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Original poster

Is it a bad idea to do more than 3 A levels?

34 replies

SecretSquirrels · 13/10/2011 19:25

DS in Year 11 and hoping for a good set of A*s in his GCSEs at his very bog standard comp.
He is very hard working, ambitious and bright. He plans to do Maths, FM, Physics and Chemistry at A level and possibly History at least to A2.
He would love to go to Cambridge and I've been reading some of the Oxbridge threads with interest.
I wonder whether there is a danger of over-stretching himself and taking on too great a workload at the risk of doing less well than if he just did 3 subjects.
Given that he has the ability,can anyone give me an idea what the workload is like at A level?

OP posts:
Original poster
SecretSquirrels · 13/10/2011 20:23

He does love Maths and Physics.
I know the History doesn't overlap. He was given the idea of doing an AS (not A2 - not used to the terminology) in a Humanity when he went on a trip to Cambridge.
He met under grads who had 5 or 6 A levels and fears he won't stand a chance if he only has 3.
I have said better 3 A*s than 5Bs.
I may have to confess that I have consulted MN.

OP posts:
nbee84 · 13/10/2011 20:22

Just to point out Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry is 4 A levels, adding History would make 5. Further Maths is an A level choice and not an add on - this is a mistake that my ds made when choosing his A levels.

Ds has done the same choices as above and fully intended to take all 4 to A2, but when it came down to it he decided to do 3 and concentrate on getting good results rather than do 4 and stretch himself too thinly.

Has your ds any idea what he wants to do at uni (if he's planning on going)? Mine is applying for Mechanical Engineering.

CitizenOscar · 13/10/2011 20:10

As far as I recall (over 10 yrs ago) Oxbridge didn't really count further maths as a full A level (technically it is but they didn't quite judge it the same as other A levels), so he might be wise to do the 4 you mention, especially if he wants to do maths or physics at uni.

The history might be too much but he could give it a go and drop it if he found it too much. I did 4 A-levels (pre-AS and A2 days) incl History and the workload for history was way more than my other subjects - I'd say I spent almost 50% of my time on history - and it's hard to get a good mark if you don't put in the time as there's so much to learn!

Hope that helps. I went to Oxbridge but I know things have changed since I went so if people have more up to date info, then pay more attention to them but history by its nature is a difficult extra subject. IME / IMO English or a foreign language might be "easier" as they're more skills-based than mega-fact-learning-based iyswim. That's if he wants to add an artsy subject for balance.

NeilsBoar · 13/10/2011 20:07

I did Maths, Further Maths, Physics, General Studies and Chemistry (back before the AS/A2 split) and found that although it definitely seemed more work than those doing 3 A levels it wasn't too bad because of the overlaps between subjects and General Studies didn't require any work, just turning up to the exam!

However, I think putting them together with a non-science would have been too much for me personally. As it really would have had no overlap with the other subjects. I did do A-level French in night classes the following year and proved that even in a subject I was pretty good at that trying to do A-level in one year alongside a full time job was not a great idea, passed but only just.

In terms of university admission he'd definitely be better focusing on very high grades in a normal number of subjects (3 or 4).

MindtheGappp · 13/10/2011 20:07

It's fine to do just 3 AS levels and to continue all of them to A2 (fewer if planning a foundation course). An E (or U) at AS isn't going to give many UCAS points or deliver a great impression.

Ooopsadaisy · 13/10/2011 20:00

Lurking with interest here.

Reluctant academic DS has spoken for the first time about doing 6th form at all. I really thought he wouldn't.

The usual thing (apparently) is to start 4 A-levels and then cut down to 3.

kritur · 13/10/2011 19:51

Not sure what area of the country you're in but it is Manchester science week at half term and there are lots of great lectures and sessions from high profile scientists that are great background for things like UCAS. For example there is a Cafe Scientifique session on the Fukushima disaster and a lecture on the mathmatics of death.

MindtheGappp · 13/10/2011 19:48

Maths, FM and Physics all go together - but he has to love maths. If he doesn't, he won't be happy at all.

The basic minimum is to do 4 subjects at AS and 3 at A2. Whether you can do more is really restricted by the school. There isn't a lot to be gained by doing more than 3 A2, as entrance requirements are based on 3 full A-levels.

Assumingnhe nails the grades in his exams, the next most important thing is communicating his passion for his chosen subject. He needs to figure how to do this - reading work experience, residential courses...

kritur · 13/10/2011 19:40

He should do 4 to AS and then take a view on whether coninuing all 4 to A2 is an option. The step up from GCSE is a big one, especially in those subjects (I've taught A-level chemistry for 6 years). He'ss have 4/5 hrs contact for each one and at least the same amount of independent study. He will find it hard, even though he is bright. He's choosing good subjects for Oxbridge and they much prefer 3 As or A*s than a less glittering offering in more subjects.