A-Level Choices due in 2 months
Hello,
I'm in Y11 and planning on taking Maths, Physics, Economics and one of either Further Maths or DT for my A-Levels: Based on my tests and first mock performances, I'm on a 9 for Maths and DT, 8 for Physics, and 7-8 for Further Maths. I am thinking of either doing Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management. Further Maths is more respectable than DT however I like DT more, am better at DT and I don't want my 4 A-Levels to be a maths-heavy pain. So what should I do? Pick FM or DT?
I'm in Y11 and planning on taking Maths, Physics, Economics and one of either Further Maths or DT for my A-Levels: Based on my tests and first mock performances, I'm on a 9 for Maths and DT, 8 for Physics, and 7-8 for Further Maths. I am thinking of either doing Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management. Further Maths is more respectable than DT however I like DT more, am better at DT and I don't want my 4 A-Levels to be a maths-heavy pain. So what should I do? Pick FM or DT?
Reply 1
20
What do you want to do with these A levels - any ideas about a Uni degree subject, or eventual career?
And why are you taking 4 A levels - no University requires or prefers more than 3.
And why are you taking 4 A levels - no University requires or prefers more than 3.
Reply 2
Thala10
OP
9
Original post
by McGingerWhat do you want to do with these A levels - any ideas about a Uni degree subject, or eventual career?
And why are you taking 4 A levels - no University requires or prefers more than 3.
And why are you taking 4 A levels - no University requires or prefers more than 3.
Hello,
Yeah for uni I'd like to do Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management (university not decided yet). For careers I'd like to go into some form of engineering management (i.e. project manager). And also the basic standard at my school is 4 A-levels, so I'm ok with it
Reply 3
Original post
by YuvanAnandHello,
I'm in Y11 and planning on taking Maths, Physics, Economics and one of either Further Maths or DT for my A-Levels: Based on my tests and first mock performances, I'm on a 9 for Maths and DT, 8 for Physics, and 7-8 for Further Maths. I am thinking of either doing Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management. Further Maths is more respectable than DT however I like DT more, am better at DT and I don't want my 4 A-Levels to be a maths-heavy pain. So what should I do? Pick FM or DT?
I'm in Y11 and planning on taking Maths, Physics, Economics and one of either Further Maths or DT for my A-Levels: Based on my tests and first mock performances, I'm on a 9 for Maths and DT, 8 for Physics, and 7-8 for Further Maths. I am thinking of either doing Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management. Further Maths is more respectable than DT however I like DT more, am better at DT and I don't want my 4 A-Levels to be a maths-heavy pain. So what should I do? Pick FM or DT?
Further maths is a really important subject for engineering or economics if you want to keep your options open, especially at top unis. Doing a creative subject like DT is not recommended if you're doing 4 subjects. Physics and double maths will keep your options open in economics and engineering amongst many other maths related subjects. Econ and DT are not needed but may be helpful for econ related stuff or engineering respectively. Be aware that engineering is an extremely maths-y subject so if youre not keen on a lot of maths in your schedule you might want to think about whether engineering is a good fit for you! My advice would be to go with your interests really 🙂
Reply 4
Thala10
OP
9
Original post
by DerDracologeFurther maths is a really important subject for engineering or economics if you want to keep your options open, especially at top unis. Doing a creative subject like DT is not recommended if you're doing 4 subjects. Physics and double maths will keep your options open in economics and engineering amongst many other maths related subjects. Econ and DT are not needed but may be helpful for econ related stuff or engineering respectively. Be aware that engineering is an extremely maths-y subject so if youre not keen on a lot of maths in your schedule you might want to think about whether engineering is a good fit for you! My advice would be to go with your interests really 🙂
Cheers, it's just that I don't really like FM and prefer DT instead. And I'm ok with the maths in engineering really
Reply 5
Original post
by YuvanAnandCheers, it's just that I don't really like FM and prefer DT instead. And I'm ok with the maths in engineering really
Do DT then 🙂 You have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do after a levels so taking subjects of interest is really important. Id still recommend that you dont take DT if you want to do 4 a levels, drop either econ or physics (econ being the less useful one of the 2 in terms of entry requirements generally) or if you do choose to take 4 maybe just do that for a term and then drop one depending on how your interests have shifted by then
Reply 6
Original post
by YuvanAnandHello,
I'm in Y11 and planning on taking Maths, Physics, Economics and one of either Further Maths or DT for my A-Levels: Based on my tests and first mock performances, I'm on a 9 for Maths and DT, 8 for Physics, and 7-8 for Further Maths. I am thinking of either doing Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management. Further Maths is more respectable than DT however I like DT more, am better at DT and I don't want my 4 A-Levels to be a maths-heavy pain. So what should I do? Pick FM or DT?
