Art A Level - guidance please

[lloydjam]

Hi there

My DD2 is currently making her A level choices . She is quite academic and so far she wants to do Maths, Geography and Art. I was hoping she was going to choose Computing or physics as her 3rd choice as she has previously said she wanted to take them. My question is if she chooses to do computing etc at Uni will the fact that she has done an Art A level go against her or do all A levels have the same weight. i know some Uni courses specify physics etc. I obviously want her to to the courses she wants to do - I just want to be sure she isn't going to be prejudiced later for this.

thank you

[noblegiraffe]

Computer science degrees tend to focus on the maths result rather than anything else, so she should still have a good choice of universities. However Physics or Further maths would be better to support her application.

I know some on here warn against Art because it's so time-consuming and I think hard to get top grades in. Why has she decided to do it?

[lloydjam]

Thank you - she was going to do physics and or computing but after a talk with her teachers she was totally put off , which I'm quite annoyed by. Yes I know Art is very intensive - the GCSE has been bad enough ! I just want to make sure she isn't closing too many doors by doing Art if she changes her mind later.

[noblegiraffe]

What put her off Physics/Computing?

[lloydjam]

For physics she wanted to do more astronomy (she has an astronomy gcse) but was told there was just a tiny bit of A level right at the end. Not sure why she changed her mind about computing.

[noblegiraffe]

I'd be a bit concerned about a girl who possibly wants to do computer science at university being put off physics and computing a-levels. It seems unlikely that she would then go onto computing at university having already avoided key subjects.

Is she serious about computing at uni or does she have any other thoughts?

I'd be worried that a bright girl may be being steered away from traditionally male-dominated subjects for spurious reasons. If she liked astronomy then there's a good chance that she might be interested in other areas of physics like quantum mechanics.

[Errppppp]

Computer science is maths, maths and more maths. Having Art as a third A'level won't matter at all for almost all courses. Computing A'level is neither here nor there. It would demonstrate an interest in computer science but your DD could do that in other ways - perhaps by doing some coding, by attending a computer science Headstart Course or by joining a school Computer Club. Mostly though she should just be good at maths.

If she isn't thinking of physics A'level then I presume she doesn't want to do physics at University.

How about ordering some Uni prospectuses so you can both have a browse through the courses and course requirements. The info is obviously online but the paper versions are good to flick through.

If she is very good at Art then maybe the teachers think it will be easier for her to get an A or A star in Art than in physics or computing. A high grade in Art might be more useful than a middling grade in physics or Computing.

DS did AS computing A'level and went on to study Comp Sci at Uni. He said the Computing AS was completely useless HOWEVER this was a couple of years ago so you would need to check the current syllabus.

[lloydjam]

Thank you Errppppp, thats very useful.

[noblegiraffe]

The old computing A-level is, I believe, nothing like the new Computer Science A-level which is very rigorous.

[Errppppp]

I had heard that too which is why I suggested the OP check the syllabus etc.

[noblegiraffe]

You didn't say how serious she was about doing computing at uni, OP.

Computer science isn't specified as a requirement for most university courses but that is because, like further maths, it isn't offered in very many sixth forms. If she is seriously considering computing at uni, then she would be making life much easier for herself in future if she took comp sci now. My DH who did comp sci at uni has looked at the a-level syllabus and says it is very similar to the sorts of things he studied.