The Student Room Group

Gcse and alevels help

Hi ,
Im in Year 11 right now and i have applied for a bunch of Sixth-forms and collages with maths , physics and economics and fm. At first i wanted to do an economics degree but then i looked more into it and realized most Russell universities really want further maths as a fourth a-level to do an economics degree , and i know i can apply without it but i just don’t want to risk that and also economics is very risky degree career wise as finding a job can be stressful and difficult. So i decided to do engineering. My predicted Grades for gcses are all 8’s and i thought it would be a good career path, so i added physics and now im doing maths , physics and economics and fm , but many universities really want another science as your 3rd option , and u dont really have a passion for chemistry so i thought i would do biology which i like - but alot of universities say that they prefer chemistry over biology for certain engineering degrees . Now i am not very sure what engineering degree i wanted to go into , but since im a female i don’t really want to be working in like a factory , but more like offices . At first i wanted to do software engineering as one they can work in an office and also they earn a very high income . But unfortunately i dont do gcse computer science , and i think that doing alevels in computer science would be very difficult for me as i havent done that for gcse’s . And then i went and looked into mechanical engineering and noticed many uni want further maths !! I also looked into petroleum engineering which is very intreating - but also again many universities want chemistry! Im not trying to go to like a very top top Russell group like oxbridge but a few Russell groups would be preferred. Please help me !! What should i do for alevels maths, physics, and bio or chem ?? And also should i try really hard in gcse maths to get a nine so i can do further maths alevel , which i really dont want to do , and what type of engineering is good since i dont really like chemistry , want to work more in an office and also earn alot of money. Please any answers can help me

Reply 1

Original post
by jgdksfhkshfkjfj
Hi ,
Im in Year 11 right now and i have applied for a bunch of Sixth-forms and collages with maths , physics and economics and fm. At first i wanted to do an economics degree but then i looked more into it and realized most Russell universities really want further maths as a fourth a-level to do an economics degree , and i know i can apply without it but i just don’t want to risk that and also economics is very risky degree career wise as finding a job can be stressful and difficult. So i decided to do engineering. My predicted Grades for gcses are all 8’s and i thought it would be a good career path, so i added physics and now im doing maths , physics and economics and fm , but many universities really want another science as your 3rd option , and u dont really have a passion for chemistry so i thought i would do biology which i like - but alot of universities say that they prefer chemistry over biology for certain engineering degrees . Now i am not very sure what engineering degree i wanted to go into , but since im a female i don’t really want to be working in like a factory , but more like offices . At first i wanted to do software engineering as one they can work in an office and also they earn a very high income . But unfortunately i dont do gcse computer science , and i think that doing alevels in computer science would be very difficult for me as i havent done that for gcse’s . And then i went and looked into mechanical engineering and noticed many uni want further maths !! I also looked into petroleum engineering which is very intreating - but also again many universities want chemistry! Im not trying to go to like a very top top Russell group like oxbridge but a few Russell groups would be preferred. Please help me !! What should i do for alevels maths, physics, and bio or chem ?? And also should i try really hard in gcse maths to get a nine so i can do further maths alevel , which i really dont want to do , and what type of engineering is good since i dont really like chemistry , want to work more in an office and also earn alot of money. Please any answers can help me

I think what's important to consider is what you'll actually enjoy. If you're certain that you want to go into engineering, I would definitely recommend Chemistry or Physics because they compliment Maths quite well and teach you very valuable skills. However, you have plenty of time before going into industry so I wouldn't write any opportunity off yet. From what I've read, you're probably overthinking a lot which is causing a lot of stress. There are many things you can worry about, however, if you're passionate about your subjects those worries are going to become insignificant.

Reply 2

Original post
by aj-sp3ct0r
I think what's important to consider is what you'll actually enjoy. If you're certain that you want to go into engineering, I would definitely recommend Chemistry or Physics because they compliment Maths quite well and teach you very valuable skills. However, you have plenty of time before going into industry so I wouldn't write any opportunity off yet. From what I've read, you're probably overthinking a lot which is causing a lot of stress. There are many things you can worry about, however, if you're passionate about your subjects those worries are going to become insignificant.


Thank you so much your right im really stressed :frown: . Should i do maths chem and physics you recommend? Or should i add further maths ? Also do you know any good engineering courses that would be the best fit for me ?

Reply 3

Original post
by jgdksfhkshfkjfj
Hi ,
Im in Year 11 right now and i have applied for a bunch of Sixth-forms and collages with maths , physics and economics and fm. At first i wanted to do an economics degree but then i looked more into it and realized most Russell universities really want further maths as a fourth a-level to do an economics degree , and i know i can apply without it but i just don’t want to risk that and also economics is very risky degree career wise as finding a job can be stressful and difficult. So i decided to do engineering. My predicted Grades for gcses are all 8’s and i thought it would be a good career path, so i added physics and now im doing maths , physics and economics and fm , but many universities really want another science as your 3rd option , and u dont really have a passion for chemistry so i thought i would do biology which i like - but alot of universities say that they prefer chemistry over biology for certain engineering degrees . Now i am not very sure what engineering degree i wanted to go into , but since im a female i don’t really want to be working in like a factory , but more like offices . At first i wanted to do software engineering as one they can work in an office and also they earn a very high income . But unfortunately i dont do gcse computer science , and i think that doing alevels in computer science would be very difficult for me as i havent done that for gcse’s . And then i went and looked into mechanical engineering and noticed many uni want further maths !! I also looked into petroleum engineering which is very intreating - but also again many universities want chemistry! Im not trying to go to like a very top top Russell group like oxbridge but a few Russell groups would be preferred. Please help me !! What should i do for alevels maths, physics, and bio or chem ?? And also should i try really hard in gcse maths to get a nine so i can do further maths alevel , which i really dont want to do , and what type of engineering is good since i dont really like chemistry , want to work more in an office and also earn alot of money. Please any answers can help me

If you dont want to do fm or chem then dont, choosing subjects you enjoy will lead to degrees that you enjoy- if you dont like the subject required then you probably wont like the degree because the a level what it builds on in a lot of cases.
Do maths to keep your options open across the fields youve mentioned, take physics if you enjoy it because it will keep the sciences open. Take a third that you will enjoy- econ, bio, comp sci anything else that takes your fancy really!

Reply 4

Original post
by jgdksfhkshfkjfj
Thank you so much your right im really stressed :frown: . Should i do maths chem and physics you recommend? Or should i add further maths ? Also do you know any good engineering courses that would be the best fit for me ?


i think if you’re gonna do maths you might as well do fm as well - many high level unis (oxbridge ucl imperial lse etc) prioritize those with fm as well. physics is probably a good one if you’re considering engineering. although at the end of the day you’re only in year 11 and prioritize subjects you know youll enjoy and subsequently do well in! most people dont go into careers relating to their a levels anyways so it’s not the be all and end all

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