I'm in Y11 and planning on taking Maths, Physics, Economics and one of either Further Maths or DT for my A-Levels: Based on my tests and first mock performances, I'm on a 9 for Maths and DT, 8 for Physics, and 7-8 for Further Maths. I am thinking of either doing Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management. Further Maths is more respectable than DT however I like DT more, am better at DT and I don't want my 4 A-Levels to be a maths-heavy pain. So what should I do? Pick FM or DT?
Reply 7
Original post
by ashvin127if picking 4 A levels, definitely drop one at the end of year 12. Would not recommend picking further maths; your subjects are already maths heavy, pick business management or maybe design engineering, then drop one of the four at the end of year 12, that you find hardest/struggle with/don't enjoy. 9/10 times, a better A-level score in business is better than a worse score in further maths, as hardly any university courses care what you study for A-level.
OP wants to do engineering (or is at least considering it) so I don’t think that it’s (in my opinion unless I’m mistaken here) a good idea to suggest that they don’t do FM, if anything it’s probably recommended that they take it if they’re looking to go down that path (or any other heavily maths based path such as Economics, CS, Maths, Physics etc).
OP doesn’t necessarily need business management or design engineering for a business or engineering degree AFAIK. FM will be more useful and important (given that they are considering doing engineering) especially if they are aiming for top universities.
Original post
by YuvanAnandHello,
I'm in Y11 and planning on taking Maths, Physics, Economics and one of either Further Maths or DT for my A-Levels: Based on my tests and first mock performances, I'm on a 9 for Maths and DT, 8 for Physics, and 7-8 for Further Maths. I am thinking of either doing Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management. Further Maths is more respectable than DT however I like DT more, am better at DT and I don't want my 4 A-Levels to be a maths-heavy pain. So what should I do? Pick FM or DT?
I'm in Y11 and planning on taking Maths, Physics, Economics and one of either Further Maths or DT for my A-Levels: Based on my tests and first mock performances, I'm on a 9 for Maths and DT, 8 for Physics, and 7-8 for Further Maths. I am thinking of either doing Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management. Further Maths is more respectable than DT however I like DT more, am better at DT and I don't want my 4 A-Levels to be a maths-heavy pain. So what should I do? Pick FM or DT?
Why economics? It's the odd one out of those subjects based on what you've written otherwise.
As above, further maths would be very useful for any engineering course. You also clearly do very well in DT. Why not do just do maths/FM/physics/DT then?
Note you don't need economics to do a degree in economics (nor finance, accounting, management, business, or any other such subject).
Reply 9
Original post
by Talkative ToadOP wants to do engineering (or is at least considering it) so I don’t think that it’s (in my opinion unless I’m mistaken here) a good idea to suggest that they don’t do FM, if anything it’s probably recommended that they take it if they’re looking to go down that path (or any other heavily maths based path such as Economics, CS, Maths, Physics etc).
OP doesn’t necessarily need business management or design engineering for a business or engineering degree AFAIK. FM will be more useful and important (given that they are considering doing engineering) especially if they are aiming for top universities.
OP doesn’t necessarily need business management or design engineering for a business or engineering degree AFAIK. FM will be more useful and important (given that they are considering doing engineering) especially if they are aiming for top universities.
Not a great idea to put all your eggs in one basket, if certain on doing engineering he should not do economics. Because if he decides he doesn't want to do maths in his degree, he has limited options. Business/engineering atleast broadens his options. Also business tends to be more coursework based, good to have a balance between coursework and exams.
