The Student Room Group

choosing a-levels

I'm really confused on what to take for A-Level, as I don't know what I want to do career-wise or in uni, and I would definitely appreciate some advice.

I was previously considering taking bio chem math fm, but the only reason I would realistically do that is if I wished to do medicine, as the other sciency career paths with something like Biology don't feel all too interesting to me. I will definitely take maths and fm, as I'm quite good at maths, and I wish to go to a top uni (i heard that fm is almost essential in order to be a competitive candidate). I then considered choosing econ maths fm and chem. I would honestly really love to do french instead of chem, as I quite enjoy it but I'm scared I won't do well enough (and also it doesn't fit the A-Level lines my school offered, although I will be having a meeting with one of my teachers to see if there is anything that can be done about it).

(not to be cocky but) I am currently predicted (almost) all grade 9s, so it's more a matter of what will be most useful to me, not what my strengths are. And if I'm being completely honest, I'm not really passionate about anything. All I know is that I want good pay and a good work-life balance in my career and a job that (at least somewhat) interests me.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Reply 1

Original post
by unpainted-pal
I'm really confused on what to take for A-Level, as I don't know what I want to do career-wise or in uni, and I would definitely appreciate some advice.
I was previously considering taking bio chem math fm, but the only reason I would realistically do that is if I wished to do medicine, as the other sciency career paths with something like Biology don't feel all too interesting to me. I will definitely take maths and fm, as I'm quite good at maths, and I wish to go to a top uni (i heard that fm is almost essential in order to be a competitive candidate). I then considered choosing econ maths fm and chem. I would honestly really love to do french instead of chem, as I quite enjoy it but I'm scared I won't do well enough (and also it doesn't fit the A-Level lines my school offered, although I will be having a meeting with one of my teachers to see if there is anything that can be done about it).
(not to be cocky but) I am currently predicted (almost) all grade 9s, so it's more a matter of what will be most useful to me, not what my strengths are. And if I'm being completely honest, I'm not really passionate about anything. All I know is that I want good pay and a good work-life balance in my career and a job that (at least somewhat) interests me.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Maths, Further Maths, Economics and Chemistry should allow you to do Maths, Chemistry, Economics, Law, Politics, PPE, Computer Science, Engineering, Accounting and Finance and many others.

You could become an Accountant, Lawyer, Tax Adviser, Investment Banker and even CEO. 😉 lol

Reply 2

Original post
by unpainted-pal
I'm really confused on what to take for A-Level, as I don't know what I want to do career-wise or in uni, and I would definitely appreciate some advice.
I was previously considering taking bio chem math fm, but the only reason I would realistically do that is if I wished to do medicine, as the other sciency career paths with something like Biology don't feel all too interesting to me. I will definitely take maths and fm, as I'm quite good at maths, and I wish to go to a top uni (i heard that fm is almost essential in order to be a competitive candidate). I then considered choosing econ maths fm and chem. I would honestly really love to do french instead of chem, as I quite enjoy it but I'm scared I won't do well enough (and also it doesn't fit the A-Level lines my school offered, although I will be having a meeting with one of my teachers to see if there is anything that can be done about it).
(not to be cocky but) I am currently predicted (almost) all grade 9s, so it's more a matter of what will be most useful to me, not what my strengths are. And if I'm being completely honest, I'm not really passionate about anything. All I know is that I want good pay and a good work-life balance in my career and a job that (at least somewhat) interests me.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Take subjects you enjoy 🙂 If chem isnt a major interest of your now then dont take it because it will get more difficult and it’s tough doing a subject that youre not passionate about for a level because you wont have the motivation to learn the content like you would in a subject you enjoy! Double maths, econ and french would be a good combo- youd be able to apply for maths, anything finance related, humanities and languages degrees which is very diverse.

