coursework from you school as it cn GREATLY vary, in conjunction with the grade boundaries make an informed descion
10.
CAMBRIDGE DO NOT NEED 4 ALEVELS!!! DO NOT TAKE 4 FOR THE OFF CHANCE OF MAYBE GETTING INTO CAMBRIDGE. That being said, I would say taking 4 is a really rewarding experience forthose that love learning or whatever
11.
Credintials: I do Maths, Econ, History and English Lit. If I had the knowledge I had now, I would have switched English Lit for Music as OCR English Lit is a hellish subject. But hey, the more you know, maybe I can help someone make a more informed descion!
Reply 7
What A Levels did people take who now study HSPS at Cambridge? I'm stuck between Politics and English (to go alongside Philosophy and Drama).
I would say do all 4 and see how you go, honestly do what you're good at and do not let perceived notions of a "good" subject sway your descion too much. But, if ur school does not allow 4 subjects, I would do Drama, Politics and Philosophy. I have 2 friends who both received interviews (one for philosophy and one for HSPS) non-contextual and they took a very similar combination (HSPS - Geography, Philosophy, Music + private school and had the option to do 4 subjects), (Philosophy - PRE, Drama, Music, EPQ). Alevels are the last time you get to study some of these subjects, just do what you enjoy and will excell in!!
Reply 8
1.
Yes, but 4 Alevels is alot of work
2.
It creeps up on you and many people (incl myself) can struggle
3.
Be ready to commit a MINIMUM of 20 hrs a week (~5 per subject) for your 4 subjects to really ensure top grades, trust me, this is a game changer makes it way more doable
4.
Do NOT let the EPQ be a last minute affair as you WILL struggle
5.
If it comes down to it, drop to 3 and keep the EPQ, you could even do an AS Qualification in one of the subjects you "dropped" so you still have something to show for your work
6.
I would only really recommend 4 (as someone who does do 4, not for these reasons) if you wish to apply to other countries ie US and you want a competitive application or you do further maths (which I personally dont really count s "fourth")
7.
Yes, 4 subjects is fun and rewarding BUT i would HIGHLY recommend having at least 2 subjects with "manageable" lower grade boundaries and the other 2 can be higher. Some subjects appear "easy" but the grade boundaries are so incredibly high that the degree of work you have to put in greatly increases comparatively. This still applies EVEN if u are good at the subject.
8.
Economics is a good subject for that "manageable" aspect, if you are good at essays it should be relatively ok, although some of the course is difficult and complex, you do not need to score 99% for an A*
9.
Coursework can make or break you, keep this in mind, find out how much support you get for coursework from you school as it cn GREATLY vary, in conjunction with the grade boundaries make an informed descion
10.
CAMBRIDGE DO NOT NEED 4 ALEVELS!!! DO NOT TAKE 4 FOR THE OFF CHANCE OF MAYBE GETTING INTO CAMBRIDGE. That being said, I would say taking 4 is a really rewarding experience forthose that love learning or whatever
11.
Credintials: I do Maths, Econ, History and English Lit. If I had the knowledge I had now, I would have switched English Lit for Music as OCR English Lit is a hellish subject. But hey, the more you know, maybe I can help someone make a more informed descion!
Another thing, don't forget only 2% of A-level takers achieve 3 A*s. It is not a failure by any means to drop to 3 in order to maximise ur attainment!!
Reply 9
1.
Yes, but 4 Alevels is alot of work
2.
It creeps up on you and many people (incl myself) can struggle
3.
Be ready to commit a MINIMUM of 20 hrs a week (~5 per subject) for your 4 subjects to really ensure top grades, trust me, this is a game changer makes it way more doable
4.
Do NOT let the EPQ be a last minute affair as you WILL struggle
5.
If it comes down to it, drop to 3 and keep the EPQ, you could even do an AS Qualification in one of the subjects you "dropped" so you still have something to show for your work
6.
I would only really recommend 4 (as someone who does do 4, not for these reasons) if you wish to apply to other countries ie US and you want a competitive application or you do further maths (which I personally dont really count s "fourth")
7.
Yes, 4 subjects is fun and rewarding BUT i would HIGHLY recommend having at least 2 subjects with "manageable" lower grade boundaries and the other 2 can be higher. Some subjects appear "easy" but the grade boundaries are so incredibly high that the degree of work you have to put in greatly increases comparatively. This still applies EVEN if u are good at the subject.
8.
Economics is a good subject for that "manageable" aspect, if you are good at essays it should be relatively ok, although some of the course is difficult and complex, you do not need to score 99% for an A*
9.
Coursework can make or break you, keep this in mind, find out how much support you get for coursework from you school as it cn GREATLY vary, in conjunction with the grade boundaries make an informed descion
10.
CAMBRIDGE DO NOT NEED 4 ALEVELS!!! DO NOT TAKE 4 FOR THE OFF CHANCE OF MAYBE GETTING INTO CAMBRIDGE. That being said, I would say taking 4 is a really rewarding experience forthose that love learning or whatever
11.
Credintials: I do Maths, Econ, History and English Lit. If I had the knowledge I had now, I would have switched English Lit for Music as OCR English Lit is a hellish subject. But hey, the more you know, maybe I can help someone make a more informed descion!
I‘m a native german speaker so I was thinking of doing it in year 12 so hopefully the workload won’t be too much 🤞🤞🤞
Reply 10
What A Levels did people take who now study HSPS at Cambridge? I'm stuck between Politics and English (to go alongside Philosophy and Drama).
Hi, I recently got an interview and study Politics, Spanish and Lit. I'd also recommend doing an epq in a related HSPS topic, it really shows passion!!
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