Reply 10
Original post
by ashvin127Not a great idea to put all your eggs in one basket, if certain on doing engineering he should not do economics. Because if he decides he doesn't want to do maths in his degree, he has limited options. Business/engineering atleast broadens his options. Also business tends to be more coursework based, good to have a balance between coursework and exams.
Yeah so I’d replace econ instead of FM then. I wouldn’t be looking to ditch FM in OP’s context regardless plus DT has coursework.
Original post
by artful_loungerWhy economics? It's the odd one out of those subjects based on what you've written otherwise.
As above, further maths would be very useful for any engineering course. You also clearly do very well in DT. Why not do just do maths/FM/physics/DT then?
Note you don't need economics to do a degree in economics (nor finance, accounting, management, business, or any other such subject).
As above, further maths would be very useful for any engineering course. You also clearly do very well in DT. Why not do just do maths/FM/physics/DT then?
Note you don't need economics to do a degree in economics (nor finance, accounting, management, business, or any other such subject).
What I was thinking out loud exactly. If I were OP (seeing as doing an engineering degree is on the table) I’d be looking to ditch Economics* instead and simply do Maths, Physics, FM and DT. Or potentially even just stick with maths, FM and Physics or Maths, DT and Physics.
*unless OP is looking to apply to courses where an essay based subject or social science subject is required.
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post
by YuvanAnandHello,
Yeah for uni I'd like to do Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management (university not decided yet). For careers I'd like to go into some form of engineering management (i.e. project manager). And also the basic standard at my school is 4 A-levels, so I'm ok with it
Yeah for uni I'd like to do Mechanical/Civil/Design Engineering or Business Management (university not decided yet). For careers I'd like to go into some form of engineering management (i.e. project manager). And also the basic standard at my school is 4 A-levels, so I'm ok with it
Id double check the courses on unis websites to see if they specify any particular subjects.
I think the first 3 subjects you have chosen cover most bases.
If unis specify or recommend further maths, then you would be best doing that. If they dont mention further maths, then id go for DT.
Reply 12
Thala10
OP
9
Original post
by artful_loungerWhy economics? It's the odd one out of those subjects based on what you've written otherwise.
As above, further maths would be very useful for any engineering course. You also clearly do very well in DT. Why not do just do maths/FM/physics/DT then?
Note you don't need economics to do a degree in economics (nor finance, accounting, management, business, or any other such subject).
As above, further maths would be very useful for any engineering course. You also clearly do very well in DT. Why not do just do maths/FM/physics/DT then?
Note you don't need economics to do a degree in economics (nor finance, accounting, management, business, or any other such subject).
Well, Economics opens my life to a lot more degree opportunities, it will also be beneficial if I picked management. And I find the content in Economics quite interesting and it strengthens my knowledge of the wider world.
Doing FM and DT in the same time I would potentially find distressing, given that FM is conceptually hard to get my mind around and DT is workload-heavy, I would rather have one complicated subject- for Maths, Physics and Econ I can do learn some of the concepts beforehand during my 2-month break post-GCSEs to make it easier for me. Thank you for your time.
Reply 13
Thala10
OP
9
Original post
by ashvin127if picking 4 A levels, definitely drop one at the end of year 12. Would not recommend picking further maths; your subjects are already maths heavy, pick business management or maybe design engineering, then drop one of the four at the end of year 12, that you find hardest/struggle with/don't enjoy. 9/10 times, a better A-level score in business is better than a worse score in further maths, as hardly any university courses care what you study for A-level.
My school does neither engineering design nor business management.... besides I find that doing 3 subjects is quite boring and it's not really common in my school
Reply 14
Thala10
OP
9
Original post
by Emma:-)Id double check the courses on unis websites to see if they specify any particular subjects.
I think the first 3 subjects you have chosen cover most bases.
If unis specify or recommend further maths, then you would be best doing that. If they dont mention further maths, then id go for DT.
I think the first 3 subjects you have chosen cover most bases.