Reply 3

Original post
by unpainted-pal
I'm really confused on what to take for A-Level, as I don't know what I want to do career-wise or in uni, and I would definitely appreciate some advice.
I was previously considering taking bio chem math fm, but the only reason I would realistically do that is if I wished to do medicine, as the other sciency career paths with something like Biology don't feel all too interesting to me. I will definitely take maths and fm, as I'm quite good at maths, and I wish to go to a top uni (i heard that fm is almost essential in order to be a competitive candidate). I then considered choosing econ maths fm and chem. I would honestly really love to do french instead of chem, as I quite enjoy it but I'm scared I won't do well enough (and also it doesn't fit the A-Level lines my school offered, although I will be having a meeting with one of my teachers to see if there is anything that can be done about it).
(not to be cocky but) I am currently predicted (almost) all grade 9s, so it's more a matter of what will be most useful to me, not what my strengths are. And if I'm being completely honest, I'm not really passionate about anything. All I know is that I want good pay and a good work-life balance in my career and a job that (at least somewhat) interests me.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi! This was me after I finished my GCSEs too, I had absolutely no idea what job I wanted to go into. I think the best advice I can give you from my experience is to choose the subjects that you find the most interesting. I personally do German, Psychology and business. I would HIGHLY recommend doing a language btw, so definitely consider French! It is definitely a step up from GCSE but honestly it’s not that bad. Languages are so interesting and they’ll appeal to employers no matter where you decide to work. It never hurts to know another language! If you have any more questions about those at Alevel feel free to ask and I’ll be more than happy to tell you about my experience doing german 🙂 If you can’t make it fit with the lines, though, thats a shame but you have other options. My friend does 3 of the options you were considering: bio, chem and maths. She absolutely loves chemistry, so if you enjoy it now that could be a good option. STEM subjects are really good to have, theres a lot you can do with them. I think doing further maths with maths is also a good idea. It is definitely a lot of (very complex from what my friends have shown me) content, but i think it will appeal to oxbridge and it will also help you out in maths. I’d recommend maybe trying a combo like Maths, FM, chemistry and French if you were looking to do 4. 4 stem subjects will be A LOTT (although it is doable!) so it might be nice to switch it up and do something a bit different like a language. Don’t stress too much about this tho, you can always switch subjects if you do it for a term and so and decide you don’t like it.
I hope this helped! Lmk if you have any sixth form questions
Good luck with your GCSEs btw!! Your predicted grades are amazingg

Reply 4

hi everyone! thank you for all your replies, they are all much appreciated
I just wanted to mention that the talk with my teacher didn't help much and, although I would really love to take French, there isn't anything I can do about the issue of the French and Further Maths a-level lines clashing :frown: It's therefore quite unlikely I will be able to take French a-level, since I will be prioritising further maths as i think it will be more beneficial for me long-term
On another note, I was thinking to do some medical work experience over the summer, but it's been tricky to find placements as a year 11 in my local area. I'll try reaching out to some hospitals in London to see if they would have me but I doubt anything will come of it. I think it would help me to see if I like the hospital environment and finally decide whether to pursue biology a-level and medicine as a career path or not.
I'm currently on track to take physics maths fm and chem a-levels. I'm not entirely happy with this so i might switch out either chemistry or physics for economics but all in all the only realistic options I have for my third and fourth a-levels are: bio, chem, physics, econ, or computer science as these subjects fit the lines my school ahs provided us with for our a-levels. I'll figure something out eventually. Thank you all for your help again I really do appreciate all the advice :smile:

Reply 5

Original post
by unpainted-pal
hi everyone! thank you for all your replies, they are all much appreciated
I just wanted to mention that the talk with my teacher didn't help much and, although I would really love to take French, there isn't anything I can do about the issue of the French and Further Maths a-level lines clashing :frown: It's therefore quite unlikely I will be able to take French a-level, since I will be prioritising further maths as i think it will be more beneficial for me long-term
On another note, I was thinking to do some medical work experience over the summer, but it's been tricky to find placements as a year 11 in my local area. I'll try reaching out to some hospitals in London to see if they would have me but I doubt anything will come of it. I think it would help me to see if I like the hospital environment and finally decide whether to pursue biology a-level and medicine as a career path or not.
I'm currently on track to take physics maths fm and chem a-levels. I'm not entirely happy with this so i might switch out either chemistry or physics for economics but all in all the only realistic options I have for my third and fourth a-levels are: bio, chem, physics, econ, or computer science as these subjects fit the lines my school ahs provided us with for our a-levels. I'll figure something out eventually. Thank you all for your help again I really do appreciate all the advice :smile:

Sorry to hear about the clash between french and fm, obviously prioritise whichever subject you think you will enjoy more 🙂 I would strongly advise you to spend some time seriously considering which subjects you actually enjoy! You say you want to go to a top uni and that means you want to do further maths, that only applies if you want to do a maths heavy subject like maths, physical science, comp sci, engineering, economics etc. You really dont seem keen on physics or chem so dont take those if thats takes case, and that cancels out engineering and physical science. If you might want to do a maths, econ or comp sci degree then fm is a good option- but you dont seem very keen on doing econ or comp sci a level so i find the idea youd want to do a degree in either quite unlikely. You probably wont be able to get work experience in a hospital until youre a bit older, but if you do actually like bio you could take it. From your posts, it sounds like french is the only subject youre actually passionate about and i think that if thats true you shouldnt be so quick to give it up- are there not other sixth forms you can look at or have you asked if you could do AS fm and have you referee explain you couldnt do the full a level due to a timetable clash?

Reply 6

Original post
by unpainted-pal
I'm really confused on what to take for A-Level, as I don't know what I want to do career-wise or in uni, and I would definitely appreciate some advice.
I was previously considering taking bio chem math fm, but the only reason I would realistically do that is if I wished to do medicine, as the other sciency career paths with something like Biology don't feel all too interesting to me. I will definitely take maths and fm, as I'm quite good at maths, and I wish to go to a top uni (i heard that fm is almost essential in order to be a competitive candidate). I then considered choosing econ maths fm and chem. I would honestly really love to do french instead of chem, as I quite enjoy it but I'm scared I won't do well enough (and also it doesn't fit the A-Level lines my school offered, although I will be having a meeting with one of my teachers to see if there is anything that can be done about it).
(not to be cocky but) I am currently predicted (almost) all grade 9s, so it's more a matter of what will be most useful to me, not what my strengths are. And if I'm being completely honest, I'm not really passionate about anything. All I know is that I want good pay and a good work-life balance in my career and a job that (at least somewhat) interests me.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Hi, it's completely normal not to know your options open while choosing subjects you'll actually enjoy and perform well in. Since you're strong at maths and planning on studying that, you're already in a very strong position for doing well. Overall advice to take subjects you truly enjoy that makes a great academic foundation.

Trenyce (kingston rep)

Reply 7

Original post
by Kingston Trenyce
Hi, it's completely normal not to know your options open while choosing subjects you'll actually enjoy and perform well in. Since you're strong at maths and planning on studying that, you're already in a very strong position for doing well. Overall advice to take subjects you truly enjoy that makes a great academic foundation.
Trenyce (kingston rep)

Thank you for the advice :smile: I will be thinking more over this following week about what kinds of subjects I really do enjoy (I'm lowk kinda burnt out rn so I don't really enjoy much nowadays, but I'll be resting as much as possible since it's half term)


Original post
by DerDracologe
Sorry to hear about the clash between french and fm, obviously prioritise whichever subject you think you will enjoy more 🙂 I would strongly advise you to spend some time seriously considering which subjects you actually enjoy! You say you want to go to a top uni and that means you want to do further maths, that only applies if you want to do a maths heavy subject like maths, physical science, comp sci, engineering, economics etc. You really dont seem keen on physics or chem so dont take those if thats takes case, and that cancels out engineering and physical science. If you might want to do a maths, econ or comp sci degree then fm is a good option- but you dont seem very keen on doing econ or comp sci a level so i find the idea youd want to do a degree in either quite unlikely. You probably wont be able to get work experience in a hospital until youre a bit older, but if you do actually like bio you could take it. From your posts, it sounds like french is the only subject youre actually passionate about and i think that if thats true you shouldnt be so quick to give it up- are there not other sixth forms you can look at or have you asked if you could do AS fm and have you referee explain you couldnt do the full a level due to a timetable clash?

Again, thank you for the reply :smile: I think you saw right through me haha, I'm not really keen on anything. I did get an offer from another sixth form closer to my house but the offer was for bio chem maths fm, which I'm not sure I want to do anymore and my current school is preferable as it is more familiar and has a more academic environment (imo). I would much prefer to take the full A-level for Further Maths, but again I will be thinking about it more over this following week.

Thank you so much everybody; I'll let you guys know here if there are any updates.

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