If unis specify or recommend further maths, then you would be best doing that. If they dont mention further maths, then id go for DT.
Yeah for the unis I've checked FM isn't mentioned there
Reply 15
Original post
by YuvanAnandWell, Economics opens my life to a lot more degree opportunities, it will also be beneficial if I picked management. And I find the content in Economics quite interesting and it strengthens my knowledge of the wider world.
Doing FM and DT in the same time I would potentially find distressing, given that FM is conceptually hard to get my mind around and DT is workload-heavy, I would rather have one complicated subject- for Maths, Physics and Econ I can do learn some of the concepts beforehand during my 2-month break post-GCSEs to make it easier for me. Thank you for your time.
Doing FM and DT in the same time I would potentially find distressing, given that FM is conceptually hard to get my mind around and DT is workload-heavy, I would rather have one complicated subject- for Maths, Physics and Econ I can do learn some of the concepts beforehand during my 2-month break post-GCSEs to make it easier for me. Thank you for your time.
Econ doesn’t really open more opportunities as its hugely uncommon for unis to prefer or require it as its not offered by all schools. If you might want to do an essay based degree then its a good a level to have though for skills and also some admissions requirements.
2 months isnt really enough time to learn anything near as much you’d need to take the weight off, focus instead on preparing for learning the content- find a system for note taking, decide how youre going to make resources and practice that, review some gcse knowledge to make sure youve got that covered. You could do a few of the first spec points from each but it might do more harm than good if you teach yourself the content in a different way or misunderstand it so you feel confused in class. You deserve a break after your exams so stick to light prep work 🙂 The CGP head start books are really good btw!
FM is very hard but dont be fooled into thinking that doing 4 a levels without fm is easier than with. FM has challenging content but other subjects have a lot of content, there aren’t easier a levels per se, just ones where youll spend more time memorising vs understanding vs on coursework etc. You seem really against doing FM so dont do it! That being said, I would not recommend doing DT with the other 3 throughout year 12 even if your school usually has people do 4. DT is a heck of a lot of work, maths and physics can be challenging to understand and econ is a lot of essays and memory. Ofc its entirely up to you but i would feel that you are misinformed if i dont warn you of the massive jump from gcse to a levels really
Reply 16
Original post
by Thala10My school does neither engineering design nor business management.... besides I find that doing 3 subjects is quite boring and it's not really common in my school
Doing 4 subjects will have no benefit whatsoever especially if you’re not doing FM or something like the Welsh Bacc (even in the context of taking FM, no benefit for the most part). The only benefit would be for the sake of keeping your options open (but in your case it won’t unless you’re looking to apply to course that requires an essay based subject) because you’ve taken Economics. Or another benefit is to see what subjects you like (because you’re torn between two subjects as what your third subject should be so you start with 4 A-levels then drop one as appropriate or stick with 4). Or your applying to a university whereby the factor in their decision making process that it’s the norm in your school to sit 4 A-levels.
Original post
by Thala10Well, Economics opens my life to a lot more degree opportunities, it will also be beneficial if I picked management. And I find the content in Economics quite interesting and it strengthens my knowledge of the wider world.
Doing FM and DT in the same time I would potentially find distressing, given that FM is conceptually hard to get my mind around and DT is workload-heavy, I would rather have one complicated subject- for Maths, Physics and Econ I can do learn some of the concepts beforehand during my 2-month break post-GCSEs to make it easier for me. Thank you for your time.
Doing FM and DT in the same time I would potentially find distressing, given that FM is conceptually hard to get my mind around and DT is workload-heavy, I would rather have one complicated subject- for Maths, Physics and Econ I can do learn some of the concepts beforehand during my 2-month break post-GCSEs to make it easier for me. Thank you for your time.
Economics will not open you to more degree opportunities AFAIK (unless I’m mistaken here) and universities unless we’re talking in the context of having that essay based subject (some university courses might require you to have sat an essay based subject). FM ironically would (along with DT, regular maths and physics).
Original post
by Thala10Yeah for the unis I've checked FM isn't mentioned there
In that case id go for DT then. Especially as you think you will do better in it.
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